Chapter Text
Roman wasn't sure when he realized it. Maybe it was when he realized his mother was coming in later and later, yanking off her stilettos and wiping off the make-up caking her face. Maybe it was when he visited his friend Remy's apartment for the first time in second grade and saw that he had his own bedroom, not having to share it with his older brother as Roman was with his mom.
Or maybe it was when Dex, the abused boy who lived in a hellhole of a house, looked around his tiny apartment and flinched.
Either way, Roman knew that he and his mother were poor. No, worse than that. They were in debt. Deep in debt.
So when Roman came home from high school to find his mother on the couch, face devoid of the make-up she wore while walking the streets, sobbing, he knew something was wrong.
"Mama?" He asked hesitantly. She looked up quickly, alreay wiping her tears. "Roman! I didn't think that you'd be home for a while!" She responded in Spanish.
He shook his head, also replying in their first language. "Mama. Why are you crying?" He looked at the carboard box that served as a coffee table. "Are those… are all those bills?" He walked over, picking a few up. "And… a letter. Of eviction?" He dropped the letter on the table.
He couldn't breathe. "We've been evicted." His mother sniffled. "We have until Friday. I'm sorry Ro."
He sighed. "It's not your fault. We'll figure this out."
He looked down at the papers. "Somehow."