until the day my boyfriend stood at my door, pale and shaken, saying he had found something in my youngest sister’s room—and begged me not to scream.
The moment I turned eighteen, I became everything my siblings needed—both mother and father. Our home suddenly felt too quiet in the mornings and unbearably heavy at night.
People warned me I didn’t understand what I was giving up. But when five kids are looking at you as their only support, you don’t hesitate—you stay. And once I made that choice, everything else in my life quietly rearranged itself around them.
Almost twelve years ago, we lost both our parents in a tragic accident. A drunk driver hit them while they were crossing the street, and just like that, everything changed.
Noah was nine, trying to act strong. Jake followed him everywhere. Maya cried herself to sleep for months. Sophie clung to me whenever I moved. And Lily… she was just a baby, too young to understand what had happened.
