The second house wasn’t much better.But instead of the house needing repair, it was the yard.There were two large vehicles in the yard that were a part of the house they’d been told.So if they wanted to get rid of them, it would be at their expense.Neither of them went through the house very much.With the vehicles in the yard, it was going to be hard to sell the place, and he didn’t want to have to mess with it.
They were on the third house when they decided that they were going to get some dinner real quick.They ended up at the pizza shop and ordered two meatball subs.Sen said that she couldn’t eat all that much, but he was willing to eat what she didn’t.As soon as they were put in front of them, he knew that he’d be lucky to finish his own for the size of them.They were about fourteen inches long and had as many as a dozen good-sized meatballs on them, and he was happy.One of his favorite types of subs was meatball, and he was glad that it was that they decided on.
After their dinner, they went to the last house on their list.The yard was in wonderful shape, and not a single car on the land.There were bushes coming from the driveway to the house, and they were still decorated with lights from the holiday.The man, Mr.Monroe, said that they left the lights on them year-round because it made it easier to see when they were walking up the sidewalk.He decided that he was going to do the same thing because it made sense.Glad now that they had come to the house, they were shown the inside of the house, and both he and Sen fell in love with it.The house was a perfect mixture of old and new, and he loved the fact that it had five bedrooms as well as four and a half bathrooms.It would be perfect for getting ready in the morning if they ever had kids.Not to mention the kitchen was in good shape as well.They’d just have to find them a cook, as they decided that the house was too large for just the two of them trying to keep up with the cleaning.
“It’s perfect.”Mrs.Monroe said that they were getting to the point where they needed fewer stairs, and that was the only reason they were selling.“I can see that.There are two flights of them to the upper floors.”
“There is a washer-dryer set on both floors, so that makes it easy when doing laundry.I loved the fact that I didn’t have to carry the kids’ clothing upstairs when I finished it.But they’ve all grown up now, and we’re just too old to be living here alone anymore.”She laughed a little.“I don’t think we’re that old, but we do need less space now that everyone has moved out.I miss them being here, but we do get together for the holidays.This is the most wonderful house during the holidays because there is so much room.”
“I can see us living here.If the price isn’t so bad.How much are you asking for it?”She told him a price that was much lower than he’d thought.“Since you’re selling it on your own, how does this work?I’ve never had to buy a house before.”
“We have attorneys who can look over the contract with you.Unless you have one of your own.”It was Sen who told the Monroes that they had a lawyer in the family.“That’s wonderful.You can have him look things over and then get back with us.Other than going to the bank to sign things over, that’s pretty much it.You’ll own the house, and we’ll be on our way to living in a condo so we don’t have to work so hard.I hope you can get it.”
He didn’t see any problems with them getting the house.With his income and savings, and with Sen having so much money, they could probably pay cash for the house, and it wouldn’t hurt them at all.But he knew better than to do that because it was good to use the bank for such things.As soon as they had the contract in hand, they headed to Devlin’s condo to have him look it over.He asked for a couple of days, and they said that would be fine.
They didn’t have much to pack up to take with them other than the things that he had in storage that he’d gotten at some auctions.With spring coming up, they’d have to hit some more of them in order to fill out their new home.Ivan didn’t doubt at all that they’d be able to get the house, so he was excited to have his brother going over the working contract for them so that they could move in sooner.Then he remembered Sen’s home, which was left to her.
“We could fill out most of the house with what was left there for you.”She said she’d not thought of that and was glad that he’d mentioned it.“The only thing that we might have to get is some new mattresses and a few more linens to take with us, and we’ll be set.It’ll be nice to have the house looking like a home so soon after we move in, and I’m excited about that.”
“I am as well.As I said, there are only a few things that I wanted to get rid of, and that might not happen now.With so much room, we’ll be able to fill out the house with those pieces that no one will see.I’m sure that they’ll look good someplace in the house.”After leaving his brother’s condo, they headed to his.They’d been staying there since her mother was out looking for her, and thought it was safer.“We’ll have us a lovely home, one like you said we can make our own memories in.I’m happiest about making all kinds of memories with you by my side as I am about anything that I’ve ever done before.”
They were headed home when Devlin called them.He said that he’d have the contract looked over in the morning, and they were both happy with that.He said that he’d skimmed over it a little and didn’t find anything wrong with it so far, so they were happy with that.Time would tell if they were getting a good deal or not.
Chapter 7
Debra wasn’t happy.She’d been trying to find out what kind of settlement Sen had gotten from her brother’s estate, and no one was cooperating with her.As soon as she thought of something, some way of getting information, they’d take it away from her with a lawsuit by Sen.The girl was going to piss her off more if she kept this up, and she wasn’t having it.She was going to pay for the way that she was treating her, or she’d know the reason why.
“There was no way that she didn’t get a lot of money.The house alone was worth more than the ten grand that I got.”She was beginning to talk to herself more and more of late, and it didn’t bother her as much as it used to.“Damned girl is going to pay for the way that she’s treating me, or I’m going to have to kill her.I might just do that anyway.”
