Matthew helped me find a small furnished studio near school and the café. “Keep it simple,” he said. “You’ll be eighteen soon.
Focus on finishing the year and planning college. Your father wanted you steady.”
I moved in a few weeks later. The place was tiny and bright and mine.
One evening I walked past our old house. A SOLD sign leaned in the yard. I didn’t feel guilty.
It hadn’t been home without Dad. And he was still taking care of me, just… differently. If you were me, what would you have done?
