ʀᴏᴏᴋɪᴇ | ᴋᴏ ✔︎

6

"Stay here, Kevin." I hold my arm out, stopping my brother from taking a single step toward the house. Kelley seems to understand the unspoken question and watches my brother for me as I head to the door.

Upon entering the house, I'm surprised by the smell of pancakes and coffee. I double back, checking the door number, making sure I'm in the right house. I am, and enter once again.

I find my mom in the kitchen, cooking as the Child Services man, not caring to learn his name, sits at the small table which is still littered with Kevin's Physics books, the only mess in the entire kitchen and living room areas of our small house.

"Um...hello?" I greet/ask the two silent adults as I make my presence known, still utterly confused.

"Logan! How are you?" My mom welcomes me home. She's so cheerful that I'm positive she's high. I haven't seen my mom this 'happy' in so long.

"Eh...hi mom. I'm okay, you?"

"I'm great, sweetheart! Where's Kevin?" She asks while equally distributing all the pancakes among the plates that she set aside.

"Why is he here?" I point to the suited man at the kitchen table.

"Welfare check." The man answers as he stands and towers over me. "I'm happily surprised. This is a big improvement." He gestures to the clean house and the seemingly sober mother cooking in the kitchen. He leans closer to me. "But I don't buy it, kid. I'll be back." He says goodbye to my mom and I walk him outside, watching as he gets in his sedan and I walk to Kelley who now has an arm around my brother's shoulders.

"Is everything okay?" O'Hara asks as I approach, my brother watching me closely.

"Everything is fine." I glance back to my house before looking around and deciding that it's not safe for her out here. "Do you want to come in?"

"Lo..." Kevin cuts in, obviously worried about the mess we live in, and our mother. I shake my head at him.

"My mom made a pancake mountain."

"In that case, I'd love to!"

Kevin and I both chuckle at her childishness, finding it endearing. We lead her to our house, and into the kitchen.

"Who is this?" Mom asks us as she eyes Kelley who sends her a friendly smile.

"This is Kelley, mom. The girl Logan doesn't shut up about!"

I slap him upside the head as Kelley tries to giggle quietly but I still hear her. My brother and I watch in curiosity as our mom walked towards Kelley. I release a breath I hadn't realized I was holding when my mom greets Kelley warmly.

Yep. She's definitely gotta be high to be this nice.

We spend the rest of the afternoon together. Kelley getting to know Kevin and I, my mom left to do her own thing. Not having a clue where she is, I make it my mission to get Kelley out of the house before my mom comes back. Having a feeling that my mom is out getting wasted wherever it is she drinks, I walk Kelley out of the house and back into town where she left her car at the café.

"Your brother is amazing." She gushes. I can't fight the smile that grows on my face as I listen to her talk about Kevin.

"He is. He seems to like you, too."

"Duh." Kelley nudges me playfully with her shoulder as we close in on her car. "Thanks for letting me meet him." She stops at the drivers door, unlocking her car and opening it. "And thanks for talking about me. 'all the time'." Kelley smirks as she closes the distance between us, while I stand in front of her, completely frozen on the spot.

"I..uh, I-I don't-that's an exaggeration."

"You're adorable." O'Hara laughs, making me blush. "It might be a little out there, but I'm going home soon. Will you have dinner with me tomorrow?"

I watch as she bites her lip, pulling me in. When she smiles at me, obviously knowing why I'm staring at her, I'm freed from my daydream. Heat rises through my body when I notice how close she's still standing to me.

"I'd love to."

"Great." She kisses my cheek and pulls away. "I'll text you later with the details. Bye Logan."

Finding it difficult to talk, I simply wave and watch as she gets into her car, starts the engine and sends me one last beautiful smile before she drives away.

I make my way home, keeping my head down as I go. I pass by thugs on street corners, junkies spilling out of every nook and cranny, completely wasted.

"Aye, Lo. Get home safe!" I hear D, the owner of a bar in town yell at me. My mom used to drink there until D kicked her out for starting fights with his other regulars.

I nod, letting him know that I heard him and I pick up my pace to get home.

Finally getting to my destination, I walk through the door and kick my shoes off, sighing as I can finally relax.

"So you have a girlfriend? I should have known you were a dyke." my mom slurs, finally breaking from her sham of an act as 'caring mother'.

Not answering her, I walk away, heading to my brother's room to make sure he's ready for bed while my mom mumbles incoherent sentences to herself as she stumbles and falls onto the couch.

"Don't listen to her. I like Kelley, and I can tell that you do, too."

"Do you ever get tired of being right all the time?" I ask Kevin, ruffling his hair until he slaps my hands away.

"Nope. I love it. Plus, who else would keep you right?" He smirks at me.  "Did you ask her out?"

"No-"

"Logan!" He cuts in and whines. "Man up, she's a catch!"

"She asked me out."

I laugh as he leaps from his bed, proceeding to do what can only be loosely described as a jig. I push back down on his seat, simply because he's an awful dancer.

"I'm glad she did, you deserve to be happy, Logan."

"Thanks." Speaking softly as I admire my brother. He always looks out for me, because I do the same for him. "Finish your homework and I'll take you out for dinner when you're done. Okay?"

He only nods, grabbing a pencil from his tidy and opens up his advanced calculus book.