"And then he hugged her so tight, all of her broken pieces fit back together."
WARNING: THERE ARE MENTIONS OF SELF HARM, ABUSE, AND SUICIDE IN THIS BOOK. IF ANY OF THESE THINGS TRIGGER BAD MEMORIES, I RECOMMEND YOU DO NOT READ THIS BOOK
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GREGORY REYES FUMBLED with his chains. "Why'd you call me here, Jones?" He spat.
"We've received unsettling news." Police Officer Jones said. "It's about your daughter, Erica."
"You think I care?" Gregory retorted. "Don't you know what I'm in for?"
"We thought you deserved to know that your daughter killed herself." Officer Jones said.
"What?" Gregory asked.
"Your daughter is dead, Gregory." Jones blatantly said.
"Wow." Gregory said, tearing up a little bit. "My baby. She's gone."
"Well I guess you had a favorite." Jones mumbled, then chuckling at his own joke.
"What'd you say, Jones?" Gregory asked venomously.
"I didn't say anything." Jones quickly denied. If he learned one thing, it's never piss off the inmates. Especially when you have to break horrible news to them.
As Gregory made his way back to his cell, he thought about how he and his daughter were before the alcohol.
~ "Daddy!" Erica shrieked with joy.
"Hi babydoll." Gregory said, hugging his five year old daughter. "How was your day?"
"It was fantastic." Erica exclaimed. "Jeremy Ross has a crush on me. Jeremy Ross!"
"Jeremy Ross is the cutest guy in the school, Daddy." Malia informed them.
"And he has a crush on me!" Erica exclaimed, giggling.
Gregory smiled at his two daughters.
'Who needs you, Annabella?' He wondered to himself. ~
That night, Gregory cried himself to sleep, thinking about his daughters, and how he made a terrible mistake.
He should've checked into rehab.
"Yeah, you should've." He heard his daughter say from the corner of his cell.
"Erica?" Gregory asked. "Babydoll, I am so sorry."
"I know you are, Daddy." Erica said. "You really hurt Malia. The doctors didn't know if she was going to make it. But somehow I'm the one who wound up dead." Erica took a deep breath. "I was going to write you a letter, but I didn't want anyone to go through it. I wanted this to stay between us. So here goes nothing. Dad, what you did really hurt me. No doubt it hurt Malia, but it hurt me too. Now, I could go on for twelve more pages on how wrong it was, but you're in prison, so obviously you know that already. So I'm just going to say it. I love you, Dad. That's right. You heard correctly. No matter how much shit you put me through, I will always love you. You are my father. You are my hero."
"I love you too, Erica." Gregory said. "And I love Malia. Please tell her."
"I'll see what I can do." Erica winked, and in an instant, she was gone.
As Gregory awoke, he smiled for the first time in months.
He knew his daughter was okay.
And from this moment on, he was going to be okay too.
