Fiduciary

"He left you the house," Emily said quietly.

Tina gaped at her. "Are you kidding me?" There was no reply. "You can't be serious. What the hell would I want with this house?"

Emily fidgeted with her tea bag, swirling it around the mug. "I think he wanted you to stay here. In Discovery."

Tina wanted to throw something. The urge was just one more gift from her father that she didn't want. She forced herself to remain calm. "Well, whether or not I do, he's not a part of that. It's my decision."

"I know." Emily thought of another man who she suspected might have more to do with Tina's decision than their father, but she kept that name to herself.

"I don't want anything of his, Emily." She shook her head. "There's not much I can do about his blood, but the rest of his things are yours."

Emily thought about the conversations she'd had with her father in his final days. She thinks I don't know her, he'd said. But the truth is, she doesn't know me. I already know I'm going to die with things that way, but I don't want her to.

"Think about it," Emily said. "Give it some time."

"I don't need time, Em. I don't want this house. Plus you've been here all this time. It's rightfully yours."

"He gave me everything else. I'll be fine."

"That's hardly the point."

Emily stood and took her tea to the sink. Suddenly she had no taste for it. "Tina, don't be so goddamn stubborn. Where else are you going to stay, anyway?"

Tina was silent. Her sister never spoke that way. And she had a point.