Dear Declan

Chapter 5

That wasn't the last time we saw our dad.

Mom had begun speaking with him again. The conversations seemed to have been going well because one night a few weeks later, he was invited for dinner.

He had brought flowers for Olivia, mom had told him about Yale. No doubt that was the first thing she brought up. He looked shaven and smelled of pine, a different scent from what I remembered. His smile was warmer, sweeter and he gave us all huge hugs after walking in the door, like he never left in the first place.

Liv and I knew better than to trust him again, but little Maria was getting swept up by his charm. I didn't blame her, she was too young when he left us, I didn't think she could remember mom's tears.

Dear Declan,

Dad came over for dinner tonight. Not as dreadfully awkward as I feared. He's more charismatic than I remember, lighter,

He told us about his fiancé, her name is Helen and she's a maid. I feel like that says a lot about him now. Before, I doubt he'd marry a woman who worked in someone's home. His fiancé must be someone really special to have changed him like this. I tried to keep an eye on mom, seeing if anything triggered her, but she was okay. She smiled lightly, but kept her distance from him. He respected that and never tried to push her boundaries, which all of us appreciated.

What surprised me was an invitation to his wedding. What surprised me even more was mom agreeing.

She claimed it would be nice for us girls to show support for our father, even though he was a douche. She may have not said that last part. Liv and I complained after he left, but with no avail. Mom believes his intentions are good and that we should give him another chance. I think she feels bad for us, like she thinks something is missing from our lives because we grew up without a father.

I don't feel like that, do you? Your dad left as well and you hate him for it. Granted, he's a bigger douche than mine is and you have every right to detest him with everything you've got. But, you don't feel like there's a missing piece.

I feel like we've been talking about me a lot lately. How have you been? How's it going with Tara?

Your friend,

Viola

Tara was Declan's girlfriend at the time. He chased her since the very first day of their school year and were now officially a couple.

If you asked him, he'd tell you that I was incredibly happy that he had the girl he wanted and that his life was just about perfect. Don't get me wrong, I was happy for him. God knows of all people, he deserved the most happiness. I was still a human being and one of the five deadly sins is jealousy. That was the one that plagued me most often.

I couldn't help but feel it. Envious of my sister getting into Yale, envious of my father moving on despite how much he hurt us, envious of Declan and his new relationship.

Dear Viola,

Doesn't sound like the most exciting wedding. Your father sounds like he's trying to change for the better and your forgiveness would mean the world to him. I think that you should go to that wedding and get completely arseholed on fancy champagne! Only kidding, love. I'm very impressed with your philosophy on drinking.

I feel like I did miss things, growing up without a father. Other boys were throwing a baseball with their fathers before a game and I was just hoping that the coach wasn't too busy and could throw with me. Callum helped a lot. He became my father in an odd way, whenever he's not being an arse, that is. You might feel differently, I'm unsure. All I know is that if my father was a good enough man to come and try to make amends with me, I'd at least give him a chance.