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Dad Never Came Back — I Had to Become the Man of the House at 17
“I’m glad he’s gone.”
For Johnny and his younger sister Kayleigh, their father disappearing wasn’t new… but this time, it felt different.
On a quiet summer night, they sit on a swing set under the stars, confronting the terrifying possibility that they’ve truly been abandoned for good.
What begins as anger turns into fear, and what fear leaves behind is something stronger: responsibility, and an unbreakable sibling bond.
This is a raw and emotional story about broken promises, early independence, and the quiet courage to keep going when childhood ends too soon.
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0:01
dusk was setting in and everyone had
0:03
gone home except for Johnny It was the
0:06
last place he wanted to be right now
0:08
Instead he gazed at the stars that began
0:11
to emerge in the indigo twilight for
0:13
their debut now that the sun was taking
0:15
its exit from the stage leaving nothing
0:17
but a burnished glow on the horizon He
0:20
clenched the chains of the swing as if
0:22
it were a lifeline tilting his head back
0:24
further until he was looking directly up
0:26
into the center of the universe where
0:28
the blue had deepened to black and the
0:30
stars all peered at him like a tiny
0:32
billion eyes They had come to watch the
0:35
train wreck that became his life It
0:37
wasn't long before he heard footsteps
0:39
approaching lightly trudging their way
0:41
through the grassy lawn of Toro Park
0:44
towards his place on the swing He closed
0:46
his eyes for a moment somewhat agitated
0:49
He recognized those steps anywhere It
0:52
was amazing that someone with such a
0:53
boisterous and obnoxious personality
0:56
could carry themselves so lightly across
0:58
the earth as if they were raised among
1:00
mice He knew the truth though It was the
1:03
rats that raised them Reopening his eyes
1:05
but not taking them off the stars he
1:08
listened to the footsteps transition
1:09
from grass to tan bark Crunching their
1:12
way to take a place in the swing next to
1:14
him The wine of chains screeched against
1:17
the weight of a body that bore itself on
1:19
the seat groaning its last resistance as
1:22
they settled in They sat so quietly that
1:24
Johnny almost believed a ghost had been
1:26
messing with him "You're too quiet
1:28
Kaye." He barked at his sister finally
1:31
unsettled by her silence It was not
1:34
within her nature to keep her mouth shut
1:36
for more than 5 minutes "What you mean
1:39
you want me to talk this time?" she
1:42
retorted Johnny huffed more annoyed with
1:45
her now that she had a valid point and
1:47
glanced at her Kayle's head hung low her
1:50
amber hair acting as a wispy curtain
1:52
that covered her face and she seemed to
1:54
be looking down at her hands clasped
1:56
neatly in her lap She was grinding her
1:58
dirty sneakers into the tan bark
2:00
burrowing her foot into the ground as if
2:02
it sought to hide from the truth of
2:04
everything Then as if right on Q Kaye
2:08
blurted out the thoughts she seldom put
2:10
through a filter or kept to herself I
2:13
don't think Dad is coming back this time
2:15
Yeah how so johnny was indifferent to
2:18
this revelation but decided to humor her
2:21
for once glancing back up at a sky
2:23
obscured by the metal pipeline of the
2:25
swing set It's been 2 weeks since he
2:27
left Normally he's gone for 5 days at
2:31
most and even then he calls at least
2:33
once He would tell us if he won big at
2:36
the slots or if he crapped out and was
2:39
coming home No matter what he would call
2:43
This time it has been what 9 days since
2:46
we last heard from him Kaye had launched
2:49
into her anxious tail spin of recounting
2:52
the last two weeks with a cadence like
2:54
she was gossiping about the latest drama
2:56
amongst her friends as if Johnny needed
2:58
the recap He sighed as she continued her
3:01
tirade continuing to look up at the sky
3:04
There were more stars more bright eyes
3:08
coming out to watch these children on
3:10
