“Mom?” I whispered, my voice small and scared. She blinked, seeming to remember I was there. “Oh, Ellie, come here, baby.”I ran into her arms, burying my face in her shirt. It smelled like home, like safety. But even as she held me, I could feel her shaking. “Why did he go, Mom?” I had asked, my words muffled against her. “Why did Dad leave us?” She stroked my hair, her touch gentle but unsteady. “I don’t know, sweetie. I just don’t know.”As we stood there, clinging to each other, I made a silent promise to be strong for her. I had to be. “We’ll be okay, Mom,” I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. “We’ve got each other.” She squeezed me tighter, and I felt a tear drop onto my head. “Yes, we do, Ellie. We always will.”Ten years passed in a blur of struggle and slow healing. Mom and I became a team, facing the world together. We had our rough patches. Times when the absence of my dad felt like a physical ache. But we made it through. We had each other. It was enough. And then, in an instant, everything changed.I was driving home from work on a busy highway one evening, the setting sun painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.The radio played softly, some pop song about lost love that I barely registered. My mind was on dinner plans and the pile of laundry waiting for me at home. That’s when I saw them. A man and a little girl, standing on the side of the highway, thumbs out. Something about the man’s posture, the way he stood protectively next to the girl, made my heart skip a beat. I slowed down, squinting through the windshield. No. It couldn’t be.I pulled over, my hands shaking as I put the car in park. In the rearview mirror, I watched them approach. The little girl skipped along, holding the man’s hand and chattering away. AND THE MAN…? My blood ran cold. It was HIM… my DAD.He looked older, of course. His hair was grayer, his face more lined and exhausted. But there was no mistaking those eyes, the same eyes I saw every time I looked in the mirror. I got out of the car on unsteady legs, my mouth dry. “Need a ride?” I called out, my voice sounding strange to my own ears.He turned, a grateful smile starting to form on his face. Then he saw me, and the smile vanished, replaced by shock and something that looked a lot like shame. “Ellie?” he gasped, his eyes wide. The little girl looked between us, confusion clear on her face. “Do you know her, Bill?” she asked.Bill. Not Dad. Just… Bill. I swallowed hard, forcing myself to stay calm. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, I know her.”The car ride was tense, filled with an awkward silence that seemed to suck all the air out of the vehicle. I gripped the steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white. I focused on the road ahead to avoid looking at the man in my passenger seat, the man who was supposed to be my father. The man who had so easily abandoned his family. The man who had so heartlessly moved on, breaking our hearts while building a sand castle of his own.The little girl hummed quietly in the backseat, oblivious to the emotional storm brewing in the front.Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Tell me that’s not my sister,” I said, breaking the silence. My dad flinched as if I’d struck him with an axe. He stared straight ahead, his hands clasped tightly in his lap. “Her name’s Sarah. She’s… she’s not your sister, Ellie. Not by blood.” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. But that didn’t make it any easier for me. “Then who is she?”Dad sighed, his shoulders slumping as though he was carrying the whole world’s burden. “She’s the daughter of someone I’ve been with for a few years,” he admitted. “Her mom… she left us a few months back. I’ve been doing my best to take care of Sarah. Moved here last month.” The irony of his situation wasn’t lost on me. I let out a bitter laugh. “Wow. So you know what it feels like now? To be left behind? To be abandoned by someone you love? Ever heard of the infamous saying, ‘What goes around comes around?!’”Dad’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. “I’ve made mistakes, Ellie. A lot of them. But I’m trying to make up for it, even if it’s too late for you and your mom.” I shook my head, tears stinging my eyes. “Do you have any idea what you did to us? How hard it was for us? For me? Can you imagine how kids at school teased and bullied me? How Mom struggled alone to raise me and play both Dad and Mom for me?” In the rearview mirror, I saw Sarah’s confused face. She didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle of this. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.”I’m sorry,” Dad whispered. “I know it doesn’t change anything, but I am so, so sorry.””Sorry? You don’t stab a person in the heart and say sorry!” “Ellie, please forgive me… I’m sorry. Really.” I didn’t respond. What could I say? Sorry won’t erase ten years of absence, of wondering why I wasn’t enough to make him stay. Sorry won’t magically bring back the happiness that was once stolen from Mom and me.As we neared the address he’d given me, Sarah spoke up from the backseat. “Are you Bill’s friend?” I met her eyes in the mirror, seeing the curiosity there. For a moment, I considered telling her the truth. But looking at her hopeful face, I couldn’t bring myself to shatter her little world.”Something like that,” I said softly, forcing a smile. “A forgotten friend.” I pulled up to the curb, my hands shaking. The silence that had haunted me during the ride now felt suffocating.My dad unbuckled his seatbelt, his movements slow and hesitant. He turned to face me, his eyes red-rimmed and filled with regret. “Thank you for the ride, Ellie. I… I don’t expect you to forgive me, but I want you to know how sorry I am. For everything.” I stared straight ahead, unable to look at him. My throat felt tight, choked with all the words I wanted to say but couldn’t.”Take care of her,” I finally whispered, nodding towards Sarah in the backseat. “Don’t screw this up like you did with us. It’s very easy to break someone’s heart and walk away. Don’t do that to her.” He nodded, a tear slipping down his cheek. “I will. I promise.” As he got out of the car, Sarah leaned forward. “Thank you for the ride, Miss Ellie,” she said brightly. “It was nice to meet you!”I turned to her, managing a small smile. “It was nice to meet you too, Sarah. Take care of yourself, okay?” She nodded enthusiastically. “I will! Bye!” I watched as they walked away, Sarah’s small hand in my dad’s larger one. They looked like a normal father and daughter, heading home after a long day. But I knew the complicated truth that lay beneath that simple illusion.As they disappeared from view, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. For years, I had carried the pain of my father’s abandonment, letting it shape my life and my relationships.But seeing him now, I realized something important: I didn’t need his approval or his love to be whole. I started the car, wiping away a stray tear. The sun had set completely now, the sky a deep, velvety blue. As I drove away, a warm, comforting feeling seeped into my heart. I had my own life to live, and I wasn’t going to let the past define me anymore.My phone buzzed with a text from my mom, “Everything okay, honey? You’re usually home by now.” I smiled, feeling a rush of love for the woman who had been both mother and father to me. “On my way, Mom,” I typed back. “I love you.”
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