5. Chapter 5

Dev and Evan both came to see me off, so we drove to our grandfather's house first before heading to the Army recruiter's office. Evan was starting his junior year of high school next year. Devon already had a degree in horticulture and was using what he'd learned to help streamline our grandfather's farm. Our other brother, Michael, was in his second year of college, and close to obtaining his business degree. He hoped to follow in my father's footsteps with real estate and investments.

As we rounded the bend and closed in on our Pop's house, I noticed he was talking to someone on his porch.

"I swear, that girl is going to steal our inheritance one day," Evan complained.

"What? Why would you say that. She's just the weird girl that lives across the street, right?" I knew the story my father had told me about her family, but he had sworn me to secrecy, so I had to play dumb even as my curiosity about the girl was piqued.

"Seriously, Max? Where have you been for the last four or five years?" My older brother asked instead of just answering my damn question.

"I'm being for real. Why is Evan worried she'll steal our inheritance?"

Evan was the one to answer. "I think her name is Petal, or Flower or something weird. Pretty sure that's what I heard Pops call her."

"Don't you guys think it's weird that she's always hanging out with Pops?"

"You really are a clueless asshole, man," Devon answered. He glared at me and then at our little brother. "You are, too, since you're in the same grade as her, Evan. Her name is Posie Gamble. That's her family's farm across the street and her mom owns the bakery in town."

"Wait, that's her mom's bakery? How did I not know this?" I asked, honestly curious how something so major could slip right by me. I tried to remember my whole conversation with my dad. Did he mention that? Maybe I was too hung up on the rest of the crazy story he told me to hear that part.

"Because you're a self-absorbed idiot who only sees girls when they wear pounds of makeup, barely any clothes, and are ready to jump on your Johnson when you tell them to. Posie is a sweet girl, so I'm not surprised she fell under your radar."

"What is she doing with Pops?"

"He really never talked to you about her?" Devon asked as we pulled into the driveway. My eyes tracked her path as she hightailed it off the porch and across the street to her house.

"No. I think he mentioned that I should get to know the girl across the street a few times. He said we'd have a lot in common, but I had no clue who he was talking about." I shrugged and hauled my butt out of the truck, not giving it any further thought.

"Pops!" I yelled as he stood there on the porch with worried eyes trained across the street. "What's got you so interested in the Gamble kid?" I asked. My Pops' angry glare sent a chill up my spine as my older brother popped me in the back of the head for good measure.

"Is everything okay?" Pops called to the girl while ignoring me. She stood there, frozen in front of the door, the only movement a subtle shaking of her shoulders.

Slowly, her head slid back and forth, and her body pivoted so that her watery eyes connected with Pops'. He was off the porch and on his way to her before any of us could even blink.

We all watched as he pulled her into his arms and rocked her back and forth. Pops took a note from her hands and read it before crumpling the thing and throwing it to the ground. I don't know when my feet started moving beneath me, but my brothers shadowed my movement as we all drew closer to the edge of the road.

"Do you have a key, little Petal?"

She shook her head. "I didn't think I'd need it, since I was just across the street."

"Okay, come back to my house, and we'll figure everything out. I'll get Johnny down here to open the house for you."

"What's going to happen if she doesn't come back?"

"Don't you worry about that. Nothing is going to happen to you."

"How do you know?"

"Your dad made sure of it a long time ago, sweetheart. I'll explain everything once we get you settled."

The whole conversation sounded like a strange puzzle to me. I guessed the girl didn't know her own family's history. Pops ignored us as he sheltered the girl from our view when he brought her back across the street to his house. "Devon, I need you for a minute."

Devon complied and followed immediately after our grandfather, but I had clues to gather instead. I walked in the opposite direction and went to collect the crumpled piece of paper that Pops had thrown on the porch.

"What's it say?" Evan asked.

I uncrumpled the letter and started to read it out loud for Evan's benefit.

Posie,

The bakery is in default with the bank. I know how to bake, not run a business. I sold it off to Mrs. Fisher rather than have the bank take it back. There wasn't much left after the bank was paid, but the rest is in an account for you.

I can't do this anymore. Your father was my everything, even if I wasn't his. It hurts too much to breathe without him. I promised if anything ever happened, I would wait until you were older. Waiting just became too much. Go to Jack, he'll know what to do.

