Just Pucking Money (UNI Lions #4) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 8 - And the issues pile on...

Lily

I can't help it. After every class, I keep looking around, hoping to see Ethan. Part of me still thinks he was just messing with me. Why would he be interested in someone as boring as me?

When I leave my last class on Wednesday, I try to ignore the urge to scan the surroundings.

I fail.

There's no sight of him. Of course not. Why would there be? So I pull out my phone just in time to see my stepmother calling.

With a sigh, I adjust my bag and answer.

"Hi, Alice. Is everything ok?"

"No, everything is not ok. I can't believe you'd even ask me that."

My heart stutters. "Is Dan in the hospital again?"

"What? No, Of course not."

"That's good. So what's the issue?"

"The issue is that you're an adult now and you need to help out more. We have bills that need to be paid, and medicine isn't cheap."

"I'm not sure what you want me to do about that." I leave the building and walk down the street to the green area that is the quad.

"You're going to have to send us some money. I know you have a job now and it's only fair."

I rub my temple to keep the headache at bay.

"I'm barely making enough to pay my own bills."

"We need a thousand dollars. Next month, we can work something out."

I stop my laughter from bubbling out. "A thousand? You know I don't have that kind of money. I can barely afford to eat."

Alice huffs. "I don't understand how you let it get that bad. You're supposed to help family. How about a few hundred?"

I take a deep breath. "You know I don't have any money. You made sure of that when you stole my college fund."

"Your father would not want me and Dan to suffer like this. He would expect you to help us. So for you to say anything about me paying our bills is just cruel."

She always does this. She brings up dad and how he would want them to be taken care of. For a moment, I feel bad. He promised to take care of them when he married her.

But I don't think he would want to put that burden on me.

"All my life, dad talked about me going to UNI. Just like my mom. And he did everything he could to make that dream come true."

"Not this again." I can practically hear her rolling her eyes. "It's college. It doesn't matter. Community college is fine. Maybe even better."

Breathing deep, I relax my suddenly tense jaw. "I watched him skip meals and work extra shifts so he could put that money aside for me. He skimped and hunted bargains so he could save up for four years here at UNI. That was what he wanted."

"His priorities changed when he married me, and that's something you have to accept."

"He never would have taken money from the college fund. Especially not without telling me. You didn't even warn me so I could start saving last year. And now I'm left with nothing. You're even trying to take my house from me. The house that dad wanted me to have."

I feel horrible the moment the words are out. We both own half the house. Mom left her half to me, and it was supposed to be all mine. Not that it would help much while I'm at UNI.

The now familiar quad stretches out in front of me. People are laughing and throwing around a frisbee. I've seen them there before. Maybe it's a club or something.

"You call this a house? It's a dilapidated pile of trash. But if you want to pay for a new roof, you go right ahead. When your father died, he left me all alone with not a care in the world for how I was supposed to take care of two children and this money-eating hovel. And what am I supposed to do when Dan needs his treatments?"

I sigh and rub my forehead, the headache settling in. The hospital bills needed to get paid. I understand that. And Dan does need his medicine. I want to hate everything she's done, but it's hard when I know all she does is try to save her son. The really selfish part of me wishes my dad had made it so she couldn't access my college fund.

"Fine," I finally say. "But you could have told me when you took the money. I could have been more frugal. I thought I had enough to live in the dorms for four years. And I didn't find out until spring when I tried to pay for something and there was no money left."

"It doesn't matter. What's done is done. But you should know I'm looking into selling the house."

My heart stops and I struggle to catch my breath.

"What?"

"I've already spoken to some people, but I need you to sign some stuff. I'll make sure you get the documents."

"You can't sell the house. That's my home. I grew up there. My mom left it for me."

I stumble to a bench and sit down.

"And your father left the upkeep to me. Honestly, the maintenance costs are too much. We don't need a whole house when we could get by with a small apartment. If you can't contribute more, I don't know what to do."

There's no getting rid of the headache now. I close my eyes.

"I'll think about it," I say, and it feels like I'm betraying my parents. But what else can I do?

"We still need money, Lily. How about you sell that car? I know it's just costing you parking fees, and insurance and gas. It was a silly idea to take it with you. And your dad would have wanted the car to benefit his son."

Step son, I almost say.

"I can't sell the car." Right now, it's the only thing I have of my dads. He gave it to me.

"We really need the money."

"The car isn't worth anything. It's too old and has too many miles on it. The only value it has is sentimental. So I won't be selling it."

If she's going to force me to sell the house, there is no way I'm getting rid of the car. It may be over thirty years old and seen better days. But it still runs, and it's reliable. And most importantly, it was my dad's.

"Sometimes you act like such an ungrateful brat," Alice says and hangs up the phone.

I sit for a moment and watch the frisbee players before I blink away the tears and head to the apartment.

How the fuck am I supposed to pay for a new roof when I can't even afford a pair of shoes? But to sell the house I grew up in? Fuck. Why did my dad ever trust Alice with his money? And why did he leave her his half of the house?

I blink away fresh tears before I enter the apartment and find a pile of dishes left for me. With a sigh, I roll up my sleeves. I'll find a way. I always do.