Free The Trouble With Before by Portia Moore Page A

don’t live here anymore, and I’d feel better if someone who didn’t live in this house didn’t have a key.”
    “What! This is my house too. Grandma left it to the both of us!” I say, looking at her as if she’s lost her mind.
    The curtain moves aside, and I see Jack with a trucker’s hat on and a bottle of whiskey in his hand. “Actually, according to the paperwork I have, it’s my house.”
    His voice makes me cringe. I narrow my eyes at him and remember how much I couldn’t stand him. He looks the same, only about twenty extra pounds making him even more of a waste of space to the world.
    “This has nothing to do with you! My mom knows that Grams left this house to both of us!” I’m spitting mad now. I turn my attention to Evie, who looks unaffected.
    “The house was in my name, sweetheart, and times were tough. I sold it to Jack’s dad who gave it to Jack, so technically it’s his house and mine,” she says with a shrug.
    I laugh, because this has to be a joke. Even Evie wouldn’t be so idiotic to give away our house for what was probably a couple of hundred, possibly thousand dollars. This house is worth almost two hundred thousand minimum.
    “You’re lying.” When her eyes find mine and I see a trace of guilt in them, my stomach drops. “How could you . . . how could you do that?” I feel tears filling my eyes.
    “Mike is family, Leese. He ended up signing it back over . . . to both of us,” she says pathetically.
    I grip my forehead, not believing that this is happening. “You know that Gramma would have never left this house to you if she thought that you’d do this!”
    “Look, it’s not like we’re saying you can’t stay here,” Evie says weakly, as if for the first time ever, she feels the sting of guilt. She should be feeling a whole freakin’ boatload of it.
    “No, we’re not monsters, and you’re the love of my life’s daughter,” Jack says sarcastically before kissing Evie on the cheek, then winking at me.
    I want to throw up. As if things couldn’t get any worse, I feel light drops of rain. I let out a deep breath.
    “We’re going to need a security deposit though. I’d say about a thousand would cover it,” he says while scratching his chin as if he hasn’t a care in the world.
    My eyes bulge. Anger controls every pulse in my body. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m not giving you a thousand dollars to live in my grandmother’s house!” I growl, commanding the tears in my eyes not to fall. I turn my attention back to Evie and swallow my last ounce of pride. “Just give me a week or two, and I’ll be out. I just need some time.”
    “After you get a job and you’re able to pay some rent, you’d be more than welcome to stay,” he answers.
    I try to calm down, but I’m so angry, my whole body is shaking. “Evie . . . I don’t . . . I don’t have anywhere else to go right now.” I try to connect with the last shred of maternal instinct she has.
    “Whelp, I don’t know what to tell you, sweetheart.” He shrugs, taking a swig from his bottle.
    “Leese, don’t be stubborn. It’s only fair, and it’s a lot less than we’d charge anyone else.” My mother’s face is stoic and her voice holds not an ounce of compassion or sympathy, as if this is all business.
    “Anyone else? I’m your daughter. Your fucking daughter, Evie!” I’m failing miserably in my attempt not to cry at this point.
    “Oh, now you’re her daughter? That’s funny. You don’t call her or check on her. You treat her like a stranger ever since you went off to school, then when you’re desperate, you come crawling back and she’s supposed to play mommy to a grown fucking woman!” he shouts.
    I shake my head, ignore him, and stare straight at her. “I know that you’ve never been the mother of the year, but God, I never thought you’d do this to me. How could you be so fucking weak!” In disbelief, I watch her leave her spot next to Jack in the window.
    His wide smile