Chapter 3: The Father He Never Knew

Watching Leo graduate had done something to me.

He had grown into the kind of son I used to pray he would become. Smart. Gentle. Funny when I needed it most. The kind of boy who noticed when I was tired and washed dishes without being asked.

But lately, he had been asking more questions about Andrew.

His father.

I had always told him the truth as I understood it.

I got pregnant at seventeen, when Andrew and I were wrapped up in the kind of first love that makes the rest of the world feel temporary. When I told him about the baby, he went pale, then held both my hands and promised we would figure it out together.

The next day, he disappeared.

He never came back to school.

When I ran to his house that afternoon, there was a “FOR SALE” sign in the yard.

His family was gone.

That was the story I had carried for eighteen years. Continue Reading ⬇️