Chapter 2 #2
“How? Maybe you can get another card. Or I know. Why don’t you head off down to the bookies and run up some more debt, you fucking stupid cunt.
” He flinches again. “My credit score must be in the fucking toilet. I wanted to be an accountant. Do you have any idea how bad that will look for me? If I haven’t got that money, my job prospects are in tatters, and the debt will keep getting bigger with the interest charges.
” I stand up. “I’m going. I can’t stand to look at you anymore, Tyler.
” He grabs my hand. “Let go,” I say steadily. “Don’t make me make you.”
He holds on tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I can’t bear that I’ve let you and Cath down.”
The desperation stops me, and even my anger can’t hold back my following words. “Don’t do anything silly, Tyler. Promise me.”
His red-rimmed eyes are wet as he gazes at me.
“I mean it. I love you.” I sigh. “I also hate you quite a lot at the moment, so maybe steer clear of me for a bit. But I want your solemn promise that you will sort this out without doing anything silly, and you know exactly what I mean by that. Promise me on Mum’s grave.”
He stares at me for a second and then nods. “I promise you. I’ll take overtime at work and pay everything off. I’m going to make this right. On Mum’s grave. And you and Cath will love me again.”
“I already love you. That’ll never change.”
“Can I call you?”
I hesitate and then shake my head, hating it when his face falls. “Not for a while. At the moment, my hate for you is stronger than the love.” I grab his hand and squeeze it. “I want a text every night to tell me you’re okay, though.”
He nods, and it’s odd after all these years of him being my big brother to suddenly feel older than him, to feel ancient.
“Where are you staying?” I ask.
“With Ben.”
“That’s good.” I relax a little. He’s Tyler’s best mate and he’ll keep him steady.
Worry fills his face. “Where are you staying?”
“With a friend.”
“Shall I ask Ben if he’s got space for you?”
I immediately shake my head. “No, don’t do that. He’s not got enough room for me. I’ll be fine.” He looks unconvinced, and I offer him a weak smile. “I mean it. It’ll be easier if I travel light for a while.”
I step away, and panic fills his face. “Where are you going?”
“I’m going back to my mate’s flat. I need to work out what to do now.”
“I’m sorry, Wes.”
“I know. Maybe rather than saying that you should be working out how to make things right. Get a payment plan in place and sort it out, Tyler.”
“I love you.”
I pat his cheek. “A text every night. You promised.”
“I will.”
I walk away, leaving him a lonely figure on the bench.
I’m so fucking grateful he’s alive and not seriously injured, but my fears for the future are now so much worse.
Every breath hurts as I walk back to Julian’s flat, and my belly is churning with nerves.
How the hell am I going to sort out all this money I now apparently owe?
I let myself into the flat and hear music playing.
I pause at the door for a second, letting the peace of the place ease my soul before heading into the lounge.
Julian is seated at the table, papers and folders spread out in front of him.
He’s revising for finals. Something I should do, I think, but then remember that there might not be much point to it anymore.
He looks up as I appear and puts down his book. “I thought you’d left.”
I sink onto the huge sectional sofa. “No, I went to meet my brother.”
He stands up and settles on the sofa next to me. “Is everything okay? I don’t want to pry.”
I give a hoarse laugh and rub my eyes. “Pry away. You probably deserve to know with you putting me up last night.”
“I don’t deserve anything that isn’t yours to give.”
The simple words stop my free fall. I take a deep breath. “Short story. My brother has apparently developed a gambling habit, and he must have worked really hard on it, because our debts are now huge.”
He sinks back, his eyes concerned. “Shit.”
“Yep. He gambled our house away.”
“How can he do that, if it’s both of yours?”
“It wasn’t. My mum left it to him, but that’s only because she didn’t make another will after I was born. It must have slipped her mind, and then she died.”
“I’m sorry.” He doesn’t display emotion, but I can tell he means it.
“Thank you. My brother always acted like the house was ours, but it wasn’t.”
“So, you’re not on the hook for it?”
I give a short laugh. “No, but I am in hock for the credit cards he took out in my name to the tune of forty grand.”
“ Fuck ,” he breathes.
“That’s not even the worst, if you can believe it. He’s spaffed my master’s savings up the wall too. He’s emptied my bank account.”
His eyes grow round with horror. “You don’t have money for…”
“My fees. No. Looks like you’ll be taking that master’s on your own.
” I shake my head. “What am I going to do? I have no job at the moment. I was covering someone’s maternity leave, and she’s back now.
I can get a temp job, but paying off those cards will take forever.
I have nowhere to live, and I’m going to have to leave uni. ”
My dreams are in tatters, but I don’t add that dramatic bit.
“You can stay here.”
“No,” I say quickly. “No, I can’t. We’re not mates. I can’t impose on you.”
He shrugs. “We’re not mates, but maybe we could be. You’re the least annoying of everyone at uni.”
Incredibly, I laugh. “Thank you for the fulsome praise.” I lie back on the sofa and close my eyes. “I don’t know what to do, Julian.”
There’s a long silence, and I feel myself sinking into the soft sofa, feeling weariness and depression tug at me.
His voice is so soft when he speaks that I almost don’t hear him. “Can I tell you something?”
I force my eyes open. He’s watching me, his face set and eyes busy with calculation.
“You can tell me anything,” I say with honesty.
“Promise me you won’t tell anyone else,” he says, and something about both the fierceness and vulnerability in his voice touches me.
“I promise,” I say, meaning it. “You can trust me.”
He relaxes at what he sees in my face. “Aren’t you wondering how I can afford to live here?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Not really. Wondering about you has been a bit low on my list compared to homelessness and a credit score that’s now lower than a fucking aardvark’s.” I sit up. “But now you mention it, I am a bit curious. Do your parents own it?”
“Hardly.” His lips twist into a naughty smirk. “I’m a whore.”