Chapter 30: A Job?
"You’re getting heavy, champ," she teased, bouncing him slightly on her hip.
Timothy giggled, showing off the gap in his baby teeth. "I’m strong now! Strong like superheroes."
"Oh? Which one?" Bella asked, brushing his hair back.
"Spider-Man," he declared proudly. "But better, because Spider-Man doesn’t have Mommy."
Bella’s heart swelled painfully, her eyes burning as she forced a laugh. "That’s right. You’re way better."
Rachel, standing by the dresser, smiled faintly at the exchange, though her hands fidgeted with the towel she’d been folding. Bella noticed but didn’t say anything yet.
After another few moments of holding Timothy, she finally lowered him to the ground. "Alright, mister," she said softly, "why don’t I dress you up and then you go to the living room and play for a bit? Mommy needs to talk to your Aunt Rachel."
Timothy blinked up at her with curious eyes. "Secret talk?" he asked as his mother took up the job to dress him up.
Bella ruffled his hair once she was done dressing him. "Yes, secret talk. Now, run along, baby."
He gasped dramatically, like it was the most important mission of his young life. "Okay, but you have to tell me later!" With that, he scampered off, bare feet padding against the wooden floor, his laughter echoing down the hall.
The silence he left behind was sharp, pressing in. Bella turned to Rachel, who was now standing stiffly with her hands clutching the towel she’d been holding as though it were a lifeline.
"So," Bella said carefully, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. "Chloe told me you wanted to talk to me yesterday but you couldn’t because of my little outburst. "What is it?"
Rachel hesitated, her brown eyes darting to the door Timothy had just run through, as if wishing she could stall longer. Finally, she drew in a shaky breath. "I... I wanted to tell you that I got a job offer."
Bella blinked, taken aback. "A job?"
"Yes." Rachel’s voice wavered, but there was steel underneath. "Chloe helped me. She introduced me to her former boss, Mr. Camden."
"Her former boss? Isn’t he sick?" Bella asked with a frown.
Rachel nodded quickly. "Yes. I hear he’s bedridden. He has no one to take care of him so asked Chloe if she knew anyone. I’m taking the job. It’s just help with house tasks, errands, keeping him comfortable... and caring for him."
Bella stared at her sister, confusion and a hint of anger swirling in her chest. "You want to take the job and you didn’t think to ask me first?"
Rachel winced, twisting the towel between her fingers. "Because you would’ve said no before I even explained."
Bella’s brows furrowed. "That’s not fair, Rachel."
"Yes, it is!" Rachel’s voice cracked, but she pressed on. "You’ve done everything for me, Bella. Everything. Five years ago, you did what you did for Mom and after that, you worked two jobs just to put me through college. You raised Timothy like he was yours alone. You paid bills when you could barely breathe from exhaustion. And all this time, I’ve been sitting here, living off your sacrifices. Don’t you see? I can’t keep doing that to you. I’m twenty two now, sis. I have to start doing something, too."
Her words struck deep, each one heavy with guilt that had been festering for years. Bella opened her mouth to argue, but Rachel continued, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.
"I don’t want to be your burden anymore. I want to stand on my own feet. I want to help. You shouldn’t have to carry the whole world on your shoulders while I just watch."
Bella’s throat tightened painfully. She had always known Rachel carried guilt, but hearing it voiced so plainly was like being punched in the chest. "You’re not a burden, Rach," she whispered, the words instinctive.
"Yes, I am," Rachel said fiercely, shaking her head. "I see you, Bella. You don’t laugh like you used to. You’re exhausted all the time. You carry Timothy and me and everything else, and it’s killing you. I can’t keep letting you do it alone. This job... it’s not much, but it’s a start. Please. Let me take some of the weight."
Bella lowered her gaze, her fingers gripping the blanket beneath her. Images flooded her mind — late nights working double shifts, skipping meals so Rachel could eat, walking Timothy to school half-asleep. She had worn her sacrifices like armor, never letting anyone question her choices, never giving an inch of her responsibility away. Because if she did, the fragile walls around their lives might crumble.
Her voice came out hoarse. "And what about Timothy? I want to enroll him in a school next week. What happens when he comes home from school and I’m still at work? He needs someone here."
Rachel stepped closer, her tone steady now. "I’ll pick him up. Every day after school, I’ll be the one waiting for him. I’ll make sure he eats, that he does his homework, that he’s cared for. We’d both return together so you don’t have to worry."
Bella lifted her eyes slowly, searching her sister’s face. For so long, she had seen Rachel as the girl she needed to protect — the teenager crying bitterly when they lost their mother. But standing here now, Rachel’s chin was lifted, her brown eyes alight with determination.
"You’re serious," Bella whispered, her lips trembling.
Rachel nodded. "I am. I need to do this, Bella. For me. For you. For Timothy. I can’t keep hiding behind your strength anymore."
The words lodged in Bella’s chest, tangled between pride and fear. Part of her wanted to clutch her sister tightly and never let go, to keep control of everything because it was safer that way. But another part — quieter, aching — knew Rachel was right.
Bella swallowed hard. "I’ll think about it."
Rachel’s shoulders sagged with both relief and disappointment, but she nodded. "That’s all I’m asking."
Bella turned her gaze toward the doorway, toward the sound of Timothy’s small voice, and her chest clenched with the truth she’d been trying to ignore — the world she’d built, the walls she’d guarded, were shifting and she didn’t know if she was ready.