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Not the A-hole

Close to the end of the Winter semester, my mom got sick (around the time the hantavirus was on that cruise ship) and was hospitalized with double pneumonia for a couple weeks. My sister took me to see her once for about five minutes. While Mom was in the hospital, my sister told me I'd have to help with bills. I explained that I average about $320 a week, and after gas and food I'm left with around $130. She told me to ask for more hours. I said I already had three months earlier because of rent, but she interrupted me, dismissed everything I said, and guilt-tripped me before I could finish.

I asked for more hours anyway and got rejected again, this time by my new boss, who made work miserable. Meanwhile, my mom and sister constantly called and texted me while I was working, telling me I needed to help with bills. My sister even came to my job asking for gas money, then talked me into giving money for Mother's Day. I ended up spending $70 during my shift, then my mom got mad because I didn't acknowledge her enough that day.

Then she dumped our biggest bill on me: the water bill. She told us the day before it was due that the water would be shut off. I paid the $88 shown online, but the water stayed off. The next morning the water department told me the balance was $9,907 and it would take $1,200 just to restore service.

At this point I was working two jobs every day, barely sleeping or eating. I sold my old car and bought a cheaper, more fuel-efficient one so I could keep working and stop relying on other people.

The pressure never stopped. Every week I got more calls and messages about bills until I had a seizure. They blamed my medication, but I'd also been running on stress, little sleep, and barely any food. I had another seizure that Monday and finally went to the hospital. My family spent three hours making jokes in the ER instead of supporting me. I was discharged around 1 p.m., had a meeting that afternoon, and went back to work the next morning. I'm still dealing with weakness, vision problems, and, legally, I can't drive for six months.

Now I depend on my mom or sister for rides to work. Last week my sister complained about taking me, then told me she hated driving me. Later that night my mom demanded I pay the water bill if I wanted to stay there and claimed my boss should stop feeling sorry for me because I'm medicated now, even though I'm far from okay. I also got yelled at for taking a Lyft to the dentist after they complained about driving me.

After nonstop calls, threats, and being talked down to, I blocked both of them. They even tried calling from a private number, pretending to be someone about food or a job application, despite me repeatedly saying I already have enough jobs. The only person telling me to get another job is my unemployed sister, who seems more interested in me working more than getting a job herself.

There's more but am I the asshole?

Posted Jun 30, 2026, 2:50 AM UTC

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