I was always there for them, she thought bitterly. Every time she needed me. Every time she was late. Every doctor’s appointment, every school project, every forgotten lunchbox. And this is how they treat me?
Her chest rose and fell faster now. “You disappear for days, don’t answer your phone, and then just… move on without a word?” Her voice cracked, but she didn’t stop. “No. Not this time.” She stood abruptly, pushing the chair back with a scrape. The sound was too loud in the still kitchen, but it steadied her somehow. “No more waiting by the phone,” she said under her breath. “No more being convenient.”