Vortex

Vortex — page 3 — that wasn’t the same as not caring And she’d wanted her kids at this wedding for sure She’d even offered to pay for them to fly out an offer David had refused David made a dismissive noise in his throat Now that she’s got Theo it’s like she’s forgotten Dad even exists And we’re right on the edge of falling off her radar along with him Mom only ever thinks about what she wants to do what’ll make her happy not about what she leaves behind From the backseat Logan said to David Well Theo’s definitely way cooler than Dad So there’s that Blair whipped around to glare at her twelve-year-old brother His eyes were still closed Blair knew David wouldn’t have said so much if he’d known Logan was listening Then again Logan wasn’t an innocent six year-old anymore It had been a long time since he’d needed David to tell him bedtime stories or arrange his food in smiley faces A long time since Logan had burst into tears at any mention of their absent mom or thrown 3

Vortex — page 4 — a tantrum whenever their dad drove off on yet another business trip He was old enough to hear what his siblings really thought and to be obnoxious about it Don’t you have some death metal to concentrate on she snapped It’s not death metal It’s doom metal Blackened doom And Theo is like at least twenty percent cooler than Dad Logan do me a favor Shut up until you’re past puberty Logan responded with a gesture she ignored Take it easy said David out of habit Blair faced forward again and stared at the road Not an inspiring view Just a two lane highway empty except for David’s car Surrounded by basically nothing bare fields on either side cloud-clogged sky above the occasional tree or fence or distant farmhouse Blair hadn’t realized that South Dakota was so flat It was ridiculous If this is what it looks like here in May people must gouge their eyes out in the wintertime David managed a weak laugh Guess you won’t be moving in with Mom and Theo 4

Vortex — page 5 — Never She looked over at him but he kept his eyes on the road The smile on his face wasn’t real It was the same smile he’d used all weekend at all the awkward moments the smile of a guy who expected to be let down Blair didn’t know what to do about it Except promise not to move to South Dakota For the past six years she and David had been a team taking care of things while Dad was at work which was most of the time Their dad had dealt with the divorce by burying himself so far into his job that he was barely home which meant that Blair and David had to pick up the slack Doing the laundry learning to cook looking out for Logan Looking after their dad too in a lot of ways When had David gotten bitter about it Blair wasn’t sure Better question When had she stopped being bitter Little by little without really noticing it she’d forgiven her mom for leaving and her dad for never being around David hadn’t That was his choice of course Blair couldn’t tell him how to feel But she wished 5

Vortex — page 6 — she’d been able to enjoy her mom’s wedding She liked Theo and she liked her mom honestly If David hadn’t been so obviously miserable Blair might’ve actually had a good time She wished David would let her drive That would give her something else to think about I don’t like the look of that sky David said He had a point It had been cloudy all morning but now the clouds looked heavier darker They hovered so low to the ground that they looked close enough to reach up and touch Blair pulled out her phone Want me to check the forecast Yeah Maybe put the radio on too See if we can find a local weather station Blair had already pulled up her weather app Hold on my phone still thinks I’m in Michigan She plugged in Hatchville South Dakota They were already an hour east of her mom’s home but it was the only decent-sized town in the area Blair wasn’t even sure anything else would show up on a map 6

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