Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine my own family would pull the rug out from under meprofiting off my trust and leaving me utterly skint. In our modest two-bedroom flat, my mum, my sister and I each owned an equal share. Our gran, who also had a two-bed flat, once promised shed write a proper will for her darling grandkids, leaving my sister and me half each of her place. The grand plan was for us to decide whod move in, or flog it and split the proceeds like civilised people do.
At the time, my sister had moved in with Mum after an unexpected bundle of joy, while I was off in another city for uni. Eventually, my sister and her family claimed the larger bedroom, and Mum shuffled into the box room. When I’d visit, Mum and I would share the pokey little roomcosy, if nothing else. But I knew, after graduating, my days crashing at that flat would be numbered, all thanks to my charming brother-in-law. Mum, desperate not to put a dent in his ego, begged me not to stir the pot. I aired these worries to Gran, who hatched a brilliant plan: hand over my share of the two-bed to my sister and, in return, Gran would tweak her will, leaving me a one-bedroom flat. I floated this idea to Mum and Sis, and my sister just grinned, telling me to take it up with the courts if I fancied a courtroom dramaclearly confident she’d come out on top.
In the end, I signed away my share, but, wouldnt you know it, Gran never got round to rewriting her will. Her health took a swift nosedive, and she passed before anything could be changed. So my sister walked away with the whole two-bedroom flat, and half the single-bed she was already living in. I looked to Mum for a bit of backup, but she threw in her lot with Sisdespite what our paperwork said. Avoiding my gaze, Mum muttered something about us all living under one roof and how that meant there was no sense in kicking up a fuss.
These days, in my sisters house, Mum works as the resident cleaner and child-wrangler. Shes worth her weight in gold so long as her pension helps keep the household ticking over. I do worry whatll become of her when shes less useful, though. With no other close relatives, nothings really keeping me chained to this city anymore. Mum and Sis are a fearsome pair, but Ive decided to cut ties. Their actions left a bruise on my heart that no cup of tea can fix.
