My mother never complained. She worked double shifts as a nurse’s aide and still smiled whenever Noah was scared.
But I saw the truth.
I saw the unpaid bills on the kitchen table. I saw her crying quietly after midnight. I saw the fear she tried to hide from both of us.
One rainy Thursday, another hospital bill came.
My mother stared at it for a long time, then folded it and placed it under the others.
That night, I searched online for every side job I could find.
Dog walking. Tutoring. Cleaning houses.
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