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He whistled low. “I so can’t afford this.”
I jostled his shoulders. “It’s not all that, dude. That would be your room and bathroom.” I guided him to the room where I’d been staying. “This is my stuff. I’ll be loading most of it out of here.”
“Most?” he asked.
“Yeah. Some of it’s staying, but it’ll be out of your room. Don’t worry. Look around. I’ll go find Todd.” I knocked on Todd’s door and drew him out. He was shy sometimes, but this wasn’t the time for that. “Come meet Levi.”
“Yeah, sure.” He pulled a T-shirt on and followed me to the other side of the apartment.
“This is Levi, Todd. And his sister Brianna.” They shook and chatted, and then Brianna had to go.
“I’m sure you can work this out.” She winked and kissed her brother on the cheek. “Thanks, Royce. See you tomorrow.”
Time to get things going. “Todd, Levi’s not sure he can afford the rent. But it’s a good location for him.”
“I work at Koffee Kraze. Baristas don’t make much.” Levi shook his head.
Todd snapped his fingers. “That’s where I’ve seen you. Yeah. I get coffee there all the time. The caramel cappuccino is my fav.”
“Right. I’ve seen you there. I go to UT. I doubt I’ll have a better job for a while.” Levi looked sad about it. “I have parent problems making this all so much harder.”
“I know the feeling, but I think I have a solution.” I sat on the couch. “I still need to store some stuff here, so I can pay for that, lowering your side of the rent. Will that work?” I turned to Levi, but they both had to agree. Though, I was pretty sure Todd would if it got that half of the rent taken care of.
Plus, I liked Levi and thought he’d be good for Todd. He looked a bit like Brianna in the eyes, and he had a nice smile. He seemed sweet. “I’m not a charity case, dude.” And as stubborn as her, too.
“Not charity. I need this. I was going to pay it regardless.”
“I know the situation, and it’s cool.” Todd tended to be agreeable, and we’d been friends a long time. And hell, we were pup brothers. That counted for a lot. We had each other’s back. Always.
“Okay. I have to get my shit out of here. Y’all work out the details and let me know.” I trusted Todd to work out what Levi could pay, and he would know I’d cover the rest. At least for now. Then I went into the room and packed up what I was taking, sorting out what I would store. I found a few of the cars from the charity event that Quinn had given me. My friends had prodded him into doing it as a joke, but they meant well, and so did Quinn, and when I got over myself, I loved the gift. I made sure to pack them in the stuff I was taking. I wanted to have them near me to remind me of the good I did have in my life.
Levi joined me back in the room. “I think this can work, but if you’re paying part of my rent for storing shit, then you should leave it here. There’s plenty of room in that closet.” He motioned toward the closet that already held a bunch of my stuff. “I won’t fuck with it. You can trust me. Besides, Bre will kill me if I fuck things up with you.”
I shook his hand. “Right. Sounds good.” I’d leave everything except the cash. That I would leave with Todd. Money did weird things to people, but Todd was my brother. I trusted him with my life.
A couple hours later, I left them to work everything else out and drove off with the trunk of this crappy car loaded up.
The entire drive home, I couldn’t help feeling like I was being watched. On some level, I was certain since not only did Dad have spies everywhere, but he also had the GPS on the car and was most likely monitoring my phone. Such a violation of my rights. Conservatorship should not allow him to be that far up my ass. When this shit started, I assumed it meant a little bit of financial oversite, maybe some level of approval over where I spent my money, not that I wouldn’t fight that tooth and nail, but his actions went way beyond that initial assumption. I hoped like hell Drew’s team would have enough evidence to end this bullshit.
My phone rang. It was my mother. I let it go to voicemail. I didn’t need to hear whatever new bullshit she could dream up.
Christmas Eve
My parents hosted a large dinner on Christmas Eve every year. I’d been before but it had been a long time. I didn’t want to talk with aunts, uncles, cousins. None of them knew me. It was all a contest about who was the most successful. It was fake. No love. Only a bunch of assholes pretending to be a family on one evening of the year when the other three hundred and sixty-four days, they ignored each other’s existence.
I sat quietly, depression growing stronger within me. How was this my life? If Drew couldn’t get me out of this shit, I would have to disappear. That was my plan B. Get the fuck out of town. Run. Hide. I had enough cash stashed with Todd to do it. I wondered if Quinn would come with me.
“Eat.” My mother tapped the back of my hand. I rolled my eyes at her. As if eating would indicate everything was right. I wanted to corner her and demand to know how she could let this happen. But I knew. She’d never stood up to him.
I took a bite of mashed potatoes and gave her a fake smile. She gave me one back. And the worst part was that she hadn’t lifted a finger on this meal. She paid a chef to come in and do it. I was sure it was gourmet, but it tasted like ash. I swallowed it down with a huge gulp of wine.
The banter across the table was nearly unbearable. My father spat out how I’d moved and was preparing for law school. As if that was an accomplishment of his. Oh, well, it was. He made me dance to the music of his choosing like a morbid marionette.
Not for long.
I kept repeating the mantra while nodding in the right places. Forcing myself not to hold my wine glass too tightly for fear I’d break it. I did get multiple refills. I’d already agreed to stay overnight. Where else was I going to go? So why not get fucked up. I planned to raid his liquor cabinet later.
Eventually, the rest of the family left, and I slipped upstairs. I didn’t want to talk to my parents without the buffer of the rest of the family. I needed time alone.
