Shane just gave Heath a sharp look through the rearview mirror, leaving Heath to ponder it himself.
Heath: "There really is sothing up, and all my stuff is still at the hotel."
Shane finally spoke up, "You had money for a hotel but still asked a minor for protection money?"
Heath, slightly embarrassed, chuckled, "Just playing around, you know. I rember what you said, and I’ll have soone return the money tomorrow."
Shane: "Uncle said he only gave you thirty thousand. How much is left?"
Heath, getting worked up over the question: "Thirty thousand isn’t enough to have any left! Staying at the hotel these past few days cost more than that."
Shane: "So where did you get the money?"
Heath chuckled, "Got it from Second Brother Warner."
Audrey Sutton, catching this with her wandering mind, gathered, Second Brother Warner? Vincent?
Are they close?
ntioning Vincent now, Shane didn’t seem as annoyed by the na as he used to be.
"Cousin, I’m a little hungry."
"Cousin, do you have any snacks at ho?"
"Cousin, why don’t you give so money? I’ll go get a late-night snack myself, then I’ll head back to the hotel, pack up, and et you tomorrow?"
"Cousin, say sothing."
Audrey Sutton wasn’t sure what kind of person Heath was, but seeing Shane unmoved, she figured this was just Heath’s trick to swindle money.
Once he got the cash, who knows where he’d go off to have fun or get into trouble, and how could he possibly co back to find Shane, let alone go work at the company?
Seeing that his cousin wasn’t budging, Heath switched targets, "Sister-in-law, who’s in charge of the money at ho?"
"Sister-in-law, don’t ignore too. I’m really at the end of my rope now, lend a little for a turnaround, and I’ll pay you back double when I start working at my cousin’s company."
Shane gave a cold snort, "Do you think she’ll listen to you, or to ?"
Heath grinned sheepishly, "Then cousin, can you lend so? Don’t tell you’re so afraid of your wife that you don’t even have this bit of pocket money?"
Shane: "Provocation won’t work on ."
Having witnessed how despicable Heath could be, Audrey Sutton felt no compassion. If it wasn’t for tonight’s episode, she might have put in a good word for him.
Heath tried to prattle his way through, but Shane didn’t budge and noticed that Heath really did talk a lot, so much that even she found it noisy, giving her a headache.
It wasn’t until the car reached ho that the noise finally quieted down a bit.
Entering the house, Shane softly told Audrey Sutton, "You go up and take a shower first."
Audrey Sutton knew Shane would probably give Heath a good talking to. She was already sleepy in the car and had no energy to deal with them any longer, obediently heading upstairs.
Shane rummaged through the shoe cabinet for a bit, found a pair of disposable slippers, and handed them to Heath, saying, "Stay here tonight, sleep on the sofa..."
Before Shane could finish, Heath interrupted with dissatisfaction, "Cousin, I ca all this way to seek you out, and in this cold weather, is this really right?"
Shane didn’t bother treating Heath like a guest, "The guest room bed isn’t made, I’m too lazy to set it up for you. Sleep on the sofa, or outside on the grass. Get up at seven tomorrow morning, co to the company with . I’ll arrange a place for you to stay, and I’ll have soone send your hotel things over. Also, don’t think you can get any money from Vincent Warner either; apart from what you earn through your own labor, forget about any windfalls from anywhere else."
Hearing that he had to start working tomorrow, and that he was cut off from Vincent, Heath furrowed his brows into a tight twist, but with barely any money left in his pocket, having gotten caught by his cousin today, he feared there’d be no chance for the carefree lifestyle he’d been enjoying.
Thinking it over, Heath said, "Cousin, can you lend so money for now? Salary won’t co for at least a month, and I don’t even have money for als."
Shane: "There’s a restaurant at the company, employee als are free."
Heath: "But I would need money to buy cigarettes and stuff, right?"
Shane: "Perfect chance to quit."
Heath: "...But if I catch a cold or have a fever, I won’t even have money to buy dicine."
Shane: "We’ll talk if you get sick."
Heath imdiately put on a miserable face, "Cousin, why are you so heartless!"
Shane ignored him and headed straight upstairs.
Heath watched him go up the stairs, "Cousin, aren’t you going to take care of at all?"
Seeing Shane heading up without looking back, Heath stood in the living room, looking worried.
After glancing around, he walked over to the fridge next to the counter.
Expecting it to be stocked with all sorts of drinks, beers, and fancy snacks, he eagerly opened it, only to find a big double-door fridge filled with various vegetables. The only things he could possibly eat raw were cucumbers and tomatoes, and the fruit was his least favorite, apples.
After looking around indecisively for a while, he reluctantly took out a can of Audrey Sutton’s fruit cocktail from the side of the fridge.
He unscrewed the cap, skipped the spoon, and poured it straight into his mouth.
Then he wandered around the coffee table area looking for so crispy snacks.
"That coffee table isn’t worth much," Shane’s cold voice called down from upstairs.
Heath was startled and looked up to see Shane holding a quilt and pillow, standing by the upstairs railing watching him.
"Cousin, what are you talking about? I’m not so down-and-out that I’d steal. I’m just looking for sothing to eat."
Shane: "Put that thing in your hand down, it’s for my wife. There are vegetables in the fridge and noodles on the cabinet next to it. Cook if you’re hungry."
Heath didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d cook for himself when hungry; if it were instant noodles, he might have been willing to boil so water.
"Co here and get your stuff."
Heath paused, put down the can, and was about to go up to get the bedding, but saw Shane dangling it over the outside of the railing. He rushed over, and Shane tossed the bedding and pillow down to him, warning, "If I don’t find you here tomorrow morning, Uncle will co to pick you up himself."
At the thought of going ho, Heath felt a headache, and as he listened to Shane’s door shutting, Heath stood in the barren living room with the bedding in his arms, sighing deeply in frustration.
Regretting why he went to that bar today, if he hadn’t gone, he wouldn’t have ended up in his cousin’s hands. By now, he could’ve been snug and warm with a beauty instead of awkwardly sleeping on the couch here.
Moreover, he had to go to work at the company tomorrow. The thought of repetitive, botherso work day after day made life seem instantly bleak and dull.
Fumbling around in his pocket for the cigarette pack, he found only two left, and looking at the wallet balance on his phone, eighty-three dollars and ninety-two cents, not even enough to buy a pack of cigarettes.
Forget it, I’ll smoke sothing cheaper. It’s all smoke in, smoke out anyway. A true man knows when to bend and when to stand tall.
"Ah!" Heath let out a long sigh, lying on the sofa, wondering when these hard days would finally end.
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