Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

Dejected, I stumbled back home. As I glanced around the old, shabby house I had lived in for at least a decade, I received a message from Hans.

"Honey, I need to work overtime at the office, so I won't be coming home. You should get some rest early."

I dropped my gaze, too tired after a long day to question whether he was telling the truth. Suppressing the unease in my heart, I quickly got myself ready to head to the hospital and take care of Mom.

Just as I straddled my electric scooter, Mom's attending doctor called.

"Your mother's condition has suddenly worsened! She's been rushed into surgery," he shouted frantically. "Hurry up and come pay her bills!"

My heart skipped a beat. Releasing the handlebars of the scooter, I collapsed to the ground, looking utterly disheveled. My knees scraped against the pavement, leaving a gaping wound. But I was too preoccupied to feel the pain.

Trembling, I fumbled for my phone and tried to ask Hans for some money.

"Honey, Mom's condition just worsened. Can you send some money over, please?"

Hans remained silent, clearly doubtful of my words. "I already spent everything I had on the last payment. Where am I supposed to find more money now?

"Honey, your mom has been bedridden for years. We can't keep getting dragged down by someone who's about to die. Maybe… you should just give up."

Realizing that he was still lying to me, I immediately broke down and cried, "Please, I'm begging you! I know you still have money—just send me a little more! She's in surgery right now. If I don't pay, she's going to die!"

Yvette's voice suddenly rang out from the other end of the line.

"Hans, she's clearly using you as a walking ATM," she said, her intention to sow discord between us as clear as day. "She asks for money every chance she gets. She doesn't even care about your wellbeing.

"You'd better stay away from those two parasites as soon as possible."

My mind went blank, and my breathing grew labored.

So, what he meant by working overtime at the office was spending the night in the master bedroom of his new luxury apartment with his childhood sweetheart.

I scoffed. But thinking about the time we had spent together all these years, I still clung to a sliver of hope and implored, "Honey, I swear I'm telling the truth. Mom's situation is dire now.

"Please, just send me some money to save her, okay? You can at least do it for the sake of what she did for you when you were a kid—"

Before I could finish, Hans cut me off angrily and bellowed, "Are you talking about how she dragged me out of that fire? So what? Wasn't that her duty as a firefighter? How long are you going to keep guilt-tripping me over that?"

I never expected him to see things that way.

"That's not what I meant." I quivered.

Losing all his patience, he shouted, "All you ever do is ask for money! Have you ever cared that I'm still working overtime at the office this late?

"Unlike you, Yvie actually cares about me. She brings me homemade meals at work all the time.

"You, though, chose to work as a DoorDasher just to make some quick cash. Do you know how humiliating that is for me in front of my colleagues?

"Lauren, I'm so disappointed in you."

Staring at the disconnected call, I hauled myself back to my feet and roughly wiped my tears. I picked up my scooter and sped off into the rainy night.

Sweat and tears blended on my face, but I couldn't care less. The only thing on my mind was that I could see Mom if I just went a little faster.

…

I sat outside the operating room all night. It wasn't until Mom was wheeled into the ICU did I finally heave a sigh of relief.

"Make sure you pay the surgery bill as soon as possible. Coupled with the expenses for the ongoing treatment… it's going to be a hefty sum."

As I stared at Mom lying silently in bed, I slumped to the floor. I had no idea how long I sat there before forcing myself to stand up and head home. I had no other option now.