Chapter 21
Be there for him, Sebastien.
He needs you, Sebastien.
You’re all he has, Sebastien.
So I’d swallowed my grief. Had watched my father take my mother’s picture down in their bedroom only weeks after she’d died. I’d said nothing after he’d decided to go on sick leave from his job at the post office. I’d taken my responsibilities, financial and moral, but if he asked me for one more inch, one more little thing, I’d snap and never come back here again.
“You’re not the only one who lost her, Sebastien.”
I could have smashed something. “Look, I have to go, okay? But I’ll call you this week.” I dug into my jeans for the cash I’d withdrawn earlier. “Here,” I said, giving him the fifty. “Hope this helps a little.”
“I don’t need your money.” Dad leaned back in his chair, his angry eyes catching the dim light hanging over the table. “What I need is your respect.”