Crystal was jolted from her afternoon nap by the muffled sound of the front door closing and footsteps echoing through the house. Her eyes fluttered open, squinting against the remnants of sleep, and she listened closely. The unmistakable murmur of her father’s voice drifted upstairs. He had returned home—again—without warning, just like always.
He came and went like a ghost, slipping in and out of their lives. Sometimes he stayed for dinner, other times he vanished for days with no explanation. Everyone in the house had learned to adapt to his pattern of unpredictability, chalking it up to his way of coping with his own troubles.
Crystal sat up, yawning, then reached for her phone resting beside her on the bed. As usual, she wanted to check on her messages and the latest updates from th
