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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/thelibrarianchick on 2024-09-16 18:00:31+00:00.
I hadn’t seen my father in years. It had been two decades since I had set eyes on the man. My last clear memory of him was the one of him walking out the door when I was five years old. I had been watching cartoons.
I turned just in time to see my dad’s back as he walked out the door, wearing his standard blue jean jacket, with his head down as the door slammed behind him.
My mother was on the floor, sitting cross legged and crying a few feet away from me. The sight shocked me. My mom never cried, she was my rock and I had ever never seen even as much as a tear from her.
I crawled over to her and sat in her lap while she sobbed, completely at a loss of what to do. I remember I stroked her hair to comfort her. Something she had done countless times for me when I was sick or upset.
“Where’s dad going?” I asked innocently.
My mom looked at her, her eyes red and puffy from the crying. “Your daddy is gone sweetie. Your daddy left us,” she mumbled.
The divorce had to be done in absentia. No one knew where he had gone. I remember walking around town with my grandmother putting up missing posters of my father. She could never accept that he had simply walked away from all of us. The posters stayed up for a few months before they all got torn down.
Years passed, mom remarried a great guy; I got therapy to deal with my dad leaving and eventually went off to college. Life was normal. Though I never stopped thinking about my dad, not really. Even when I thought I came to terms with it, I’d get the urge to Google his name or search for him on social media. But nothing ever turned up.
That’s why when he finally did message me it came as a complete surprise. I was at work, messing around on my phone while I had reports to write when it popped up on my screen.
Is this David Lewis? From Topeka? And your mom’s name is Penelope? If so, then this is your father. I have been trying to get in contact with you.
I sat and starred at the message in disbelief. I set the phone down. Then picked it up again and read the message. While I was processing everything more messages appeared.
David, I’m so sorry for everything. For these years I stayed away. I really need you to answer me. I need you to agree to come meet with me.
My first instinct wasn’t to reply. I was half convinced this was some kind of scam, someone knew about my past and they were going to ask for a Venmo or money transfer.
I finally replied.
How do I know this is really my father and not some kind of scam?
I waited for a reply. My heart was pounding, and a rush of thoughts were going through my head. If this was really my dad, I had a lot of things to say to him. Most of them weren’t good.
I promise you I’m your dad. When you were a kid you had a ginger cat named Polka that died when you were three. You had a stuffed teddy bear you slept with every night whose name was Mr. Simon. Please, David, this is really me and I need you to agree to meet with me.
I stared at my phone. I was racking my brain trying to think of what to say. Tell him off? Tell him I’d gladly meet him because I had missed him all these years? I did neither.
I need some time to process this. Let me write you back later this evening. I’m at work and I need to focus.
Holding the phone I waited for his reply. It came quickly.
I understand. But please, I need an answer by tonight*.*
Going back to my desk to work on the reports was almost surreal. It was like I was a ghost in my own body. I did get everything done though. It gave me something to focus on.
Once I was home, I went straight to the bedroom and flopped on the bed, phone in hand. My fiancé wasn’t home yet. Today was her late day at work. Of all the people I wanted to talk to the most it was her, but she wouldn’t be able to answer even if I did call. I read over the messages again. Honestly, I didn’t have to reply at all. I could block him. Let him sit around and wonder what he did wrong to make me abandon him.
But I did finally message back. The curiosity was too much.
Why do you even want to meet with me? If there’s anything you want to say to me just type it out.
His reply was almost immediate.
David! I’m so glad you wrote back. I was afraid I had lost you. Trust me, I need to see you in person. If you never want to see or speak to me after that I promise, I’ll never reach out to you again.
I lay the phone down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. This was just too surreal to me.
The front door opened, and Alicia walked in.
“I’m home!” She called out. She walked into the bedroom when she couldn’t find me in the living room. She looked down at me and furrowed her brow.
“Are you okay? Did something happen?” She asked concerned.
I shook my head and held up my phone.
