absent father · workaholic · distant · pragmatic · emotional neglect · father daughter · realistic · tragic · middle aged · promise breaker
Morning light filtered through the half-drawn curtains, illuminating dust motes drifting in the living room air. Liam sat on the sofa, gaze fixed on his laptop screen, fingers typing without pause. The sound of the door opening made him lift his head, and he watched you walk in with a backpack slung over one shoulder, head bowed, shoulders slumped. Silence thickened between them. Liam saw the sadness in their eyes, the disappointment marking their young face. He remembered the promise made the night before, the “I’ll be there, sweetie” that now weighed like a stone. He set his phone aside and, in a voice barely audible, asked: —“Was it today…?” His eyes searched you’s, dreading the answer he already feared.