“Now is that any way to greet your mother who’s returned from prison?” She moved forward, as if to kiss us in greeting, and I stepped in front of the girls.
“Take another step and I’ll throw you out of the house myself,” I warned, and even the marshals passing by heard the dark threat in my words.
“Well, there will be no need for that, darling,” she said with a smile, undeterred by my aggression. “The marshals are kicking us all out.”
Lila and I exchanged a blank look, but I heard Brooklyn’s sharp intake of breath behind me.
A round little man who had been standing officiously at Mother’s elbow cleared his throat and stepped forward to speak. “In a show of collaboration with the United States government, Congresswoman Carlisle has agreed to turn over all properties and monies for evidence. In accordance with this, all members of the family are to vacate the premises immediately and remain away until such time that assets can be taxed appropriately and their method of earning assured.”
Lila’s voice dripped with dissention. “So we have to leave.”
Mother grinned with a sickly grin that turned my stomach. This was how she would get back at us. This was how she’d punish us for putting her away. I knew it had been coming; I knew it was only a matter of time before she found a way to screw us over just to make herself look good. And she had found it.
“Yes, dear Lila, you and your brother are out I’m afraid,” she said.
It could not have been more clear that she was enjoying this immensely. “And don’t try and swipe any of those credit cards I made sure you have! Not a one will work.”
“You did this on purpose,” Lila breathed. “You told them to take everything to make sure we’d have nothing. But why? You’re cutting off your nose to spite your face! What will you get from this?”
“Oh, everything will be settled in due time,” Mother answered, waving an airy hand. “It may take years, though! I’m on house arrest until my trial, so I’ll have to stay here. And they’ll either get it worked out while I’m on trial, or I’ll be in prison, so it won’t matter anyway!”
She tinkled a little laugh, and my hands curled into fists at my side. Now, I understood why people had the capacity to kill. Because as anger rushed through my veins, I could have strangled my mother with my own bare hands right there and smiled at her lifeless body.
Nevertheless, she kept on talking, like she knew she had won this round. “For my cooperation, they’ve promised to send me to Federal Prison Camp in Alderson if I have time to serve.” Then, she lowered her voice to a confiding whisper, “That’s where Martha Stewart went, you know.”
Lila scoffed. “And what exactly are we supposed to do until then? Where are we supposed to live? And what do we do if they take everything?”
Mother laughed a long, high laugh, the sound echoing off of the high ceilings and marble flooring. “Oh, Lila, you are funny.” Then, the smile dropped from her face, leaving behind the cold face we had both come to know so well. “I don’t give a rat’s ass where you go or what you do,” she hissed. “After you betrayed me, the both of you can live on the streets and rot in hell for all I care.”
Brooklyn tugged on my arm before reaching for Lila’s hand. “Come on, let’s go. You guys need to pack a bag.”
She pulled us both up the stairs, but it didn’t pull my gaze away from Mother. She stood there with a triumphant look on her face, as if she had somehow won this war. I heard Lila already sniffling; already crying as if we had somehow been defeated. But even though we followed Brooklyn mutely—allowing Mother the last word in our little argument—I vowed to myself that I’d make her pay.
No matter what it cost me, Mother would rot exactly where she belonged.
9
Brooklyn
“You guys will stay with me until we can figure something else out,” I said, knowing even as I said it that it was a shitty option. But what other choice did we have? “Pack as much as you can and do it quick.”
The twins had identical shellshocked faces; it had never been clearer that they were mirror images of one another. Nevertheless, I snapped my fingers in front of their faces to jolt them out of their shocked trance. While this might not be the life they were conditioned to living, everyone else lived this way.
Time to act like regular people, you guys.
My voice bellowed over their heads. “Hey! Move!”
Lila shook her head and started to move to her bedroom, looking as if she were in a dream. And as Jude stared at me with a blank stare, I started doing the one thing I thought I’d never do in my life.
I started giving the twins orders.
“Lila, pack blankets, pillows, toiletries, towels. I don’t have much at my house, so bring all you can. If you have anything you can sell quick and easy to have some money to keep you afloat, take that as well. Any cash, paperwork, all of it,” I called after her.
Then, I turned to face the man I loved. “Come on, I’ll help you do the same before I go check on her.”
Jude and I went into his room and I pulled my duffle out and grabbed his largest suitcase, flipping it open. I threw in all of his toiletries and every linen I could find while he went through his drawers and tossed things onto the bed for me to shove in there. But, when he stopped tossing me things, I peered over my shoulder and found him staring out the window.
“Jude!” I snapped. “Move!”
I left the bedroom door open and kept glancing over my shoulder, checking to make sure no one was there. I don’t know what I was afraid of, but it was probably his mother. That woman was pure evil, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit that she scared the ever-living shit out of me. However, the heat in my voice shocked Jude back to work, and he started emptying drawers left and right before he headed into his closet.
