"I can't believe I'm doing this," David said under his breath.
David was sitting on our living room couch with his arms resting on his knees, while his hands rubbed his unshaven face.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," he said again.
I watched from a distance as David was pondering out loud. He hadn't told me yet what he was not believing what he was doing, but I knew. He was going to put our parents house up for sale. Earlier in the week I had over heard David and Cathy argue about their money troubles, (thankfully that's the only argument I have heard from them) Cathy had been laid off from her job and the bills were pilling up on David. Cathy told David straight up that they needed to sell the house or that they were going to lose their home. David argued that he couldn't give up the house because he wasn't ready emotionally to give it up. Sadly Cathy won the argument, and even sadder was the fact that she was right.
My job at the library wasn't paying nearly enough to help with any of the bills. I thought about getting a different job but I had my classes to work on and David would die if I skipped class just to help out with the bills.
David was calling around to find the best price to sell the house for. He seemed as though he was going to cry after each phone call. I don't know if I could have gone through that.
I walked away from looking at David, I couldn't stand to look anymore, and I couldn't stand the thought of our parents home being sold only for the sake of paying bills.
I walked outside to get a breath of fresh air. It was a hot summer day, the sky was clear blue and the birds were happily flying away. A faint sound of pop punk music filled my ears. At first I thought it was a neighbor listening to the radio, but a few seconds later I realized that it was my cell phone ringing.
"Hello?" I answered.
"He Willow! It's Guy," Guy told me that he was going to give me a call when he arrived in California.
"Hey, how was the flight?"
"Long and annoying," he said.
"How so?"
"Well, I was seated in between two extremely overweight men from Alabama, and they spoke with thick southern accents. Now I'm okay with accents and all but I could only take a few hours of it before it becomes reparative."
Guy has been pretty negative since he got the news he was going to California. He had been accepted by a college there. Originally her was going to turn down the scholarship but his parents more or less forced him to accept.
"I could imagine," I responded.
"I'm going to head straight to my dorm, I don't feel hungry at all, and I haven't slept all day. Anything new with you?"
I paused for several moments.
"Willow?"
"Yeah I'm still here," I let out a sigh, "David's going to sell the house."
"Your house? Or the house?" he asked his tone changing from negative to his usual sympathetic tone when it came to my problems.
"The house," I responded.
"Oh…"
"David hasn't told me yet. I over heard him and Cathy argue about money problems, long story short David is selling the house to pay our bills."
"I'm so sorry Willow, I wish I could be there for you."
"It's alright. We need to move on, our parents would have wanted us to sell the house a long time ago anyway."
"Look if there's anything I could do…"
"Guy, this is something David and I have been needing to do for a long time, we just needed a push I guess."
Guy got silent, I switched the phone from my right ear to my left and I stretched my right hand popping my knuckles in the process.
"Guy?"
"I'm here, I was just grabbing my luggage. Willow, I just need to know, are you going to be okay?"
"I'm going to be okay," I swallowed and cleared my throat, "I promise."
"Alright, I'm holding you to it," he laughed a little.
"Besides today is also a good day, you know what today is?"
"Um… Tuesday?"
"It's been 10 months to the day since I stopped," I whispered.
"10 months already? Wow, time flew by. Willow I'm so happy and proud of you. God I want to be there with you.
"Hey you'll be back soon, Christmas is only a few months away."
"Yeah, a few months away…"
"Willow?" hollered David from the living room.
"Hey Guy I have to go David's calling me."
"Alright, I'll call you tomorrow, I love you."
I smiled, "I love you." I hung up the phone and walked back inside.
David was standing by the couch and was stretching.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Willow I'm going to have to be blunt about this. I'm selling the house." he said in a very serious tone.
"Oh," I said trying to sound surprised.
"We're going to put all the furniture in storage, you can have most of it when you move out I guess. I know I probably should have told you sooner but…"
I interrupted with, "Look, it needed to be done."
"You heard me and Cathy argue the other night didn't you?"
I paused and then said, "Yeah I did. I'm sorry that you guys are having money problems, I could help out maybe get a full time job…"
"No, you stay a full time student, look the money that we'll get from the house will pay off our bills long enough so that Cathy can find another job. And Willow, you don't need to worry about our money problems. You just needed to know why I'm selling the house. If there was any other way I would keep the house, but…"
"Mom and dad would have wanted us to do this," I said finishing what I think he was going to say.
"Right," he said.
I walked up to David and gave him a hug. I just wish I could make this easier on him. I just wish that he didn't have to go through with this. But sometimes sacrifices have to be made.