Katie

Chapter 11

Shawn pulled up the dirt drive leading toward his small, run down home. He still couldn't believe all of the events that had taken place over the last couple days. One day he's living in a run down house on the outskirts of town with his step-dad and step-brother, the next he's finding out that his birth father he never even knew existed had died, leaving him a small fortune. If only there weren't strings attached!

Shawn knew he needed to tell Logan, and soon. Logan would be the one most negatively affected by all of this. Shawn rubbed the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure what to do. If he didn't become Katie's legal guardian and move into her home until after she graduated, he would forfeit all the money, as well as the free college education that Mr. Bowman had offered. Shawn just couldn't think of him as dad yet. If that's all he would lose, he would just say screw it and forget he had ever heard from the lawyer. But included in that little deal Katie's dad made him, he had also made arrangements for a college fund for Logan to be set up. Shawn just couldn't throw that opportunity away. It was the only chance Logan might ever have of getting away from his dad, Shawn's step-dad.

But yet, at the same time, accepting the terms and moving in with Katie, even if it was for Logan's benefit in the long run, would ultimately leave Logan to deal with David and his temper all on his own. The thought made Shawn sick to his stomach, thinking of not being there to protect his brother.

Climbing out of his truck, Shawn was relieved to see that David's truck was not parked in its usual spot at the side of the house. 'Maybe he'll stay gone for awhile this time.' he thought. One never knew when David would show up. He never took his role as father and step-dad seriously, unless it was to 'beat some sense' into them, as he liked to say. If he wasn't out drinking, he was at home, nursing his never-ending hangovers. David used to be a pretty decent guy, or so Shawn had been told. He personally had never seen this so-called 'good' side. That had been long gone by the time Shawn's mom had married him.

Shaking off his thoughts, Shawn pulled open the battered screen door and stepped into the house. "Logan!" He called out.

"In here," came the reply from the direction of the kitchen.

Shawn threw his keys onto the small table by the door and walked towards the back of the house and entered their small, grungy kitchen.

Logan's head was stuck in the fridge and all Shawn could see was his back-end sticking out.

"Any luck?" he inquired.

Pulling his head out, Logan slammed the fridge shut. With a victorious grin, he proudly held up some questionable bologna and two slices of cheese. "Tonight, we feast!" He grinned.

Raising one eyebrow, Shawn hopped up onto the counter. "Dude, that's really sad."

Narrowing his eyes, Logan ripped open the package of meat. "Hey, your loss man." He placed a slice of cheese in between several slices of bologna and took a huge bite. He gave Shawn a lop-sided grin. "Mmmm...you don't know what you're missing out on."

Shawn chuckled and hopped off the counter. "I'll take your word for it." He scratched his head nervously, while watching Logan chew his food. "Um...I have something I need to talk to you about, Logan." he said while avoiding Logan's eyes.

Thoroughly enjoying his meager meal of bologna and cheese, Logan responded absent mindedly, "Yeah....ok." He wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "What's up?"

Noticing the prolonged silence, Logan glanced up at Shawn and caught the seriousness on his face. He frowned. "What's going on, Shawn? Did something happen? Did you lose your job??" Logan groaned. "That means no groceries this weekend! Crap!! If I had known I would've saved you some meat. I'm such an idiot!" Logan slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand.