October

Chapter Five

Ramsey pulled up in front of her dad's house 25 minutes after having left the airport. As the cab pulled into the drive way, her phone went off with a text,
"I have nothing to say to you, please don't call me again."
Her heart ached as she read the text from Amara, and then it ached again for her dad. She wondered if she should try to call Scarlet, but figured it'd be best to talk to her dad before she made anymore phone calls. Once she exited the cab, she just stood in her father's driveway for a moment, staring at her childhood house. She smiled at all the memories that came flooding back by being back there. She hadn't seen the house in almost 7 years, but everything still looked the same, and more than that, it still felt like home. A tire swing hung from a branch of a huge oak tree in their front yard. When Scarlet was 7, she and her friend tried riding on the swing at the same time, even though there was only room for one. Scarlet fell off and broke her leg, she remembered how sad her sister was because that meant that she couldn't pay soccer that year, but Ramsey laughed at the flashback of seeing her sister's face as she fell to the ground. But then later that day at the hospital, she held her little sister's hand as she cried getting the cast put on. After that, their mother begged that they got the tree cut down to prevent anymore of us getting hurt. She must not have taking into a count that her leaving 6 months later would hurt them just the same.

Ramsey gathered her thoughts and started to remember why she was here in the first place. Even though she hoped she'd walk through the front door to see her mom cooking in the kitchen and her dad sitting in his La-Z-Boy watching the football game. But knowing that things are much different now, she took a deep breath and walked through the door. "Hello?" She called out. She hadn't told her dad that she was on her way, so her being her was going to take him by surprise. "Dad?" She called out again, when no one answered. She walked into the backyard thinking maybe he was out there watering his garden and wasn't able to hear her calling for him. She opened the sliding glass door and walked out onto the patio. Ever since she was little, Amara and their father would walk out into the backyard and water their plants. Amara had a certain place where she planted her flowers and then once a week, she and dad would go to the store to pick out more flowers that she wanted to grow. It was their thing, just how Ramsey and her father would go to the Farmers Market every Sunday after church. Not only was her father not in the garden, but all the flowers that were once so beautiful, had died. Tears swelled into her eyes, Amara must not be visiting. But that also meant that her dad, once again, has been alone.

She walked back inside and made her way down the hall. "Dad?" This time she called to him in more of a whisper, just in case he was sleeping. "Ramsey? Is that you?" She heard him call back. She followed his voice into the now spare room that was once belonged to Scarlet. "Oh, Ramsey, it is you." Her dad's voice shook with excitement and emotion. "What are you doing in here?" She asked. "And why are you looking at those?" She asked again, gesturing toward the pictures in her father's hands. He was looking at pictures from her childhood; wedding pictures, baby pictures of her and her sisters, pictures from her parent's honeymoon, Christmas's, Forth of Julys. Her father got up to hug her and this was the first time Ramsey was able to see how thin her father had gotten. Her bottom lip quivered at the sight of him. He was sick. Ramsey hadn't known just how bad it was but now that she was here and was seeing it with her own eyes, she felt guilty for not coming sooner. "I like looking at this stuff, it makes me smile. Seeing all you guys together and so happy." Her dad replied to her earlier question. He sat back down where he was sitting when she walked in and in his hand was a little, wallet sized photo of him and her mom on their wedding day. He looked down at the picture for a moment and then wiped a tear from his eyes, then quickly looked up at Ramsey and smiled, hoping she didn't see it. "I miss her," He said, knowing that his daughter in fact saw him wipe his eyes. Ramsey knelt done next to him on her knees and held his hand, covering the picture with her own hand. "Daddy, why didn't you call me sooner?" She asked. He looked her in the eyes and for the first time ever, Ramsey actually felt her heart break. Her dad's big blue eyes were once filled with such love and happiness, and now all she saw when she looked into them was hurt and sadness. She wished there was something she could do to make all this go away. "Let's get you out of here." She said, standing up, still holding her dads hand. As he got up, their hands drifted apart for only a second, but in that time she grabbed the picture and slid it into her back pocket. She watched as he used her for more support than he ever has. Her dad wasn't old, and growing up he wasn't out of shape or unhealthy. But now he was weak and fragile and all she wanted to do was pick him and put him in her pocket.