I ran downstairs to the linen closet and snatched up more towels and luscious blankets. Egyptian cotton sheets, down blankets, memory foam pillows, all of the things that might help them survive at my shitty place. Well… probably not, but it was worth a try. I carried what I could upstairs to pack before digging out trash bags from the janitorial closet two doors down from Jude’s room. I shoved the rest of everything I gathered in one of the black garbage bags and went to the kitchen while Jude continued packing up stuff in his closet. Probably things he could sell off for money.
We were about to all be real poor, so I prayed he took the liberties he needed to with that closet of his.
I made my way down into the kitchen to gather all I could in terms of food.
“What in the blue blazes are you--?”
One of the kitchen staff tried to intervene, but I shot a look over my shoulder that could’ve killed anyone standing there. I vaguely recognized the girl as one of the newer hires before Jude and I kicked things off between us, and she looked more scared than anything else.
“Turn around and leave. Act like I’m not here,” I said.
And with a soft nod, she turned on her heels and left.
The Carlisle kitchen was a chef’s dream. It was exactly where you’d want to be if you were snowed in for a month. I unfolded a box from the closet and stacked in pasta, rice, and any non-perishable I could find. I wheeled out their mondo Yeti cooler, poured the contents of the ice machine inside, and filled it to the brim with all of the meat in the freezer, adding cheeses, spreads, and produce in a bag on top before I snapped it closed. I was pulling everything out when I caught sight of the liquor storage. My mouth watered at the idea of all the expensive scotches and whiskies and sours that were surely in that thing.
And even though I tried to distract myself by packing up the fresh produce I could find, I finally caved.
Fuck it.
We’d need some help getting through this. All of us would. So, I grabbed one last box and filled it with whiskey, wine, vodka, gin, and rum, adding a case of beer for good measure. I covered this box with a tablecloth and a few bags of bread and granola before I stacked it on the cooler and pulled it to the
front door.
Thank God, Monster Mom was nowhere to be seen.
I could hear her voice in the background, though, giving instructions and merrily telling the agents about hidden stores and safes. The twins were sitting at the foot of the stairs, looking like two kids whose mom had forgotten to pick them up from school. And as they stood there like two helpless fawns in the eye of a hurricane, I steeled my gut.
I compiled everything into a stack at the front door before grabbing an agent. “Do we need to clear what we’re taking with you?”
He nodded. “Nothing goes without us looking through it and marking it down.” He followed me to the door and began to poke through the bags, introducing himself to us as Agent Carol. He looked very young, with the barest hint of a peach fuzz mustache and kind blue eyes. Noting down everything he looked through, he cleared the linens and their clothing no problem. But, he paused when he got to their laptops.
“We’ll need to keep these,” he said, setting them aside. “In case there’s any sort of evidence we can use. We’ll get them back to you as soon as we can.”
When he got to the liquor box, he raised an eyebrow at me.
“All the good wine and liquor that’s worth anything is in the cellar,” I said. “This is just for therapy. You’ve seen their mother, can’t you imagine they need a drink?”
He smiled a little. “Fine, take it. I’ll let it slide for now.” He signed the bottom of a form and had the twins sign as well. But, noticing how out of it they seemed, he addressed me instead. “They’ll need to remain in town in case we need anything. And while they are in town, they’ll need to report where they are staying,” he said as he handed me a business card. “Agent Martin will also be keeping them updated as the case proceeds, and they can direct any questions to him. Keep an eye on them, though. It looks like they need a friend right now.” He looked at the two of them, his brow creased. “You two take care.”
I thanked him and thought how right he was. Suddenly, I had become the Carlisle Twins’ only friend in the world.
And it wasn’t a position I took lightly.
We loaded down my car until I felt the whole body of it sag with the weight and drove silently to my place. If I were to be totally honest, all I could think about was how the Wonder Twins were going to do staying indefinitely at my apartment. This was sure to be a completely new experience for them, and I was pretty sure they were going to be miserable.
But, this was how they needed to get used to living their life. Especially if the government usurped everything of their mother’s indefinitely.
I parked my car in the back of my complex. “All right, guys. Help me get everything upstairs. It’s the staircase right in front of us, all the way up to the top. And we have to be quick. A car loaded down with boxes is going to be a quick target. Jude, can you stay back with the car while Lila and I make the first run up?”
Jude stared blankly at me. “What the hell just happened?”
Lila’s eyes lined with tears. “Do you even have beds for us?”
I tried not to break down. “We’ll get it figured out, okay? We can make things cozier once we sell off some stuff and have money to get things. Until then, you and Jude can sleep in my bed and I’ll take the couch.”
Jude glared at me. “No.”
I shrugged. “Tough tits. Come on, Lila. You and me first, then Jude can tag in and I’ll stay with the car on the second run. Okay?”
It took seven trips to get everything into my apartment, and we didn’t move without eyes prying into our every step. I glared at some of the people walking by and they put their heads down, and I clocked those that seemed to be a bit too curious as to what we were doing. In the part of town where I lived, recognizing faces was everything. And after taking a few mental pictures, I locked up my car and took the last box upstairs.
Before watching Lila walk around to take everything in.
“My God,” she whispered.