She thought of the man that she said she was going to marry.He wasn’t a human, and that alone should have had him killed.But if she had to kill him too, then so be it.She didn’t think anyone would care, so long as she had the money that she was sure that Sen had gotten to pay her way out of things.Money would open doors that she’d never had opened for her before.She knew that her daughter wouldn’t have any kind of will made out, and as her mother, she would get whatever was left to her.Damn the man who she thought she was going to marry.She’d just have to take him out as well if it came to it.
“I deserve whatever she has, and I’m going to get it too.”She thought about her brother and wondered where his head was when he left whatever he’d had to her daughter.“Not that I think there was all that much.They only lived in that tiny house all their lives.Who does that anyway when they could have had bigger?”She thought about the fact that she didn’t have a place to stay and blamed that on Sen as well.
The house that she’d lived in for the last twenty-five years had been locked out from her going there.All the locks had been changed, and she didn’t have anything to show for her living there.As soon as she got the money, she was going to sue Howard and make sure he paid for what he’d done to her.Not only did she not have a house, but she didn’t even have a car to get around in either.That was another thing that Sen was going to be paying for.Her home had been taken from her simply because she couldn’t stay out of her business.Howard was going to pay too.
She didn’t think it was going to work to call him a pedophile again.Too many years had gone by that anyone would even care.She did think about telling his children and having them go after him, but she didn’t know them from anyone and didn’t even know their names.For all she knew, they could be dead.It was something that she thought about often, him being off the hook for treating her so badly.And he had too.Giving her the things that he had, then taking them away when Sen stuck her nose into something that didn’t concern her.Why did she have to care about her father anyway?
“It wasn’t as if he had anything to do with her when she’d been growing up.”Not that she had anything to do with her either, but that was beside the point.She’d raised her as best as she could, and she dared anyone to say anything differently.“I hate people.Particularly those who think they know it all.”
She thought that she was smart enough to get herself out of any kind of trouble.She’d been doing it most of her life, just jumping from one situation to the next and never having to face any kind of consequences.She liked that too.It kept her out of jail and out of trouble.She knew that she was smart enough to take on her daughter and get what she wanted.It was just a matter of timing.And she was good at that as well.
“Damn it all to fuck and back.Why did she have to talk to her father?”Tonight was going to be the dinner that she was going to talk to him, and she dreaded that.“There are things that he could tellher that won’t bode well for me.I hate that man with all the passion of the world.”
She didn’t much care for her daughter either, but she was going to take care of that, too.Killing her wouldn’t be that much of a hardship for her.She never did anything for her in the first place but complain about how she was broke all the time.She was her mother; she should be able to sacrifice some things for her when she wanted them.That’s what daughters were supposed to do for their mother.
She didn’t actually know what a child did for their mother.Her own mother had never been around when she thought that she needed her.Then, when she had died of cancer when Debra had been sixteen, her father had shipped her off to some other relatives who were to raise her.She never cared for them either.It occurred to her that she didn’t like all that many people and knew it was their fault.People just sucked the life out of you if you allowed them to do so, and she knew that for a fact.Just look at what her daughter was doing to her.
As she made her way to the hotel she’d been staying in, she thought about what she needed to do tonight.If she knew where this meeting was going to be happening, she’d crash the party and kill them all.But that had been kept from her as well, and that pissed her off, too.No one was helping her, and Debra didn’t like it.
“The least people could do was help me find my daughter so that I can kill her.”She’d even gotten herself a gun to use to do the deed.It had taken all her reserve money, but that was going to be well worth it.As soon as she killed them all off, she’d have all the things that she wanted.She didn’t even know what that would be yet, but she was sure it was more than the ten grand that she’d gotten from the estate.
“Why do they call it that?Like it’s going to be a great deal to inherit.Estate sounds like it should be millions of dollars, and there is no way that it could be worth that much.”They never took vacations, and as far as she knew, the only thing they spent their money on was getting Sen in that posh school so she couldn’t get to her.Not that it mattered, she didn’t want to have anything to do with her in the first place.“She was just a means to get money from a wealthy man, and look how that turned out for me.”
Nothing.She’d gotten a house for sure and a car that was around for her to use whenever she wanted to go someplace.Money in the bank, too, so long as she didn’t spend it the first few days of the month.She’d never been on a budget in her life and didn’t plan on ever being on one.Money was there to spend, and she did all right with that.Debra was in her room at the hotel when she thought of something else.
Her credit card was nearly at its max, and she didn’t know what she’d do if they checked on that.The hotel wasn’t even the best around, but it had suited her needs when she needed it.She’d tried to make it so that the bill went to Sen, but they wouldn’t do that.It was like everyone was against her in this thing, and she was going to have to make people understand that she was in charge, or they’d better be looking into something that would make her happy.And she wasn’t happy at all with anyone right now.
Looking out on the street, she was dismayed to find that no one would help her find Sen.She might have been at the house, but since she didn’t have a car, she couldn’t get there without a lot of walking.Debra knew that she was out of shape, but didn’t care.She wanted things, and someone was going to have to get them for her, or they’d pay.Exercising wasn’t even a part of her life, and she hated that she couldn’t get around without her car.
