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“It’s in our budget and it’ll be cleaned before move-in.”

“Will it?” I venture down the short hallway, the carpetshifting under my feet because it’s torn and pulled up from the wall. “This bedroom is definitely the scene of the crime. What—is that—mold?”

My mom leans over my shoulder. “Oh. Yes.”

I gesture around. “Are things this bad for us?”

It wouldn’t be the first time she’s kept things from me. After my grandma died, my mom stopped treating me like an adult, even though the situation called for it even more. Sure, she lets me basically take care of myself because we have to and she says things likeour budget, but she hides final notices, refuses to talk finances, won’t let me help her cut coupons or accept any money I offer.

“There’s a lot of upkeep with the house.” She’s about to lean against the wall when she second-guesses herself, crossing her arms. “It’ll need a new roof soon.”

“There have to be other places that are within our budget.” I pass her and head toward the front door. I’m not living here. I’m not letting my mom live here, either. “Like, the house. Where we already live. We should try to make that work, not move into a shithole like this.”

She follows me. “Saine—”

“No. Let me help you. I am half the reason we’re struggling, so I should be half the reason we’re not.”

She frowns, latching onto my arm and squeezing. “It’s not your responsibility. Plus, with more money, we’d have chances to do more things, like... Like, you could go back to Adhira—”

“I don’t need to go to therapy. I’m fine.” I pause on the way to the doorknob. “I mean, I might need some after this place.This is the stuff of nightmares.”

“Okay, we haven’t always been the most secure financially, I’ll give you that, but if you think it’s not a privilege to have any roof over your head, you’ve got another think coming. This would be heaven for some people. All it takes is some cleaning. We’re moving. Maybe not here, but we are, so deal with it. This would be a much easier process if you lost the ’tude, kid.”

“Maybe if I knew this was even up for consideration before five minutes ago, I wouldn’t have the attitude.”

She pushes past me and out the door to tell Bev thanks, but we’re going to consider other options. The only option I see is staying at home. Our home. My grandma’s home.

Unknown

Today 3:17 PM

Hey

3:17 PM

It’s Holden

3:17 PM

I know.

3:17 PM

How

3:17 PM

You just told me.

3:18 PM

Ha

3:18 PM

You can come over now

3:18 PM

I have to watch Mara though

3:18 PM

That’s fine. I like her better than you anyway.

3:18 PM