Page 9

He rubs his chin uncomfortably, looking hesitant. “We got a divorce,” he whispers.

My eyes bulge and almost burst out of their sockets.

After all this time, it actually happened.

This is amazing. I can’t help but clap my hands in excitement—all in my head, of course.

Everything almost seems centered now.

That woman had as much love in her body as a single grain of sand. I could count on both hands the number of times she told me she loved me throughout the sixteen years she was in my life.

I always had this gaping feeling that the reason she resented me was because I looked just like my mother.

I had lighter features, but I’m pretty close to a spitting image of her. I only know because of the very few pictures I’ve seen of her and the faint memories I have from when I was young. My dad gained full custody when I was only six-years-old. She didn’t even show up to court to try and fight it, she just let it happen.

You’d think the odds would be that I’d have at least one good mom out of two. But odds have been perpetually against me.

“Wow, I—I didn’t know…I’m sorry, Dad,” I say in my most empathetic voice.

It’s never been easy for us to talk about Eloise.

He crosses his legs and smiles slightly. “No, you’re not,” he replies.

“You’re right, I’m not.”

He begins to chuckle and so I join in. It’s hard not to, it’s truly hilarious.

I also think laughing is the only way to break the tension that’s been rising. But after it subsides, clarity seeps in.

“When did it happen?” I ask.

He rubs the back of his neck once again.

I didn’t realize I could miss such a simple motion.

“Two years ago,” he mumbles with his eyes to the ground.

Two years?

He never tried reaching out to me. I don’t understand, Eloise was what caused the rift. If she was out of the picture, it should have been better.

A small gasp slips from my lips. “Oh.” I gulp.

I cross my arms, looking away from him and down the dark empty hall. I stare at what used to be my bedroom door.

“I wasn’t sure…if you wanted me to call.” He leans over, placing his elbows on his legs.

I can feel his unease floating in the air between us.

“Of course I did. You should have,” I murmur with a burning in my chest.

He grimaces. “I know.”

There is a piece of me that’s so livid at the fact that my dad and I didn't speak for ten years—and it was all for nothing. He didn't reach out because he loved Eloise. He thought he was doing the right thing with standing by her. He didn't want her to leave.

But it was all a waste.

That time is gone forever and there was no point to it, because they still split up anyway.