That was the last message.
My stomach dropped. I called her right away, and it rang for a long time before she picked up.
Her voice was faint. 「Katie, all done with work?」
I asked：「Mom, did you get the tests done?」
She paused.
「I did.」
「What did the doctor say?」
「Nothing serious.」
I could tell she was lying.
Whenever she didn't want me to worry, her voice went extra soft, like paper left in water too long — the slightest touch and it'd fall apart.
I was about to push her on it when someone rapped on the glass outside the window.
「I need to pay my bill, miss. What are you doing on the phone?」
All I could say was：「Mom, wait for me. I'll come over after my shift.」
She cut in immediately：
「Don't.」
「It's too late. Don't wear yourself out.」
「I'm already home.」
The line went dead. I stared at my phone, a slow panic building in my chest.
At one in the morning, the ER surged.
A car-accident victim came in, and the family shoved paperwork through my window, shouting themselves hoarse.
I didn't even have time to drink water.
Close to two, the department group chat pinged. Viola had posted a set of photos.
A hot-pot restaurant.
Her son grinning, holding up some kind of ribbon award. Her husband next to her, chopsticks mid-air, dropping tripe into her bowl.
The caption：
「Done with the parent-teacher conference. Treating the kiddo to a good meal. Being a mom means being tough — no matter how tired you are, it's worth it.」
The chat filled with thumbs-up.
「You work so hard, Viola.」
「Women with kids really have it rough.」
「Great kid. Mom deserves all the credit.」
I stared at that photo, my fingers going cold.
She hadn't needed someone to cover for her kid. She'd just wanted me to take her night shift so her family of three could sit around eating hot pot.
I closed the photo.
And saw that my mom had tried calling me again half an hour ago.
One missed call. 1:37 a.m.
I called back. No answer.
I called again. Still nothing.
I couldn't sit still. I told the ER nurse I needed to step into the hallway to make a call.
I'd barely stood up when Director Abbott's number came through.
「Katherine, did you leave your post during the night shift?」
I froze.
「I didn't. My mom just called me and I wanted to check if she's……」
His voice was ice.
「Do not handle personal matters during work hours.」
「Viola told me you've been emotionally unstable.」
「If you feel so hard done by on a night shift, you can spell it out at tomorrow's department meeting.」
I gripped the phone. 「Director Abbott, something might have happened to my mom.」
Two seconds of silence.
Then：
「Whose family doesn't have problems?」
「Stay at your window.」
That night, I didn't dare leave the window.
His words — “stay at your window” — were a lock, pinning me to my chair.
I processed payments with one hand and dialed my mom with the other.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Every call rang out unanswered.
At three thirty, the ER finally slowed down.
I used a bathroom break to call Aunt Anna downstairs.
Anna lived right across the hall from my mom. The second she picked up, her voice was panicked.
「Katie, your mom fell.」
A buzz whited out my skull. 「Where?」
「The stairwell entrance.」
「She said the pain in her legs was unbearable and she was trying to get downstairs to catch a cab to the hospital. She lost her footing.」
I nearly dropped the phone.
「Where is she now?」
「I called an ambulance. They just brought her to your hospital.」
I turned and ran toward the ER.
The nurses' station was chaos. I scanned the crowd and found her.
She was on a gurney, her face white as paper, one pant leg cut open, the skin beneath swollen tight and shining.
She saw me and still tried to smile. 「Katie, don't be scared.」