She moved slowly throughout, putting a manicured hand on the cracked countertops and my threadbare couch. Her eyes widened as she examined the water stains on the ceiling and jumped every time a floorboard creaked beneath her. I felt Jude massage my shoulders and kiss the back of my head as my brow furrowed tightly together. I was worried for the twins, but at least Jude was familiar with my apartment.
Then, Lila finally turned to me. “God, Brooklyn, I had no idea you lived like this. Why didn’t you say something to us? Maybe we could’ve helped.”
I tried not to be offended by that because it wasn’t as if I were homeless. Yeah, my place was shitty. But plenty of people had it worse. And I was able to live alone, which felt like the height of luxury to me. Not a lot of people in this town could say the same thing. Plus, I’d seen the kind of shit that went on in their house, and I’d take living my way over living in the lap of luxury with their mother any day of the week.
Lila sat on my bed, testing its weight. “Not too bad.”
I cleared my throat. “That’s where you and Jude will be--.”
Jude interrupted me. “That’s where Brooklyn will be sleeping tonight, Lila. We can take turns sleeping on the couch and on the bed until we can get beds for all of us. Right?”
Lila looked at me wide-eyed and nodded quickly. “Right. Of course. Yes, that’s only fair. Especially since she’s taking us in.”
I peeked back at Jude. “It’s really okay. She can--.”
But, there was something in his eyes that stopped my words right in my tracks.
What are you thinking, handsome?
Lila cleared her throat. “Should I start putting away all of the food in the kitchen?”
I pulled away from Jude’s ever-tightening grip. “I can help. Jude? Move these boxes out of the way and start unpacking them. We’ll find places to put yours and Lila’s things.”
I walked into the kitchen and started putting all of the food away with Lila, grateful both for the fact that my fridge was empty and that this small place actually had a decent sized pantry. I didn’t realize how much I had grabbed from the kitchen until half of the meats had to go in the back of the refrigerator, the pantry overflowed into the opposite corner, and we had to start storing things in cabinets that would have otherwise held glassware and pans.
As I started putting the alcohol away in spaces I could find in the refrigerator, I heard Jude and Lila murmuring quietly in the living room. I peeked through the cabinets and saw Jude cupping her cheeks, brushing away what I figured were tears. It looked like Lila was trembling, and there was a chance Jude was talking her down from some sort of a panic attack.
So, I decided to give them a few minutes alone. “I’m going to run to the corner store and grab a few essentials, make yourselves at home! I’ll be back in a bit.”
When I came back an hour later with a few candles to make the place smell a bit better and some glassware we desperately needed, they seemed calmer and more put together. They’d used the blankets to create a bed for Lila on my couch, and packed away most of their stuff in drawers and along my empty bookcases.
And I saw they made a makeshift table out of my rickety coffee table by placing a decorative blanket beneath it and setting down those memory foam pillows to sit on.
“We counted our cash,” Jude said as I sat beside him. “We’ve got $6000 between us.”
I almost dropped the bag in my hand. “What? You guys just had six grand laying around?”
“That’s what we had in our wallets,” Lila said. “Do you think that will be enough to get us through a few weeks?”
I snickered. “If you’re careful with your money? Oh, yeah. You’ll be more than fine for more than a few weeks, considering you’ve got free rent here and we have plenty of food for a while. But trials take a long time. And in the scheme of things, that’s not very much.”
Jude nodded toward my bags. “What did you find?”
I shrugged. “Just some more glasses, silverware, that kind of stuff. I only have enough in my cabinets fo
r myself, so I figured we could use some more plates and things like that.”
Lila peeked into one of the bags. “Is that… plastic?”
I giggled. “It’s reusable plastic. I got it from the dollar store up the street.”
Jude froze. “The what now?”
I rolled my eyes. “You two are going to have to get used to living like me. That means no more name-brand items, no more expensive clothes, and definitely no more department-store shopping. The dollar store will become your friend and thrift stores will be splurging for you guys for a while now.”
Lila blinked. “You mean, clothes people have already worn?”
I clicked my tongue. “Yeah, I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that.”
Jude chuckled. “It’s a lot, but we’re willing to learn, right Lila?”
Lila’s face was paler than the milk now in my fridge. “Yeah, yeah, right. What he said.”
I shrugged. “I mean, unless you’ve got rich family members who can take you in right now and help out, this is your only option. But, I can help out as much as I can, okay?”
Jude shook his head. “It’s just us. Dad’s parents are dead, so are Mother’s, and neither had any siblings.”
Lila’s voice grew hopeful. “Maybe there are second cousins or something out there?”
Jude scoffed. “Not like they’d know us anyway. The only people we grew up with were Mother’s employees. Any bit of family we might have had she either isolated us away from or pissed off so much they wanted nothing to do with us.”
Lila brushed away some tears. “And let’s face it: if there’d been any rich family members to be had, I’m pretty sure Mother would have kept up with them for obvious reasons.”
I clicked my tongue. “Good point. Okay. Do you guys know much about your financial situation? Like how the money came in?”
Lila bit her lip. “No, not really. We had the credit cards and anything below ten thousand was an easy zip. If it was more, we had to call the financial advisor to ask.”
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