It was eleven at night, and I'd just gotten off at the billing window when Viola Lawrence tagged me in the department group chat.

「Katherine, cover my night shift tomorrow?」

I stared at my phone.

My mom had a follow-up appointment tomorrow morning. I'd spent two weeks getting that slot.

「Sorry, Viola, I can't. I have something tomorrow.」

Her voice message came back fast.

「What could you possibly have going on?」

「You're not married, no kids—what, you go home and sit there by yourself anyway.」

I stared at the screen and said nothing.

She sent another：

「My son has a parent-teacher conference tomorrow night, and my husband's working late.」

「You're young. One night shift won't kill you.」

I swallowed my anger and typed back：「My mom has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I need to take her.」

The group chat went quiet for a few seconds.

Then Director Abbott jumped in：

「Katherine, Viola really does have a lot on her plate.」

「You're single. You've got flexibility. Use it.」

A second later, Viola again：

「Exactly.」

「You're a single girl with nobody depending on you. Don't be selfish.」

……

My name is Katherine Simmons. I work the billing window at County General Hospital.

The booth is tiny. The problems never stop.

Check-ins, copays, refunds, insurance claims—mess up any one of them and somebody's banging on the glass before you can blink.

Three years on the job, and the thing I dread most is the night shift.

Not because of the hours.

Because at two, three in the morning, the ER wheels someone in, and a family member shoves a payment slip at the window with bloodshot eyes.

Move too slow, and they curse you out.

Ask one extra question, and they break down crying.

The first time Viola asked me to cover a night shift was last winter.

Her kid had a fever, nobody home to watch him. I covered it.

Second time, her mother-in-law fell.

I covered that one too.

After that, the excuses kept multiplying.

Parent-teacher conference. Husband out drinking and nobody to pick him up. Gas company needed access to the apartment.

Sister-in-law visiting from out of town with nobody to show her around.

At first it was once or twice a month.

Then it was every week.

It wasn't like I never pushed back.

But every time I started to say no, she'd fire off a voice message in the group chat.

「Katherine, you're young. One all-nighter's nothing.」

「I'm not your age anymore. I've got the elderly and the kids to deal with.」

And right away, others would pile on.

「Come on, Katherine. Help her out.」

「Viola really does have it rough.」

「You're single. Your time's your own.」

*Single.* The way they used it, that word was a hall pass they could stick on my forehead whenever they needed a favor.

I wasn't without family. My mom lived in the west-side apartment complex.

Rheumatic pain for over a decade, and lately her legs were so swollen she couldn't walk without limping.

She kept putting off getting checked because she didn't want to interfere with my work schedule.

This follow-up appointment had taken me two weeks of trying before I finally locked it down.

Tomorrow morning, nine o'clock. Specialist slot.

I read Director Abbott's message again—*Katherine, you're single. You've got flexibility*—and my fingers stayed frozen over the keyboard for a long time.

I typed back：

「Director Abbott, my mom has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I really can't switch.」

The chat went quiet for a few seconds.

Then Viola sent a photo of her kid's homework.

「My son has a parent-teacher conference tomorrow. His teacher specifically said a parent has to be there.」

「Katherine, your mom can reschedule. My kid's conference only happens once.」

I stared at those two words—*can reschedule*—and something in my chest locked tight.

My mom's legs had been hurting for three months.

Every morning she braced herself against the wall just to get to the kitchen and heat up a steamed bun.

Whenever I asked if it hurt, she always said the same thing：

「It's nothing. I'll manage.」

But yesterday when I visited, she'd rolled up her pant leg, and her calf was so swollen it looked like it had been stuffed with cotton.

I couldn't wait any longer.

I typed back to Viola：「My mom's appointment can't be moved.」

Viola shot back with a cold laugh.

「Everybody's got elderly parents.」

「My mother-in-law has a herniated disc and she still watches my kid every single day.」

「Katherine, I'm not trying to be harsh, but you can't be this selfish.」

That was when Director Abbott chimed in.「All right, enough from both of you.」

I'd barely exhaled when he followed up：

「Katherine, you're covering tomorrow.」

「Your mom's follow-up? She can go on her own.」

「You're young. The extra work won't kill you.」

I stared at my phone and almost laughed.

So it wasn't that they didn't know I had plans.

They just didn't think mine counted.

That night I called my mom. Her end was noisy, the crinkle of plastic bags being moved around.

「Mom, tomorrow I might not be able to……」

I hadn't finished the sentence before she cut in.

「Katie, if you're busy, you're busy.」

「Mom can go by herself.」

My throat tightened. 「How did you know?」

She gave a quiet laugh：「Every time your voice drops like that, it means work's making you cover a shift again.」

I held the phone and couldn't say a word.

She was the one comforting me.

「It's fine. Mom knows the hospital.」

「When you were little and had a fever, I carried you there by myself more times than I can count.」

「I can handle going on my own.」

I closed my eyes for a moment.

Outside the window, someone rode past on an electric scooter, the headlight sweeping a quick arc across the wall.

I felt exhausted, and it wasn't the kind that came from night shifts.

It was the kind that came from knowing every time I tried to hold on to one small thing for myself, someone would step forward and remind me：

You're young.

You're single, so you have no real family obligations.

You should be the one to give in.

My phone buzzed again.

Viola, in the group chat：

「Katherine's not saying anything, so I'll take that as a yes.」

「Thanks. Tomorrow's night shift is all yours.」

Director Abbott replied with one line：

「Settled, then.」

The next day, I showed up for the night shift.

Not because I was willing. Because the schedule had already been changed.

Director Abbott had posted the screenshot in the shift group chat. Where Viola's name used to be, mine had been swapped in.

She even dropped a smiley underneath.

「Thanks, Katherine. Young people really can handle it.」

I stared at that line for a long time. I didn't reply.

At seven that evening, I arrived at the billing window for handoff.

Viola was already heading out, purse in hand.

She'd done her makeup, her hair curled neatly, a new gold bangle on her wrist.

She spotted me and patted my shoulder with a bright little smile.

「Katherine, thanks so much.」

「After my son's parent-teacher conference I'm taking him out for a nice dinner.」

I looked at her. ：「Didn't you say your husband was working late too?」

Her expression stiffened for a second, then the smile came back.

「A guy working late still has to eat, right?」

「It's so rare we all get to sit down together as a family.」

I held her gaze. 「My mom went to her follow-up alone today.」

Viola clicked her tongue.

「Older folks need to learn to be independent.」

「You can't do everything for her.」

She said it and walked off in her heels, like she was afraid I'd say something else.

I sat down behind the billing window. On the other side of the glass, the line stretched long.

Someone needed ER registration, someone else was paying an outstanding inpatient balance, someone kept holding up their insurance card and asking how reimbursement worked.

The computer screen glowed a sharp, headache-bright blue.

I didn't get a break until ten. That was when I finally checked my phone and saw three messages from my mom.

The first was sent at eight-thirty in the morning.

「Katie, I'm at the hospital. Lots of people here.」

The second at eleven.

「I missed my number. The nurse said maybe they can squeeze me in this afternoon.」

The third at two-forty in the afternoon.

「My legs hurt a little. I'm going to sit for a bit.」

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.」