The pain hit me so hard I dropped the tray. Coffee splashed across the counter. Silverware clattered to the floor, and I had to grip the edge of the bakery display just to keep myself from collapsing.
For a second, everything around me—the hum of the espresso machine, the cheerful conversation of customers, the scent of cinnamon and yeast—blurred into a wall of noise.
But the pain, it was sharp, searing, like someone had reached inside and twisted my insides into a knot. “Hey, Naen, are you okay?” My manager called out from the back.
I forced a smile, wiping sweat from my upper lip. “Just a cramp,” I lied.
“Didn’t eat much this morning.”
It wasn’t the first time I had said that.
And it wasn’t just a cramp. For weeks, the ache in my stomach had been growing worse, starting as a dull throb after meals, then turning into sharp stabs that left me breathless. But I kept going.
I couldn’t afford not to.
At 27, working part-time at Sweet Haven Bakery didn’t come with insurance. And between rent, groceries, and helping out with utilities at home, doctor visits were a luxury I couldn’t justify.
I tried everything: over-the-counter meds, heating pads, peppermint tea like my grandma used to make, but nothing touched the pain. So, I worked through it, smiled through it, hid it until I couldn’t anymore.
That night, after closing, I took a bus straight to the urgent care clinic near the shopping plaza.
The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead while I sat clutching my stomach and filling out forms with shaking hands. The doctor who saw me was kind, but her eyes told me more than her voice did. She pressed gently on my side, asked a few questions, then said, “I’m referring you to a specialist.
I don’t want to guess here.
This could be something that needs surgical attention.”
Surgical. The word made my blood run cold.
Surgery meant time off work, bills, recovery, money I didn’t have and couldn’t even imagine finding. Still, I went to the specialist.
He reviewed the scans and confirmed it: likely intestinal obstruction, possibly something worse.
“If we don’t act soon,” he said, tapping the folder with a heavy finger, “this won’t just be painful. It’ll be dangerous.” I sat in his office, nodding like I understood, even though all I could hear was the word dangerous. I walked home in silence, the folder with estimates and procedure codes pressed tight to my chest like it could somehow protect me from the dread sinking in.
That evening, I waited until after dinner to talk to my parents.
The timing had to be right. The dishwasher was humming, the television murmuring something forgettable in the background.
Mom was picking kernels out of her teeth with a fingernail, and Dad was finishing the last of his iced tea. I took a deep breath, then stepped into the living room.
“Can I talk to you both for a second?” I asked.
They looked at me like I had just interrupted a presidential address. Dad muted the TV with a heavy sigh. Mom didn’t bother to hide her eye roll.
“Is it about the car again?
Because we already said no.”
“No, it’s not the car,” I said quickly. “It’s about me.” I held up the folder, my fingers trembling.
“I went to the doctor twice. They think I need surgery.”
Silence.
Not shock, not panic.
Just that hollow silence that fills a room when no one really cares what’s being said. “Is it that same stomach thing?” Mom asked, not even looking up. “You’ve always been sensitive, Naen.
Just eat less fried stuff.”
“No,” I said, my voice cracking.
“They ran tests. It’s not going away, and it could get worse.
I—I might need to go in soon.”
Dad exhaled loudly, like I’d asked him to co-sign a mortgage. “Sweetheart, we’re in a tough spot right now.
Inflation’s killing us, and we’re still paying off that roof repair from last year.
This isn’t the best time for surprises.”
“I’m not asking for everything,” I whispered. “Just a little help. I can put something down.
I just can’t cover it all.”
Mom crossed her arms.
“Have you looked into medical loans or crowdfunding? Those sites where people raise money for pets and stuff.
That’s what folks your age do now, right?”
The way she said folks your age made it clear: I was no longer their responsibility. Just an adult nuisance living under their roof.
I nodded slowly, throat tight.
“Okay, I understand.”
But I didn’t. Not really. I didn’t understand how the people who brought me into this world could look at me in pain and see an inconvenience.
I didn’t understand how love could be so conditional, so performative, like a dance they only did for Chelsea.
The story doesn’t end here — it continues on the next page to discover the rest 🔎👇
