Sins of Sisterhood

1. The New House

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#Rule 1: Always know your worth-even if you have to steal it.

"For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul 'cause I can't say no."
-Billie Eilish, "Bury a Friend"

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"I just bought the house, Jade."

The words bounced around, echoing like the walls were mocking me. I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of what I was about to say.

"I know you'll not say congrats, even though it's a big house." I paused, letting out a dry chuckle that also bounced off the bare walls. "A really big house. Cost me a cool $32.6 million."

My voice trailed off, and I found myself listening to the silence that followed. I wasn't actually talking to Jade. My sister wasn't here. I was alone, rehearsing a conversation that I knew would be difficult, in a house that was far too empty.

Empty but big. Really damn big.

I shifted uncomfortably, becoming acutely aware of the cold, hard surface beneath me. Glancing down, I remembered I was sitting cross-legged on bare hardwood floors.

"Hey," I said out loud to no one in particular. "Have you ever done something stupid? I mean really, monumentally stupid? Especially something financial, like buying a ridiculously expensive thing you absolutely didn't need and now totally regret?"

I paused for effect, taking a swig from my whiskey bottle.

"Well, I've done something that stupid. But don't get me wrong," I continued, "I don't regret buying the house. No, no, no. What I regret is not leaving even a bit of money behind. You know, just enough to afford a freaking burger. Because right now, I'm sitting in a multi-million dollar house with a growling stomach and empty cupboards. Talk about poor planning, right?"

I snorted at my own joke, and waited for the echo to end. It wasn't really funny, but what else could I do?

The late afternoon sun slanted through floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows across the barren space. Its warm light caught the amber liquid in my bottle, creating a small pool of gold amidst the emptiness. I raised the glass to my lips, the whiskey burning a path down my throat as I gulped.

I wasn't really used to the hard stuff, but it seemed appropriate given the situation. After all, I wasn't just some reckless idiot who spent all her money on a mansion and a whiskey bottle instead of pizza.

No, I'd gone beyond reckless... I'd stolen every damned penny of it.

Shoving the guilt aside, I struggled to my feet, feeling the stiffness in my legs from sitting on the floor too long.

The room spun just a bit as I wobbled upright, reminding me of my short-sightedness in more ways than one. I squinted toward the windows, trying to focus on the view outside-the neat courtyard, the shimmering horizon the calm pool-but it was all a blur.

Typical.

I'd never bothered to get glasses. Who had time for that when every spare dollar went to uni fees?

I had a health plan, technically. My parents had made sure of that, insisting I keep it. But they didn't know I'd been funneling the money meant for medical stuff into my tuition fund instead. Just like they didn't know I was studying software engineering.