Emmet and Donya took care of Emmy, but I wouldn’t have been able to get Tack and Mayson back to my house safely without Leo. He helped me get them into Tack’s car and drove us home, regardless of the fact that he still didn’t even have a license. Then he helped me get them into the house where we deposited them on the living room couch instead of fighting to get them up the stairs. Fortunately, my parents were away for the weekend for a funeral. Then again, maybe if they had been home, the paths that both Mayson, Tack, and Emmy continued down could have been diverted.
When Leslie and I walked through the door, I was surprised to nearly run into my cousin Emmy. She was walking out of my kitchen, barefoot, with a soda tucked under her arm and a huge bag of cheese curls in her hand. One look at her eyes and I knew she was high.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her just as I heard Mayson’s voice from the basement. “What are you both doing here?”
“Nice to you see you, too, cousin,” Emmy said, stuffing a cheese curl into her mouth. “We came to see your brother.”
Leslie looked at her watch and her brow furrowed as she looked at Em. “It’s only a little after three. Didn’t you guys go to school today?”
Emmy waved a hand dismissively. “We took an unauthorized day off.”
My stomach contracted with uneasiness as I looked toward the stairs to the basement. My dad was at work and my mom was working one of her two shifts for the week at a local hospital. There was a lot that could have happened during the day without any parental guidance. Tack had been hanging out with Mayson and Emmy a lot. It was weird on many levels. Up until recently, Tack hadn’t been super close with any of the cousins. The three of us were close in age and had been friends since we were all still in diapers, especially Mayson and I, but Tack always looked at Em and May as annoying little sisters he never wished he had. Also, it wasn’t like they were close in age. Tack had three years on Em and five on Mayson. Why was a nineteen-year-old guy hanging out with a fourteen-year-old girl? If we weren’t all related, I would feel a little skeeved out about that.
Things had changed so much. Tack had changed since that day on the beach. He started college and played football as a Temple Owl in September, but during his fourth game, he sustained a concussion and a career altering knee injury. His college football career and aspirations of getting drafted into the NFL came to an abrupt halt during one play in the third quarter. After the injury, Tack was understandably bitter, especially when it was confirmed that he would be out for the entire season with no guarantee that he would be able to play the following year. He missed some school because of his injury and in the end, decided to miss the rest of the semester so that he could give his knee time to heal. He was cranky and downright mean sometimes. I was doing my best to be understanding, but it was more than just a grumpy disposition. Something else was off about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it, and the whole new development of him hanging out with the girls was unsettling. Mayson had been dabbling in drugs since she was twelve and Emmy must have had a bottle of booze in her hand when she came out of the womb, but for the most part, in the past, they both seemed stable and had their stuff together, but I wasn’t so sure anymore. I was worried about all three of them, truth be told, but especially Tack. I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were getting into something terrible.
Later that evening after Tack left to drive Mayson and Emmy home, I rushed into his room with Leslie on my heels.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a loud whisper.
I stood in the middle of his messy room, unsure where to start first. “I think he’s doing drugs,” I said, voicing my thoughts aloud for the first time.
“He told you he wasn’t, right?” she asked hesitantly.
When Leslie and I walked through the door, I was surprised to nearly run into my cousin Emmy. She was walking out of my kitchen, barefoot, with a soda tucked under her arm and a huge bag of cheese curls in her hand. One look at her eyes and I knew she was high.
“What are you doing here?” I asked her just as I heard Mayson’s voice from the basement. “What are you both doing here?”
“Nice to you see you, too, cousin,” Emmy said, stuffing a cheese curl into her mouth. “We came to see your brother.”
Leslie looked at her watch and her brow furrowed as she looked at Em. “It’s only a little after three. Didn’t you guys go to school today?”
Emmy waved a hand dismissively. “We took an unauthorized day off.”
My stomach contracted with uneasiness as I looked toward the stairs to the basement. My dad was at work and my mom was working one of her two shifts for the week at a local hospital. There was a lot that could have happened during the day without any parental guidance. Tack had been hanging out with Mayson and Emmy a lot. It was weird on many levels. Up until recently, Tack hadn’t been super close with any of the cousins. The three of us were close in age and had been friends since we were all still in diapers, especially Mayson and I, but Tack always looked at Em and May as annoying little sisters he never wished he had. Also, it wasn’t like they were close in age. Tack had three years on Em and five on Mayson. Why was a nineteen-year-old guy hanging out with a fourteen-year-old girl? If we weren’t all related, I would feel a little skeeved out about that.
Things had changed so much. Tack had changed since that day on the beach. He started college and played football as a Temple Owl in September, but during his fourth game, he sustained a concussion and a career altering knee injury. His college football career and aspirations of getting drafted into the NFL came to an abrupt halt during one play in the third quarter. After the injury, Tack was understandably bitter, especially when it was confirmed that he would be out for the entire season with no guarantee that he would be able to play the following year. He missed some school because of his injury and in the end, decided to miss the rest of the semester so that he could give his knee time to heal. He was cranky and downright mean sometimes. I was doing my best to be understanding, but it was more than just a grumpy disposition. Something else was off about him, but I couldn’t put my finger on it, and the whole new development of him hanging out with the girls was unsettling. Mayson had been dabbling in drugs since she was twelve and Emmy must have had a bottle of booze in her hand when she came out of the womb, but for the most part, in the past, they both seemed stable and had their stuff together, but I wasn’t so sure anymore. I was worried about all three of them, truth be told, but especially Tack. I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were getting into something terrible.
Later that evening after Tack left to drive Mayson and Emmy home, I rushed into his room with Leslie on my heels.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a loud whisper.
I stood in the middle of his messy room, unsure where to start first. “I think he’s doing drugs,” I said, voicing my thoughts aloud for the first time.
“He told you he wasn’t, right?” she asked hesitantly.
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