It was warm and welcoming, comforting when I needed it. And one of my favorite places in the entire world.
“I guess Dad’s been out of work for a little while. They can’t afford to keep it.”
Everything came crashing down. A wave of nausea slammed into me. Hard.
“Hold the phone,” I said. “Dad is out of work? Since when?”
Why was it that when one thing went right in my life, something else immediately went off the rails?
He hesitated. “June. They didn’t have him return this fall. Education budget cuts, I guess. They axed a bunch of the older, more experienced teachers in favor of hiring new graduates who are cheaper.”
“Why are you only telling me this now?”
“I just found out, B.”
Glowering at Derek from across the table, I took a sip of my vanilla latte. It held no appeal anymore, but I couldn’t justify wasting it.
“Are you sure about that?” If he’d kept this from me, I was going to be so ticked.
“Yes,” he insisted. “They didn’t want either of us to worry.”
I frowned, still pinning him with a stern glare. Something didn’t add up. “Why am I hearing this from you instead of Mom and Dad?”
“Mom wanted me to tell you in person. She thought you’d take it hard,” he said carefully.
She was right. Especially considering the house had been almost paid off until they refinanced it to cover my medical bills. This was basically my fault. Not just basically—it was. Literally all because of me.
Derek added, “It probably makes sense for them to downsize now that we’re all gone anyway.”
“I never heard them talk about downsizing before,” I said. “As far as I know, they planned to stay there forever.”
Pretty sure our mom had used those exact words—it was her “forever house.”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Things change.”
Running out of money would do that. I scrambled mentally, searching for possible solutions or ways I could help, even though I only had about ten dollars to my name.
“What about Mitch and Steven? Can’t they help them out?”
“They have been.” Derek tilted his head, giving me a look that was meant to be sympathetic but came across as borderline condescending. Still pulling the older brother act. “That’s why they’ve been able to keep the house this long. But neither of them has much money, either. Everyone is tapped.”
“Right.” I nodded, swallowing a massive lump in my throat. Now I wished we hadn’t met somewhere so public. I kind of felt like crying. “So, they’re going to sell it after Christmas?”
“Er, no. It’s already been listed. But worst case, we’ll do Christmas at Mitch’s.” Derek frowned and picked up his cup.
Right. My oldest brother lived in a small house with his wife and three kids. My second oldest brother, Steven, was a perpetual bachelor who lived in a one-bedroom apartment. And this scenario left Derek and me sleeping on couches, because we couldn’t afford a hotel.
Not to mention my parents. Where were they going to live?
“Have Mom and Dad got a new placed lined up?”
“Not yet,” he said, giving a one-shoulder shrug. “They can’t buy anything until the house sells. Plus…I mean, their credit isn’t great anymore with all this. They might have to rent something.”
“Oh my god.” I crushed the cup I was holding slightly. My parents weren’t that young. They should have been thinking about retirement, not losing their home.
“It’ll be okay, B.”
But Derek was trying to convince himself as much as me.
“I don’t see how,” I said. “I hope the house sells if that’s what they need. But I’ll be really sad if we don’t get to have Christmas there. Especially one last time.” My breath snagged.
Derek nodded. “Yeah, me too.” His throat bobbed, and he paused.
I used the lull in conversation to take some deep breaths, quelling the urge to cry. For now, anyway.
“On another note—”
My sibling senses tingled. Alert, alert. Attack incoming.
“Don’t start.” I was already keyed up emotionally, and I’d probably explode if he started in on the Chase issue.
“I’m not trying to,” he said softly. “I wanted to know how you were doing.”
I deflated, lowering my shields halfway, willing to give him a chance but still ready for a fight.
“I’m good. Things are good.”
“Classes?”
“Going well. Straight As.” Not like I had a choice if I wanted to keep my scholarships.
He studied me, brow furrowed. “Carter’s good?”
“He’s great.” I felt a goofy smile emerge across my face. Couldn’t help it; always happened when I talked about him.
“I’m glad,” Derek said. “I mean, I still don’t get it. But if he’s good to you, I’ll try.”
It wasn’t exactly a glowing endorsement, but it was progress. If they could start off by co-existing peacefully, I’d consider it a win.
“That’s all I ask. If you guys kept an open mind and put all that other stuff aside, I’m sure you’d get along. At least off the ice.”
He shot me a look that said he didn’t believe me even a little, but he said nothing.
“What about…you?” I asked.
I was afraid to know the answer.
“I ended things with Jill.”
“Oh, thank god.” At least there was some good news coming from this. And Jill had been extra bitchy lately. Maybe that was why. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He drained his coffee and set down the empty cup. “Honestly, I don’t know how I got sucked into something that messed up. It was like this weird slippery slope.”
In a way, I got it. Not the whole affair part. But the slippery slope thing, for sure. It was like I woke up one day in a really terrible, controlling relationship with Luke, and I couldn’t believe I’d let it get to that point. And I didn’t fully grasp how bad it was until I was out of it.
“Good. You deserve better than that.”
Now if Mendez would dump her, the karmic retribution would be complete.
“I’m going out with a chick from my finance class this weekend, so we’ll see where that leads.”
“Even being alone is better than being with someone toxic,” I said. “I wish I had known that a long time ago.”
He shifted his weight, looking uncomfortable. “Is Luke still contacting you?”
“Sometimes.” I shrugged. It was hit or miss.
Chase wanted me to block him, but that kind of thing only made Luke escalate more. If Luke thought he was getting to me—he wasn’t—it kept him on more of a leash.
Derek shook his head, his face clouding over. “I told him to stop.”
Good to know he had tried for once, I guess. I wasn’t sure if he knew about the untrue things Luke had texted to the team, but I wouldn’t get into that right now.
“So did Chase. Repeatedly.”
“That’s what the hit was about, huh?”
“Little bit. Luke is a cheap shit anyway,” I said. “He probably deserved it either way.”