Page 39 of Hot Blooded

“You’re not even going to try?” Ma demanded.

Tessa pinched the bridge of her nose, unbearable pressure rising behind her eyes. “Try what? Ask to trade shifts with a coworker when it’s something that is not allowed at my workplace?”

“How do you know if you don’t ask?”

“Because there are established policies for time off and I can’t—” Tessa cut herself off. Why was she even bothering to explain? “You know what? No. That’s my answer: no. If the party starts early enough, I’ll pop in for a bit before my shift starts, but that’s the best I can do.”

“All you do is work and sleep,” Ma argued. “You need to get out and see people!”

“I was just seeing people last night and you were pissed at me for it!”

“Because you left your brother hanging for a ‘friend’! Don’t think I don’t know what that means. A friend. I wasn’t born yesterday, Teresa.”

Oh god. “So what if it was more than a friend? Would that be the worst thing? Or would you rather I spend the rest of my life alone so that I’m always available to babysit for Rob?”

Ma didn’t respond right away, and that hesitation spoke volumes.

With sickening clarity, Tessa realized very suddenly that her mother really didn’t want her to have her own life. She loved having Tessa here. Tessa handled the finances, dealt with the bill collectors, gave Ma somebody to cook for on a regular basis, and listened to her endless stories. Her presence in the house patched over several of the voids Dad had left when he passed.

She should never have moved in with her mother. It would’ve taken longer to get the debt squared, but at least she wouldn’t have bricked herself into this emotional prison.

Ma finally spluttered, “You’re not alone! You have me!”

“I’m tired,” Tessa said. It was all she could say.

Ma didn’t argue this time. She left without a word, pulling the door shut and plunging Tessa back into the dark.

She tried to go back to sleep. Her mind was racing, her emotions chaotic, but she tried to soothe herself with the comfort of the lump sum of her HemoMatch contract sitting in her bank account. That money was going to solve so many of her problems, including her mother’s dependency.

Try as she might, she couldn’t get back to sleep. After several minutes of tossing and turning, she sighed and got out of bed. If she couldn’t lull herself to sleep with happy thoughts about that pile of money, then she’d go use that pile of money to make the happy thoughts come true.

“Oh, now you’re up?” Ma asked irritably when Tessa came down the stairs.

“Yeah. I’ve got to take care of something. Be back later.”

Three hours later, Tessa walked out of the bank, signatory papers clutched in her hand, feeling so light she could float away. On the advice of the personal banker she’d met with, Tessa had moved the seventy-eight grand into an account that would accrue interest at a slightly higher rate than the mortgage. From there, regular payments would automatically transfer, easily keeping Ma’s head above water for the next several years.

Needing to share her relief, she dialed her brother up.

“Tessa?” Rob answered quickly. “What’s up? Everything okay with Ma?”

“Everything’s great, actually.” She explained the mortgage situation to him—skirting the details of where the money came from.

“Wow,” Rob said unenthusiastically, immediately deflating Tessa’s joy. “So, what does this mean for Ma?”

“It means the worst of the debt is taken care of, and we don’t have to worry about her being thrown out of her home.”

“Yeah, that’s great. But what about you and Ma? Are you still going to stay with her?”

Tessa didn’t answer right away, confused by the question. “What? No. Why would I stay with her? She doesn’t need the help anymore.”

“She’s getting older, Tessie.”

“We’re all getting older, Rob. She’s only fifty-six and perfectly healthy. She doesn’t need an in-home caretaker.”

Rob sighed. “I just don’t like the thought of her being alone.”

“Then have her move in with you,” Tessa said flatly.

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