Milo took the business card that Aunt Gina had left on the table, tore it up, and threw it in the garbage can. And because he didn’t even want the remains in his home, he took the garbage bag to drop off at the dumpsters when he finally left to do his laundry.

Alice went with him, even though she didn’t need anything washed. She took along poster board, markers, and construction paper to work on a school project while keeping Milo company.

Always cold and a bit damp, even in the middle of summer, the basement wasn’t fully finished. The floors were all concrete, cracked in places, and the walls were exposed brick. Alice sat down with her school stuff at one of the large tables meant for folding clothes while Milo retrieved the laundry detergent from their cubby. He filled up two washers, then sat down beside Alice. He put the transistor radio on the table, not bothering with the headphones because no one else was down there with them.

The radio had belonged to their dad.

The once bright red plastic had faded over the years—Dad said he got it in 1988. The edges of the dial had worn smooth, and the casing had acquired some scuffs and scratches, but it worked as good as ever. Milo pulled out the metal antennae and turned the dial to click it on. He tuned through the AM stations until he found a college football game broadcast. He turned the volume down so the announcers’ voices became background noise with the occasional AM-quality crackle.

Milo wasn’t a huge football fan, or really a fan of any sports. He couldn’t tell you the score or what was going on in the game as he listened to the broadcasters’ dynamic voices. It was just soothing, that old transistor radio of his dad’s. Pleasant memories surrounded Milo every time he clicked it on. Like Dad sitting at the kitchen table of their old house, papers strewn all over the surface, ready to be graded and marked up with his red felt tip pen. He’d been a high school English teacher. The radio would be sitting on the counter, blaring whichever sports happened to be on at the time—usually baseball in the spring and summer and football in the fall and winter. Even if his favorite teams weren’t playing, Dad had just enjoyed listening.

Alice smiled at Milo before returning to her poster. That enjoyment had rubbed off on all of them.

“What’s this project?” Milo asked.

“We had to pick one of the exhibits from the science museum and make a presentation based on it. I chose the tornado,” Alice said, pointing to the large drawing she had done of a tornado. She had some of Raine’s talent for art. The background sky was dark and ominous, slightly green in places, which apparently indicated hail, and the tornado itself was menacing and pretty realistic look.

Arrows went up and down in specific places, and Alice explained all about updrafts and vortices. Milo was very impressed. He helped her look up facts on his phone and cut out construction paper letters for the poster. By the time the dyers had finally dried everything properly, most of the quarters gone, Alice had finished most of her presentation display.

They walked back up the flights of stairs to their apartment. Alice settled on the couch and turned on a show. Milo took his laundry to fold in his room, first dropping off Raine’s work uniform. He put the transistor radio back on his nightstand, and a sense of accomplishment floated over him as he got lost in the mundane task of folding clothes. He had stood up for something today. And he finally felt at least a little bit capable—and maybe it wouldn’t be so devastating if Donovan wanted to talk about moving out.

When Milo finished putting his clothes away, he joined Alice on the couch, and the pair of them wasted a few hours doing nothing but talking and watching TV shows. It was the best.

Shortly after four o’clock, Donovan came walking in the door carrying two boxes of pizza and a bottle of soda.

Alice’s face lit up. “Did you get one with just cheese?”

“Sorry. They were all out of cheese.”

She panicked for only a second before following Don into the kitchen so she could playfully punch him in the arm. “But seriously. Just cheese?”

Don laughed and put the pizzas on the counter, flipping open the boxes. One was indeed topped with nothing but melty mozzarella for Alice.

She squealed and grabbed the plate Milo was holding out for her. After taking a couple of slices, she headed back to the living room to continue the movie they’d been watching.

Don sat down at the table with a glass of fizzling cola and a plate of supreme pizza, and Milo stood leaning against the counter, not sure if he could eat with his stomach tied up in knots.

“Aunt Gina and Kace came by today,” Milo said.

“Yeah, Raine texted me. I know they bring stuff for us, but maybe it’s best if they don’t come around anymore. I could talk with them—”

“I told them to leave and not to come back.”

Don looked at Milo like he couldn’t believe it, and Milo couldn’t blame him. He’d never been the most outspoken or assertive of them. In fact, he was pretty conflict-avoidant.

“Milo, I’m really proud of you.”

“I know I should have done it sooner. I shouldn’t have even let them back into our lives. She actually gave me the business card of some guy to ‘help’ me. She said if I was willing to change, they’d get a nicer apartment for us and pay for living expenses. And she brought Raine and Alice into it,” Milo said, a sharp laugh escaping.

Don looked furious. “You did the right thing, Milo. I’m sorry I wasn’t here standing with you.”

“I think it was something I needed to do on my own,” Milo said, then took a deep breath before continuing. “And if you’re moving out now, I need to be able to handle stuff like this.”

“Who said I was moving out?”

“I figured that’s what you wanted to talk to me about tonight. And I want you to know I understand, and you have my full support.”

“I’m not moving out.”

Milo looked up and blinked at him. “You’re not?”

“What I wanted to talk to you about was a new job opportunity for me. A buddy of mine just became an electrician’s apprentice. He said his company was accepting applicants and that I should try. The pay and benefits are great, even during the apprenticeship. It would be way more than I make with roofing. And with it being the down season, it’s the perfect time to apply.”

“Oh,” Milo said.

“I’ve said this before—I’m not leaving you alone. This is my family too, and I will work just as hard as you do to support us. If I get the job, we can start making real progress on the credit cards. We could even help Raine if they wanted to start at the community college next year. Did you seriously think I’d run off and leave you guys struggling?”

“No, it’s just… you’re young, and you should be able to make your own way in life, rather than being held back by all of this.”

Don blew out an exasperated breath. “Seriously, Milo. I love you, but you can be such a martyr sometimes. You think this is all on you? That you alone have to sacrifice yourself to keep everything together?”

“Raine and Alice were left under my care,” Milo said, feeling a tad defensive because Don’s words were exactly what he thought.

“So what if you happened to be the oldest when our lives went to shit. I want to take care of you guys too. Do you want me to leave?”

Milo relented. “No, Don. I don’t want you to leave,” he admitted.

“Good, because you’re stuck with me, brother,” Don said, sending Milo a triumphant smile. “Now eat some pizza.”

Milo chuckled, shaking his head as he got a plate from the cupboard. He felt relief; even if he was willing to do it all on his own, he was glad that Don wanted to stay.

Milo took a slice of the just-cheese pizza and sat down next to Don. “So, what’s this job opportunity?”

Don went into all the details about an electrician apprenticeship, and Milo soaked up his excitement. It would be a great opportunity for him. A good, solid career. When they finished eating and washing the dishes, Don cut Milo’s hair as he’d promised he would, keeping it trimmed on the sides and only taking a little bit off the top. And not long after that, Raine came home. Milo told them that Aunt Gina wouldn’t be coming around anymore. Raine gave Milo a rare hug, and he soaked it in.

Then they all squeezed together on the couch meant for only three people and watched one of Alice’s animes, this one all about a card game with dueling monsters.

And when it was time for Milo to leave for work, he looked back at his little family, cozy on the too-small couch in their tiny apartment, and his heart felt so full.