Chapter 20
Itried to avoid thinking about the broken filling incident the next day.
The way I’d broken down in the supply closet felt like a weird dream.
I hadn’t expected to fall apart so intensely, and I definitely hadn’t expected him to respond with such understanding.
Honestly, I was surprised the man even still talked to me.
I’d cried a few times now in front of him, and typically, men didn’t like the combination of women and tears.
To distract myself from thinking about facing him again on Thursday, I did my best to keep my mind occupied. I stayed in the house, avoiding any neighborly run-ins, closed the curtains, and pulled out my laptop to try writing my novel.
I went for a solid six hours, not sure if any of it would be salvageable, but glad that the words seemed to be flowing.
I’d once heard a piece of advice that you can’t edit a blank page, so I tried not to think too hard about fixing things and focused on getting the stupid words onto the page so I could fight with them later.
My stomach growled, and I decided it was most definitely time for a snack. I hopped up from the couch and shuffled across the tile. I’d just grabbed an orange and was reaching for a bottle of soda on the top shelf of my fridge when something tickled my toes.
I squeaked and jumped back, only to see a mouse scurry across the kitchen floor and under the cabinets, avoiding all the traps I’d set as it went.
“No, no, no,” I said as panic seized my chest.
I jumped up onto the counter, trying to fight the nausea in my stomach.
“There are probably only a few of them,” I said aloud to myself. “I’m sure the house is okay.” But deep down, I could feel that something wasn’t right. How was I not catching any of them? And what if there were more than just a few?
I decided I needed to grit my teeth and investigate further. I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
So I started searching the entire house, my eyes sweeping every inch of the place. I’d cleaned the cabin like a madwoman and hadn’t spotted anything related to mice earlier. Still, I was now being extra attentive to the floors and walls, looking for any hint of evidence that I had rodent tenants.
I lifted the rugs and the couch, looked behind the TV, and behind my bed. I checked my dresser and the closet. Then, when I thought I’d surely inspected every nook and cranny of the cabin, I felt a chilling urge to look under the bed.
I dissociated as best I could, but it was like a horror movie only thirty seconds later. I spotted droppings on the carpet and bite marks on the underside of the mattress. Then I found five holes.
Five. Holes.
In the floor.
I screamed again, ran back into the living room, and jumped onto the coffee table.
Panic settled in, making me breathless, and tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
“This can’t be happening.”
I dialed my brother’s number with trembling hands.
“Hope?” Mason’s voice came through after the fourth ring.
“There are tons of mice in your cabin! At first, I thought maybe there were just a few, but I’m starting to think they’re actually living everywhere, Mason! I found a colony of holes in the floor under my bed!”
“I told you there might be mice,” he said defensively. “Also, it’s not a colony. It’s a nest.”
“It’s infested, Mason!” I yelled.
I heard him sigh, and if he’d been in front of me, I might’ve smacked him. But it really wasn’t his problem to solve. He had warned me, after all.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Hope. It’s an old place…”
“Mason, I have nowhere else to go,” I said, a hiccuping sob escaping me while I failed to fight back tears.
“Okay, okay. I’ll call an exterminator. Don’t panic. We’ll figure it out.”
“The whole house needs to be torn down,” the exterminator told me.
I stared at the cabin as he dropped the news, the little shack blurring as tears welled in my eyes. This was not happening.
“You really can’t get rid of them?” I asked.
“It would take months, and it would cost a lot of money. They’ve already gotten into the walls and destroyed a lot of the structure.
It won’t meet code unless you rebuild it.
My professional advice is to start over and rebuild, or find another place to live.
If you stay here as is, you’ll definitely get sick. ”
A few tears slipped down my cheeks as I looked at the adorable cabin I’d spent the past few weeks fixing up.
But I wasn’t foolish enough to stay in a place infested with mice. I didn’t want to get sick, and if I could afford to rent a place now, I needed to be practical.
With a slight sniffle, I wiped my cheeks and told myself to stop being such a baby.
“Thank you. I appreciate you coming out.”
The exterminator gave me an apologetic look, had me sign some paperwork, and drove off. I stood in the driveway for several minutes afterward, trying to decide what to do.
I’d have to sleep in the Honda that night. There was no way I was spending my most recent paycheck on a hotel for one night. Until I could find a rental, I’d have to make do.
I took a deep breath and went back inside, working as quickly as possible.
I gathered clothes, toiletries, and food from the pantry and fridge.
I took down all my books, carefully checking my “babies” for any signs of nibbles.
Then I grabbed my laptop and phone charger and stuffed everything into the back of the car.
When I was done, a few more tears escaped. I was sentimental like that and hated that all my effort had been a waste.
I laid out the seats and decided to park in the driveway for the night. I’d worry about finding a new place in the morning. As I gathered pillows and blankets and tried to make a makeshift bed in the backseat, my phone pinged. Mason’s name flashed across the screen.
MASON: What did the exterminator say?
HOPE: He said it needs to be torn down.
MASON: I’m so sorry, Hope. I had a feeling it needed to be rebuilt. I got the land and cabin for a steal. I figured I’d tear it down and build a new one someday.
HOPE: It’s okay. Thanks for letting me stay in it while it lasted.
MASON: Do you need help finding a new place? Or are you going back to Riverside?
HOPE: I’m not going back to Riverside. I’ll just have to find somewhere else.
MASON: I know how Mom and Dad can be. I really do care about you, and I don’t want you to give up everything you worked for.
I scoffed, more tears pooling in my eyes, but from pure frustration and anger now.
Did Mason really know? He’d somehow been able to say no to my father’s dental legacy and remain in contact with our parents.
Mason could do no wrong, even after choosing an entirely different path.
He had no idea what pressure had been put on me, and a small part of me resented him for it.
If he hadn’t left me alone to tour the country on survival quests, maybe I wouldn’t have been Dad’s punching bag. I barely managed to type a response.
HOPE: I miss you too. I’m sorry, Mason. I just can’t right now.
MASON: I love you. Maybe I’ll see you soon?
HOPE: If you come to Big Bear, I’d love to see you.
MASON: I’m going to New York for an expo for a few weeks, but maybe after that I’ll come back to Cali and drive up to see you.
HOPE: I’d like that.
MASON: Love you, sis.
I told him I loved him, too, and set my phone in the cup holder. I finished making my bed and curled into a ball. It was really uncomfortable, but it would do for the night.
The forest outside the windows was eerily dark, and even with the doors locked, I felt more exposed than usual.
My phone pinged again, and I groaned. “Mason, please leave me alone.” I was done. I just wanted to sleep. Thinking it was him, I checked the screen, the light illuminating the car.
JAY: You doing okay?
My heart skipped, my stomach fluttering. It was the first message he’d sent since my panic attack at work. I hesitated, unsure what to say.
Yeah, I’m fine. My cabin is infested with mice and needs to be torn down, so I’m sleeping in my brother’s car. How are you?
I sighed and decided not to respond. It was late enough that maybe he’d think I was asleep.
Just one more thing I would put off and deal with in the morning.