Chapter 4 - The Unpaid Bills
While Owen searched the city, Lily’s world was shrinking.
The landlord, a harsh man named Mr. Henderson, knocked on the door of apartment 3C with a yellow notice in his hand.
"Two months overdue, Carol," Henderson said through the crack in the chain-locked door. "I'm sympathetic to your situation, I really am, but the building owner wants his rent. You have until the end of the month."
Inside, Carol leaned heavily against the wall, her face pale. "Please, Mr. Henderson. The state assistance application is being processed..."
"The state takes months. I need payment by the first, or I have to file the eviction."
After the landlord’s footsteps faded down the stairwell, Carol sank to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. She began to cry—quiet, heartbreaking sobs that she tried to muffle with her sleeve.
Lily came out of the kitchen holding a plastic cup of water. She didn't say anything. She just sat down on the dusty rug beside her mother and wrapped her small arms around Carol’s neck.
"Don't cry, Mommy," Lily whispered. "I'm strong. I can get a job."
Carol held her daughter tightly, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. "You shouldn't have to be strong, Lily. You're six years old. You should be playing with dolls."
"I like taking care of you," Lily said firmly.
May you like
That night, while Carol slept, Lily took a small tin box from under her bed. Inside were six dollars and forty-two cents—coins she had found on the sidewalk and a five-dollar bill her grandmother had given her before she died.
Lily closed the box, tucked it into her yellow jumpsuit pocket, and made a decision. She was going to save her mother, no matter what it took.
