~ JESSE ~
It was so weird when Dad walked me down the hall towards my room. Like he was… looking after me. There was a piece of my heart that had always yearned for this kind of care from him. This kind of… protection.
But the truth was, my father had rarely looked after me. Since my mother's death, it had always been my job to look after him. And my brothers.
He stepped ahead of me when we got to the cross-hall where my bedroom was. He pushed the door open and flipped on the light inside, then ushered me in.
The blackout curtains were still pulled- I must have forgotten to open them that morning when they took me for breakfast.
Thinking about that made my skin crawl and I shuffled out of the circle of my father's arm, walking over to the desk and shelves on that side of the room like I was just looking at things.
Then I opened the closet door. All my clothes were still there.
I didn't know why that made me sigh.