“I’m sorry, but the position has been filled.”

Mateo fought everything inside him not to hang up the phone. “Okay, thanks. Keep me in mind for anything else.” The man on the other end of the line said he would before hanging up.

Yeah fucking right. Mateo knew better than that. They didn’t want to hire him just like all the other places he’d applied in the past month didn’t. He’d filled out apps everywhere. The fact that he was a young Mexican kid with no work experience, no car, and who they probably took one look at and knew he had some kind of gang affiliation, didn’t make it easy. He wore the evidence of his lifestyle in his clothes, and probably in his stance, too.

“Any luck?” Josiah asked him as he leaned against the back of the couch. Teo shook his head before grabbing Josiah and pulling him close. Josiah wrapped his arms around him, squeezing as he kissed the scar on his neck.

Molly and William were out. He drove her to a doctor’s appointment or something like that, so he took advantage, holding Jay while he could.

“They didn’t say you had to get a job. You don’t have to be in such a rush.”

Mateo huffed. “Yeah, I do. I’m not stayin’ here if I can’t pay my way. It’s not right. I owe them more than that, and they don’t owe me shit. It’s not fair to them.”

They bought Mateo all sorts of stuff for his graduation last week—he still couldn’t get over that shit. He’d actually graduated fucking high school. Now he had nothing, though; no job...and in just a few weeks he’d be eighteen. Their obligation to him was over, no matter what he said. If he didn’t figure out how to pay his own way, he had no choice but to leave. Turning eighteen meant Molly and William lost the money the foster system paid them. They’d done too much for him already, and he couldn’t let them pay his way, too.

His throat squeezed up at the thought. Shit, he needed to figure this out. Needed to find a way to stay with Josiah. It wasn’t like he couldn’t handle the streets. Maybe he’d just stay around here, seeing Josiah when he could till he graduated.

Mateo stood straight, pulling away from Josiah. “I’m gonna go sit outside for a while, okay?”

Josiah nodded, obviously knowing Teo was a moody motherfucker and needed some space. He went to this spot on the side of the house and sat in the gravel, arms around his legs. What kind of man could he be for Josiah if he couldn’t even get a fucking job? College was out. He knew that. It wasn’t his thing. Plus, that didn’t solve how the hell he would help Molly and William.

He groaned when he heard a car pull into the driveway. They were home sooner than he thought they would be.

Mateo turned his head when he heard the creak of the porch swing, wondering why they weren’t going inside. He tensed up when he heard Molly crying.

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll beat this. We can beat anything,” William told her.

“You heard what they said just as much as I did. It’s too far progressed.”

A brick landed on Teo’s chest. Molly was sick?

“I should have gone in earlier. I think I knew, Will. I think a part of me knew and I was scared to find out.” She started crying again. William talked to her and told her he loved her. Guilt added more weight to Teo’s chest. He shouldn’t be hearing this conversation, but if he moved, they’d know he’d already heard some of it.

When the crying finally slowed down, William spoke again. “We need to think about the boys. We’re going to have a lot going on with your treatments. And our insurance isn’t the best, honey. It’s going to cost money and—”

“No, it’s not right. I won’t send them away.”

“How are we going to support Mateo, too? You know I care about him just as much as you do, but he’ll be eighteen next month. And if I’m being honest, I’m not sure I think he’s the best influence on Josiah. I can’t put my finger on it, but something isn’t right with them.”

More tears from Molly, then, “Let’s wait until after his birthday. He deserves that, at least.”

Blood rushing through his ears blocked out the rest of the conversation. They were right. They didn’t need Mateo hanging around here when they would be dealing with Molly being sick.

He fought the urge to vomit, rocking back and forth to try and calm himself. It felt like an earthquake shook his insides, cracking him apart. He should have known. Should have fucking known it was all too good to be true. He didn’t belong here. He’d have to leave Josiah.