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“Megyn.” Dad stepped forward. “We just want to ask you why you sold the house. You said it was being worked on, not that you were gutting it.”
“Right! I can’t believe you, Megyn,” Crystal said. She crossed the floor to Dad and slung her arm around his waist, like he had just come to her defense, even though everyone else knew it wasn’t the case.
If you’d stand up for yourself and tell her off, Dad.I shook my head. I couldn’t be too harsh on him. I wasn’t exactly the most forceful or confrontational person in the world, so I understood. It made me think perhaps we were more alike than I had considered before. He’d raised me, after all.
“Letting us believe the house was perfectly fine and then come to find out it’s being turned into… into…a store?”
“A sewing store,” I said. “My sewing store. You left me the house, so I can do whatever I want with it.”
“Like you had the money for that!” Crystal scoffed.
Dad lifted his head, a light turning on deep in his sunken eyes. I looked at him, and he looked back at me, and I suddenly saw that he understood why I had done what I did, why I was turning the house into a shop.
Dad. Please. Say something. Defend me for once. Back me up. Fight back against Crystal.
Dad blinked and lowered his head again without a word.
I swallowed hard and closed my eyes, struggling with the pain in my heart. So, he wasn’t ready.
“Where did you get the money for this?” Crystal pressed.
I opened my mouth to tell her it was none of her business.
Carter stepped up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. “I’m funding it.”
Crystal bounced on her feet and clasped her hands together. “I knew it!”
“Because I love her,” Carter said. He pressed his cheek to the top of my head. “And I’m proud of her, and I want her to accomplish her goals.”
“What about the goals of her family members?” Crystal pressed.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Crystal sighed dramatically. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this. See, Megyn, your father and I are in a very bad way financially right now.”
“Is that true, Jeremy?” Carter asked.
Dad sighed too, in a much more genuine way than Crystal. “Yeah. Yeah, it is. We’re not doing too good.”
“When we saw that Megyn had fallen in with someone who had money, well, it was only natural for us to ask,” Crystal explained, as if it wasn’t absolutely terrible of her to say. She seemed to have no shame about what she was saying. I didn’t think she really did at all. “We had to come and talk to you. Can you help us out, Carter?”
“You decided to spend tons of money on plane tickets and other travel expenses at a time when you’re not doing well with money?” I couldn’t really believe any of this. “You could have called. You don’t have to actually show up to get money.”
Crystal brightened and clasped her hands together. “Does this mean you two will help us out?”
“No!” I cried. “Absolutely not!”
“But why? Carter is givingyoumoney!”
I spread my arms. “Carter is the man I love. He’s funding my dream. There’s a big difference between loving and supporting someone and handing out free cash tomoochers!”
It was the worst word I could think of and it had the desired effect. Crystal’s face turned red and she swelled with indignation, her breasts having. “I won’t be talked to like this. Come on, Jeremy. We’re leaving.”
“Don’t act like it’s your idea,” I said, my throat tight and hot with anger. “Because it 100% is not. Get out of here and don’t come back.”
Dad lowered his head and turned away. “If that’s what you want, Megyn.”
“No, Daddy,” I said, sympathy for him dampening my anger. “It’s not what I want, but it’s how things have to be.”