“You have one job,” he’d snap. “Why is that so hard?”
His unstable work life only made things worse. Every job loss became someone else’s fault. And somehow, those failures always became my responsibility.
“You’re supposed to make my life easier,” he’d say. “Instead, you’re just another problem.”
I often felt like I was raising two children. I protected Lily whenever I could, stepping in when Ethan criticized her for small mistakes. But that only redirected his anger toward me.
Eventually, I stopped arguing. Silence was safer.
Chapter 2: The Crash and the Silence
The accident happened without warning.
One moment I was crossing the street with groceries, my mind already on dinner and homework. The next, everything went dark.
I woke up in the hospital, my body broken and immobilized. Both legs were in casts. Every breath hurt. The doctors told me recovery would take months.
My parents, Eleanor and Richard, were there every day. They took care of Lily, brought me food, and reminded me I wasn’t alone.
Ethan didn’t come.
Days passed. Then weeks. Each time the door opened, I hoped it would be him.
It never was.
When he finally arrived in the third week, his expression wasn’t worry—it was irritation.