Mom

"What did you just read, Max?" My startled brother couldn't hide the panic in his voice as I side-stepped him and moved to look into the window. Thank Christ the girl hadn't done the same. Her mother was hanging from the rafter not ten feet from the front door. That's the image she wanted her daughter to have after reading her note. What a sadistic piece of work. I wanted to bring her back to life and throttle her until she was dead again. Posie might have been a stranger to me, but no one deserved to come home to this kind of a shitshow.

Devon came jogging over to us. "Pops said he called a locksmith to come out and open the house, so she can get some of her things."

"You can't let her in there. We need to call the police."

"What? Why?"

I pulled my older brother to the window and told him to look. Judging by the surprised intake of breath, he hadn't been prepared for what he saw, which meant my grandfather might have misunderstood the note. "She never left," Devon whispered.

"She left, but in a permanent way."

"Go, quietly tell Pops." Devon told our younger brother, then he kicked the front door in and charged inside to try to save a woman who I could already tell was long past saving.

"She didn't even tell the poor girl she loved her," I mentioned as my brother spun away from the window and toward me. I handed him the note and he read it, despite his shaking hands.

"Damn. Poor girl."

"Do I need to call my recruiter and tell him I can't leave right now?"

"Nah, no need. You didn't even know her. I'm going to let Pops know that I have to get you there before they count you as absent without leave or some shit."

"I don't think you can be AWOL when you haven't even gone to basic training yet," I countered, although, I'd signed a contract, so that might not be entirely accurate. I had a lot to learn about the military, considering I was the first in my family to join.

Devon ran inside and I stayed out by his truck. When he came out he indicated with a nod for me to get in. "What's going on?" I asked.

"Mom's coming to help Pops with whatever needs to be handled for Posie. I'm going to take you to the recruiter so he can get you off to the bus or whatever they're putting you on to ship you to Fort Benning."

"So, that girl is suddenly an orphan, and I'm supposed to just leave?"

"Not quite," Devon hummed his answer.

"What's that mean?"

"I think Pops is going to take her in. He's been acting as a surrogate grandparent to her for years, anyway. I guess there was something legal in place in case anything ever happened to her parents he would get custody of her. And you said yourself that you don't know her, so why they hell would you stay behind? There's nothing you can do for her." For some reason that didn't sit well with me. All the times Pops had tried to talk me into meeting the neighbor girl came back to mind.

"Why in the hell didn't this girl factor into our lives more, if they're so close?"

"For me, it was because I was older. I remember her being at Pops' house a lot after Grams passed away, just before I headed off to college. Not sure why you never noticed her."

"This feels like the wrong time to leave," I admitted again.

"It's now or never, Max. There's always going to be something that makes it feel like the wrong time. Go, do your thing. Figure out what you want out of life. I'm proud of you, man. The Army is no small thing, but I think you're going to make the most of it. Stay safe and come back home to us when you've had your fill of adventure."

I watched my grandfather's farm grow further and further away in the rearview as we drove in the opposite direction of where I wanted to be in that moment. My brother was right, though. No matter when I left, there would always be something here that tried to hold me back. This town had a way of latching onto you and holding tight.

"Make sure Pops isn't taken advantage of," I instructed my brother.

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure Pops has been handling his own shit long enough to be able to protect himself. That girl means something to him."

I nodded and we both stayed silent for the rest of the drive. Once we got there, I hugged my brother and sent him back on his way from the parking lot.

"Where's your family?" Sgt. Hayes asked as he looked past me when I opened the door.

"There was an emergency," I admitted.

"Well, we can push your leave date if need be."

"Nah, it's all good. My grandfather's neighbor kid lost her mom today. Suicide. He's taking her in. I don't even know her, so there's no need to push anything."

"That's tough." I nodded in agreement with Sgt. Hayes' assessment. "If you're sure?"

"Positive."

"Let's get you downrange then."

"Downrange?" I asked.

Sgt. Hayes chuckled at me. "It's weird having a recruit in these parts that isn't from a military family. Don't worry, you'll pick up on our language quickly."

He never did explain what he meant, just grabbed the things he needed and put me in his car as we drove away from my hometown and toward my future.