Page 54 of Brandy Snap: Part One

The receptionist awkwardly looked back at the screen as she continued.

“Well, at the moment you currently owe just over £9,000 without interest, though your next payment is due in five days, so it will obviously increase.”

I’d frozen, my whole body tipping forward against the tall reception desk to stop myself from collapsing right there.

After everything. After every single little thing that had piled up in the past week, I was so close to breaking I had to stop and take a deep breath.

“Ms Sanderson?”

“Yes, sorry. Did you say you’ve been sending letters?”

“And phone calls, yes. That’s what’s in the file here. Once a month.”

“Could you tell me the number and address?”

But she didn’t need to tell me. She didn’t need to say anything more.

I had accepted years ago that my sister was a selfish bitch. I hated calling her that; I only said it when she’d done something really despicable, like swipe Mum’s credit card after she’d had a stroke and used it to buy herself a weekend away in Majorca with her alphas. I’d never seen Rosa do anything that didn’t benefit her, but I didn’t think she would stoop so low.

Six months… Six months she had been avoiding payments while I took on twelve-hour shifts just so I could cover my half of the fee. Six-day weeks, sometimes eating the same cheap packet meal for an entire week just because I couldn’t afford anything else.

And she…

“Thank you so much for all your help,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll talk to my sister and get back to you about those payments.”

“Of course.” She gave me a sunny smile as I stepped away from the desk, praying I didn’t fall as I dragged myself along the corridor to Mum’s room.

I could usually control my anger towards Rosa. I knew what she was like. I expected her to behave in ways that hurt me or Mum. She stole money from me when we were teenagers, was constantly asking to ‘borrow’ money from Mum and other family members, and was in debt by her twenty-first birthday. So I should have known that she could do something like this, especially when she’d threatened me about the babysitting.

I just didn’t pay attention because she was crying and shouting like she normally did. But the care home must have assumed that Rosa and I had talked about it, and the payments were still coming in from my side, so we were keeping on top of them.

A shiver ran through my body. Even though rage fired more heat through me, I was shaking from the pure ridiculousness of what was being piled on me in such a short space of time. Heat, the alphas, losing my job, maybe losing care for Mum.

I growled as I forced myself to keep walking. I had no idea what I was supposed to say to Mum. I’d planned on telling her about presenting and the Risler pack. That was already big enough; she didn’t need to know about my job or the money. I didn’t want her to worry.

As I reached her door, I took another deep breath, pushing back the tears that were still threatening to take over. It was just another visit to Mum. It didn’t have to be anything more than a simple update about the week. Just a chat and a cup of tea and no breakdowns over the pile of shit that was my life.

Melanie

IendedupcryingtoMum. I didn’t tell her about the money, but I needed a friend, and I was too raw to talk to Lucielle. I didn’t know what she’d told our other friends at work, either.

I slouched back on my red leather sofa, finally home, back in my nest.

With every other crazy thing happening in my life, even the bits of me that still couldn’t accept that I’d presented as an omega, I was so happy I had a nest to keep me safe.

I tried not to dwell, but it was too difficult when every thought imaginable pounded around my head. Even sticking on headphones and blasting music couldn’t stop the lashes of pain that came whenever I thought of what Rosa had done.

I was an idiot to think that maybe we could be real sisters now that I’d presented.

Just as I was nodding off, my music abruptly stopped as a phone call came through. I pulled it out of my jeans pocket and looked at the screen.

Rosa.

It was the only word I needed to see to make my blood roar. I tipped forward, pressing my hand against the arm of the sofa, attempting to keep myself strong as I answered the phone.

“Mel!” Rosa’s chirp filled my ears. “Honestly, I thought I was never going to get hold of you. I tried calling, like, five times.”

The murmurs of her alphas echoed behind her, along with the sound of Tommy crying. I could just imagine the way she paced the room, spinning on her toes in a loose, flowery dress and a dreamy smile on her face, like she always did whenever she was on the phone.

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