Josh wasn’t a saint and he sure as fuck didn’t deserve a girl like Skylar, but I know he loved her.
So much so his last breath was her name.
“Lennon’s an amazing girl, Phoenix.” Placing the cap on the bottle, she hands it back to me. “Do yourself a favor and don’t destroy the best thing that ever happened to you, okay?”
Too late.
“So,” Quinn says through a mouthful of chips. “How’s this gonna work? Do I have to ask you for permission to do stuff?”
“Yes.”
If she thinks I’m going to give her free rein to do anything she wants, she’s even crazier than I thought.
I’ll be her cool older brother when she turns eighteen. Right now, I have to be her parent.
Looking out the bus window, she stuffs another handful of chips into her mouth and chews. Loudly. “Do I get my own credit card?”
Skylar tried to warn me that Quinn liked to shop just as much as her, but I was skeptical.
Mostly because no one likes to shop as much as Skylar.
Lennon’s lips twitch as she takes a seat next to me at the kitchen table.
I snatch the bag of chips from Quinn and eat a few. “No.”
I have no problem giving Quinn whatever she needs, but I’m not giving her whatever she wants.
I had to learn the value of a dollar when I was a kid and so will she.
Her mouth opens and closes like a fish. “Are you serious? Dude, you’re rich.”
Time to let her in on a little secret. “Rich people stay rich because they don’t spend their money on frivolous shit, dude.”
After Vic cut us our first big check, Josh bought a Ferrari and whisked Skylar away to Paris on a shopping trip.
Memphis bought himself a new guitar.
Storm took a trip back home to see Grams.
And I bought myself groceries and stocked my fridge for the very first time.
Then I paid my bills and deposited the rest of the money into my savings account.
Our second check was triple the first.
Once again, Josh whisked Skylar away on a fancy trip. Along with buying an engagement ring, a swanky mansion, and another fucking Ferrari.
Memphis got himself an apartment in LA while Storm and I moved out of the one we shared and went fifty-fifty on a villa.
And a condo for Grams…despite her protests.
The checks got even bigger after that, but I already had a sweet home, a nice car, and groceries in the fridge so I was more than content.
Josh wasn’t, though. Every check he got he spent on extravagant shit for himself, over-the-top gifts that Skylar begged him to return, drugs, prostitutes, and fuck knows what else.
Despite earning more than we’d ever be able to spend in our lifetimes, guess who started having money problems by the time our second album went diamond?
The only positive that came from watching Josh burn his money was that it reinforced for the rest of us just how important it was not to spend it all like you were dying the next day.
Ironic, considering Josh perished so young.
The constant guilt hanging like a black cloud over my head threatens to take over, but I can’t have a pity party right now because my sister—who has chip crumbs all over her face and shirt—is currently gaping at me like I sprouted another head. “What am I supposed to do for money?”
The same thing I had to do when I was her age. Work.
“Congrats. You’re our new merch girl.”
Chandler—who’s entering the kitchen—shakes his head. “Absolutely not.”
Quinn lets out a belch loud enough to wake the dead. “How come?”
The vein in Chandler’s forehead bulges as he eyeballs me. “She’s been with us for over a week now. Are we going to get our new bundle of joy an education, or are we going to leave her undomesticated?”
“Hey,” Quinn exclaims, clearly offended. “I’m potty trained.”
Storm, who was typing out a text on his phone, looks up. “Thank fuck for that.”
While her being housebroken is a plus, Chandler’s right. I need to enroll her in school.
I’m just not sure how that’s going to work, given my lifestyle.
I look at Lennon. “I know a good tutor.”
Plus, if she agrees, it will give her a reason to stay longer.
No dice though because Lennon says, “She’s gonna need more than a tutor.”
I focus on Quinn again. “What grade are you in?”
“I start my junior year after the summer.”
Graduation is a long time away. Fuck.
Quinn waves a hand like it’s no big deal. “Don’t worry. I can get my GED.”