Let Me In by Callie Croix Read Free Book Online Page A

the disappointment. Her mother had sworn she’d changed. Had vowed she’d dutifully followed the instructions her therapist had given her over the course of her treatment.
Yeah, and that worked like a charm, didn’t it?
“So?” her mother began, folding her arms defensively across the front of her grungy sweatshirt. Her hair looked unkempt and greasy, like it hadn’t been washed in a while. Another sign that she’d sunk back into a debilitating depression. “What are you doing here? Come to tell me what a disappointment I am?”
Sweet Jesus, she didn’t know what to say. This was not the homecoming she’d hoped for. With unsteady fingers she pulled the folded envelope out of her back pocket. No sense putting off the inevitable. “Your neighbor gave this to me last night when I came by. She said it’s the second notice.”
Snatching it from her, her mother took one look at the words on the envelope and began tearing it to shreds. “I am not. Leaving ,” she snarled, a note of desperation in her voice. She tossed the pieces behind her onto another pile of stuff and began to turn away.
Talia took a deep breath. She had to stay calm. “The landlord is coming today with a crew.”
Her mother’s shoulders stiffened. “I don’t care.”
Talia ran a hand over her face. “Mom, they’re going to kick you out.” Again. “Where are you going to go?”
“I’m not leaving. They can’t make me go.”
“Yes, they can. What are you going to do?”
She whirled around, her accusatory stare burning holes through Talia. “Does it matter? What do you care, anyway?”
Talia hid a wince and fought back the angry retort on the tip of her tongue. Losing her cool now would only escalate things. She tried another tactic. “Maybe if we cleaned this place up a bit, they’d let you stay.”
Her mother’s furious expression twisted with raw panic. “Don’t you dare touch anything. This is my stuff. I’m not letting them take anything!”
Your stuff is going to land you on the street! She held the bitter words back, knowing they’d do absolutely no good. They’d been through this same battle half a dozen times in recent years, with predictable results. If anything, over time her mother’s mental condition had deteriorated and now seemed truly unstable. God knew what she’d do if something pushed her over the edge.
Her mother viewed her belongings as a kind of security blanket that insulated her from the rest of the world, protected her from more pain and disappointment she’d suffered in the outside world. Though they looked like junk that belonged in the dump to everyone else, she wouldn’t release her treasures without a fight. She hoarded due to a deep-seated need for control, something she’d never found in her life or her abysmal relationships with men. Talia got that much, but she’d never fully understand the illness. Why would anyone choose to live this way? Especially when it caused so much hardship for everyone around her?
Looking around at the hopeless picture before her, Talia honestly had no idea what to do now. How was she supposed to fix this?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud vehicles pulling up outside. Stomach tight with dread, she stepped to the window and leaned over a pile of what looked like garage-sale kids’ toys to pull a corner of the filthy curtain aside. Men were getting out of two junk disposal company trucks. Liam had climbed out of his truck to speak to them, probably wondering what the hell was going on.
Letting the curtain drop back into place, she closed her eyes a moment to collect herself before facing her mother.
Her mother stood there wringing her thin hands, her expression now pinched with worry. “Who is it?”
“A cleanup crew.”
The fear on her face transformed into a look of utter betrayal. “You called them?”
“No, the landlord must have.”
Her mother didn’t look convinced. “Well, they can’t come in. This is still my house, I pay good money