I gave him an annoyed look. "If you want me to feel sorry for you, forget it. You totally screwed me over. You know that, right?"
At this, he had the nerve to look insulted. "I did not."
"You did, too," I said. "You took my money and then sold the house out from under me. How is thatnotscrewing me over?"
"Hey, I told you I'd make it right."
During our phone conversation months ago, hehadsaid such a thing. And I might've been inclined to believe him, if only he hadn't been avoiding me ever since.
I crossed my arms. "Oh yeah? How?"
He stood just a little bit straighter. "I brought you something."
When my only reply was a stony look, he reached into the front pocket of his shirt and pulled out a folded check. With a little flourish, he held it out between us. "Here."
Silently, I snatched the check and lifted it for a closer look. It was a personal check made out from Jason to me. The total was for forty-one thousand, two-hundred dollars, and twenty-two cents.
As I tried to process what I was seeing, Jason announced, "It's all of your money. I'm paying you back." Sounding annoyingly smug, he added, "With a nice bonus, too."
I was still staring at the check. A couple of weeks ago, in a fit of pique, I'd actually added up all the money that I'd sent Jason during the past three years. The total came to forty-one thousand, one hundred dollars and twenty-two cents, exactly.
I comparedthatamount to what I saw on the check. The so-called bonus was for one hundred measly dollars. Okay, a hundred dollars was nothing to sneeze at, but in the big scheme of things, it was hardly worth the grief I'd suffered while working my ass off to keep up with all of the payments and repairs.
Cripes, I'd paid more than a hundred dollars just on credit card interest alone for the groceries I'd had to finance with plastic after sending Jason most of my money.
Not bothering to hide my contempt, I said, "Wow, a hundred bucks, huh? Howverygenerous."
He grinned. "I know, right?"
I sighed. "I was being sarcastic."
His grin faded. "Hey, legally, I didn't have to give you anything."
"That's not true," I told him. "What, you thought I'd just let it go?"
"Well…" He paused. "You wouldn't sue me or anything. I mean, we're family, right?"
It was such a pretty thought. But for all I knew, the check wasn't even good. And Jason hadn't been acting like family at all.
Undaunted, Jason continued. "So it seems to me you'd be at least a little grateful."
"Grateful?" I practically sputtered. "After you lied to me about the house?"
His mouth tightened. "I didn't lie."
"Sure you did."
"About what?"
"Well, for one thing, about the repairs. Just admit it. You didn't repair a darn thing."
He glanced away. "Well…I didsomerepairs."
"Oh, please," I said. "You did not."
"I did, too."
"Really?" I gave him a no-nonsense look. "Like what?"
