11. Rowdy

11

ROWDY

I stood on the trailer’s rickety front steps, wondering if I’d made the right choice stopping by as I gingerly knocked on the dented aluminum front door.

“What are you doing here?” Jaxon asked as he opened the door, blocking my view of the interior.

“I was on my way to pick up a friend and thought I’d stop by beforehand. Check in on you.”

The fact of the matter was, I hadn’t planned on coming by and this was nowhere near Skylar’s place, but something told me I needed to see where Jaxon and his mom lived.

The way the front porch creaked and swayed under my weight reminded me of the grody old trailer I’d grown up in. That, at least, had been on a tiny strip of land by a river where I could hunt and fish and be outside.

This fucking trailer park felt like something out of one of those postapocalyptic novels.

Jaxon shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. “My house isn’t clean.”

I shrugged. “I don’t care. I just wanted to come see how you were doing. Found out from your mom that you also skipped school this week.”

Jaxon scowled, hesitated, then finally let me in. “I don’t know why she’s gotta be telling you all of my business.”

“I don’t know,” I cracked, even as a slight smell of mold hit my nostrils and the depressing interior came into view. “Maybe because we’re both trying to keep you out of jail and off the pole.”

That made him laugh. “I have a body for football, Rowd. Not the pole.”

I stepped into his living room, which was a generous description of the tiny space. Jaxon was checking for my reaction, though, so I neutralized my face.

I’d already known it was going to be bad when I pulled onto the feeder road. This entire area was in transition. A lot of the tiny old homes just on the other side of the highway were selling for half a million dollars and up because the Austin housing market was freaking ridiculous. Meanwhile, on this side of the highway, an apartment complex known for housing a massive meth operation sat two blocks away. All of this was just a few blocks from a school.

As I’d bumped along the heavily pitted “road” to Jaxon’s trailer, I’d gotten the sense that this place was no stranger to similarly illicit substances and activities.

Compared to the rest of the park, Jaxon and Sadie’s ancient single wide with the orange-and-brown swirl shag carpeting didn’t seem so bad. I mean, the space was tiny, cluttered, and in need of significant repairs—or a match—but I suspected it was one of the nicer setups in this hellhole.

Jaxon’s eyes went to the worn gray-green recliner in the corner, where Sadie was passed out, still in her server outfit, complete with her name badge from the twenty-four-hour diner down the way and marshmallow white shoes on her feet.

“So, uh, we should try to keep quiet,” Jaxon said, worry stitching his brows. “She just got off a double shift.”

Considering it was midmorning, Sadie must’ve worked overnight. I knew she had a couple of jobs, but it killed me to think that she worked all those hours only to come home exhausted to this .

The gears started rolling in my head. I didn’t know how I would do it, or who I could get to help me, but goddammit, we had to get these two out of here. No one deserved to live like this.

“When she works overnight, does she have to leave you alone?” I whispered.

Instead of answering, he looked away.

“I’m not trying to get anybody in trouble, Jax. I just wanna know.”

“She tries not to. But she’s an assistant manager, so if somebody calls in, she hasta cover for them. I either go with her, or we just lock everything up tight.”

“Okay.”

I wondered if any of the locks in this place could withstand even a minor hip check, let alone a boot.

Focus, Rowd.

“So, football,” I said, keeping my voice low. “That’s a direction that we can go in.”

Jaxon gave me a disbelieving look. “That’s way too expensive. There’s no way we could afford the gear.”

“Let’s not totally dismiss it out of hand. I’m sure there’re organizations that help. If I could find sponsorship for the gear, would you be interested?”

He bit his lip. “Maybe.”

The uncertain sliver of hope in his voice made me clench my fists against a world that would have him believe that this sort of existence was all he could expect out of life. Only when the plastic crinkled in my tightening grip did I remember I was holding shopping bags.

“Here,” I said, shoving them into Jaxon’s hands. “Another couple pairs of shoes. They aren’t two-hundred-dollar kicks, but I figured you could probably use a few options.”

Reluctantly, he took the bags and looked inside.

“Just some sport slides, a pair of leather lace ups, and casual tennis shoes so that you don’t have to use the sportier ones when you’re just hanging around.”

“Thanks,” he whispered.

“If they’re not your style...”

“No, they’re nice.”

“How are you doing with clothes?” I asked, even as I noted that the hems on his worn jeans had been let out and still barely grazed his ankles.

He wrinkled his nose. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I’m not worried. I’m asking.”

“Why do you care?” He glanced over at his mom again, then glared at me. “She’s not going to sleep with you.”

I stepped back. “Dude. What makes you think I sleep with women?”

He blinked. “Last time you hosted the youth group, you went on forever and a day about how the B in LGBTQ isn’t silent. I thought that meant...”

“I’m not bi. I’m super, super gay. Guys only.”

Jaxon took one step away from me, then another.

I raised my brows. “Guys only, as in adult men who enjoy sleeping with other men . Not children .”

Jaxon stiffened, and he looked at his mom again.

