Page 142 of The Daddy’s Girl

We’ll get through this. I know we will. We have to. I don’t know how I’ll survive if we don’t.

When we pull up to my house, I take a deep breath before opening the door and climbing out. My hands are shaking at my sides as I walk up to the front door.

Letting myself in, the first thing I notice is how quiet it is. My mom isn’t playing the piano upstairs. My dad isn’t listening to music in his office. No television or talking or anything. It’s so somber it hurts.

Walking inside, I search for my parents in the main living room, but it’s empty. They’re not in the kitchen or my dad’s office. So I head toward the back of the house where their bedroom is, and when I turn the corner, I spot them standing on the courtyard balcony outside their room.

My dad is leaning against the railing, his head hanging dejectedly as my mom rubs his back. When my dad said he needed my mom, he meant it. She is his rock. His everything.

And vice versa.

It’s all I’ve wanted in my life, and now that I have it, it’s tearing them up. I shouldn’t have to feel so bad about it.

My mom spots me standing here watching. Her expression tightens, and I can’t read the look on her face. Maybe it’s a little concern, a little fear, a little pity. I’m not sure.

But after saying something to my dad, she waves me over.

I’d really rather not. In fact, my bed is calling me, and I’d love nothing more than to crawl into it and sleep off this entire day, but I can’t.

So I head to the balcony. Opening the French doors, I swallow down the pain seeing my dad again causes.

His back stays to me as I move to the opposite side of the space, crossing my arms over my chest and waiting for someone to say something. No one does for a while.

“Ronan, talk to her,” my mom says, running her hand along his back.

When my dad stands up, I see the redness around his eyes, and I know it means he’s been crying. It might as well be a knife to my heart.

“Dad, I’m sorry,” I cry, but he holds up a hand to stop me.

“No, Melly,” he says, and I shrink backward. Then he looks into my eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What? Why are you sorry?”

“Because I took that all as a shock today, and I reacted poorly. I just—” He stops as emotion rises to the surface.

My eyes fill up fast, stinging like crazy.

“I just can’t handle the thought of my little girl growing up.”

“Dad,” I say with a tilt of my head. “I shouldn’t have lied to you. We shouldn’t have kept it a secret from you.”

He nods as if he’s still burdened with his own regret. “If anything…inappropriate ever happened, you know you can⁠—”

I step forward to cut him off. “I know that. I know I could tell you, but I promise, this was recent. Very recent. And neither of us could stop it. We tried. Well…he tried. He really did. He pushed me away day after day, but we couldn’t deny these feelings. Because the truth is…we love each other.” I take another step forward, this time looking into my mom’s eyes first and then back at my dad. “We love each other more than anything. You wanted him to take care of me, and that’s what he’s always done and continues to do. Matis gets me like no one else does. He knows what I need, sometimes even before I do.

“For so long, I felt as if I didn’t deserve him. As if I could only love him from afar. Even after things started between us, I believed I would have to make sacrifices to keep him happy, but Matis understands me better than anyone. I don’t have to sacrifice myself or my dreams for him. He is the greatest thing to ever happen to me.”

This time, it’s my mother’s turn to speak. “Amelia, you just have to understand how hard this is for us to accept. Matis has been in our lives since before you were born.”

“And what about you two?”

My mom flinches at my outburst.

“Don’t think I don’t know how you two met,” I reply a little more harshly than I intended.

“How did you know…?” my mom starts.

“Oh, you know, stories get around in our family, Mom. Elizabeth heard it from her parents and then told me. Dad once dated your mom.”