Page 18 (1/2)

SAME SHIT

Different day

Different climate

New start

Or, at least that’s what I’s, searching for a clean sock—it doesn’t even have to be aone, just a clean one—in the tiny shoebox of a bedroom at Henry’s cabin Henry is my father The father whom I haven’t seen since I was eleven years old The father who bailed on our fa before that The father who as hoas only seven when our dad left for good The father who reluctantly agreed to let Jess and me stay with him when shit hit the fan back home All out of options, I unfolded the scrap of paper I’d ed to keep hidden from Mom all these years—the one with my dad’s address and phone number—and made the call We went froe, Nowhere, USA Population: us, and like three other people

I grab one of Jesse’s socks and bring the dingy, off-white thing to h I throw on my old pair of black ars, button up ray beanie over my messy hair I make a mental note to buy us some actual winter clothes with my first paycheck You’d think it would still be warranted, it’s practically Nove When people think of California, they think of pal but mountains and pine trees Which, I’ll admit, is part of its charm, and I’d probably be in heaven if it weren’t for the fact that I’ and Henry already lectured us not to turn the heat above sixty

I stand withthe roo place The htstand The closet is overfloith storage and trash bags full of God knohat It’s not that I have anything of value to —besides the few bucks I have left to my name—but it’s all I own My entire life has been reduced to three duffle bags And if I’ve learned anything fro up with an addict for a parent in Oakland, it’s always hide your shit I bend over to zip htstand and the e isn’t like The Bay Area, and while that’s clear, I’d argue that people are the saardless of their zip code We’re all flawed, selfish hu what it takes in order to survive Myself included

I suck in a fortifying breath, taking inmyself for what today holds I have to enroll Jesse in school, fight with hiet him there first, then apply to anywhere and everywhere in this one-horse town so I can pick up a job Henry said he could try to find so forelse, but what the hell do I know about cars? Iabout maintenance Plus, I need to workthe door shut behind me

“Jess!” I yell once I enter the living roo hanging off the edge of the couch “I told you to get up twenty roans and rolls over

“Why the fuck won’t you let this go?” Jessthe blanket over his eyes “I’d betime with school”

“It’s your senior year,” I argue, tugging the blanket off his face “You can’t quit now” I won’t let him Where we come from, it’s a rarity to even make it that far Myself included I dropped out my junior year to work full-tiret my choice, but I want more for him

Jess rolls his eyes and snatches an old cigarette out of the ashtray on the coffee table and lights it up before taking a drag He stands and pulls on his cruht before and throws on his beat-up brown boots, not even bothering to tie the laces

“Happy?” He shrugs “I’o”

“It’s cold out,” I scold hirabs his jacket and backpack off the recliner next to him

“You’re bossy Anyone ever tell you that?” He plucks his trusty skateboard that sits next to the front door, holding it under his arm

“You loveanother eye roll, but he can’t hide his smirk

I open the door, pulling my jacket up to my chin Holy shit, it’s cold We don’t even take two steps outside before we both stop short

“How are we getting there?” Jess asks, arching a brow

“Fuck”

Jess huffs out a laugh before turning back for the door “I’ back to bed” In The Bay, we could walk alo, and for anywhere else, we had BART So to work here