Stop Being Human

Chapter 34

Melody looks at me, both uneasy and slightly confused. He's calling now of all times? Actually, there isn't any other time I would have been able to get in contact with him once I enter this portal. I asked for this, after all.

I take a deep breath and slide across the screen to answer. Bringing the phone to my ear, I am silent. Just say hello. I tell myself, but I can't bring myself to do it. I'm terrified.

"Hello?" My father's low voice echoes through the phone. "Reighlynn, are you there?" It's real. He truly called.

"Dad... hi." My lip quivers as I say it. This is the moment I have always waited for.

"Hello, darling." He sounds sad from the other side of the line. There is so much I want to say, but how? Why did I truly want to talk to him? What do I tell him now that I am deciding to leave... possibly forever? "I heard you stopped by earlier. I'm sorry I wasn't home at the time."

"Yeah... yeah, I did, but it's okay, I promise." A long and awkward silence follows my sentence...

"Reighlynn... I am so sorry. For everything. I've thought about you every day since you left. There's no doubt your mother is very mad at me. I shouldn't have rejected you from the family for my own desires. I've wanted to call, but I never knew how to tell you and so much was going on in my broken heart. Reighlynn, you deserved so much better. I am sorry. Truly. I'm sure that will never make up for it, but you are my daughter. You will always be my little girl."

I almost lose my balance as I choke out a sob. Melody grabs my arm to keep me up and rubs a reassuring hand against my back. "I know dad... I know. I never hated you for it. You deserved to be happy. You deserved to move on and find love again. I didn't want to take you away from that." Tears fell rapidly down my face as I spoke. Melody in front of me is only a blur from all my tears.

"You deserved to be happy too, darling. I should have at least checked in on you. I'm your father, yet I never acted as one when... your mother left." I know that tone after all these years. His sadness is seeping through the phone. I could always tell when he tried to hold back his emotions. Now, we are an emotional mess.

"I'm happy you called, dad." I admit, "I've wanted to talk for a while, but like you said, I never knew what to say. That's why I didn't stay. I just couldn't."

"I understand." He responds, followed by what sounds like a child giggling and someone messing in the kitchen, clanking pans around in the background.

"But I am happy. I'm about to be, anyway. There's something I need to tell you." There is a tremendous weight on my shoulder as the words slip. I have to tell him something. If I leave now, he might try to contact me again. Then, he won't ever hear from me again. I don't want him to think I am ignoring him.

"What is it?"

I gulp, causing Melody to rub my back some more. She probably has an idea about what I am going to do. She was always good at sensing what was coming and how to help. "I'm moving away for a while, dad. Do you remember how much I loved fashion designing?"

He laughs, then sniffles. "You always loved messing with your mother's clothes and drawing out outfits for her." I wish he could see the small smile on my face for unlocking that memory. I always loved doing that when I was younger.

"Well, an opportunity came up and I have to leave tonight. I'll be all over the place, out of the country, stuff like that." A small lie doesn't hurt to protect him and Willow's Forest. Now the hard part is, "You might not hear from me anymore..."

He's silent, and it honestly breaks my heart a little more than it already is. "Reighlynn, that's... that's amazing, sweetheart."

I'm surprised by the response. "You're not mad?" We've finally spoken after all these years and I am leaving again.