REMORSE (ENG)

chapter 16.2

Everything seemed to go fast after that incident. Mom and dad were officially divorced. Mom, who was a working mother, became even more of a workaholic after her divorce. She always left early every day and came home late at night. 

She also started smoking again. Arthit knew that mom used to be a smoker even though Arthit never saw her smoking in person. Mom said she quit when she was pregnant with Arthit, but now she is back at it. She often skipped meals. She also fainted more often which made Arthit even more worried about her. 

Arthit, who is now in his final year, has become busier. The rest of his courses were condensed this semester because the next half of the semester was used for an internship. Even so, he now slept at home more often than in his dorm, Arthit couldn't bear to leave his mom alone.

One night while Arthit was doing his homework in the dorm, he got a call from his mom, but it wasn't his mom's voice that he heard. It was the voice of someone Arthit didn't know who said that his mom had been taken to the hospital.

Without thinking, Arthit rushed to the hospital in just his t-shirt and shorts. He saw his mom lying weakly on a hospital bed. The doctor said mom's heart disease had recurred and required her to be hospitalized. 

The next day Arthit did not go to college, mom was also an only child so she had no other relatives to look after her other than Arthit.

Every day, his mom asked Arthit to return to the dorm and go back to class. Mom said she was fine. She also said Arthit didn't need to think about the hospital payment because she still had money saved up. Arthit obeyed his mother's wishes even though he was still going back and forth to the hospital every day. 

Mom's condition occasionally improved, even to the point of being able to be treated at home. But it didn't last long, Mom's condition worsen and still required to be hospitalized again.

Mom also needed intensive care which of course required high costs. Arthit realized that Mom's savings would just run out if he didn't do anything. That's why Arthit started working part-time even though his mother never allowed it. 

Arthit used almost all of his free time to work. He earned a decent wage from it. It was enough to cover the cost of mom's treatment as well as their daily life. It was fortunate that he was close to the alumni because Arthit mostly got jobs from them.

Arthit even started to think about taking a leave from college this year. Arthit had already missed classes for several days because he was working. The job paid so well that Arthit felt it would be a shame to miss it. Unfortunately, mom found out about that, and Arthit was scolded a lot about it. 

Mom clearly didn't want her son to have to take a leave from college. This was his final year and she was looking forward to seeing him graduate. Mom's words that said she was not sure she would be able to attend Arthit's graduation if he had to take this year off made Arthit's heart hurt.

Now all Arthit can do is try to complete his studies this year while still working part-time. If his wages are not enough, Arthit might try to borrow some money. 

At that same period of time, Arthit felt something strange about his stomach. His stomach was getting bigger and sometimes Arthit felt pain accompanying it. 

At first, Arthit thought it was just a normal stomach ache, probably due to eating too much spicy food. Therefore, Arthit only ate over-the-counter medicine every time his stomach ached.

Arthit also thought that the reason why his stomach kept getting bigger might be because he rarely exercised. Therefore he now always makes time for exercise, he even started to reduce the consumption of pink milk which made him feel tortured.