“My dad. My dad just messaged me. He wants to meet me to tonight to talk in person. I don’t know if I should agree to go or not,” I explained holding out the phone to her so she could read what he wrote for herself.
Her eyes went wide. Of all the things I could have told her this didn’t seem to be one that she expected. She took the phone and read over the messages.
“What do you want to do babe? I know he’s your dad but he’s essentially a stranger. You don’t owe him anything. You still don’t have to meet with him.” Alicia assured me, holding my hand.
“I think I want to meet him. Even if it’s just to find out why he left. I want to hear it from him,” I said squeezing her hand back.
I turned back to the phone and typed out the message.
Where do you want to meet? Send me the address.
His response
Thank you so much David! This means everything to me. I’m sending the address now.
I was only mildly surprised when the address he sent me was only thirty minutes from our apartment. I looked it up on Google maps and it showed a tiny cabin out in the woods. I felt a stab of anger from knowing he was this close to me and was only now reaching out to me. How long had he lived there. Years? Months? I would find out soon enough.
Alicia insisted on coming with me, but I convinced her to stay at home. She had the address where I would be and if she didn’t hear from me in two hours she would call me. And if she didn’t hear from me, she’d call the cops. She wasn’t convinced yet that this wasn’t some elaborate scam.
I had plenty of time to think on the drive out to my dad’s place. When I arrived, I felt a pang of anger at the house. It was a lovely little log cabin. I knew enough about the area to know it wasn't cheap, and I wondered what he had been doing all this time to afford such a nice place. Not paying child support that was for sure. The car had barely come to halt before the door opened and a man opened the door and awkwardly walked up to the driver window.
"David!" the man said, breathless, a small smile on my face.
It was my dad. Now that he was here in the flesh it didn't feel real at all. He looked haggard and thinner than his photo had let on. I stepped out of the car and be backed away to let me out, the small smile still on his face. Everything I had planned to say to him vanished from my head as he gestured towards the house.
"Come on. Let's get you inside. I have a lot to explain before it's time," he started moving to the cabin, not looking back to see if I was following.
I followed. I started at the back of his head, glaring. He hadn't tried to hug me or touch me in any way, for which I was glad, but I was also disappointed that he hadn't tried. The inside was nice. Minimally but tastefully decorated. It had a woman's touch as Alicia would like to say. Maybe he had a girlfriend or even a wife.
"Mom remarried. His name is Steve, he's a great guy," I blurted out.
My dad turned and looked at me. The smile fell from his face and his eyes dropped.
"I know. I saw that on social media. She looks happy," he said softly.
I shrugged. I had said that to hurt him, but now all it did was make me feel a little guilty.
"Why did you ask me to come here? After all this time? I just want you to know if you are going to ask about getting a kidney or money from me you can forget it," I snapped, my voice sharper than I had intended. I wanted to play it cool, collected, but I was too frazzled.
He stared at me. His eyes were watery as if he was fighting back tears. He seemed at a loss for words. I shifted awkwardly on the couch, averting my eyes.
“I just needed to see you. I wanted to explain why I left. I’m not going to ask for forgiveness, but I do want you to understand why I did what I did,” he said in a rush.
I looked up at him. The obvious answer was that there had been another woman. Or maybe some kind of debt to the mafia, anything really. But now that I was about to learn the reason all I felt was a slow simmering anger. No matter what excuse he gave me it wouldn’t be good enough.
“I’m a werewolf,” he said simply, spreading his arms in a gesture of resignation.
I had to admit that all the things I had thought he might say this was not one of them.
“I see,” I said slowly.
He was mentally ill. Maybe he was schizophrenic or had some kind of mental break.
“Look, if you brought me all they way out here so you could spin some kind of fairy tale about why you left, save it. I can tell you’re doing well for yourself. There’s no need to lie to me,” I gestured angrily around the cabin.
His eyes followed my hands as I pointed to our surroundings and a tiny smile formed on his lips.
“Oh, this isn’t my h...
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