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𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐍, 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒
𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗬𝗢𝗥𝗞. The City that never sleeps.
That night, as darkness enveloped the streets, a silence hung in the car that said more than any words could.
My father, Derek, behind the wheel, his eyes focused on the traffic as I sat beside him.
The colorful advertisements and storefront lights cast flickering shadows on his face, revealing the worry lines he tried so hard to conceal.
"Missy, you look exhausted. Was the training too much for you today?"
His voice was soft, but I heard the hidden fear in it. Fear that I would fall back into the abyss I had worked so hard to climb out of.
"No, Dad, it was fine," I lied. In truth, I felt like I was collapsing under the weight of an invisible burden. There was a weariness in my eyes that went deeper than mere exhaustion.
But I couldn't tell him what was really going on. I couldn't tell him that I knew the secret that threatened to tear our family apart.
It was like I was carrying a ticking time bomb inside of me, ready to explode at any moment and leave everything in ruins.
"Are you hungry?" he asked cautiously as we drove past the neon-lit restaurants.
"No, not really."
My appetite had become a victim of my inner conflict. So we drove on in silence, the drive to our house seemed endless today.
"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"I know, Dad."
Dad sighed and focused on the road again.
"We'll be home soon. Maybe some rest will help."
I leaned my head against the cool window glass, felt the cold on my forehead, and thought back to the days when everything was simpler. When my father had always been there to catch me. But now I felt lost in a raging storm of fear about a future where he might not be by my side.
The car turned onto our street, and in that moment, as we came to a stop in front of our house, I froze.
A few feet away was Mark's car, familiar and yet so strange in the darkness. Panic crept up inside me, a cold shiver ran down my spine.
Mark's presence here, now, in this night, could only mean one thing. And at that moment I wanted nothing more than to disappear.
Dad hadn't noticed the car, lost in thought.
"Come on, let's go inside. A hot cup of tea and then straight to bed," he said, turning off the engine and removing the key.
I continued to stare at the car, my thoughts racing. The impending disaster lurking in this innocent moment was painfully clear to me.
The knowledge of what awaited us inside weighed heavily on me, and I knew that our seemingly perfect life was about to collapse like a house of cards.
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