Dependency // l.tomlinson *Completed*

25. Radley

25. Radley

I was not only physically exhausted from the run but I was now also mentally tired. This was my father standing in front of me and he was very much alive.

"Daddy?" I whispered.

"Simon, let me hug her. Please," my father pleaded, "please, let me hug my baby girl."

I shook my head vigorously, not able to speak at all.

Uncle Simon held my dad back, away from me. He looked hurt but so was I. He wasn't the one who was lied to for four years.

"What... How..." I stuttered.

"You should sit." My dad said. Right now, it felt as if only he and I were in the room. No one else.

"No. I think I'm okay right here. But you should sit down. At the far end."

He sighed and moved away to sit on the stool on the other side of the kitchen island.

"How are you, princess?"

"Don't... Don't call me that. Tell me why you're here and not buried next to mom over 3000 miles away from here. I want to know why you're not dead. I want to know why you left me all alone after you're supposed accident. I want to know why I was abandoned. Do you even know what I had to live through? For years I thought I had no one; even when 'you' and mom were alive. "

"Look, darling," he said, a bit of an accent rolling off his tongue, "I'm so sorry I left. But you have to understand. It was best for you and me."

"Right because abandoning your only living child was the best decision. Great, dad. Props to you."

"Rad, sweetie, watch your mouth." Aunt Clara whispered.

"Why'd you come here?" I asked before scoffing, "I still can't believe you're alive."

"Well, you know that when your brother... went away, we all took it pretty rough. Your mother took it the worse. I mean, we are all greatly affected but she was bad. The way she treated you and even the way she treated me. It was horrible. She stopped loving both of us, as terrible as that sounds. She would blackmail me to treat you the same way and I regret it so much, love..."

"Wait, more important question," I sighed, his strong British accent was bothering me, "how long have you been here? In London?"

My dad looked at me, to my aunt, uncle, and my cousin before looking down at his lap.

"Dad. Answer me."

"Ever since the crash. Day after your mum passed on, I caught a plane back here and..."

"And what? Where did you stay? When did you find the courage to come see aunt Clara and uncle Simon?" I asked, "Was it before I got here? Because I think I saw you running off that day."

He shook his head.

"Was it after that?"

Again, he shook his head.

"When?" I croaked, not ready to accept what the answer was. I knew what I was about to hear but I didn't want to believe it.

"When I landed here, I had no where to go. I just booked a one-way ticket and ended up here. I called up Clara and I told her what happened. She broke down but sent Simon to receive me. I made them promise never to tell you."

Tears were falling down my cheeks and it was starting to get harder to breathe by the second.

"You all knew?" I whispered.

"It was for the best, sweetie." Aunt Clara took a step towards me but I backed away from her.

"No, don't," my voice cracked, "don't come near me. I've never felt so betrayed."