Like a greedy little piggy
Like the walking dead Quinn dragged her tired body back to her apartment while condemning herself for being greedy. Like a greedy little piggy, she ate the meal only to be taken to the slaughterhouse. She was greedy for the steak only to be slapped in the face with this ridiculous offer.
She opened the security door of the apartment building and dragged her feet up the staircase. Halfway up she met Nick who was going down the stairs.
Seeing her lifeless eyes he stopped and asked, "Who upset you?"
Quinn who wasn't in the mood to speak just smiled weakly and said, "I will tell you later. I am just going to lie down for a bit," before walking up the stairs leaving behind a puzzled Nick. He found out from Lars that she met up with the boss today but he didn't think she would be this spent after just one meal.
Quinn reached her apartment floor and took out her keys to open the door. As soon as she entered she suddenly kicked something. Her brows furrowed slightly as she bent down to pick up the white envelope that now had an obvious shoe print.
She pushed the door closed while examining it. Quinn took off her shoes and put on her slippers before trotting toward the couch. She used her keys to open the envelope. Because she used the jagged end of the keys the envelope wasn't opened neatly but she could care less.
When she opened the single-page letter it was an eviction notice. Quinn's fingers trembled as she read and reread the letter several times.
The reason for eviction was so ridiculous that she couldn't help but laugh softly laughing at herself. The landlord wanted to renovate the apartment and she had a week to get out otherwise her two months' rent worth of deposit would be forfeited.
Quinn couldn't help but laugh self deprecatingly. Illegal? Yes, but what lawyer could she hire when she had lost both her jobs? It was obvious this was the masterpiece of that spiteful woman but who could she complain to? Her mother? Maybe in the past but now her mother was just as powerless against this force.
Quinn leaned her head back and stared at the ceiling light dazedly. This was all her fault. She shouldn't have listened to Alison's hearty cries. She was left to deal with the consequences from either side while Alison was who knows where enjoying the life of a princess.
While she was rubbing her temples with her thumb and forefinger her cell phone rang thus she picked it up.
"Hello," she answered her voice sluggish.
"QQ, wuwuwu QQ what do I do?" was her mother's voice as she cried like she had been wronged.
Quinn's heart clenched tightly as she sat up.
Her eyes narrowed as she said, "Mum mum... mum slow down. Tell me what happened."
"A police officer came by and they want to seize the property. They they said that since it belonged to your grandfather it should have been seized when he died but it's in my name. The house is in my name. It was never a part of that vile man's estate. QQ, I almost got arrested today wuwuwu," she cried seeming shaken.
There were only two things that ever shook her mother and that was her cheating ex-husband and her father in law. Those two ruffled her feathers so much that this strong woman collapsed on the verge of a nervous breakdown. This now was the third thing. She has already lost everything and only had this house her father left for her so how can they claim it belonged to her ex husband's father? It was obvious someone with power was pulling the strings hard just to get to her.
"Mum don't worry about it. I will fix it," she said as she swallowed her anger. She didn't want to further upset her thus she could only hold back and coax her. Her mother was already on antidepressants and her mental health was critical. One tip and she might be back on top of a building planning to jump.
After coaxing her for a while she finally settled down and took her pills before falling asleep on the call. Quinn silently listened to the soft breathing on the other end of the call and she couldn't help but blame herself. Wasn't their lives good before? Why did she have to listen to a ghost from the past and ruin her life with her own hands?
Her gaze suddenly brushed past the contract right next to the eviction letter. A ridiculous idea flashed through her mind as she stared at that contract and she suddenly laughed bitterly at herself. A few hours ago she resolutely refused to agree to this agreement but not long after that the thought actually crossed her mind. How absurd.
She decided to go take a shower first and clear her mind before deciding what to do next. She was unemployed, and at risk of losing the roof over her head and her mother's place was also at risk of being seized. She needed to think through what she was going to do with her life. As the icy cold water dripped down her face it took with it the warm tears flowing from her eyes. There were only a few times that she cried and this was one such rare moment. She never dared show her tears to the world thus she concealed them under the gently drizzling shower each time to get rid of the pain.
Her eyes closed as her thoughts slowly vanished from her mind. Her focus was on the feel of the water on her skin. Its gentle caress provided some sort of tranquility calming the storm brewing in her heart. She suddenly had a clear mind and knew exactly what to do. Her mother was her responsibility. There was no one else who could protect her apart from herself.