his ear and a backpack in hand. Logan was out of time. The drive had been far shorter than he’d thought, so he’d have to go in hard rather than soft to draw out what was bothering the kid. “I know about Chance and the thirty days you’ve got, so when you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here. But don’t bullshit me. You’re in trouble, or you wouldn’t have been picked up for smoking weed. That much I can tell about your family already.”
When he pulled the truck to a stop in front of the school, Jake waited for his brother to exit. Josh stared out the window at his sibling for a moment then grabbed the door handle and opened the door a crack. Logan expected him to exit without a word, but the kid turned back to him with guilt masking his features. “You ever do something that you can’t take back?”
Logan was instantly transported back to the night of 28 NOV. The night he watched half his unit die through the lens of his scope. They’d been on a reconnaissance mission. Gathering intel based off a transmission they’d intercepted. A transmission sent to draw them out. They were only supposed to verify an ISIS operative’s family lived in the village, so they could post a sentry if the man returned. It had been a setup instead, one that resulted in the death of six men. Three of them he considered his family. And a day didn’t go by that he didn’t wish like hell he’d seen both suicide bombers before it was too late. If he had, his brothers, his unit, would still be intact.
“Yeah,” Logan answered. “But the thing about guilt is, it’ll fester until you begin to fuck up. If you fuck up too much, then you’ll spiral out of control. It’s better to get it off your chest, so you can deal with it.”
Josh studied him for a moment. “Is that what you’re doing here? Did you fuck up and begin to spiral?”
Logan cocked his head. “Smart kid. I was consumed with guilt, couldn’t do my job to the best of my ability, so I got out before I fucked up and spiraled.”
Josh seemed to relax as he stared at Logan, but a shine of tears battled for dominance, until he blurted out, “It’s because of me Chance came after us. I ran into him two days ago and told him what a piece of shit I thought he was.”
Logan drew in a deep breath before he answered, trying to control his anger for the unknown half brother. “Kid, no one can make you do something against your will if you don’t want to. I don’t know this Chance, but from what I’ve heard in the short time I’ve been in town, it wouldn’t have mattered if you kissed his ass daily. He was still gonna fuck with your family, no matter what you did or didn’t say to him. The guy’s an asshole. You need to let that shit go. Confess to Jake if you feel you need absolution, but do it knowing that in the grand scheme of things, your actions did not force an asshole into being more of an asshole. Your half brother’s a dick, plain and simple. Don’t let him win by dragging you down further.”
Josh held still as he thought about Logan’s answer, then nodded and mumbled, “Thanks for the ride,” before exiting the truck without looking back, guilt still masking his features as he walked toward Jake.
The cab still reverberated with the anguish in the kid’s voice as he walked away. It was a feeling Logan knew well, and it was out of place on someone so young. He couldn’t wait to make the acquaintance of their half brother.
He watched Josh as he approached Jake with caution. After a moment he lowered his head and began to speak. When he was done talking, Jake studied him for a moment then handed him his pack and shoved him in the arm with a solemn grin. Josh seemed shocked by the show of affection, but he pushed Jake back after recovering, seeming less burdened after admitting to his sins. Logan figured that’s how a real family was. You bickered and threw punches, but at the end of the day, you were still family. They had your back no matter how bad you screwed up.
Before entering the building, Josh turned back and looked at Logan. He watched the kid