Chapter 006

George:

The next day, Mom was still furious with Kate. She kept shouting throughout the house because Kate wasn’t answering her messages or calls.

“Damn that Kate! She still won’t answer my calls. She hasn’t sent any allowance for us this month, and now she suddenly comes home. How are we supposed to pay the bills? Talk to your daughter, Arthur,” Mom.

“Call her, George. Maybe she’ll answer your call! We have so many bills to pay, and she didn’t even leave a little money,” Dad said.

“Yeah, but you told Kate you didn’t need her money, even though she’s the one being cheated on,” I whispered to them.

“What are you saying, George?” Mom asked me.

“I said, what am I supposed to say if Kate answers?!” I replied.

“Make up an excuse; tell her about Charlotte’s tuition. That’s another thing—it can’t be delayed just because we’re in this situation. Hayyyy, damn it,” Mom said angrily.

“Haist!” I sighed heavily in front of my Mom.

I had dialed and messaged Kate several times, but she still wouldn’t answer me either.

“Kate won’t answer, Dad,” I told them.

“That girl is so shameless. She goes abroad and thinks we should praise her. You let her talk back to us, and now look at her. She doesn’t even respect us. She owes us for her good life now, so it’s her duty to support our needs,” Mom said, furious.

“Mom, what about my tuition f*e? What if Kate doesn’t send money for my f*es? I have finals coming up!” Charlotte cried, clinging to Michael.

“Don’t worry, Charlotte; once I’m on the ship, you won’t need to beg Kate anymore!” Michael said. “Mom, Dad, I promise that once I’m on board, you won’t have to ask Kate for help. She’s really changed since she started working in Dubai. She thinks she’s someone special; maybe that’s what she picked up from hanging out with her promiscuous friends,” he added angrily.

Even though I wanted to punch him, I couldn’t because he was on Mom’s side. I also didn’t know where Michael got the nerve to say such awful things about Kate.

“Damn her! She still needs to support us; she wouldn’t be where she is today without us—me and Arthur! She has to fulfill her obligations because we’re still her parents. Plus, we agreed she’d support Charlotte’s education until she finished. It’s not our fault she can’t accept that you and Charlotte ended up together!” Mama yelled, still furious.

Not long after their talk about Kate, Mom suddenly felt dizzy. She nearly fainted, turning pale, with her lips and hands darkening. We all panicked as she complained of chest tightness. I quickly ran to the kitchen to get warm water for her, but she had already fainted by the time I got back. We called an ambulance, which responded quickly and took Mom away. Meanwhile, a group of gossipers gathered in front of our house.

Since yesterday, when Kate arrived, our house had become a hot topic for gossip. We ignored them. Dad went into the ambulance and told me to follow with some of Mama’s things. After they left, Charlotte kept pestering me to call Kate.

“George, please call Kate. If something happens to Mom, I swear I’ll hold her responsible. Message her to say that Mama was taken to the hospital,” Charlotte said.

“Okay, okay, I’m doing it now,! You’ve been nagging me; I’m trying to call her,” I replied. After several rings, no one answered.

I hung up after being ignored by Kate again and went to prepare Mom’s things for the hospital. Instead of helping, Charlotte was busy trying to open the suitcase Kate left behind. I shook my head at her; she was my sister, but it seemed she no longer cared about the family, always using her pregnancy as an excuse.

Michael was also shameless, seemingly proud to show off our family’s chaos to the neighbors because of Kate and Charlotte’s fight. Even before, I’d heard him saying horrible things about why left. Nothing would change, even if I told Mom about it, because they always said that once Michael became the ship’s captain, he would be a huge help to the family. After all, there were foreigners with Kate, so they’d benefit from her hard work and the money spent on Michael. Michael would earn a lot as a captain, and it would be a shame if only others benefited from that.