Page 56 of Brandy Snap: Part One

“This is so incredible!! I can’t wait to tell Mum! And our cousins! Oh my god, the family is going to go crazy!”

“Rosa,” I tried to get a word in, but she just ignored me.

“Have you been in heat? You said you were ill! When was the last time you had proper food? I can make you something. I’ve got some chicken leftovers and I can get you a bunch of ice packs and energy drinks. You must be knackered! Wait, did you go to a Heat Clinic?” She burst out laughing. “I would love to see your face as you went to check in.”

A low growl rumbled from me as I clenched my fist. But she just carried on.

“I’ve still got my old books as well! I’ll bring them over. Oh my God, this is so amazing. I haven’t even read them for years! Do you remember we used to read them together? You know, before you…”

“Before I didn’t present?”

“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t matter anymore! I think I’ve still gotOmega’s First HeatandKnot Your Problem! Oooh, I might haveKnotty or Nice! Tommy needs someone to look after him tonight, but I can come over tomorrow. Actually! I haven’t fed him for a while, so I need to go, but oh my God.”

“No.” I raised my voice close to a shout. “No, Rosa. Don’t use that as an excuse. Don’t try to run away from this conversation.”

“I’m not running away. Tommy needs me.”

“And Mum needs you. And I needed you to keep up with the payments and you couldn’t even do that.”

“Look, you’re just grumpy because you’ve been in heat. Why don’t you take a day or two to calm—”

“It’s not about me being calm! This has nothing to do with me or my heat. This is about you.”

I couldn’t let her get to me. I had to be an adult about it. If I began screaming like I wanted to, then I’d be no better than her.

“Well, can we talk about it tomorrow?” my sister huffed. “Because I don’t feel like—”

“Okay, fine, you know what? I wanted to have a proper conversation about what we could do together and how we could help Mum, but you're clearlytoo busy. I can’t work anymore, Rosa. I don’t even know what I’m going to do now that I’ve presented. But I’m so tired. I’m so tired of everything. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

“Then you don’t have to!” she said brightly. “We can sort it out later on. I’m sure we’ll find time. Just not now because my schedule is super packed and I just don’t know when I’ll be free, you know?”

I pressed my lips together, trying to balance it out in my mind. How long would she put me off if I gave her time to think about the situation?

“I’m trying to understand, Rosa, I really am. But I don’t have the energy right now. So, guess what? The bills are in your name. You’re registered as her primary carer. I haven’t received a single letter or phone call from them since you changed our payment plan, so it looks like you’re going to have to find a way to afford it. It’s not like I can pay it anymore, so you won’t be seeing anything from me.”

“Wait! What? No, Mel, you can’t do that!” Suddenly extra voices chimed in like her alphas had gathered around the phone.

“We don’t have the money!”

“There’s no way we can afford it!”

“Think about our family!”

“If you were all thinking about our family, then you wouldn’t have done this,” I bit back. “I’m not always going to be here to cover you. You can treat this as an example if you want.”

There was a chance she could pull Mum out of the home, but we had found the cheapest place for her and, unless Rosa brought Mum back to her pack house, she didn’t have any other options except to throw her out on the street, and I had to believe even my sister wouldn’t go that far.

“Mel! I’m not joking. This isn’t—”

“I’m not either. Anyway, you need to feed Tommy, don’t you?” I blew out a deep breath, pain thundering through me. “Bye, Rosa. Don’t call me again.”

“Mel!” Her shout was the last thing I heard as I ended the call.

I trembled, sitting there on the sofa with my hand clutched around my phone, trying to focus on something, absolutely anything. But my vision blurred and tears dropped onto my lap.

I gasped as I suddenly threw my phone across the room. It cracked against the wall, leaving an indent in the gorgeous purple paint I’d saved for months to buy.

My chest burst as my thoughts ran out of me like sludge, leaving a numb buzz that travelled to every part of my body.

---