Chapter 22

Alex greets his mother with a warm "Good morning" as he enters the kitchen. She turns around from the stove and returns the greeting with a smile. "Good morning, son. Did you sleep well?" she asks, placing a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him.

As Alex begins to eat, he notices his mother studying him closely. "Is something wrong, Mom?" he asks, sensing her concern. "Well, I was just a little worried about that bump on your head," she says, pointing to the spot above his eyebrow. "What happened?"

Alex touched the bump on his forehead, which he had forgotten about until now. "Oh, it's nothing, just a little accident at work," he said, hoping his mother wouldn't push further.

But Sarah, Alex's mother, was not one to let things go easily. "What kind of accident? Did you go to the hospital? Do you need to take the day off?"

Alex sighed. "No, Mama, it's really nothing. I just got hit in the head with something at work."

Sarah gave him a concerned look. "Is everything okay at work? You haven't been acting like yourself lately."

Alex hesitated, not sure how much he should tell his mother. But before he could answer, the details of the accident started flooding back to him. He remembered the argument with his co-worker, the sound of something hitting him on the head, and then waking up at home with a pounding headache.

"It wasn't really an accident, Mama," Alex admitted, deciding to come clean. "I got into an argument with one of my co-workers, and he hit me with something. I don't remember much after that."

Sarah's eyes widened with worry. "Oh my god, Alex, are you okay? Did you go to the police?"

Alex shook his head. "No, no, it's not like that. It was just a stupid argument, and he got carried away. I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

But Sarah was not convinced. "Alex, you have to take care of yourself. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Alex gave his mother a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mama, I'm fine. It was just a small accident, really."

But deep down, he knew that there was more to the story than he was letting on. He remembered overhearing his co-worker talking about some kind of shady deal, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he was in over his head. But for now, he decided to keep that to himself.

Sarah placed a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of him, along with a brown paper bag filled with his lunch for the day. As she continued to prepare her own breakfast, she talked about her day yesterday at the hospital where she worked as a nurse. She told Alex about a patient who had been discharged and how happy they were to finally be going home. However, Alex was only half-listening, his mind still preoccupied with the events of the day before.

After a while, Alex interrupted his mother's stream of words with a serious tone. "Mom, I've been thinking a lot lately about how we can turn our lives around. I want to start looking for ways to earn more money and get us out of this financial rut we're in."

His mother paused, turning to face him with a look of concern. "Alex, you need to be careful. I don't want you doing anything illegal or dangerous." Sarah knew her son; he had never been really interested in working extra hard. She was naturally scared that he would try something shady to get more money to help their current state, and she didn't want her son to get in trouble.

Alex sighed, "Mom, I know. But I can't just sit around and do nothing. I want to provide for us, give us a better life. I'm tired of struggling to make ends meet."

His mother nodded, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "I know, Alex. And I'm proud of you for wanting to make a change. But please, promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise, Mom. I'll do everything legally and safely," Alex replied with determination.

As they ate their breakfast, Alex's mother couldn't help but feel a sense of pride mixed with worry for her son. She had tried to raise him to be responsible and hardworking, and she didn't want him to get in over his head. As Alex finished his meal and prepared to leave for work, his mother was left pondering on the changes that seemed to be coming over her son.