“I’ll go home now and talk to Luke.”
“And I’ll call you by the end of the day. We’ll get something worked out and begin this week.”
Levi left the administration office and hit the front doors of the school, pushing through before he let himself expel the breath he’d been holding. He stopped in his tracks, scrubbed a hand over his face, and rolled his tense shoulders. He was so in over his head.
Why the hell wasn’t Luke going to school, and what did he even say to the kid about that? More importantly, why hadn’t Logan told him Luke was ditching class?
Levi started toward the car, praying for some insight, hoping something inventive and helpful would come to mind on the two miles it took for him to drive home.
Nothing. Not a single useful idea. And when he pulled into the driveway and glanced toward the windows, the place looked dark, as if no one were home. That would add a whole new layer of bullshit to this Luke deal. If the kid wasn’t home, where did he go every day?
Levi pushed open the front door and looked around. The whole house was completely dark. The living room was stuffy and warm. His heart sank, and he prayed the neighborhood had had an electrical outage. Most likely not the case, and he let out a heavy sigh as he walked through the living room toward Luke and Logan’s bedroom. He pushed open the door to see Luke sound asleep in bed.
“Get up, Luke,” Levi said and reached down to shake his foot. His brother was out cold but woke with a start.
“What? What happened?” he asked groggily.
“Nothing happened except your school called me at work. I had a meeting with Mrs. Rustenhaven, so I need to talk to you. Get up.”
Luke groaned and dropped his head back on the pillow.
“You had to know this was coming. A thirty in physics? Seriously? You’re smarter than all of us.”
Levi left the room, going toward the kitchen. Along the way, he picked up Logan’s leftover plate from last night’s dinner and a half-full glass of milk. He didn’t dare take a whiff. He also grabbed Logan’s stinky T-shirt and smelly socks off the sofa. Logan was the pig of the house. He deposited the dishes in the sink and tossed the clothes in the washroom before going to the refrigerator. He pulled the electric bill from underneath the magnet.
Shit, he’d missed the final cutoff date. Damn. As if to test the theory, he went for the kitchen light switch and flipped it on. The damn thing didn’t work. His stomach sank and a feeling of hopelessness sat on his chest. How much would that cost to get turned back on?
Levi went for the cabinet, pulling out a glass and filling it with tap water before calling the electric company. With his phone on speaker mode, he listened to the automated voice message, pressing number one because he spoke English, then number two to pay his bill. He rested his ass against the counter, drinking the water, listening for any sign that Luke had actually gotten out of bed while continuing to follow the directions from the automated phone prompts.
Luke walked inside the kitchen and made his way over to the refrigerator, which was pretty damn bare. Between Luke and Logan, they ate a shit ton of food. Luke pulled out the gallon of milk, took several long gulps directly from the jug before pushing it back inside and shutting the door with his foot.
“You should keep that door closed. The electricity got turned off,” Levi announced as if it weren’t embarrassingly obvious.
“Yeah, they were doing it when I got home,” Luke replied, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
“You shoulda called me,” Levi said.
“I asked them if it would help and they said no. You had to call in and pay.” Luke crossed his arms on the kitchen table and dropped his head there.
Levi watched his brother before he entered his credit card number into the phone, not even sure the charge would go through. It cost an extra hundred twenty-five bucks to get the electricity turned back on today. He had to get better about the bills. When he got the confirmation number, he breathed a sigh of relief. He still had that hundred-dollar bill from last night, but didn’t have the time to stop by the bank. He’d already be docked two hours for the time he’d missed at work today.
He quickly jotted down the payment confirmation number and ended the call. He tossed the electric bill on the counter and turned back, resting his ass against the edge, staring at the top of Luke’s head. He had no idea where to begin. Levi lowered his head, pressing his fingers into his eyes until weird spots and shifting patterns appeared from the pressure.