"Your mother collapsed again."

The thumping of my heart stopped for a millisecond at the words I had just heard. I was frozen to a spot, trying to force myself to believe that it was just another dream. This could not be happening again. There was no way this was happening at a time when I was not strong enough to support her. It was like I was having one of my nightmares again.

"Wh...what?" I stuttered and raised my heavy eyes toward my father who sat on one of the old couches with a can of beer in his hand. He barely looked at me as his attention was ahead of him. Even though he didn't look at me, I needed to see his face to see if he was just joking.

"You heard me," he replied in a stiff tone. "Do something about it."

As always, I was not surprised that such words were coming from him. He had always been nonchalant about health issues, even his. He never cared for the woman he married, the woman that birthed his children. He stopped caring.

"She needs her meds, as usual... She's always sucking us dry."

"Can't you do something?" I asked, voice low and soft.

I flinched when my father slammed the can he held to the floor. He rose to his feet and towered over me with a menacing look on his face. His nose was flared, and his eyes were filled with so much rage that fears lingered within me. I was always scared whenever he reacted this way. Mom was not strong enough to defend me from his constant mood swings that hinted that he would become violent.

"I should do something?!" He barked, then laughed mockingly for a few seconds.

"Dad, I—"

"I have done everything I can! My marriage to that woman you call your mother has ruined my life! At my age, I should be enjoying the fruits of my labor but everything goes into her dying self!"

"Dad!"

Anger boiled within me after hearing his words. I clenched my hands tightly and breathed heavily. I hissed and pointed my finger at him.

"Don't you dare! Don't you even dare! How can you say that about mom?!" I demanded at the top of my voice. "Between the both of you, mom has sacrificed so much! You need to remember that mom left her life as a famous designer because of you! She helped you go through life before I was born and this is how you repay her?!"

I dropped my hand and backed away. Tears brimmed my eyes as my heart thumped fast, matching the racing emotions in me. I looked away and shook my head with a wry smile on my face.

"Ever since mom got cancer, you have barely done anything as her husband. Your bar is out of business because you've gambled your earnings away. Meanwhile, I suffer from working at so many places just to feed this household. The least you can do is find a job to foot mom's treatment."

I wrapped my arms around my waist and made eye contact with my father who still had the nonchalant look on his face. I scoffed and left the living room. I stopped walking when I got to my parent's room. With a deep breath, I held the doorknob and pushed the door open. The smell of medicine and antiseptic filled my nose, making me hate how the aesthetic of the house turned into a mini-hospital.

I took slow steps toward the bed across the room and stopped beside it. My gaze danced around my mother's frail form. Her sunken cheeks and dark-circled eyes stood out against her pale skin. The red beanie she wore looked two sizes bigger, making my heart sting from pain and misery.

"Hey, mom," I said in a soft voice as I knelt beside her bed. I eyed my sleeping mother for some seconds before holding her cold hand. "Dad told me you fainted again... Were you overworking yourself again? You need to rest every day."

I didn't know when tears started flowing until they dropped on my cheeks. I quickly wiped them and sighed. I opened my mouth to speak when I heard laughter coming from outside the room. I gritted my teeth at the familiar sound and rose to my feet. I wiped my cheeks again and marched toward the door. I opened it and glared at Macy, my younger sister who was in the hallway, talking on the phone while leaning against the wall.

When we made eye contact, Macy rolled her eyes and ended her call.

"Can I help you?" Macy asked, tone stiff.

"What are you doing here?" I asked back in the same tone before stepping out of the room.

"This is my house too, am I not welcome?"

I frowned. "As far as I know, this isn't your house anymore. You abandoned us, knowing how mom's condition is. You left to be with an old man, because of money... I don't even care who you fuck or date but at least help us with mom's bills!'

Macy kept a nonchalant expression on her face while checking her overly-long acrylic nails. She smirked and scoffed before meeting my eyes again.

"Really? You want me to spend my money on that woman who has done nothing but judge me?" Macy asked and came closer to me. "She is the reason why I left this house, the reason why I am not close to her is all because of her attitude. So, please, dear sister. I am not interested in being a charity center for her."

I sighed. "That is not—"

"Oh, Macy! You're here... I knew I heard your voice."

"Dad!" Macy said excitedly. "I missed you!"

I watched as my sister and father hugged each other, with anger in me. I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds before walking away from them. I stopped in the middle of the living room to slow down the quick rate my heart was going. The sound of laughter coming from my father and Macy angered me more and the cheery tone of their conversations almost made me want to go back and tell them off, but I couldn't. I felt weak emotionally and physically.

Feeling exhausted, I sat down on the closest couch and began to think of which jobs I could go for that would give me enough money to refill my mother's pills and provide proper dietary foods for her.

"We need to talk."

I flinched at the sound of my father's voice and got up abruptly. I eyed him before shifting my gaze to my sister who was behind him. Something was up and I didn't like the weight that room carried. It made me uncomfortable with a tingling feeling lingering within me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Oh, you're going to love what dad has to say," Macy said and giggled behind her hand.

Whenever Macy acted sinister, it was never going to be anything good. I gulped and looked at dad who sighed like he was feeling bad about something. The more he stayed quiet, the more I got tense.

"I'll just go straight to the point... You're getting married, Angela."

My world froze at that moment.

A/n: This will be part one of the series. It's short and fast paced. Hope you enjoy.