CHAPTER 10: THE DECISION
They dropped the case.
The next morning, my mother's lawyer called Peter and withdrew the complaint. No explanation. No apology. Just a quiet retreat.
I should have felt relieved.
Instead, I felt hollow.
They'd given up on suing me, but they hadn't given up on hating me. I knew that. The silence told me everything I needed to know.
A week later, I got a letter in the mail.
It was from my father.
Rachel,
I know I don't have the right to ask anything of you. I know I failed you. I sat there while they humiliated you, and I didn't say a word. I've been silent my whole life, and it's cost me everything.
Your mother is angry. She's always angry. She's been angry since the day she married me, and she's never stopped. I don't know if she loves me anymore. I don't know if she ever did.
But I know I loved you. I still love you. I just didn't know how to show it.
If you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'd like to see you. Just once. Just to say I'm sorry.
I stared at the letter for a long time.
Then I called Peter.
"Your father?" he asked.
"He wants to see me. Just the two of us."
"Are you going to do it?"
I thought about it. Thought about all the years of silence, all the dinners where he'd stared at his plate while they tore me apart.
"I don't know."
"It's your choice, Rachel. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."
I put down the phone and looked at the letter again.
Maybe he deserved a second chance.
Maybe he didn't.
May you like
But I deserved to hear what he had to say.
I picked up my phone and called the number on the letter.
