Page 75 of Hello Forever
“I’ll show you,” he said. “But let’s takeyourcar.”
“Okay.” Since he was still a bit fragile, the request to go by car didn’t seem weird. But then he began directing me into a residential neighborhood. Then he asked me to turn down NewburyStreet.
“I think I like this coffee shop,” I said. His apartment was just twoblocksaway.
“Stop here,” he said suddenly. “In front of that house.” He pointed at a ranch-style house with a For Sale sign in thefrontyard.
“What are wedoinghere?”
He opened the car door. “I want you to see thishouse.”
“Why?” I killed theengine.
Axel bit down on a smile. “Please, just come inside. I haveideas.”
We got out of the car. I followed as he walked up to the front steps and openedthedoor.
The house was vacant. “Ax, please tell me why we’re breaking andentering.”
“We aren’t.” He turned around and gave me a slightly nervous grin. “I talked to the real estate agent and she left it open for us. I want to buy this house, baby. We can all fit. There’s three bedrooms upstairs, and in the basement there’s a fourth one. It’s kind of perfect for a moodyteenager.”
“Well, hell.” I looked at the barren walls of the empty house. The place was big and seemed clean enough. But it hadn’t seen a paint brush since the seventies. “I can’t afford a house. I love that you thinkwecan.”
Axel rubbed his hands together. “I’m going tobuyit.”
“How? The down payment would be fifty grand. Your piggybank can’t possibly have that kind of coininit.”
My boyfriend smiled at me. “True, but I’m getting some help from my mom. She wants toinvest.”
“What?” I looked more closely at him now, at the twinkle in his eye. “You’re serious,aren’tyou?”
“Of course! Why else do you think I’d drag you into a vacant house? I want to make an offer, but first I need to know if you hate this place. There are other houses. Notmany,but…”
I held up a hand. “How wouldthiswork?”
“My mother and I would buy the house, and we’d all move in. Not my mom,” he amended quickly. “She’s downsizing in Ohio to a condo. That’s why she’ll have cash to invest here. Her only requirement is that we buy a comfortable sofa bed for the times shevisits.”
I tried to picture that, but my head was busy exploding at all these new ideas. “But how would I payyourent?”
Axel shrugged. “When the lawyers work out the child support, we’ll talk then. Meanwhile, we can improve this house, Cax. It needs a lot of work—but not structurally. It’s all painting and ripping out old wallpaper. New floors, maybe. I’m looking forwardtoit.”
I took a deep breath against the tightness in my chest. “I don’t know. There’s so much up in the air for me. PhD programs take alongtime,Ax…”
He came closer and hugged me. “But we have a long time,” he whispered. “Stop panicking, baby. You need a place to live. The bank is going to be circling you like a shark soon. You said soyourself.”
“He still hasn’t paid this month’s mortgage,” I said, putting my chin on his shoulder. “I think he’s trying to smoke us out. Can you believe that? Hisownkids.”
He kissed my jaw. “Fuck ’im. The court will make him pay. And maybe it takes a year. But we’ll be here, learning how to sand floorboards. Caleb and Josh are going to help us. Amy will help, too. My mom will come to stay for a little while. You’re not alone.We’renotalone.”
“Can we really do this?” Iwhispered.
“Of course.” He kissed me again. “What’s the worst thing that couldhappen?”
“Bankruptcy?Duh.”
Axel chuckling against my sensitive skin was the best feeling ever. “Can I show you the rest of the house now? Because you’ll have to pick up Scotty inanhour.”
“Yeah.” I took a deep breath and stepped back. “Showme.”
