Chapter Two

Just as I figured, Michael was there to pick us up when the 3:15 bell rang for school to be let out. He was there in Carly's 1979 tan Jeep Cherokee—which, miraculously, always had the underlying smell of marijuana no matter what she put it in it to try and make the smell go away.

"Hey, Mike." Sam was the first to open the door and toss his bookbag into the front seat. I watched as his history book toppled out of it and him hurry to pick it up as he sat in the front passenger seat.

"Hey Sam, hey Case." Mike said, his voice almost monotone. I tossed my bookbag into the backseat as I got in, Vanessa behind me. "Oh, you again," he teased her as she got in the backseat.

"I really wasn't looking forward to seeing that ugly face of yours again, Michael. Damn." She teased back. I heard a slight laugh emanate from Michael's throat as he started driving.

"So. I guess Mom hasn't come back yet?" I piped up, leaning on the door. Michael shook his head, and I saw his brown curls sway in the rearview mirror.

"Nope. She's probably home now, but she wasn't when I got there."

"Well, what's there to figure out? You know? Dad cheated on Mom. Dad left Mom for bimbo. Mom wants full custody. Both Sam and I said that we wanted to live with Mom here in Phoenix and not with our father. Quite a few times. Seems pretty black and white to me." I spat softly, looking out the window.

"Yeah, I know Case, but these court things always drag their feet. You never know, the judge may not rule in Mom's favor."

"Why not? She has the house." Sam objected. "She's got the house and that is where Casey and I said we wanted to be so that's all that needs to be said, right?"

Michael looked at Sam for a moment, before looking back at the road. "Yeah, but up until Mom and Dad split Mom was always at home."

"So?"

"So, she's only been working a few months. Maybe the judge will be a prick about it. I highly doubt it, but it's a possibility."

I sat up, shoving my head between Michael and Sam's seats and practically—by accident—shoving Vanessa to the side and making her let out a soft yell of surprise—and looked at the both of them. "If the court rules that we have to live with that man, I'm running away and coming back here." I said, a matter-of-fact tone to my voice.

"Me too." Sam nodded his head in agreement. Michael shook his head at the both of us.

"You can't do that."

"Why not?" I snapped. I watched my older brother open his mouth to speak, but when he did a voice from behind us spoke instead.

"Because your Mom could get in trouble, and so could you two." Vanessa put her two cents in. "It isn't worth it, honestly. Besides, that won't happen. I highly doubt the judge will rule in your father's favor."

I snorted in retaliation, sitting back down in my seat. Crossing my arms, I slumped down and looked out the window again as we drove home, the car ride silent except for the quiet humming of Eddie Money's Take Me Home Tonight that played ever so softly on the radio.

Michael pulled up to our driveway of our two story, brick home and stopped to let us out. He was going to drive a few houses down to drop off Carly's Jeep. I glanced in the driveway and saw Mom's 1968 Toyota Land Cruiser parked in its normal spot. Sam and I looked at each other before we started towards the door. I stopped and my brother looked at me.

"What's up?" he slung his backpack better over his shoulder.

"I don't know. I think I'm actually scared to go in now." I looked at him.

"Don't be," Vanessa nudged me. "I'm sure everything worked out some way."

"Shit, I hope you're right." I shook my head, making my way to the front door, Sam and Vanessa trailing me. I opened the front door, and the first thing that greeted me was barking from Nanook, the "family" dog. I say family loosely because Nanook and Sam are practically joined at the hip. We got him when Sam and I were twelve and ever since those two were like peas in a pod. Sam's face immediately lit up and he got down on his knees as the black, grey and white Alaskan Malamute bounded towards him.

"Hey, Nanook. Hey boy! Hey!" he started petting him, laughing as Nanook danced excitedly around him. "Hey, I missed you too."

The second thing that greeted me was the chopping from the kitchen. This meant one of two things. Either we were going to have roast for dinner, which took forever to cook, and we wouldn't eat until seven, or we were going to have stew, which took until about six.

"Mom?" I made my way towards the kitchen. I heard my mother's voice answer me back.

"In here, Casey."

I don't know what it is about Mom, but just hearing her voice brought a sense of calm over my body. I knew she was home, but just hearing her home calmed me down. Mom had that ability. Whatever was going on that was wrong in my life she had a way of calming me down. Must be some kind of motherly gift that she had.

I walked into the kitchen, and there was Mom just chopping away on the cutting boards. Onions. No crockpot in sight. Stew it was. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Hey. How was your day?"

I shrugged. "It was fine." I set my backpack on the counter as Sam made his way in.

"Hey, Mom." He went over to her and gave her a brief hug, since her hands were full.

"Hey, Sam. Where's your brother?" Mom smiled softly, hugging him back as best she could.

"He's dropping the car off at Carly's house." Sam answered simply, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket on the counter beside him and biting a large chunk out of it. Mom nodded her head in response and slid the onions into the pot.

"Well, do you two want the good news or the bad news first?" she asked, washing her hands in the sink. I saw Vanessa pop her head into the kitchen briefly before popping it right back out. I grabbed two apples and tossed one her way. I heard it hit the floor once and then footsteps towards the bathroom. My only assumption was that Vanessa didn't want to eat a granny smith that was covered in Nanook's fur, and I honestly couldn't blame her.

