Ezra parked his car in front of the grim apartment building where he had lived since he was fourteen. He hated this place. Every time he climbed the filthy stairs—the elevator had been broken for years—that same sick, sinking feeling gnawed at his stomach.

For a long time now, he had wanted to get his mother out of here. But she refused. Insisted that this was her place in the universe. That terrible things would happen if she ever left. Jacob would die. And so would he. The earth would crack open and swallow the city whole. All because she dared to defy her fate.

Ezra had tried countless times to reason with her. By now, he had given up. It was pointless to tell her that her fears weren't real, that they were unfounded. On her good days, she would agree with him completely. But with the snap of a finger, something would trigger her again, and they would be right back where they started.

After four flights of stairs, he reached the right floor. The door to the gallery stuck, and he had to shoulder it open. Stumbling through as it swung wide, he crossed the concrete walkway. At his mother's door, he hesitated. The doorbell could send her into a panic. Turning the key without warning could too. In the end, he pulled out his phone and called her instead.

Through the thin glass windows, he could hear her ringtone echo inside.

"Ezra? Where are you?" she cried the moment she picked up.

"I'm at the door. I think the bell's broken. And I forgot my key."

Muttering, her voice faded. A few seconds later, he saw her silhouette behind the door, and she flung it open. Her gray-blond hair looked like a bird's nest. Dark circles sagged under her eyes, and her gray gaze flickered with unrest. But she wasn't panicking. Ezra had seen her far worse.

"Where have you been? You have to get to the police station. Your brother's been arrested."

"I was with friends. Mom, let me come inside first, okay? Then we can talk."

She raked her fingers through her hair, her hands trembling. "There's no time! You have to go to the station. God knows what horrors they're doing to him in there. I saw a documentary about it—how the police abuse people at the station. They beat them if they 'act difficult,' someone even ended up with broken bones, and they didn't call a doctor for three days. Someone even died! And it happens everywhere. It must be a sign I saw that documentary. A warning! You have to get your brother out of there, Ezra!" Her voice cracked.

Just moments ago, she had been clinging to the edges of reality. Now she had plunged back into her own universe, where the world was always out to destroy her and her children.

"Did Jacob call you?"

"Yes. He was terrified."

Ezra snorted. Terrified. His brother was such a manipulative asshole. He knew their mother would react like this. Knew she'd insist Ezra pay the bail money. And Ezra found it hard to refuse, knowing his mother would otherwise spiral for days.

The fucking bastard. No. He didn't want to do it. But he also wanted her to calm down again.

"A friend of mine works at the police station." It wasn't a complete lie. Maybe a bit of a stretch. A former classmate worked there. They had never been close, but they'd stayed on neutral ground. It was close enough to the truth that Ezra didn't feel guilty about it. "I'll ask him to keep an eye on Jacob. He's a good guy. Trustworthy."

For a second, he thought that might help. Then she shook her head violently. "We can't trust anyone, Ezra! You know that!" She grabbed his arm, staring at him with desperate, tear-filled eyes. "Please. Help your brother."

Ezra let out a long breath. "How much are we talking?"

"Forty thousand dollars."

"Forty thousand dollars?!" he shouted. "Where the hell am I supposed to get that?"

She chewed her lip. "You have savings, right? Maybe from your business?"

"I can't afford to lose that much! It could be months before he goes to trial and I get it back."
If I ever get it back. If that asshole skipped town, Ezra would be drowning in debt. "Fuck, man." He slammed his fist against the door. "What did he even do?"

"Nothing! They set him up! Planted coke in his jacket and then tipped someone off!"

Ezra closed his eyes. Pressed his hand to his forehead and massaged his temples. Was he seriously dealing now? What the fuck was he thinking? It had been going so well for so long. Ezra had really believed this time would be different. If only for Mom's sake.

Even with his eyes shut, he could feel her pleading gaze. He didn't want to watch her fall apart again. Last time Jacob was locked up, she'd ended up in a psych ward. And even though part of Ezra had been relieved not to have to carry everything on his own, it had gutted him to see her like that. So broken. So alone. "Fine. I'll see what I can do."

She started crying. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Her fragility cut through him.
She hadn't always been like this. She had once been strong, laughing easily, full of life. But when their father died, something inside her shattered. Something that refused to heal, no matter how much money they threw at useless therapy sessions.

"I'll figure something out," he promised, rubbing her back.

She settled a little. When she pulled away, she looked like a wilted leaf, ready to be carried off by the slightest gust of wind. She was exhausted, completely drained by the stress.

"Come on, let's get you to bed. You rest while I try to get the money together."

Her lip trembled. Her hands too. Ezra put an arm around her waist and helped her to the bedroom.

Ezra had given his mother her sleeping pills and returned to his own apartment. For now, she was out cold. That gave him some breathing room.

He flipped through his ledger. There was no way he could come up with that kind of money.
Not even a quarter of it. And even if he did, it would leave them hanging by a thread for months.
If something broke, they wouldn't be able to fix it. Sighing, he propped his chin on his hand. Another option was to go to a bail bondsman. They'd front the bail. Ezra would still have to pay four thousand dollars he wouldn't get back, though. And he had no illusions that Jacob would ever pay him back.

And there was still the risk that Jacob would skip town. Whatever trust he had built up lately had just gone up in smoke.

If Jacob disappeared, Mom would lose it again. Every time he went more than three days without calling, she was convinced he'd been kidnapped. She would scream down the police station until someone listened.

Anger flared up in his chest. Why the fuck did his brother always do this stupid shit? Ezra couldn't wrap his head around it. Couldn't understand how someone could be so fucking stupid.

Before doing anything else, he wanted to talk to him. Not that he expected to knock any sense into that thick skull, but he refused to just show up and play the good little soldier. 

His phone buzzed. Ezra glanced at it and saw a message from Tyson.

How's it going at home?

Ezra sighed. My fuckup brother has ruined everything again.

Want me to come over?

Ezra hesitated for only a second. Maybe it would help. Someone a little more detached.
Someone he could vent to before facing Jacob in the morning. Yeah. Come over.

He snapped the ledger shut and leaned back in his chair. His head throbbed. He got up to grab some much-needed painkillers.