A glass of water on a counter | Source: Midjourney

“The house,” she hissed. “The lawyer just called me. There’s debt. Lots of debt. Thousands of dollars. If the money isn’t paid back, the house will be taken away from us, Dawn.” “And you…” she let out a shaky breath. “You have the money, don’t you?”

I leaned back in an armchair and let my father’s watch tick on my wrist.

“Maybe I have the money,” I said. “But we don’t really have a good story, do we? You threw me out.”

She kept silent.

“You have to help me!” She finally said.

I smiled.

“I would have helped you, Charlotte,” I said. “If you had been nicer to me when I was little, sister. Maybe then I would have felt bad.”

A woman talking on the phone | Source: Midjourney

Then I hung up.

I had planned to stay a little longer in the guesthouse. Matthew helped me find a furnished apartment.

“Something small would be perfect,” he told me. “You have a few months before you go to college, Dawn. You don’t need to be tied down to a big house. An apartment is the best way to go. And you’ll be eighteen soon, and you can do whatever you want. Right now, you need to focus on school.”