Chapter 4 - THE MORNING AFTER
The next morning, the sun rose over the city in a brilliant display of golden light. For the first time in years, waking up the day after a major family holiday didn't feel like waking up with a hangover of dread.
Lily and I made pancakes together in our small kitchen, laughing as I accidentally flipped a pancake onto the stovetop instead of the plate. We spent the morning watching an old movie on the couch wrapped in heavy flannel blankets, completely ignoring the outside world.
Around 1:00 PM, there was a sharp knock at our apartment door.
I paused the movie, frowning. We didn't expect visitors, and certainly not delivery drivers on a holiday weekend.
I walked to the door, peering through the peephole. Standing in the hallway, looking profoundly out of place in her designer wool coat and matching scarf, was my sister Melissa. She looked exhausted, her hair slightly disheveled, holding a leather handbag like a shield against her chest.
I opened the door just wide enough to block her path, leaning against the frame.
"What do you want, Melissa?" I asked, my voice completely devoid of warmth.
Melissa blinked, her eyes darting past me into the apartment before focusing back on my face. "Rachel... can I please come in? We need to talk. It's an emergency."
"There is nothing to talk about," I replied evenly. "And you are not stepping foot in my home."
"Rachel, be reasonable!" Melissa hissed, lowering her voice as a neighbor's door down the hall clicked open. "Mom is beside herself. She hasn't slept all night. The municipal tax notice arrived in her mailbox this morning—the final payment deadline is December 1st, or the county is going to place a lien on the property!"
"Then I suggest you and Greg pull out checkbooks," I retorted sharply. "After all, you're the favored children. Let her royal highness rely on the people she actually respects."
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Melissa’s face flushed a deep, ugly red. "You know we don't have that kind of cash lying around! Greg’s business investments are tied up, and my credit is maxed out! Mom’s pension only covers her grocery bills and prescriptions by a thread! If you pull your funding now, she’s going to lose the house she lived in for thirty years!"
"She should have thought about that before she stood up at her own dinner table and publicly humiliated a twelve-year-old child for entertainment," I snapped back, my temper flaring. "You all laughed, Melissa. Every single one of you. You thought it was hilarious. Well, humor doesn't pay property taxes."
