Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Texas

My fiance and I moved out of an apartment complex. The manager and I had had a very steady line of contact about looking for another place to live with in their rentals. When the crime in the complex became too much I told her we would have to try looking for another place and possibly breaking the lease. We had an opportunity fall in our laps that we could not pass up. I called her and let her know that we would be breaking the lease and she gave me a prorated amount for the month to pay and told me a re-letting fee amount for June 8th. She told me to leave my written letter in the night drop box, which I did. That weekend we started moving, the 5th and 6th. We had to leave one of our fish tanks until the next day because we could not get it at that time. I also left the vaccume cleaner to finish cleaning the next day on the 7th. When we came back both my vaccume cleaner and our salt water tank were gone. We knew no one had broke in because the house had been locked( could only do so with a key) I called the manager the next day and told her the situation, she said she would call the maintenance man and see if he knew anything. She called me back and said he had thought we had left it for trash, and threw out the vaccume and took the fish tank home. She said she would have him return it that day. When we went to pick up the tank everything in it was dead: fish, corals and even coralline algae. When we called back to let some one know they said the manager had left for the day. So the next morning the manager called us and told us to make a list of what had been in the tank and they would replace what had been in the tank even if they had to take it out of his check. So we did, then she said that they hadn't known what day we were going to be out because they didn't get our notice. Which she hadn't mentioned until it came time to settle on payment for the tank. She told me that she had no doubt that I had left it in the night drop box, because I had never told her I'd do something and not do it, but she didn't have it, and they weren't going to be held responsible for the tank. Now they are suing us for non payment of rent and damages to the condo in the amount if $1580. Our rent was only 625 for a full month and she had told me to pay the prorated amount and we would work something out on the re-letting fee. Also, we paid a $600 deposit and lived there for 1year and 3 months with small children. They are saying damages exceed that amount. I am filing a counter suit for the amount lost for the fish tank, which due to the condition of the live rock we still can't put fish or corals in, and can't afford to replace it. I have notes of mine and the managers conversations and copies of my notice I left in the drop box. Do I have any ground to stand on and do I need to have a lawyer present in this case?

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