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enough to summon me into higher spirits.
    “Come on, man. Dad’s calling on the intercom.” Kevin’s voice was in my doorway. I groaned and rolled over. I so didn’t want to get up yet. If I went back to sleep now, maybe I would sleep off the anger that I’d woken up with. “You know if he comes up to get you that you’ll have a face full of water.” Kevin’s dad didn’t yell for anyone to get up. He called, and we had twenty minutes to get downstairs. If we didn’t make it, he’d come up with a glass of water and pour it over our heads.
    I sat up and rubbed a hand over my face. I felt gross and wanted a shower with a desperation that bordered on obsession. I’m all about feeling clean. I didn’t care about getting dirty, mind you, but I typically always showered before bed, and the fact that I’d gone to bed with sweat on my body was one of those OCD things that drove me up a wall. I guessed it could wait until after breakfast, though.
    With Kevin’s harassment, I managed to make it downstairs and into the kitchen. It was a super homey place to be. It looked like one of those custom-built country kitchens that I’d seen on TV. Everything was white and soft brown with stainless-steel appliances uniformly scattered throughout the space. Tina had her back turned and was still in her favorite pink lounge pants and a white tank top. It wasn’t Leave It To Beaver traditional mom-wear but it fit in smoothly with the housewives around Biltmore. She’d pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Kevin came by his blond hair honest because both of his parents shared the trait.
    Kevin’s dad, Joshua, was already at his place at the head of the table, reading his Sports Illustrated magazine and sipping coffee. They never slept in past nine, no matter how late they’d been up the night before. They were absolute freaks of nature in that way. He raised green eyes that were the same color as Kev’s. “Well, hi there, Jason. Nice to know you actually decided to stick around for breakfast for once. I haven’t seen you in the daylight in ages,” he teased. He sounded gruff, but that was just Joshua. He was a big-ass teddy bear just like Kevin. “Come give me a hug.” I went willingly as he stood, and I was enveloped in the scent of Old Spice and coffee. Not a bad combination.
    I hugged him tight, and my throat suddenly constricted for some reason. This was how it was supposed to be for me. This was how I was supposed to feel when a parental figure touched me. He tensed as I trembled. “What’s the matter, son?” It was the “son” that nearly undid me. I wanted to cry like a little girl but stamped down on the impulse. I didn’t want to ruin this. I held onto him for longer than I probably should have, my head buried in his chest as I regained my composure. He gave me a squeeze as I pulled back.
    “Nothing, sir,” I said respectfully, giving him my signature happy-go-lucky face. “Just super tired and you smell sooooo good.” He pretended to cuff my head but ended up ruffling my hair. I sat down in my usual seat and began counting the seconds before I could leave. I hated feeling like that, but I felt vulnerable today, and I was afraid that if I stayed I’d end up doing something stupid, like cry.
    “So what are you boys getting into today?” Joshua asked as Tina brought over a mountain of pancakes and sausage. My stomach grumbled loudly. I couldn’t wait.
    “I’ve got to go into work at four,” I said, forking a mouthful of pancakes into my mouth. Hmm, they were blueberry. Yum.
    “How is that new job going, Jason?” Joshua asked.
    I shrugged. “It’s a paycheck.” My measly paycheck every couple weeks saved my ass, but I didn’t say that aloud. He nodded.
    “So long as you’re keeping up with your studies.” They all knew I was trying to get a scholarship. It would be the only way I’d be able to go. With a 4.3 GPA, getting into a school wasn’t the problem—paying for it was.
    “I told