Three days after I lost my job, Mom texted, “Your brother needs the apartment more than you do.” When I got home, his boxes were already in my bedroom, and Dad calmly said, “You’re unemployed. You can stay with a friend.”

make this worse.”

“Where am I supposed to live?”

He frowned as if I were deliberately complicating things.

“You have friends.”

“I have an apartment.”

“You have savings.”

“I have an apartment.”

“You’re single.”

I stared at him.

“Tyler has Melissa and a baby coming.”

“I know.”

“You have options. He doesn’t.”

Mom nodded.

“It’s only for a few months.”

That phrase had solved many problems in my family.

Only for a few months.

Until Tyler got back on his feet.

Until his car was fixed.

Until he found another