That was not good.

“Jaxon? Has somebody made you feel uncomfortable? Or hurt you?”

He was quick to shake his head. “No. It’s just”—I nearly died in the brief pause before he finished his sentence—“sometimes adults think I’m older.”

Two bright spots of red appeared on his cheeks and he kept his eyes on the floor.

“Jaxon, I need to know, are you in danger? Is somebody trying to force you to do something?”

“No,” he answered quickly. “Some older lady hit on me when I dropped off the rent check, but JD from the front office stepped in and it was fine.”

I let out a sigh of relief, genuinely surprised that anyone who ran a place like this would protect a vulnerable kid.

“I’m glad to hear that. Though, I’m sure it was...” I paused. “Actually, I have no clue how that must’ve felt.”

He grimaced. “I froze up. Like, I wasn’t scared, exactly, but I didn’t know how to handle it. She put her hand on my chest and... blech .”

“Ugh, I know what you mean,” I said, then decided that maybe I didn’t. “It’s hard to know what to do in those situations.”

He nodded. “I wish I’d known what to say.”

“It should never be up to you to have to say the right thing, whatever that means, even though that’s not the reality of the situation.”

“Nope.”

The way he said that so quickly meant he’d likely dealt with a lot of situations that even an adult would’ve struggled with.

“Thankfully, you’re a big guy and can say ‘I’m thirteen and you need to step back’ in that deep voice of yours, and that will take care of it in most situations.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, when JD said my age, she looked scared and left superfast.”

“Good. Did you tell your mom?”

Sadness filtered through his eyes. “She’s got enough to worry about.”

“Look, I know you’re, like, six foot tall?—”

“Six foot three,” he corrected.

“Jesus, dude. How does she keep you fed?”

He pressed his lips into a line, stealing another glance at his mom. “She says she gets all of her food from the diner, but I don’t think that’s always the truth.”

A gentle breeze made the trailer whine, barely covering the sound of my heart breaking.

Oh duh.

“I forgot,” I said, going back to the front door.

“What’d you forget?” Jaxon asked, far too concerned for someone his age.

“I stopped by H-E-B before I got here. I picked up a few things for y’all.”

He followed me out to the truck, his massive feet noisy on the disintegrating metal steps. Shaking his head, he gestured at the pile of groceries in my tiny back cab.

“This is too much, Rowdy.”

“Bullshit,” I said, handing him several bags. “It’s not enough.”

He went quiet as we carried them inside and put them away.

Remembering what we’d been talking about, I faced him again. “You always need to tell your mom when someone bothers you.”

He opened his mouth, no doubt to protest, but I cut him off, barely remembering to keep my voice down. “I know you worry about her, and I know she's working as hard as she can for y’all. But something like that is always above your pay grade, mostly because it can always lead to something worse. I know you’re trying to take on everybody’s problems, and I know you look like an adult, but you are, in fact, just a kid. You deserve to be protected. And your mom would want to know that adults are hitting on you.”

“I really would,” Sadie said from the recliner.

Her eyes went to the empty bags on the counter. “Did you buy groceries?”

“Yes, and I’ve already argued with Jaxon about it, so just accept it.”

She jerked the noisy recliner into the upright position and stretched her neck before leaning forward to rest her forearms on her knees. She buried her face in her hands, stress and exhaustion radiating from her underfed figure.

“Fine. But what happened?”

Jaxon recapped what he’d told me.

“JD told her to back off?” Sadie asked, even more surprised than I’d been.

Jaxon nodded. “Yeah.”

She shook her head. “I don’t like it.”

“Why, Momma? I was kinda relieved that he stepped in.”

She brought her fist up to her mouth, a calculation in her eyes. We exchanged a glance and I gave her the go-ahead gesture because something clearly bothered her about the situation.

“Sometimes adults will do a nice thing to make you feel like you have to return the favor. And JD doesn’t do a damned thing out of the goodness of his heart.”

“What do I do if he asks me to do a bad favor for him?”

“Just tell him you need to ask me first.”

Jaxon nervously rubbed his hands together. “Okay.”

Sadie looked to be holding back tears, and it broke my heart that she had to teach her barely teenaged son to watch out for wolves in sheep’s clothing.

“Don’t worry, Momma. I’m big enough to protect myself.”

“I get that, but you’re my son. And I swear to Christ if he tries something shady, I will fucking kill him.” She looked over at me. “Sorry you had to hear that, Rowdy.”

“Don’t be,” I said, agitated and wishing I could do more. “Call me first—I have a friend of a friend who might come in handy.”

The more I thought about it, the firmer my conviction that I was gonna try to contact that friend of a friend anyway. Anderson, or something. I trusted Sadie’s instincts about this JD guy.

My phone went off.

Skylar: Are we still on for this weekend?

“Excuse me,” I said. “Let me tell my friend I’m running a few minutes behind.”

Me: Yeah, sorry I’m late. I’ll be there in thirty.

Skylar: No worries, hun. I’m just here, looking fabulous.

