5. Sail

sail

. . .

W hat was I thinking ?

He hadn’t been. That was the problem. Not now and certainly not when he drank his way through half his junior year and the beginning of his senior year of college. He wasn’t an alcoholic. Sail had a problem, though; one he was working on rectifying. It was unfortunate for him that it took being booted out of school to see how fucked up his life had become. Since the day Dean Holmes told him to get his ass off campus, Sail hadn’t had a drop to drink.

Still, as soon as he saw Galvin walk out the backdoor, he had to investigate. It took him hardly any time to find out she lived in the studio above the diner. This intrigued him, and he wanted to know more. The problem was, Penny wasn’t talking, and it wasn’t like he could ask his parents. Hell, they didn’t even know he was home, let alone the reason he’d brought his sorry ass back to Seaport.

The only plausible thing to do was to put himself in her line of sight. Front and center where she couldn’t miss him. He figured, if anything, she’d come out and talk to him. Sail thought they’d had a great conversation at the diner earlier in the evening.

What could possibly go wrong?

All of it !

Never in a million years did Sail think Galvin would call the cops on him or even threaten to. He thought his charm, his devilishly handsome good looks, and his personality would be enough to get her to sit down and talk to him.

Boy was he wrong.

The entire interaction replayed in his mind as he drove to his parents’. He felt lost and out of touch with his family and the happenings in Seaport. Sure, he’d received a text from Dune about having a girlfriend, but Sail blew him off. Dune never attached himself to anyone for longer than a few weeks. Why would Sail think any differently? His brother went through women with the changing of the seasons.

Sail turned onto the driveway, and his childhood home came into view. On any other given evening—or late at night—the house would be lit with battery operated candles in each window. Most people kept the candles in their windows through the Christmas holiday, but not Pearl Carter. She liked how they made her home look all year around.

Only tonight, the entire house was lit up. It didn’t take a genius to figure out Sail’s younger brothers were having a party. Of course, the half-dressed teens running through the yard and the loud music blaring from the house were also a dead giveaway.

“Fuck my life.” Sail sighed and groaned as he parked his car near Dune’s tiny house. After shutting off his car, Sail sat there for a moment, looking at the dark wood of the lean-to shed, garage, and over all junk collector he and his dad and brothers had built years ago.

Everything in him screamed to leave, to get back on the road and just drive. He could go to California or Mexico. Find a job as a yachtsman driving rich people around on their boats.

But Sail didn’t want that.

He didn’t know what he wanted from his life, which was how he ended up in the situation he was in now. Indecisiveness and being told or encouraged to work in the family business led to his life now.

Well, most of it. He had a pretty steady hand in creating his own issues. So, the blame for his downfall wasn’t entirely on his parents.

Sail got out of this car, grabbed one of his many bags of clothes and his backpack, and made his way to the house. The Sail of last month would kick back, show these kids how to do a keg stand and call it a fun time.

The Sail of today, however, was going to be that annoying older brother about to break up a party, which would undoubtedly piss off his brothers. After tonight, the moniker of the uncool brother would be Sail’s new title of the Carter family. Oddly, he was okay with it.

With his backpack slung over his shoulders and a duffel clenched in his hand, Sail made his way toward the house. He groaned loudly when he saw some kids hanging from one of his mother’s beloved trees.

“Get out of the tree,” he yelled, sounding like father, which made him cringe a little on the inside. The kids either didn’t hear him or care to listen. He hollered louder and more forcefully, getting their attention. “You heard me. Now get!”

“What gives, man? Crew doesn’t care.”

“His mother does, and I’m sure yours has a problem with you disrespecting property. Now get out of the damn tree or else.” Sail didn’t have an “or else” in him but his father had said it so many times while he was growing up, Sail figured this was the right time to do it.

He waited for the kids to get down before he told them to get lost, that the party was over. They muttered some unpleasant words Sail didn’t care to hear again. He watched them scamper down the driveway, looking back every few steps, likely waiting to see if Sail was going to chase them. If he had the energy, he might have done it for shits and giggles.

The music blared from the house, and the stairs leading to the party he was about to break up loomed. He took each step one at a time, walked across the wide farmer’s porch his mother loved so much, and stood in the doorway, staring at a group of girls dancing with red cups in their hands. The scene was all too familiar to him. But he was a college senior, not a high school student. There was a huge difference.

Sail thought about setting his bags down, but he didn’t want some kid walking off with his stuff. He contemplated whether he should turn off the lights or find the music source and opted for the former. He flicked the switch up and down, much to the whiney disagreement of the teens near him.

“Dude, like stop. You’re going to give me a migraine,” one of the dancing girls said as she leered at him, making him feel like he needed a shower.

