But what was the other option? He sure as hell didn’t want her or Tasha attempting to get home. Not only was it dangerous for them to be on the road but he didn’t want her walking into Clara and Alfred’s house reeking of alcohol. His great aunt Clara had taken them in when he was fourteen and Lex was just about to turn five after their mom had gone missing on one of her drug binges again. The State was about to intervene after his guidance counselor, Mrs. Riviera, somehow found out he’d been in their small apartment alone for two weeks.
At the time, he’d been proud of himself for taking care of things at home. He always took care of things whenever Teresa would disappear. But it’d usually be for a few days, a week tops. When she hadn’t come back after a full week, he’d started to get really worried. He was already working part-time at Alfred’s mechanic shop but it wasn’t even close to being enough to take care of Lex. And he had to go to school. He’d missed a few days because he wasn’t able to pay the babysitter who kept Lexi during the day and that’s when Mrs. Riviera had caught on.
Alfred was livid that Brian never told him Teresa was missing, but Brian didn’t see the point in burdening him with it, especially since he was handling things at home. Rather than let them end up in foster care because Brian wasn’t of legal age, Clara took them in. And when Teresa came back around looking for her “baby girl,” Clara and Alfred had stood their ground. They never went back to live with her again. At this point, Clara was really the only mom Lexi knew.
Even now, Lex didn’t have a good relationship with Teresa. Brian and Alexis visited her at Christmas last year and it was a good time, if not a little strange being in Teresa’s cramped, one-bedroom apartment in east L.A. Even still, Brian couldn’t help but be proud of her for finally starting to get her life together. She was working at a local restaurant as a waitress and appeared focused. But by the time early July rolled around, she’d gone missing again.
Brian still didn't know where she was and had sort of stopped looking. He didn’t know L.A. like he did Phoenix and it was way too big for him to know where to even begin searching. He checked the obituaries regularly and called the hospitals and jails weekly so he was fairly confident she wasn’t dead.
He swallowed the dull dread that constantly lived in his chest whenever he thought about what his mother had become and concentrated on being calm as he released a breath through his nose. He had to focus on Alexis right now.
Destiny rubbed his back and he glanced at her, trying to keep any emotion off of his face. He didn’t want her worrying about his life. Not when she was still dealing with her own demons.
“I take it Tasha’s parents aren’t there?” Brian said, his tone gruff. He wasn’t playing the role of big brother right now. He was being the parent, the daddy Alexis never knew.
“They’ll be here in like an hour,” she answered, her voice heavy with alcohol. “Well, her mom will. She works late at the hospital and her dad works for an insurance company so he’s out of town on business but me and Tasha think he’s secretly having an affair because…”
“Okay, Lex. Listen, don’t, under any circumstances, leave there. You’re drunk and I don't want you two out, understand?”
There was giggling in the background and he scowled, agitated.
“Lex, do you understand?”
“Yes, yes, big brother, dang. You’re not my daddy, you know.”
He frowned, letting the comment go.
“Is it just you and Tasha there?”
“Tasha…her name is Tasha,” she slurred.
“That what I said, Alexis.” He rolled his eyes. She was a goofy drunk. “Are you two the only ones there?”
“If you’re trying to ask if there are any boys here now…they left an hour ago…”
She giggled again and he shook his head, glancing at Destiny. She bit her lip, letting her hand run up the back of his neck, then back down to his shoulders, making soothing strokes. He sighed audibly.
He felt like all of the energy he had was slowly draining from his body, replaced by a heavy feeling of guilt. He wanted Destiny so he came to Miami, where she was. But in the process he left his baby sister behind. Sure, she had Clara and Alfred but he wasn’t playing any games with himself. Clara was 69 and Alfred was 71, and honestly, Lexi could be manipulative, like most teenage girls he knew. She was too much for them to deal with.
“Don’t call Clara, she doesn’t need to worry about this,” he warned, his baritone deep and serious.
She giggled again, a muffled sound that let him know she was probably covering her mouth with her hand. “You think I would call Aunt Clara, Brian?” Her tone was incredulous.
“You called me,” he said pointedly.
“I actually was going to call Tweety first, but then I figured you two were together because you’re always together. It’s about time you got together, O-M-G you two are so cute together and I love Tweety and this means that now she can be my sister for real and…”
“Okay, Alexis,” he said sternly, interrupting her drunk rambling again. “I’m hanging up. Tell me again what you’re going to do.”
She sighed.
“I’m going to stay at Tasha’s!” she exclaimed loudly before giggling again.
He could hear Tasha mumbling something in the background.
“Alright. I love you.”
“Love you too,” she said, giggling again.
“And Lex?”
“Yeah?”