"What's the good news?" Sam asked. Mom couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as she dried her hands.

"The good news is that the judge took your statements into account. You don't have to move in with your father."

Sam and I both let out a loud "Yes!" before hugging one another and hugging Mom before jumping up and down in excitement. The front door opened and closed, and I heard Nanook bark again. Michael's gruff voice greeted the dog before he made his way into the kitchen.

"What's going on? I heard yelling." He leaned on the counter. "Sammy, pass me an apple?" he nodded his head to the fruit basket. Sam grabbed an apple and tossed it his way, the grin still on his face. "Thanks."

"We get to stay here!" I answered Mike's question.

"We don't have to move to Tucson!" Sam added, excitedly. Michael smiled.

"Good. See, I told you."

"Well, don't get too excited just yet." Mom shook her head, looking at the three of us. "You haven't heard the bad news."

"We don't have to stay there during the weekends do we?" I groaned. Mom shook her head.

"No, Casey, nothing like that." She looked sternly at both my twin and me. "Though I should say that he is your father, and you should love him and respect him, regardless of the things he has done."

"Mom, I love you but," Sam took a bite out of his apple again. "Kinda hard to do right now. At least it's hard to respect him after everything he did."

"I understand that, but he's still your father." Mom reiterated. I shrugged, taking a bite out of my own apple.

"What's the bad news?" I asked her. Mom sighed.

"Well, there's no easy way to say this but… we have to move."

"Move?" Michael furrowed his eyebrows. "Why?"

"Because your father won this house in the divorce." Mom began to explain.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam groaned. "Why?"

"This is my house. I grew up here. I can't just move!" I added. Michael and Mom exchanged looks. I watched them. It was clear they talked about this before.

"Because the house is in Dad's name and Dad's name only." Michael explained as he played with the apple in his hand. "He got this house from Grandpa Emerson after he passed away. He married Mom a year later."

I saw Sam's face drop. "Where will we go?"

"Well," Mom crossed her arms loosely across her chest. "I don't really have the money saved up for a new house or apartment. The divorce drained everything. I'm going to be completely honest with the three of you."

"So, we're screwed, is that what you're saying?" I sighed. Mom shook her head.

"No, not really. We do have one option."

"And what's that?" Sam asked.

"Well," Mom sighed softly. "We could move in with your grandfather in Santa Carla."

"Santa Carla? Isn't that all the way in California?" I asked. Mom nodded her head.

"Yes."

"But.." Sam shook his head. "But Mom, I don't want to leave Phoenix."

Mom smiled sweetly; the understanding look she gave us during hard times like this ever so prominent in her eyes. "I know honey, but, we don't really have any other choice." She patted his cheek gently. "We'll be just fine. You'll see. It won't be as bad as you think it is. I promise."

"When do we have to move?" I asked, suddenly losing my appetite.

"By the first of June. So, the two of you can finish out your sophomore year of school. The judge's date, not your father's."

"Have you talked to grandpa yet?" Michael asked.

"Not yet. I was going to call him tonight and talk to him about it." Mom explained. "I'm sure he won't mind. I'm know it gets lonely since Mom's been gone."

"Grandpa's a bit eccentric isn't he? I don't really remember. I haven't seen him since I was a kid." I tossed the apple between my hands.

"A bit, yeah," Mom nodded her head, smiling softly.

"Well at least Santa Carla will be a bit fun." I laughed softly, and Mom laughed to herself, shaking her head as she went back to cooking the food.

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"Santa Carla, huh? Never heard of it."

"Well, it exists. We used to go visit during the summer when we were kids." I sighed softly as I washed the dishes. "And as soon as school's out that's where we're going. Permanently."

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "Your Dad is such an asshole. I can't believe he's doing this to you guys." She grabbed the next dish, drying it. I heard Sam walk in and saw him open the fridge, grabbing a soda. Behind him, Nanook's claws clacked on the tile.

"You think it's going to suck as bad as I think it is?" Sam asked, grabbing the bottle opener.

"Mom makes it seem like it won't be that bad. Maybe it won't be. Who knows?" I sighed, shaking my head.

"Yeah, well, I still say it's a dick move on Dad's part." Sam muttered. Vanessa nodded.

"I agree. At least you won't have to see him for a while." She added in. "Look at the bright side."

"I'll bet he doesn't even make us come back for Christmas. What do you think?" I looked at Sam. Sam shook his head.

"Oh, I doubt it. He has his other family now." He sighed. "Come on, Nanook."

I looked at Vanessa. "I'm going to miss the shit out of you."

Vanessa smiled softly. "I'm gonna miss you too. At least we can still call." She shrugged. "Or write letters."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Maybe you can visit during the summer!" I grinned.

"Oh, yeah!" Vanessa grinned back. "Only after the first couple weeks of June. Mom, Dad and I are going to The Bahamas for a vacation."

"Nice." I smiled, handing her the last dish and drying my hands off.