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Dancing outside in the rain with them reminds me that theynever fail to provide me with a good distraction from whatever the world throws at me, and suddenly this day that started pretty shitty quickly turns into what I canfeelwill become a core memory of my teenage years.

At this moment, I am present. I am here. All of my problems feel so small, and although I think of Laine twenty-three hours a day, I’m thankful that I can let her slip my mind for just this one with my friends.

****** I’m exhausted once I get home, worn out solely from the one hour on my feet, having the time of my life in the rain. My clothes are dripping wet as I slip them off and ring them out over the sink in the laundry room.

Shivering, I run upstairs to my room in my bra and underwear and hop in the shower. My shower is quick, and I hum a little tune as I’m patting my hair dry afterward, still riding the high from tonight.

As I put on some comfy pajamas and head over to my bed, I notice an envelope addressed to me sitting on my pillow. My chest sinks as I readRoy Sterlingin the top right corner, with a Maryland return address.

Immediately, the jubilant feelings from my eventful night turn into a knot in my chest as I open the envelope and read the letter enclosed inside.

01/23/25

Drew,

Hi sweetie, it’s been a while. Dad here. I wanted to let you know I’m doing well! I started my own real estate firm and business is booming! I wish you could be here to celebrate the business’successes. We started very small, too small to survive a day in Georgia, but we finally made it to where I had hoped this business could go! We’re looking to expand down south now, so maybe I’ll see you soon.

I think of you every day. My greatest regret is leaving you and your mom down there and not being more a part of your life. But I would like to try, and I want to be more involved with you and your mom. I know you are achieving great things, and I want to hear about them! You were always a smart cookie, and I know you’re going to go far in college. I hope you can find some time once you graduate to come visit me up here in Maryland. It’s cold, but my business partner has a daughter around your age and she has plenty of warm coats you could fit in! Anyways, jokes aside, I really hope to see you soon, my ladybug.

Love you,

♥ Dad

Anger boils inside me as my eyes focus on the heart next to where he signedDad, and see the old pet name he used to call me, ladybug, written in his handwriting.

How could he write to me nine years after leaving and act like everything was normal? Flaunting the bright, successful life he built for himself without the burden of me holding him back. How could he expect me to just fly out and visit him after all these years when he couldn’t even bother reaching out?

It’s even more stupid to think he sent a letter—IN TWENTY TWENTY-FIVE—because he couldn’t even be bothered to ask my mom for my number to send me a heart-dropping message like a normal douchebag from this century.

Even worse, the letter is dated January 23, two days before today, meaning he paid extra for priority shipping. So he can pay extra to make sure this emotional bomb gets to me as fast as possible, but couldn’t even scrounge up enough money to pay for child support?

Tears quickly fill my eyes and drop poetically onto the wrinkled paper, which I didn’t realize I had been crumpling in my hands while reading. My mind races to the future in the hypothetical situation that I did visit him in Maryland or bump into him down South. Would he expect me to call him dad and run and jump into his arms, screaming that I missed him and was glad he came back into my life?

One thing is for sure: he isnotmy dad. Maybe he was for the past nine years while he was away. Maybe I referred to him as “dad” because I liked how easily the word rolled off my tongue, pretending to be a normal kid who just happened to have a dad she never saw. Sure, dads leave and abandon their families, but dads don’t barge into your life after years of not giving you or the family they gave up a second thought, boasting about their beautiful new life that was only possible without you.

No, this was Roy. Roy, the man who left his family because love and stability just weren’t exciting enough for him. Roy, the man who abandoned his only daughter, who already had abandonment issues from her biological parents, but finally felt wanted byhim. Finally found a home with him, until he abandoned her, too.

Shoving the crumpled letter into the drawer of my bedside table, I reach across the bed where I threw my phone. Tears stream down my face as I hurriedly type in Laine’s name, my vision blurred.

The phone rings out, each beep feeling twice as long as usual. When the ringing finally stops, I sniffle into the phone, trying to pull myself together.

“Laine?” I mutter softly.

There’s no response, so I pull the phone away from my ear only to find the blurredcall failedscreen. Frantically, I click call again, hoping to at least hear it ring out. Instead, the line goes silent, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

16

Laine

“Laine, hija, come upstairs!” Mother calls for me at the

top of the steps.

I race to the kitchen, tying my hair into a messy bun as

I run up the stairs. At the table, I anxiously spot two bowls

of cereal ready and waiting for me, just like the last time