We regret to inform you your application for the two-bedroom apartment at WHITE OAK APARTMENTS has been denied for:
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NO AVAILABLE UNITS
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We thank you for your interest in being part of the WHITE OAK APARTMENTS community. We wish you the best in your apartment search.
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Lauren Stein
Leasing Manager
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It’s not the first email like this I’ve received, and I’m sure it won’t be the last.
In the last six weeks since I received notice from my landlord that the building is being sold and demolished, I’ve put applications in on anything I can find.
Unfortunately, since everyone else in my building is doing the same, and due to the fact that we live in a small Colorado town where the supply of affordable living is already scant, well…the pickings are slim.
It’s been one big game of hurry up and wait, and I’m almost out of time to wait.
My lease will officially be terminated at the end of the month. If I can’t find something soon, I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do with myself and my almost-thirteen-year-old son when we’re scraping by as it is.
I navigate back to my inbox and click on the email from my landlord.
I wish I had a better reply for you, but my hands are tied. The deal has been finalized and there’s no possible way to extend it. The buyer was clear: all occupants must vacate the premises by the end of the month.
Please know this decision was not made lightly. Trust me, if I could have told him to screw off, I would have. The last thing this town needs is another outdoor sports equipment shop.
I’ve not made this public knowledge, but being a single mom yourself, I’m sure you’ll understand…Katlyn is sick, and unfortunately, the medical and medication bills are stacking up. Selling wasn’t what I wanted, but it’s the best solution I can come up with for my daughter.
You’ve been a great tenant over the years, and I’d be happy to write you a letter of recommendation should you need one.
I’m sorry about this. Please let me know if I can do anything.
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Best,
Dan Ford
Danford Apartments Owner
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Like it did the first, second, and third time I read his email, my heart sinks.
Hell, it breaks for him.
Katlyn and my son, Sam, are the same age. I can’t imagine watching Sam going through anything that would cause him pain.
I’d sell the damn building too.
It’s hard to be angry at him, which sucks because I could use someone or something to be angry at right now.
“Crap, crap, crap,” I chant, bouncing my head off the back of the couch a few times.
I lay my head against the cushion, stretch my neck toward the sky, and blow out a long breath.
What am I going to do? I have nowhere to go. Either nobody has apartments available or, if they do, they are out of my price range or out of the school district. I’ve checked out a few houses, but most are on the outskirts of town and not in the best shape or are owned by people I do not want to be renting from. If all I had to worry about was myself, fine. I could manage it. But with Sam in tow, I can’t take on a potential problem like that.
I wish I could afford to buy us a house, but I don’t have money for a down payment.
My best friend, River, offered to let Sam and me move in with her and her boyfriend, Dean, until I could find a place, but three adults, a teenager, and two pets—one being a cat who is a major asshole—sharing a small, two-bedroom apartment? So not a good idea. We’d all kill each other within a day or two.
Since my parents are out of the question entirely, my only other choice is my ex-husband, Patrick.
If I needed to—like I had zero other options—I could go to him. He wasn’t the best husband, but he’d never reject me if I needed help.