Page 51 of Infinite as They Come
Chapter 13
Sawyer
I had finally found it. Days had turned into weeks and weeks turned into a month, but now, there it was, right in front of me. The house. The one I had been desperately searching for, the one that I hoped looked exactly as it did in Holly’s head.
I was in a place called Coupland, almost an hour away from Round Rock. The main town was only a half hour drive away, and the main road down the front didn’t seem to get too busy, and the best part was the tree in the back. A lemon tree that was apparently a good forty-years-old sat in the backyard, ripe with fresh fruit, the scent of citrus being carried in the breeze as I gave the trunk a slap.
This was it. I had found it.This was fucking it. I could get Holly out of those crummy motels that she loved for whatever reason, move her in, and then it’d be ours forever. I made my way back around the front, the sun hot on my skin as I pressed just one foot to the long porch, and that got the attention of Mandy who spun around with a big grin.
The house was decent sized. Smaller than what Holly was used to but a hell of a lot bigger than what I grew up with. One story, three bedrooms, grass that went on forever, and that tree in the backyard was the cherry on top.
“So, what are we thinking?” Mandy asked. She held her clipboard tight to her chest, her eyes locked on to mine. “How does this one feel?”
“This one’s perfect,” I said, clapping my hands together. “This one’s it.This is the one. I can feel it. This… This is gonna be our home.”
She squealed. “How exciting! I’ll get all the paperwork ready for you. If you’d like, this afternoon we can make it official? Just come down to the office and the keys will be yours! I must warn you: there’s another couple who have been quite keen on this house. I’ve been on the phone to them this morning, but they’ve been a little on the fence about it all. If you think this is the place for you, I don’t want you to miss out. Early bird catches the worm!”
“No, I definitely want it. We’ll do that. I’ll meet you down at the office and we can sign those papers and…”
It didn’t seem real. Like it was too good to be true, but nothing was gonna stop me from handing over every dollar I had saved over the years. Holly had always been the goal. Every long shift, every ache in my body, every early morning. That had all been for her and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“And the house will be yours!” She clapped. “So exciting.”
I held my hand out for Mandy who gave mine a firm shake. “Great, sounds perfect,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”
She squealed again and hopped into her car and I moved over to the truck, looking over my shoulder to take one more glance at the house. In a few hours, this place would be ours. The key would be ours. The lemon tree would be ours. The home would be ours. I wondered how Holly would want to decorate it. I didn’t mind having all her fancy stuff around. Candles, books, perfume, makeup. All that pink stuff. God, we could paint the whole damn house pink and I’d still love it.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out, thinking it was Mandy. “Hey, I’m just about to leave now,” I said when I answered.
“Sawyer? Oh, thank goodness you picked up.” It wasn’t Mandy. It was my mom. And she sounded terrified. Her voice was shaky, her breathing a little heavy.
“Hey,” I said, leaning away from the truck. My heart was already starting to race just from that panic alone in her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Spencer.”
“Spencer? What do you mean? What happened?”
“He’s hurt.”
* * *
Ridgewood Elementary was a big school and parking was a pain in the ass, but I finally found a spot and rushed to the front office. It was my fault. All of it. I had fucked up and I deserved every scolding I was about to get from my mom and Kurt.
Spencer. Hurt. My brother. Hurt. My brain wouldn’t let me forget it.
He got into a fight, my mom had said, and all I could think about was how he probably tried to do something he wasn’t all that ready to do. Teaching him how to fight had been a dumb move on my part. I should have just told his mom. My mom. Our mom. There was some emergency at her work. Something about a broken jaw and missing teeth and an asthma attack. She had to stay back.
Pushing open the door of the front office, I was met with a grey-haired, big-eyed woman. She was writing something in a notebook when she looked up at me, her brown eyes meeting mine.
“Hi,” she said. “Can I help you?”
“Uh… I’m Spencer’s brother,” I said, and I realized then how strange that felt to say out loud.
“Ah, yes.” She clasped her hands together. “His mother told me you were picking him up. Sawyer, right?”
I nodded, one hand pushing through my hair. “Yeah. That’s me. What happened? Is he okay?”
“He’s—”
