“No.” Mia stated firmly. “I’d rather wait until you’re up again. I’m already used to you manhandling me.”
That caused another round of laughter and a bunch of suggestive jokes to go around the table. When it was time for us to part ways again, Ava gave me a questioning look. At that moment I knew that she had indeed noticed my state, and gave her a grateful smile combined with a reassuring nod.
Mia’s claim proved to be true, though. The rest of the day, Jack’s Director’s Cut of the surveillance feed made its way through the student body, and I noticed several small groups huddled over their phones before regarding me with peculiar looks. By the time I left the lunch table the following day, that I had once again shared with Ava, Mia, and their friends, people that hadn’t talked to me in years were suddenly eager to greet and hold doors for me. Could this be the reverse effect of what happened in my freshman year? If the cheerleaders make fun of you, the jocks follow suit, and you soon become a free-for-all. But when the cheerleaders flock to you in their free time, the jocks also join in, and soon you become part of the popular crowd? While it seemed possible, it happened a little too quickly to be plausible.
I really didn’t care about that. Though, I did appreciate the sense of security that came with it, since the following few weeks were quite busy and eventful outside of school.
I had showed up at the office to make sure they knew I was back to work, though I would work from home. I could just get rid of the sling while programming, and let my arm rest on my desk instead, without the need to run around. And if anything came up, I had a Mom nearby that was eager to help wherever she could. So, my days were back to starting at Seven A.M. with the drive to school, and ending at around Eight P.M. when I finished with work.
In addition to that, Claire’s divorce was at a stalemate. Her lawyer quickly discovered that there weren’t enough assets to make her happy. I was the only minor amongst their children, and not only was I basically self reliant already, even if it went uncontested I would be almost eighteen by the time the divorce went through, so there wouldn’t be much child support either.
My siblings being over eighteen, and me having my own apartment, also meant that Claire wouldn’t simply get the house to let us live in it. Though, even if she were to get the house, she couldn’t afford it. The house was valued at $320,000, with them having roughly $260,000 equity in it. That meant, if Claire wanted to keep the house after I graduated High School, she’d have to pay $30,000 for her half of the remaining mortgage, followed by another $130,000 for Aaron’s half of the house.
No, the house we grew up in would have to be sold and the proceeds split after paying off the bank. That hit Claire and Ava harder than I thought it would. I guess three people living in a two bedroom apartment, no matter how nicely I thought I had decorated it, wasn’t their idea of a long term solution.
But then came the big one. I didn’t understand even half the words that guy used, but according to John, who had accompanied his sister to the lawyer, they would probably lose at least eighty percent of the investment they made shortly before Claire lost her job. The contract they signed didn’t allow for the account to be split, so they’d have to pull out prematurely and split what was left.
At least she’d possibly get some “maintenance” from Aaron. At least I hoped so, since, according to the lawyer, there are laws in place that don’t categorily fuck over the husbands despite what I read online, and it didn’t matter whether or not Claire was employed. It only mattered whether she
With their bank account being scrubbed clean for their big investment, Claire and Ava were now depending on me for everything. Before they moved in with me, I could save up $720 dollars each month from my regular salary and build up my nest egg. Now, however, I was down to saving maybe $70 dollars per month, even after I used as much cash as possible for our regular shopping, school supplies, and their allowances. There simply were too many expenses that I couldn’t pay with cash, or that were too high to pay with cash without raising eyebrows
