I sat on the edge of the bed watching him breathe.
For the first time in my life, I understood what rock bottom really felt like.
It wasn’t rage.
It wasn’t even sadness.
It was the hollow quiet that comes after the last straw snaps.
When you stop waiting for things to get better because you finally realize they never will.
I whispered softly, “You deserve so much more, buddy.”
He stirred half awake and murmured, “Love you, Dad.”
That broke me.
I sat there for a while trying not to cry.
But eventually I did.
Quietly, carefully, because if there was one thing I didn’t want, it was for him to wake up and see his dad crying over a family that never deserved him in the first place.
The next morning, I called in sick to work.
I told Lucas he could stay home from school for a dad day.
