Seventeen-year-old Desi sat in her room, her gaze lingering on a small, faded photograph in her hands.
Her father’s gentle eyes and warm smile stared back at her, a frozen memory that felt so distant it was almost unreal.
She traced her fingers over his face, trying to recall his voice, his scent, the way he used to make her feel safe. But the details were blurred, lost over years that felt like lifetimes.
"Why did you leave us?" she whispered, her voice barely audible in the stillness of the room.
A shout from her little sister’s room jolted her from her thoughts. Desi stood, hesitating by her door before walking down the hall. Her mother’s voice was already there, cautioning her sister. Desi leaned against the wall, her heart heavy.
She thought about the nights when her father use
