Chapter 17 - The Unexpected Visit
I was finishing up a massive project at my new consulting firm when the receptionist called my office.
She nervously informed me that my sister, Olivia, was waiting in the front lobby to see me.
I almost told security to throw her out, but my morbid curiosity won the internal debate.
I walked out to the lobby and barely recognized the haggard woman sitting on the couch.
Olivia was wearing cheap, faded jeans, and her formerly perfect blonde hair was unwashed and messy.
She looked up at me, her eyes completely defeated and devoid of their usual arrogant spark.
"Maya... I need help," she whispered, her voice cracking with genuine, pathetic desperation.
She explained that she had been sleeping in her car for two weeks because she couldn't afford rent.
She had absolutely no marketable skills and no friends willing to answer her desperate phone calls.
"I was horrible to you, Maya. I know I deserve this, but I am so hungry," she sobbed quietly.
I stared at the golden child who had once clapped at my physical brutalization.
I felt absolutely no desire to welcome her back into my life or my home.
I reached into my purse, pulled out exactly two hundred dollars in cash, and tossed it on the table.
"This is for food, not alcohol. Do not ever come to my office again," I stated coldly.
May you like
Olivia snatched the money instantly, nodding her head in pathetic submission.
She walked out the glass doors, completely broken by the real world she used to mock.
