Page 93 of Take My Heart
‘Would you just drop this? I’ll do it when I’m ready.’
‘I’m not waiting.’ He looks around, making sure we’re alone. ‘I’m serious, Brody. It’s now or never.’
‘What the fuck’s that supposed to mean?’
‘It means you either fix up the house or we put it on the market this spring, as is.’
I sigh. ‘Yeah, I’ve thought about that, but we’d be taking a huge loss.’
‘I’m already taking a loss. I’m draining my bank account paying for a house I don’t even live in.’ He lowers his voice. ‘You promised me the house would be done by November and we’d put it on the market in December. Now it’s February and all you’ve done is paint a few walls, and that’s only because Kate did it.’
Hearing him talk about this is making my whole body feel tight and a pounding headache forms behind my eyes. I’m angry that he’s pressuring me like this, but I know he’s right. And I know it’s not fair for me to be mad at him. Everything he said is true. I promised him I’d do the work last fall and have the house sold by now, giving him half the profit. But instead he’s got his savings tied up in the down payment and is helping pay the mortgage on a broken-down house that’s losing value with each month that passes.
‘I promise I’ll pay you back what I owe you,’ I tell him. ‘I made enough last week to pay back part of it.’
‘Forget the money. Use it on the house instead. Even if you can only get a few rooms done, it’ll be better than selling it like it is now.’
‘Are you saying you don’t want me to finish it?’
‘I can’t keep waiting. I’m paying for a house that’s not even mine. If I’m going to be paying a mortgage every month, I’d like it to be for my own damn house.’
I sigh, frustrated, but knowing he’s right. I can’t keep holding onto this house, hoping I’ll have the time and money to fix it. ‘So what’s your deadline?’
‘If you agree to work on it, I’ll give you until April first. If you decide to do nothing, we’re putting it on the market in March.’
‘That’s only a few weeks away. Where the hell am I gonna live?’
‘You’ll get an apartment and go back to paying rent. I didn’t want it to come to this, but I gave you plenty of time to get the house done and look what happened. Nothing. The house looks the same as it did three months ago.’
‘Yeah, I know.’ I rub my jaw. ‘I never should’ve bought it. I thought it’d be a good side business for when I’m not doing my other business, but what do I know about fixing up a house? I’m not good at that shit. Then I moved in and saw how much had to be done and it was too overwhelming. I didn’t know where to start.’
It feels good to finally say that, to admit the house was a bad idea. I never wanted to say that out loud, but Jason deserves to hear the truth. He trusted me with his money and I let him down. I can’t keep doing that. It’s time to end this and get out before we’re both in serious debt.
‘What do you want to do?’ he asks.
‘I’ll work on the house and see what I can get done before April.’
‘And then we’ll sell it?’
‘Yeah. I’ll call Matt and let him know we’ll need an appraisal.’
‘Sorry, Brody. I know you really wanted this to work.’
‘It’s okay. It just wasn’t right for me. I get that now. I just have one favor to ask.’
‘What?’
‘Can we keep this from the family? I don’t want Mom and Dad knowing what’s been going on. And I don’t want them knowing you helped me. They’d think I’m having money problems and freak out.’
‘Yeah, I won’t tell them.’
‘Don’t tell Nick either. Or Sawyer. Let’s just keep this between us.’
‘Yeah, got it. But I’m going to hold you to this. I’m going to stop in next week and see if you’re actually doing the work.’
‘I’ll do it. I don’t need a damn babysitter.’
‘I’m not babysitting you. I’m checking on my investment. Don’t be giving me shit about this. I’ve let you handle this on your own for months. Now we’re on a deadline and I’m done messing around.’
