Chapter 17 - The Final Countdown
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Day twenty-nine. The eve of the eviction.
The apartment I grew up in was a chaotic mess of cardboard boxes, trash bags, and packing tape. My parents moved sluggishly through the rooms, wrapping cheap dishes in newspaper.
“I still can't believe she’s actually doing this,” my mother muttered, violently throwing a handful of silverware into a box.
“She’s doing it, Helen,” Arthur said quietly, taping a box shut. “Marcus Thorne’s office called this morning. The sheriff is scheduled to arrive at exactly 9:00 AM tomorrow.”
“Where are we going to sleep?” my mother asked, her voice finally breaking into a genuine, terrified sob. “We’re too old to sleep in a motel.”
“Karla said we could sleep on her living room floor for a few weeks,” Arthur replied.
“Karla’s condo is in pre-foreclosure!” my mother cried. “She’s losing her place too!”
The devastating reality of their collective greed had fully materialized. They had all fed off my resources for years, building a house of cards on the foundation of my patience. Once I pulled my support away, the entire structure collapsed in less than a month.
Arthur walked over to the kitchen window, looking out at the city skyline. “We should have just been kind, Helen. She was going through a divorce. She was hurting. We should have just been kind.”
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My mother didn't answer. She just stood in the center of the living room, staring at the empty space where Sophia’s stroller used to sit.
For the first time in her life, the toxic matriarch of the family had absolutely no one left to blame but herself.
