My mom and Karen appeared in the hallway, looking at both of us. I covered my chest and snapped at Jesse, “I hope you rot in hell.”
Ignoring my mom’s gasp, I went upstairs to change my tee-shirt. My eyes widened when I looked at my reflection.Oh shit. The top had turned sheer, making the words on my chest visible. Did he read it? No, I had covered myself quickly.
Calming myself down, I changed and went downstairs when I heard the front door close. Finally, they left. I braced myself for whatever Mom was going to say.
“How was the salad?”
I found her blue eyes weary as she looked at the dining table, avoiding meeting my face. She didn’t even ask me what had happened between me and Jesse.
My mom wore her heart on the sleeve. I could tell she was anxious, and seeing my parent worried about whatever she had to tell me made me nervous.
“It was good,” I said, amusing her in the small talk. Facing her, I asked, “What is it, Mom?”
She blinked up at me and held the back of a chair as if she was supporting herself for whatever she was going to say next. I held my breath when she opened her mouth.
“We’re in debt,” she stammered. “Iam. David, your father, h-he took a loan in my name and I-I just…”
I didn’t know what to feel. I kept staring at her, trying to process what she had just said.
“How much is the debt?” I asked, shaking my head. “When was this? You’re divorced, how can he take?—”
She closed her eyes. “He maxed out my credit cards, which I didn’t know he had and…”
“And what, mom?”
Her bottom lip quivered as she finally met my eyes. “He borrowed money from loan sharks and named me the guarantor.”
“What?” I could barely whisper the word.
My parents had a successful business of selling kids’ clothing, and we were well-off. Even after the divorce, our family would go to a Michelin star restaurant every month. That’s how I graduated from a private school. But then Mom and I found out that dad was barely scraping by and had a terrible credit history.
Their business had stopped making a profit for over two years and went under, forcing me to get a student loan for university. I thought it was better now.But dad…
“I don’t know what to do,” my mom said, her eyes glassy. “I can sell my car and jewelry, but it won’t make a dent in the debt.”
“But this is illegal!” I argued. “How can he name you?—”
“They were here yesterday,” she said, clutching the back of the chair. “They threatened to trash our home, honey. Threatened to find you and hurt you.”
My eyes widened when she kept going. “They threatened to hurt my baby, Noah. They had pictures of him coming out of his school, and I don’t know where the hell David is.”
I cupped my mouth. If they hurt my brother, I wouldn’t know what to do.
“How much is the debt?” I asked her again.Surely, it can’t be that bad.
“Over five million dollars.”
My legs threatened to give out.
“I-I didn’t want you to worry, sunflower,” she said, walking towards me. “I know you’re working hard in LA, but they threatened to—I got scared and asked you to come here.”
I nodded numbly, letting her hug me. I had at least a million dollars in my bank account. I was planning to save up, put it in a high yield savings account, pay off my student debt and send a few grand to my mom so she could buy herself new clothes.
But that wasn’t possible.
“I-I’ll pay it off,” I said, squeezing her shoulders. “You don’t have to worry about it, mom. Nothing will happen to you, Noah, or me. We will find Dad too.”
He must have gone into hiding.
