ADVERTISEMENT
If you’ve ever trusted someone so much that you moved into their home only to feel the walls close in, then you know what I mean. And if you haven’t yet, stay with me. Because what happened next would split everything wide open.
And once that curtain got pulled back, there was no pretending anymore. Not for me. Not for them.
I always offered to pay for what I used—milk, bread, my special chamomile tea. But one afternoon, April left a receipt on the counter, circled items in red ink, and wrote a total beside it. Then she added a sticky note.
“Your share. Thanks.”
No greeting, no smiley face—just a number. Later that evening, she handed me a printed breakdown of the monthly utilities, highlighted, organized into columns.
She pointed to my name at the bottom and said, in a calm voice, that fairness keeps things clear. “That’s how families stay strong.”
Russell didn’t speak much that night, but he did nod in agreement while scrolling on his phone. I didn’t argue.
I walked upstairs with the paper in hand, sat on the edge of my bed, and stared at the math. The total wasn’t outrageous, but the message was louder than the number. They didn’t want a mother in their home.
They wanted a tenant. A few days later, I found Russell in the kitchen flipping through a small black notebook. When I entered, he closed it too fast.
He set it on the counter and smiled like nothing happened. Later that night, when they were out, I checked the drawer where I kept my personal folder. It was slightly out of place.
Continue reading…
ADVERTISEMENT