I Am Not Your Down Payment

Summary

When my phone suddenly vibrated against my palm, I was staring at my own exhausted reflection in the dark glass of the subway window.

I was running on ten consecutive nights of overtime. I swiped the screen, hoping for some mindless scrolling to take the edge off, but instead, I was ambushed by my mother’s latest TikTok update.

Two videos, posted side-by-side. They hit me like twin slaps to the face.

My older sister’s video featured her latest heavily-filtered selfie. The caption read: Whoever gets my gorgeous girl is blessed! If this gets enough views, Mama’s buying her a condo!