The Stupid Big Brother

On the bed in Angie's guest room, Karen had made a call to Angie to know how they were coping and to tell her of her decision to move out since she has a job.

"You just got the job. How will you move? Do you have money?" Angie had asked.

"I'll talk to Carol. I have to move out of here, even if it's tomorrow," Karen said.

"What's with the urgency?" Angie asked.

"I don't want to bother you with my problems, Angie. You have enough on your plate."

"I'm the one asking, so it's no problem," Angie insisted.

Karen thought for a while and thought it better to share her problem with her friend. Weren't problems half shared half solved?

"Carey was here. He found me with Sam, and the two men fought. It turns out Carey has been cheating on me. I don't feel so bad, it's like I knew he was with another woman, and that might have pushed me towards Sam. The problem is that he is back, and he wants Frank and me back. I don't know how he got where I am, but it's not a good sign. I have to leave here," Karen said.

"Have you found somewhere to go? I could make some arrangements for you. I know some house agents who could get you a safe place where Carey will never find you," Angie suggested.

"You will have saved me a big deal. I can never thank you enough," Angie said, breathing out a sigh of relief.

"Don't sweat it. What will you do about the child if he wants him? You can't stop him from seeing the child?"

"I haven't thought about that yet. First things first," Karen said.

She had felt relieved after sharing her problem with Angie. What she didn't know was that she should have applied the saying that 'always sleep with one eye open. Your best friends might just be your enemies.'

The Bargers except Karen were sited in their living room. Jim and Jael had called in the meeting, and given the fact that Karen wasn't present, the three kids knew that it had to be a matter concerning the management of the hotels.

The tension around the room was high.

"I know you guys are so anxious about this meeting, but it will take less than ten minutes. It's about our hotels; we had to make a very important decision." Jael said, then waited for the kids to take in her words.

There was a blank expression on Carol's face while Eric and Cheryl both seemed tensed for reasons known to them.

"For years, we have been doing well in this business. It has been our legacy, and the life we are currently living is because of our hard work, and we can't afford to get on our knees. Moving from grace to grass isn't an option. However, the business, especially Eric's hotel, hasn't been doing very well…."

"I knew it…." Eric interrupted.

Everyone turned to look at him.

"What are you talking about? Let me talk!" Jim said in a thunderous voice.

Eric sat down in shame as Jim continued his speech. 'We will close down Eric's hotel, and he will be working at Cheryl's, which has been performing well.

"Why mine?" Cheryl asked, surprised. "Carol's has also been doing well."

"Yes, but hers is quite far from both of yours, so co-managing will be an issue. Remember, your brother has a family, so we don't want him moving around and spending much time on the road," Jim said.

Eric walked out of the room, and he was so disgusted.

He drove to his home, and when he shared the news with Serena, all hell broke loose.

"What happens to me now? I had repeatedly told you to tell them about me being in the business. Do you want me to go back into being a housewife?" Serena had asked.

"I don't know. I don't fucking know. I didn't know they were planning to do this. I was as surprised as you were," Eric shouted back.

"Then why didn't you tell them about it after they shared their plans?" Serena asked.

"I will tell them."

"You know what. Don't bother. I will do it myself. I will tell them because if you don't speak for yourself, then I will do it for all of us."

"Okay, let's see if they will listen to you more than they listen to me," Eric answered.

Eric had always felt overshadowed, maybe because he was the only male sibling amongst the four.

He had always felt that the parents expected much from him, which was true, but he took it the wrong way.

Arnold, Mercy, and Carina were at the hospital. Arnold had finally persuaded Mercy that they would look into the theft later on.

The doctor first talked to Mercy and Arnold, but they both only knew what they read in her admission files. They both only knew what Carina had complained of.