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Her normally beautiful blown-out hair appears greasy.
Her face has sunken in.
Is she eating?
Is she sick?
I hate myself for the instant pang of worry that festers inside me, but she’s my sister. No matter how she treats me, I can’t help but worry.
“What brings you here?” She narrows her eyes at me.
“Can’t I just want to stop by to visit my sister?”
“You haven’t given a shit about me since you found out all the money is going to be yours.” She huffs as she lifts her hand up to rub her nose.
Is she using again?
My sister has been clean for years, but she’s been spiraling ever since Ronnie cut her off, so it does make sense.
“Can I come in?”
She rolls her eyes but steps aside, allowing me to pass.
There are empty bottles of wine, beer, and vodka everywhere. If I didn’t know better, I would mistake this place for ground zero of a rave.
After the lights come back on, and the people left with the mess realize how utterly fucked they are.
Erin might not be doing drugs, but she certainly is drinking. The scent of alcohol invades my nostrils. I can’t even pinpoint a single type. It just smells like the air is eighty proof.
Brad’s lying on the couch in the living room. No shirt on. Beer in his hand.
Charming.
This house looks like a squatters’ paradise. Not the beautiful, seven-figure home Ronnie once purchased.
“Why are you here?” Erin glares at me, temper flaring.
“I want to talk about Ronald.”
“What about him? Isn’t it bad enough that he left me nothing?” Her voice sounds shrill, reminding me of nails on a chalkboard.
He gave you a home for years. Money for years. Food and safety, too.
It’s more than most people ever have.
She’s forgotten so much of our past, so much of what it felt like not to have a roof over our heads, that I want to point it out. I also want to live, and in the interest of self-preservation, I pocket the comment.
“I didn’t ask him for this.”
“You did something to get it.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
She looks me up and down. “Really? Because you were just his type.”
“Erin!” I shout because the idea is not only gross but absolutely ridiculous. And offensive.
“What? It’s true.” She nudges a beer bottle, watching it roll and hit the wall. “I was around your age when I started dating him. Maybe a few years older. Not so hard to believe, huh? Maybe you seduced him.”
