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lucky. He told me about this experimental treatment, but I don’t have insurance and I can’t afford it.”
    Bingo. I knew it. Of course he’s here because he needs something.
    “Well if you’re here for money, we don’t have any. Look around, not exactly the Taj Mahal.”
    “Alexis, mind your manners.”
    “Why?”
    “He is your father.”
    “Really? Then where the hell has he been my whole life? The only father I know is Pop-pop, and he would never run out on his family.”
    Mom glares at me with the same look she used to give me when I was five and acting out. “Alexis, that’s enough.”
    He rests his hand on Mom’s and I want to swat it away. “No, it’s all right. I deserve it.”
    I tip my head up in victory. He’s damn right he deserves it. Though I don’t need him agreeing with me.
    “So why’d you leave? Where have you been? Why haven’t you picked up a damn phone and made a single phone call? Picked up a pen and mailed a letter? Heck, sent an email.” Anger tries to control me, but I get the upper hand and push it back down.
    “You don’t remember much of me, do you?”
    “I remember enough.”
    “Then you know everything I did was with good intention, but I didn’t always make the best decisions. The reason I left was because of the worst decision I ever made. One I regret every single day of my life.”
    I raise an eyebrow and wait for him to spit it out already.
    “We were struggling. The bills kept piling up and no matter how much overtime I took on, it still wasn’t enough. I made an arrangement that guaranteed me money and fast. But I botched it. The guy threatened to kill me and my family if I didn’t join his team and work off my debt.” He runs a hand over his face and regret flashes in his eyes. “His so-called team were a bunch of gang members and thugs. I knew the minute I joined them I’d be putting your lives in danger anyway. So to keep you both safe, I joined them and left. I didn’t see any other option. If anything happened to either of you, I…” Tears build in his eyes and it seems genuine, but for all I know he’d taken acting classes in the past ten years.
    “You could’ve said something. You could’ve called.”
    “It was better you had no idea where I was. If I had to do it all over again, and couldn’t change the deal, then I wouldn’t do anything differently. You two are alive and well and never had to deal with that screwed up world. It doesn’t mean I don’t regret it because I do.”
    He reaches his hand out to Mom and after only a second of hesitation she slips hers in his. “I loved you so much. Leaving you was the hardest thing I ever did. I know sorry is only a word and can’t convey how truly heartbroken I am for what I did, but it’s all I have. I just hope one day you can forgive me.”
    Mom stares into his eyes, tears spilling down her cheeks. He swipes his finger under her lids and she smiles.
    How in the hell is she buying this? It sounds like every CW drama out there.
    “You should’ve told me,” she says. “We could’ve figured it out together.”
    “I wouldn’t put your life in danger. Not then, not now, not ever. I finally paid my debt off and was set free. I was an idiot. A fool who thought he could support his family, but I lost them instead. When the doctor told me I had six months tops, I knew I had to make things right.”
    “What about the experimental treatment? Maybe we can help you.”
    My body stiffens against the wall. I want to believe him, I do. It would finally give me the answers I’ve been searching for most of my life, but it just all seems too convenient. And I do remember more than he thinks I do. He was great with me and I know he loved me, but he was also a liar. So many broken promises. More than any child should have to endure. Once a liar, always a liar.
    Still a part of me holds out hope that he is telling the truth. I think of Miss Piggles and my life savings. I’m sure that would be plenty