I chewed my lip as I looked between mother and son. I felt so goddamned helpless. I wanted to get them the fuck out of here, but after the groceries and shoes, I didn’t even have enough room on my credit card to put them up for more than a few nights at a hotel.

“Look,” I said, acid roiling in my stomach. “We’ve got more to talk about, but the first thing we can do is you call me if you have to work an overnight shift.”

Sadie flushed but nodded her head. “I normally don’t?—”

I held up my hand. “You’re between a rock and a hard place and you’re doin’ the best you can.” I looked up at Jaxon. “And I’m serious. If that guy asks you to do something shady, get away from him. And if he follows, hit him. Hard. Then call me.”

Jaxon cracked his knuckles, then grimaced at Sadie. “Sorry, Mom. I know you don’t like that.”

“Adults who go after kids are always the exception to the no hitting rule, Jax.”

I clenched my jaw, not wanting to leave. Against my better judgment, though, I turned to go.

“All right, I’m out. But I’ll keep checking in on y’all this week,” I promised.

As I left, I heard Sadie exclaim, “Real Oreos? I haven’t had real Oreos in forever.”

Something about her joy over some goddamned cookies hit me square in the chest.

I still didn’t know what I could do, but I damn well was going to do something.

“Look at this late ass ho,” Skylar said as he tossed his bag in the rear cab.

He was wearing stylish wide-leg slacks and a blouse with a pussy bow, along with a full face of makeup. I sent him a half smile as he slid in the passenger side, shut the door, and put on his seat belt. He took one look at me and pursed his lips.

“What the fuck is this face, Rowd? Tell your girl what happened.”

I rubbed the wrinkle between my brows. “I did a pop-in visit with Jaxon and his mom.”

“Really? How’d that go?”

“Not...great. I mean, I gave him a few more pairs of shoes and restocked their fridge, but it wasn’t nearly enough,” I said as I pulled into traffic.

My chest tightened with anxiety, and Skylar rubbed my shoulder.

“What do you mean, that’s not enough? You’re not some rich asshole who can make all their problems go away with a check. You’ve been very generous to them.”

I gripped the leather steering wheel, surprised by how close to tears I was. “You should’ve seen where they’re living.”

“Tell me.”

“It’s this shitty, meth lab–infested RV park off of 290.”

“Down the street from that alternative school, right?”

I turned and caught his eye. “Yeah. What do you know about that?”

Skylar adjusted his bow, lifting a shoulder. “My old stomping grounds.”

Huh. All this time I’d known Skylar, I didn’t think we’d ever talked about where he came from. Or where I did, for that matter.

“So then you know how bad it is.”

“I do.”

“Well.” I sighed, so fucking gutted by what they were dealing with. “Not only do they live in the shittiest little trailer from I’m guessing the 1970s, but Jaxon’s mom works two jobs and is an assistant manager at her diner job. So when somebody doesn’t show up for work?—”

“She has to take the shift because she’s more of a manager than the actual manager.” Skylar nods. “I know all about that.”

The thought of Skylar being raised in a similar situation fucking broke my heart.

Swallowing several inconvenient emotions, I nodded. “Even if it’s the night shift.”

“She leaves that kid at home?”

Another thing he sounded way too fucking familiar with.

“Sometimes, but I don’t think she has much of a choice.” I tapped my thumb on the steering wheel, taking deep breaths to even myself out. “Worse, I started asking questions and found out that the guy who runs the place may or may not be a skeevy asshole who’s looking for a way to make a thirteen-year-old beholden to him.”

Skylar clenched his jaw.

After a moment, he said, “You know, I get called a lot of things because I’ve got a sugar daddy. But with guys like that crawling all over the neighborhood, I decided I’d rather be beholden to a sugar daddy than some meth-dealing creep. While I was and am grateful that I’d found a genuinely sweet daddy that first time around, I’d only graduated high school the week before.”

Fuck. Dammit, Skylar.

“I didn’t wanna leave them there,” I admitted, nearly choking on the guilt. “I swear, I just wanted to kidnap both of them and figure it out later.”

Sky’s understanding smile about killed me. “You cannot kidnap a family, Rowd.”

“I know that, man. I just feel like everything I did was so... ineffective .”

Skylar smacked my arm.

“Ouch. Why did you hit me?”

He raised a perfectly sculpted brow. “Do you know what it would’ve meant to me back then to have someone— anyone —take even the smallest crumb of interest in my well-being? You are changing that kid’s life. You are changing his mom’s life. Just by being there. You showed up, Rowd. And no one shows up for people like us, so don’t you dare diminish what you did,” he said, turning to look out the window.

The silence that followed drove me crazy.

“Sky? You okay?”

Taking a deep breath, he sent me a glance, his eyes rimmed red. “I am fine. I promise. But I got to fine all by myself, and I would never wish that on anyone.”

“Well. Shit.” I held out my hand.

He took it and we stayed that way until we got past the city. By the time we got to my place, we had settled, but so had my resolve.