I pushed away the money Connor held out and said coldly, "My mother isn't going anywhere tonight."
"She's staying here."
Rebecca's face twisted with panic.
"Zoe, there are only three bedrooms in this house. One for you and Connor, one for me, one for my daughter and my granddaughter. Where exactly is your mother supposed to sleep?"
I stared at her, a fire burning in my chest.
"Rebecca, I cleaned the guest room yesterday specifically for my mother. You went behind my back and invited your daughter and her kid over to take that room. And now you're telling me there's no space?"
I'd known my mother was coming. I'd scrubbed the guest room spotless, put on fresh sheets, bought new slippers and a brand-new set of toiletries. Everything was ready for her.
Then I went to work for a single shift. By the time I got home, Fay was back again, barely two days after her last visit, with her daughter in tow.
The fresh sheets I'd laid out were soaked with her daughter's urine.
The new slippers were on Fay's feet.
The toiletries had been squeezed and smeared across every surface in the room.
I'd been furious. Everything I'd carefully prepared for my mother, ruined.
Rebecca had talked me down.