Chapter 2:Beau

Beau

"I'm so screwed," I whined from my place, head down on the coffee shop's table. I'd just turned in my finals paper in this semester's Special Education: Behavioral Intervention course and was fried.

Well, if you could call individual lesson planning that would benefit two kids the age of nine assigned to me a paper. It was more of a teaching assessment. Different needs - IEPs that were set at two different places of the spectrum.

It was my dream to work with autistic children, and it all stemmed from my older sister's daughter being diagnosed with autism. Four years old and a total cutie, Aubrey was the light of the family. Loved her as if she were my own, and I needed to help out.

To learn what I could and give back to a community full of vibrant children.

A dream that now seemed millions of miles away.

Tired. Exhausted. Plain old freaking the hell out, I was drowning.

From my viewpoint, there was no escaping the dead weight I carried. The responsibilities.

Other people's expectations.

My family's demands.

Do what my pregnant, out-of-high-school sister couldn't: earn a degree.

"Talk to Victor, Beau." My friend Ruby placed a hand on my shoulder. It was meant to be a comforting gesture, but now, it made things worse. I didn't want to be pitied. "I'm sure he could give you a few extra shifts here or there at Carmencita's."

"With school being out and everyone heading home, the small bar's hours will slow. I'll be lucky to get twenty-eight hours max waiting tables. I'm going to need another job, Ruby. Something with a more permanent schedule."

"Shit. That's true." She pursed her lips and tapped the puckered flesh with the tip of her manicured finger. "Well, you could take mine this weekend, and if all goes well, next too. I sort of...kind of...have plans and told Victor you would cover for me."

No sense in telling her that I was not her maid; the girl was impossible when she heard the word no. So, I chose which battles were worth picking, and this was not one of them.

My forehead left the table, and I arched a brow. "Who's the lucky asshole this week?" Loved Rubes to pieces, but the girl was truly working her way through this university's male student body.

"Stop being a prude, chick. Max and I(-)"

"Max?" Now this had my total attention. Sitting back, I appraised her with a calculating stare.

"Stop it." She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder.

Blush: check.

Wide smile: check.

Twinkle in her blue eyes: holy hell, check.

"Are we talking about basketball Max? Dated-him-for-three-months-a-year-ago Max?"

"Yes," she hissed out, nose turned up in the air. "He wants us to clear the air, and I said yes. Will you cover for me?"

Shrugging, I sighed. "For your in-love butt, why not. I'm sure I could schedule sleep in once I'm dead."

"That's the spirit!" Ruby clapped her hands, and a group of girls beside our table looked over. Two seemed annoyed, while the third looked at me with surprise. Her dark eyes stayed on mine while she twirled a piece of burgundy hair, a contemplative look on her face.

I'd seen them around campus a time or two. A tight-knit group that dressed to the nines and only socialized with each other. You'd never see them at bars near our school or parties thrown by the different fraternities.

"...anyways, it'll come in handy. I know you're freaking out with next semester's tuition looming over your head. That must be so hard. I don't know if I could deal with all that pressure."

Taking my eyes off the other group's table, I looked back at Ruby. "I don't want to think about that."

"Still think you should just tell your parents what's going on. They'll help, Beau. Stop being so prideful."

"Not pride, Ruby. Trust me, they can't help."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she stared me down. "Why not?"

"Because Aubrey's dad is a douchebag, and my sister needs help." Ruby's mouth opened, but before she could say a word I continued. "Dad pays for her medical care, and before you say why not apply for Medicaid, they already denied her. The sperm donor's family is well-off. Though, one wouldn't guess it since what he pays in child support is a joke. Between that, and my sister's earnings, she's over the threshold by ten bucks at best. They won't, or can't, help."

"Jesus." Finally, it was dawning on her just how against the wall I was. Even working a full-time job didn't cover me.

"Yup." I'd have to drop off for a semester or two until I could save up the funds needed. That, or rob a bank.

"Then get a bank loan."

"That's my next step. Maybe I'll be lucky enough and get approved for a personal one." Optimism wasn't my strongest point at the moment, and she grimaced. "Just need enough to get the ball rolling for next semester, and I'll keep working like crazy. I hate amounting all this debt, but I have no choice."

"Talk to your parents, chick. Your dad's raise is drowning you, and maybe they can help." Taking a sip from her latte, she paused. Mulled things over in her head. "Couldn't they co-sign a loan with you? Of course, you'd be responsible for paying it back, but having them on it would help you get the approval needed."

Her pleading almost made me divulge the truth. It was more than his raise holding me back. The lawyer getting my sister out of her mess caused this domino effect. Gloria loved the asshole donor, and I was getting burned because she refused to ask for more.

My ex-brother-in-law, Xavier, had money. Or more importantly, his father did. Owned a few gas stations up north and in Miami. No one in that family was hurting financially, and yet, my niece received two hundred and fifty dollars every two weeks.

All because they had him listed as unemployed while his "dad" footed the bill. Bullshit.

"Fuck, it's my mom. Give me a minute, Beau." I hadn't even noticed that Ruby's phone had gone off. She stepped away from our table and walked out into the midday sun. From my vantage point, I could just make out the exaggerated hand movements of her arms as they talked.

My stomach rumbled then.

I was hungry.

Realized that I had not eaten properly in the last twenty-four hours. Just a snack here or there.

Digging inside my wristlet, I pulled out my last twenty before payday and stood. Was about to walk toward the shop's counter when my path was blocked, and a card pushed into my hands...

"I can help you." My eyes settled on the same girl who just a short while ago had looked at me strangely. Not with annoyance, but calculating. "Don't let your pride burn your future. Call me."

With a quick squeeze of the hand holding onto the card, she walked away as Ruby reappeared. The two looked at each other and smiled before the stranger continued toward the door and her friends.

"What did she want? I didn't know you were friends with Zoe Chapman."

"I'm not." Up until she mentioned it, I hadn't known her full name. Just the closeness - the secretive way - that clique behaved. "She stopped by to ask if I was okay." The lie bubbled out with ease, my lips reacting without permission from my mind.

"That's it? You sure?"

"I am." My fingers tightened around the small square card in my hand; I didn't want her to know.

Why? No clue, but this was one of those moments where gut instincts told me to zip it.

And I did.

Maybe this was the solution I'd been praying for.

A way out.