Page 57 of Stay Toxic

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I can't deal with her. She makes me shake with rage, and disgust, and I feel…small. When I'm home. I was so glad when I heard you left, you know. But I didn't really know how to reach out to you after all this time."

I try not to, but I can't help it: I'm crying. "Same."

"Your hair is beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you, Cal. She stopped my cards, and normally I would have called to beg her to start them again, but I'm away, I have friends around me, a meal plan, a roof. I figured I didn't have to, you know? I can…get a job? But in the meantime, I wondered if you can lend me a bit of cash. Not much, and I'd pay you back."

"Anything. And no talk of paying me back. Do you have a friend I can send it to? I'll mail you a card, but it'll take a while to get to you; I can wire some money to someone you trust around you, so they can give you the cash."

"I…" Oh, god, I'm going to cry again, aren't I? I swallow the ball in my throat. "You don't have to do that, Cal. I’ve already taken so much from you. I just need a little bit, to tide me over while I look for a job."

"Tia, it's a done deal. I trust you not to bleed me dry; you were never a spender anyway. Use what you need, and focus on school. Don't start a job when I can take care of both of us comfortably. You can pay me back when you're comfortable, with all those billions you'll get in a few years."

"But that's not fair. You should have had your share of those billions by now, and?—"

"I wouldn't have accepted it."

"What?" I blink.

Caleb shrugs. "I know you only have issues with Mother; Dad more or less ignored you. But he was always a major prick to me. I didn't intend to touch any of his money. And now, I don't need to. I'm fine. More than fine. Hell, you should see the numbers we got with our last launch."

"I'll give you half the shares when I get them, anyway," I say. "I always planned to."

"You'll do no such thing. Give them to charity if you must. I quite like the fact that I'm a self-made man." He winces. "Well, sort of. I mean, I did get a hundred grand investment, initially. But I multiplied it, fast, and I want to see what else I do on my own two feet."

I beam at him. "I'm still giving you your inheritance back when I get my hands on it. You can always will it to your future children."

That makes him laugh out loud. "Yeah, well. We'll see if I get some of those. Listen, princess, I gotta go, but text me your friend's details, yeah? And you'll get a card in the next few days. And don't you dare repay a cent until you're rich enough to buy a medium-sized island."

“Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cal!”

“Anything, princess. Anytime.” He winks and cuts the call to return to his evening, and a heavy weight is lifted off my shoulders.

It doesn’t fix all my issues. I can’t ask him to help with André, or pay the exorbitant Rothford tuition. I’m not totally free of Mother. But it’s a step.

Now, it’s her move.

25

One of the reasons I was afraid to broach the subject of my issues with Mother with Caleb was a fear that he’d want to confront her more than help me. I shouldn’t have been surprised he didn’t even consider that approach.

Our grandfather has tons of pride, and he doesn’t know our mother very well, but Caleb grew up until the same roof as me, if at a different time. Naturally, he’d get my predicament.

No, my best bet with her is to play her game, but as another player rather than a simple pawn on the board.

Monday morning, I take a selfie of the new hairdo, and post it on my main social.

I'm downright giddy for the rest of the day, especially when I ignore another phone call from Senator Cole. And another one right after that. I put my phone on silent with a smirk.

I'll speak to her Saturday morning during our scheduled chat and not a minute sooner.

As promised, Caleb transferred five grand to Tanya, and she hands it to me in cash on our lunch date. I hand her her two hundred and fifty, and pocket the rest.

"I knew he'd come to the rescue," she coos. "He has the whole prince charming thing going on."

I snort. She's not the first of my friends to have a crush on my brother. "Gross."

"Well, you have to think so, don't you? He's your brother. But trust me, to the rest of the world, he's hot. Did he help with André, too?"