Chapter 5
The X-ray confirmed a clean fracture. My ankle was placed in a heavy cast. The doctor told me I would need crutches for at least six weeks and possibly surgery if the bone shifted. Jonas stayed beside me until nearly three in the morning, drinking vending-machine coffee from a paper cup. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this,” I said. “I’m sorry you were lying outside long enough for me to get dragged into it.”
I looked at the white hospital ceiling. “I let them move in.” “You gave them a place to land.” “I let them take over.” “That part is true.” I turned my head toward him. Jonas shrugged. “Helping someone does not mean you have to lie to them.” I closed my eyes. “I should have stopped it months ago.” “You’re stopping it now.”
He drove me home shortly after eight the next morning. The rain had ended, but the sky remained gray. Wet leaves covered the street. The broken eggs had been swept away, though a pale streak from the milk remained across the porch. Someone had placed three cardboard boxes beside the front door. Not packed boxes. Empty ones. They had blocked the entrance so I could not easily enter on crutches. Jonas moved them without saying anything.
The kitchen smelled of bacon and eggs. Brenna stood at the stove wearing my robe. She was frying my eggs in my cast-iron pan. Colter sat at the table drinking coffee from my favorite mug. Maddox ate cereal without looking at me.
Brenna turned when she heard the crutches. “Good. You’re home. We need to discuss last night after everyone has calmed down.” “My ankle is broken.” Her eyes moved briefly to the cast. “I’m sorry about that. But you said some cruel things too.”
The doorbell rang. Brenna frowned. “Who is that?” Jonas opened the door. Camille Vance entered carrying a matte-black briefcase. She had been one of my closest friends in college before becoming a property attorney. Camille was not tall, and she never spoke loudly. She did not need to. She placed the briefcase on the kitchen table beside Colter’s plate. “Good morning.” Colter glanced at me. “You called a lawyer?”
Camille opened the case. “Emmett Rowan permitted you to occupy this residence temporarily and without rent. You have no lease, no ownership interest, and no financial stake in the property.” Brenna stood very still. “I’m his sister.” Camille removed a document and placed it on the table. “That is a relationship, not a deed.”
Colter pushed back his chair. “You can’t throw out a family with a child overnight.” “Correct. This document is a formal notice terminating your permission to occupy the home. You have thirty days to leave voluntarily. Refuse, and we begin legal eviction proceedings.”
Brenna picked up the paper. Her hand shook. “You were planning this?” I eased myself into a chair. “I started preparing three months ago.” “While smiling in our faces?” “While paying your bills.”
Colter leaned toward Camille. “We have rights.” “You do,” she replied. “That is why you are receiving proper notice rather than finding your belongings on the lawn.” She removed a second folder. “We will document every room today. You will be financially responsible for any additional damage. Access to Emmett’s credit cards, vehicle, accounts, office, and personal food ends now.”
Colter laughed without humor. “This is ridiculous. Who is going to help him while he has that cast?” I looked at him. “Last night, you said you weren’t my servant.”
May you like
Brenna’s eyes filled with tears. Before the fall, those tears would have made me apologize. That morning, they only made me tired. “Where are we supposed to go?” she whispered. It was the sentence that had controlled me for eight months. Every boundary became cruelty because Brenna had nowhere else to go. Every expense became necessary because Maddox needed stability. Every insult became something I should forgive because Colter was under pressure.
I looked at my sister. “I don’t know where you’ll go.” She covered her mouth. “But after thirty days, it won’t be here.”
