YOUNG MASTER ELI

“We are going to be homeless.” said Lawton's mother.

Lawton rushed to her, joining her on the porch. “What do you mean? Why would we be

homeless, mother?”

The woman positively looked afraid. “Lawton, she said we've been owing rent for the last six months. She was furious and said she would throw us out.”

“Just calm down, nothing like that will happen.”

She looked up at Lawton, and then turned to look at Amanda as Amanda also climbed the steps and came up to the porch.

“Didn't you people go to the anniversary so you would beg Madame Williams for help when she was in a good mood?”

Lawton grimaced. He suddenly felt powerless and not a small amount of stupid. “I broke her priceless sculpture.”

Lawton hadn't really been the one to break it. A maid had and he had quickly reacted, telling her to slip inside while he took her place by the shattered pieces as if he had done it.

“Why on earth did you do that, Lawton? You know Madame Williams is our only hope.”

Lawton shook his head. He opened his mouth to tell her that she would never be his only hope when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a bunch of people approaching the house.

Reacting fast, he pulled Amanda all the way in and pulled the porch door closed, locking it.

It was the landlady and three to four looking rough men.

“Lawton! You have been owing me rent and you refused to pay. This is the seventh month now and all I keep receiving are excuses. You're leaving my house today, you sorry excuse for space.”

Amanda's startled eyes met Lawton's. She had been a rich girl all her life. Up until when she married Lawton. They had respected their father's decision for a while until he had fallen sick.

“How will you handle this, Lawton? You said you would have had your pay from work by now, and see, she will throw us out!” Amanda hissed in a panic.

She had never been homeless in her life. In fact, she had just started to get used to the tiny space she had to live in and now this?!

“We're not going to be homeless,” Lawton said, letting the steel and determination he often hid underneath the surface to show.

“Go and pull down those doors if you have to, but get them out of there!” the landlady yelled.

“Throw every worthless thing that they own out as well.”

The burly men swung into action. They had just received permission to do whatever it took to remove the Lawton family from the premises, and that was exactly what they would do.

They jumped on the front steps, and multiple hands gripped the porch doors, shaking it so hard that the porch shook along with it.

Lawton swallowed and went to the other end of the porch, peeking through the spaces in the porch doors.

“Ma'am, I'm begging you. What would happen if they destroyed your property just because they wanted to get inside?” he reasoned with her.

The landlady's eyes flashed to the thugs who were now hitting the porch doors with big sticks.

She frowned a little. “Then open the doors and let them in, you know you deserve to be thrown

out.”

She flicked a worried look at the thugs again. Lawton knew he had gotten her. “They will destroy the beautiful porch if you don't make them stop. And you know you put in very strong doors there.”

The landlady suddenly turned to the thugs. “Hey, hey, are you guys crazy? For fucks sake, don't destroy the whole place just to get inside, what house would I have to rent then?!”

She looked back at Lawton. “I'm not falling for your glib tongue again. You promised to pay for the last two months and you didn't. You promised again this month and we're still here. Get out of my house, I don't want you as a tenant anymore.”

Lawton grimaced. “Ma'am, I promise you it is all a misunderstanding. I'll have the money tomorrow, just believe me.”

The thugs were sweating now, starting to climb down the steps.

The landlady put her hands on her hips. She was a thin pale woman in her late forties, who liked makeup too much.

“You're sure it'll be tomorrow?” she eyed Lawton.

“Or the day after. Just to be on the safe side ma'am.”

“So just two days, Lawton.”

Lawton grimaced again. He wasn't really sure. “Or maybe make it three.”

Amanda had reached Lawton and she slapped him on the back, hard. “Stop it! Can't you see she almost bought it?”

The landlady turned angry eyes at the thugs. “Break down the door if you need to!”

“No, no, two days, ma! Just two days.” Lawton yelled out.

The landlady stopped. She motioned for her thugs to follow her as they left. Lawton and Amanda let out sighs of relief.

“Well, we're going to be fine. Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'll go to my boss and tell him to pay me.”

Amanda's troubled eyes met his. “What if he doesn't pay you? You've been working delivery for half a year and still no salary.”

Lawton grimaced. His boss had been owing him three months' salary now. Amanda slid him a heavy, worried look. “You know that I am still on probation at work and I still won't get my salary until the year is up or I bring in a client for the company.”

“I'll handle it, Amanda.”

“And mother has taken control of my trust fund. I wish Dad hadn't said I could only get it when I clocked 23.”

There was a sudden crash as something fell and Lawton turned to the sound. It was his mother.

She was lying collapsed on the floor.

He rushed to her. “Mom? Mom, what's wrong?”

Amanda was by his side and before minutes they had called the ambulance. They took her to the hospital and the doctor confirmed she had collapsed due to extreme shock and she needed to be observed for a few days.

The hospital fees were so expensive and Lawton was worried sick.

He went out to the vending machine to get snacks for him and his wife and he was bent over, picking snacks when someone shouted his name. An old name he would have never thought he would hear in this part of town.

“Master Eli.