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

every month to live here. And you can get out too.” She whirled and started for the kitchen, her automatic retreat impeded by the mountains of stuff in the way.
“Mom!”
She stopped abruptly at her sharp tone and swiveled around to glare at her. “What?”
Talia took a deep breath, tried for her calmest, most reasonable tone, as if this wasn’t breaking her heart in half. “We have to clean this up today. They’re not going to give you a choice. If you don’t they’ll kick you out and take it all anyway.” Her heart twisted as her mother’s face hardened, rage flashing across her features.
“This is my home. My stuff,” she insisted, punctuating her words with a jab of a finger at Talia.
Talia’s pulse hammered hard in her throat. She had a sick feeling this was going to get ugly. There was no way she could keep Liam from seeing this, and no way for her to protect her mother any longer if she remained uncooperative. “Then maybe you should leave and I’ll take care of it.” Just this one last time. After this, she was done. She couldn’t keep doing this to herself anymore.
A film of perspiration shone on her mother’s forehead. Her eyes had a wild gleam to them, a kind of panic borne of desperation. She shook her head sharply. “No. I don’t want you here—I don’t want any of you here! I just want to be left alone!” Her voice shredded.
The words hurt, but Talia should have expected it. “I understand that, but by law your landlord has the right to—”
“Just go, and tell them to get out of here!”
“It’s not that simple—”
Someone knocked sharply on the front door. Her mother’s eyes darted to the entryway, and Talia watched them fill with a kind of fear and despair that made her neck prickle. She stared at her mother, at a loss for words as her only family member stormed off into the bedroom, too cluttered for her to shut the door behind her.
Stalling for time, Talia opened the front door to find a man in his forties wearing a shirt and tie standing on the doorstep. The landlord, no doubt. He looked surprised to see her there.
“Is Kiyomi here?”
“Yes. I’m her daughter.” She couldn’t tell if she was blushing or pale; her body was alternately flipping from hot to cold. She didn’t dare glance over at Liam’s pickup, knowing he was watching everything. Please let him stay there. “I’ve just arrived back from overseas yesterday, so I’m only finding out about the eviction notice now.”
The man’s expression hardened. “By my research, this is the third time she’s been evicted in five years, so I doubt it’s that much of a surprise to either of you. Not only is that disgusting mess in there ruining my rental property, it’s a fire hazard, and I’ve had enough. She’s had more than enough chances to clean it up. No more.”
“I understand,” she replied calmly, forcing aside the shame threatening to swallow her. “Are you making her leave today?” Not that she expected him to have sympathy or understanding for her mother’s condition. No one else did. Her mother had started hoarding things after one of her boyfriends had left her a few years back, but the current situation was beyond out of control. Anyone could see that.
“That’s right. These men are here to clean the place out.” He gestured to five young men standing on the front lawn, watching them curiously. She’d bet none of them had ever seen a hoard this bad before. “Please step aside, Miss, and let them get to work.”
That would set her mother off, big time. “Could you at least let me get her out of here while you—”
“You bastard! Get out!”
She barely had time to duck as a paperweight flew past her head and shattered against the doorframe before falling to the dirty carpet. The landlord backed up a hasty step, hands outstretched.
Talia whipped around to find her mother charging at the door . Oh, shit. “Mom, no!”
Her mother ignored her, grabbing things from the piles around her and