“Parties over,” he told the group.

“Nah, like Crew didn’t say.”

“No, but his brother did. Get out of the house.” Sail walked into the living room and scanned the space until his eyes landed on his brother sitting in the corner, nuzzling with a girl. As much as Sail wanted to bust him, Crew learned this shit from him and Dune.

“Crew Carter!” Sail yelled when he was within a foot of the youngest Carter. Crew pulled his lips away from the young woman and lazily looked at Sail and smiled . . . and then the smile morphed into an “oh shit” look. His eyes went wide, he stepped away from his friend and ran his hand through his hair.

“Sail? Uh . . .”

“End the party, Crew. Now!”

Said didn’t wait for his brother to agree or disagree. He turned toward the stairs, telling people to get out of the house as he climbed. He was going to severely hurt his brother if there was someone in his room. At the top of the landing, he turned down the hall and walked toward his room. With his hand on the doorknob, he took a deep, calming breathe and went in.

“Thank fuck,” he muttered to the empty room. He set his bags down and contemplated flopping onto his bed and closing his eyes, but now he needed to babysit his brother.

After giving him a few minutes to get the people out of the house, Sail made his way downstairs, where a few stragglers lingered.

“Crew!” Sail barked out.

“These are my friends,” Crew said nervously. “Mom and Dad said they could stay over.”

Sail eyed the two boys warily. They hung their heads in what Sail hoped was embarrassment.

“What in the hell were you thinking?” Sail asked his brother.

Crew’s head dropped.

Everyone in town knew the Carters. They were well respected, and Crew knew better than to throw a party with their parents gone.

“Where’s Tidal?”

“He’s at work,” Crew said.

“Did he know you were doing this?”

Crew shook his head.

“Get this house cleaned up.” Sail turned and went outside, back to his car to get more of his things. With each return trip to the house, the boys were busy cleaning. They moved as if their asses were on fire, which Sail appreciated. Unless Tidal came home and caught all of this, Sail intended to keep this between him and Crew.

On his last trip into the house, the boys sat on the couch. Sail put his stuff into his room, came downstairs and shut the front door. He walked into the living room and sat in their father’s recliner. It was odd for him to sit there, but he wanted his baby brother to see him as an authority figure.

“Does Tidal know you had a party?” He asked again, his way of introducing it would be their secret.

Crew shook his head.

“We’ll leave it that way.”

Crew’s head popped up. “Really?”

Sail nodded. “Look, I get it, but you’re a Carter. You can’t do this shit, Crew. Everyone knows Mom and Dad, and if something were to happen . . .” Sail trailed off.

“Thanks, Sail.”

He nodded.

“Not to be rude, but why are you here?”

Sail figured it would be best to tell his brother the truth rather than lie. Call it a life lesson or whatever. “Got in trouble at school and had to leave.” He watched Crew’s expression morph from a scared little brother into someone who felt sorry for the wrath his older brother was about to face. “That’s why I busted up your party. Dad’s going to kick my ass. He doesn’t need to kick yours too.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

“Me too,” said the boy to Crew’s right.

“Yeah, me too,” the one on the left said. “My mom would beat me if I upset her boss.”

“His mom works at Pearl’s,” Crew explained.

Sail nodded. “Don’t be like me. It’s not worth it.” He stood and went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. What felt like a permanent frown turned into a smile when he saw how much food his mom had stocked for the boys to eat while they were gone.

“I’m glad you’re home.” Crew’s voice startled Sail. He pulled out the glass container labeled Lasagna.

“Why’s that?” Sail went to the microwave and pushed the button to open the door. “Do you and your friends want some?”

“Yeah, please.” Crew pulled out some plates from the cabinet while Sail heated up the contents. “I missed you over the summer. Things weren’t the same around here without you home.”

Sail went over to Crew and roughed up his hair a bit. “Ah, thanks little brother.”

The microwave beeped and Crew yelled for his friends to come into the kitchen. They sounded like a herd of dogs at dinner time. The four of them sat around the kitchen table and ate lasagna at midnight. It wasn’t the best idea, but Sail was starving, and he had missed his mom’s cooking.

Crew finally introduced his brother to his friends, Jason and Drake, who thanked Sail again for not calling their parents and for making them something to eat.

The front door opened and Tidal’s voice rang out. “Why are all the damn lights . . . what the hell?” He stopped and stared at his older brother. “Is something wrong with Mom and Dad?”

“Nah, I needed to come home.” Sail stood and gave his brother a hug. “I’ll be here for a bit.”

“Messed up?”

It was like Tidal knew his brother so well.

“Yep,” Sail said as he sat back down. “Grab a plate and join us.”

Tidal did just that.