Mom Tried to Sell Blood for My College

When the admission letter arrived, Margaret Carter gave a bitter smile and patted my shoulder.

“This is a good thing. You should go. Even though our family is poor, we’ll sell everything if we have to just to let you study.”

Her hoarse voice faltered, then shifted abruptly.

“It’s just… your dad’s medicine is gone again, your brother’s tuition is due next semester, and the rent is overdue…”

“But it doesn’t matter. If you want to study, then even if I have to sell plasma or an organ, even if it costs me my life, I’ll make sure you go.”

Her cloudy eyes fixed straight on me. I knew she was waiting for me to say it first—that I would give up.

Just like when I was ten and willingly gave up the chance to go to New York City with my brother.

At fifteen, I accepted a scholarship to a second-rate private high school instead of the county’s best, just for the money.

Now, her eyes carried the same calculated confidence.

But this time, I didn’t give in.

I said,

“Alright.”

In the smoke-filled room, the admission letter lying on the table looked strangely out of place.

Daniel Carter’s ashes fell to the ground as he coughed up a thick wad of phlegm.

“Hah, and here I thought you had a conscience. Now you’ve dropped the act. Your mom’s about to sell her blood, and you still want to study? Where do you think the money’s coming from?”

My eyelids trembled, my heartbeat scattered.

“There are student loans. I can work during breaks. I don’t need your money. I can manage.”

Daniel snorted coldly.

“Your brother’s tutoring alone costs thirty-five thousand. Your mom’s back has been bad for years, she hasn’t dared see a doctor. And me—I’m practically dying. And you still have the nerve to spend everything you earn just on yourself without leaving a cent for the family?”

The living room was dark, lit only by a sliver of light from my brother’s room.

Margaret let out a heavy sigh. Her wrinkled face softened into an appeasing smile as she took my hand.

“It’s fine. If my daughter wants to study, we as parents can’t hold her back. Go ahead.”

“Tomorrow I’ll go sell plasma. I just don’t know… if someone my age, someone like me, would even be accepted at the hospital.”

In the dim light, tears glistened in her dark eyes.

“Your brother won’t need tutoring anymore. If he can’t study, he’ll go work. We’ll all sell our blood together, for you, just for you. If you want to study, we won’t stop you.”

She began to sob quietly, smearing her rough, dark hands across her face.

Then suddenly, Daniel charged at me in fury and struck me across the face with a hard slap.

“You want to kill us all? Destroy this family? How can you be so selfish, so shameless?”

My head snapped to the side, my body nearly collapsing.

My ears buzzed, and when I regained my senses, Margaret’s crying filled them.

“Your dad fell! Aren’t you going to help him? I already agreed to let you study, and you still had to upset your father. Now look what’s happened—your dad fell again. What are we supposed to do now?”

On the floor, Daniel glared at me with venomous eyes.

Before I could speak, my brother stormed out of his room. Without a word, he punched me straight in the face.

“You dare hurt my parents? I’ll fight you to the end!”

At nearly six feet tall, Ryan Carter pinned me to the ground, throwing punches at my head again and again.

I was powerless, the only thing reaching me was his voice, his curses, echoing over and over.