Page 31 of Burning Daylight

Relief that she’s all right pours through me like a waterfall, but then her words register. My brows draw down. “What do you mean?”

“The m-money. The rainy-day fund you had me start? It’s… Everything’s missing.”

I laugh, thinking she’s joking, because there’s no way. Between her working a part-time job and me funneling her every extra dollar from my art, she’d have saved up close to ten thousand dollars by now.

“What are you talking about?”

“The money… I kept it under my mattress, and I went to take some with me to pick up my Felbamate and… It—it’s gone.” She hiccups into the phone.

My stomach drops. “Wait, why the hell are you using the money I give you to pay for your seizure meds?”

Silence answers me, and I grind my teeth so tightly, I’m surprised my jaw doesn’t crack. “Brooklynn. Has mom not been covering the cost of your meds?”

“Sometimes she does,” she whispers.

Sighing, I pinch the bridge of my nose. I can’t win here. “It’s all gone?” I confirm.

Brooklynn hiccups again. “I should h-have had a better hiding spot, I just… I didn’t…”

“It’s okay,” I soothe, trying to keep the anxiety from showing in my voice. “Just tell me what happened.”

Glancing at my desk, I look at my wallet, already knowing there’s only a few hundred bucks in there. That’s not nearly enough to cover a supply of her meds, even with the coupons we get her since we don’t have any insurance.

“M-Mom said to call you. She…she said you’d be able to help.”

Anger whips through me so violently, it burns my throat. “Did our mother do this?”

Brooklynn hesitates again. “She said she didn’t.”

I swallow hard, my tongue sticking to the top of my mouth like glue. “Listen, Brooke, I don’t want you to worry, okay? I’ll take care of it. How many pills do you have left?”

“I’m good for a couple days, but Ry, I’m sorry, I…I didn’t mean to…”

I shake my head even though she can’t see me, realization settling heavily into my gut about what my mother did. About what I know I have to do if I want to make sure Brooklynn stays healthy.

“Hey, it’s all right,” I say. “I’ve got you no matter what, okay?”

She sniffs. “Yeah.”

“You trust me?”

“Always.”

“I’ll handle it.” I grab my hoodie from the coat rack next to my door and put my phone on speaker while I slide it on. “And Brooke?”

“Yeah?”

“Quit trusting our fucking mother.”

Breaking! Mayor Penngrove Running It Back?!

Rosebrook Falls’s favorite “man of the people” just launched his reelection bid, complete with shiny promises, big buzzwords, and a whole lot of Calloway cash.

Sources say the Calloway estate is hosting an invite-only fundraiser next week. But the real headline? Juliette Calloway, the golden girl turned college darling, may be finally flying home for the event.

Is she the next political pawn in Daddy’s high-stakes game? Or is she finally stepping into the spotlight to play the queen herself?

#CallowayDrama #JulietteReturns #PowerPlay #RosebrookRag #CallowayWatch