My gaze snapped to him. “I don’t see youpaying for anything.” “Don’t talk to your brother like that!” my mother shot back. “He’s trying his best!” A humorless laugh escaped me. “Really? Because from where I’m standing, the only thing he’s trying to do is set a world record for consecutive hours of doing absolutely nothing.”

“Enough,” my father said sharply. “We’re asking you to step up. If you were a good son, you’d take full responsibility for this house.” Something inside me broke. After everything I had given—my time, my money, my patience—it was still not enough. It would never be enough.

“Let me get this straight,” I said, my voice eerily calm. “You want me to take over the mortgage completely, pay for everything, while Zach continues to do nothing. And you see nothing wrong with that?” “We just thought as our son, you’d want to help your family,” my mother replied,