**Author’s Note:** Seventeen additional parts are available on my Patreon! They’ll be released for free over time like the installments I’ve posted so far on here, but this is my shameless plug to say that you can pledge now if you’re impatient. :)
**PART TWELVE**
My phone was sitting on my desk, awaiting my decision.
It had been four full days since I left Annabelle’s house. Four and half, if I counted the rest of Saturday after I returned to my little apartment to get started on all my schoolwork for the weekend. All that time, and I still hadn’t fully made up my mind about whether or not I’d return.
When I had left, the decision felt so easy. I was insulted and annoyed that neither Trixie or Annabelle thought twice about subjecting me to chores, and I was flustered from having to deal with Annabelle’s lack of clothes for the last thirty minutes that I was there. However, getting 150% more cash than I expected was a strong temptation to suck it up, and actually having the stack of hundreds in my hand made the money feel a lot more real than if I was given a check instead. And, as each day passed afterwards, it became easier to explain away all the difficulties that I suffered through.