the swing Not to mention in his last
3:12
phone call Dad said he found another
3:14
girlfriend What was her name again holly
3:16
Hannah whatever it is he did that thing
3:19
again where he swears that she's the one
3:22
and he's going to bring her home to be
3:23
our new mom And it's different this time
3:26
Johnny knew the tale all too well He and
3:28
his sister lived it many times Their
3:31
father would bring home some bimbo he
3:33
picked off the Vegas strip and demand
3:35
they call her mom Things would be hunky
3:37
dory for 2 weeks at most until dad ran
3:40
out of money and mom would up and
3:42
disappear Dad gets depressed drinks
3:44
himself into oblivion talking about the
3:47
good old days Then decides he's going to
3:50
get back to the strip to make his
3:51
fortune We'll live like kiddo you'll see
3:54
He could hear his father's voice echoing
3:57
in his mind The same thing he always
4:00
told Johnny as he stepped out the front
4:01
door for the eenth time Like a rat on an
4:04
exercise wheel the man was running to
4:06
the same place and going nowhere So what
4:09
if he's found another girlfriend doesn't
4:12
that mean he's coming back soon you know
4:14
when the cash piles up Detective Monk
4:16
johnny asked his sister in a dismissive
4:18
tone kicking himself in a light swing
4:21
the chain grinding in protest of motion
4:23
Kaye stopped digging her foot and shot
4:25
him a look in the bleak lighting of
4:28
nearby street lights flickering to life
4:30
He could see that he hit a nerve No
4:33
Jonathan That's exactly my point She
4:36
drew out his full name in retaliation
4:39
and he clenched his jaw He hated being
4:41
named after the deadbeat that was
4:43
supposed to be taking care of them
4:44
Before he could deliver a comeback Kaye
4:47
looked away from him hearing her draw a
4:49
shaky breath What if he has found the
4:52
one that makes him never come back her
4:54
voice trembled in a way that made Johnny
4:57
angry at her his dad the stars
5:02
everything So he snapped kicking himself
5:05
into a full swing now So what if that
5:08
rat bastard never comes back it's the
5:11
best thing he ever did for us No more
5:14
empty promises no more fake moms We'll
5:17
be free of him Johnny thought many times
5:20
about what he would do if his dad never
5:22
returned home anticipating how to make
5:24
ends meet He thought how he was old
5:27
enough to get a worker's permit and
5:28
would have to quit school to get a job
5:30
for both of them to get by He didn't
5:32
feel bad about leaving high school It
5:34
sucked anyway All his friends had moved
5:36
or getting ready for college which was
5:38
never his scene to begin with Plus he
5:41
thought to himself I can always go back
5:43
in a few years after Kaye graduates to
5:46
finish my degree With each pump of his
5:49
legs the swing groaned its displeasure
5:51
with each attempt to catapult him into
5:53
the universe Johnny looked at the stars
5:56
drawing closer and then farther away as
5:59
he made himself a human pendulum He felt
6:02
envious of those stars They mocked him
6:05
with their consistent indifference and
6:07
the distance they held from the world's
6:09
problems So on his next upswing he
6:13
shouted his truth to the heavens the one
6:16
that had been building up for 2 weeks
6:18
when his so-called father walked out the
6:20
door for the last time I'm glad he's
6:22
gone Johnny fell back to the earth his
6:25
feet contacting the ground again He
6:27
roughly skid himself to a violent halt
6:30
with chunks of dirt and wood spraying
6:32
out beneath his heels panting heavily
6:34
from his effort He snarled victoriously
6:37
towards the night sky before giving way
6:39
to devastated size tears leaking from
6:42
his eyes He resented that he had to
6:45
think about this stuff at 17 years old
6:48
Rather than living up his last summer
6:50
before senior year he instead had to
6:52
figure out how to put food on the table
6:54
and keep the roof over his head I'm
6:57
scared," Kaye whispered to him her voice
7:00
shaking and uncertain Johnny quickly
7:02
wiped his eyes and turned to look at his
7:05
younger sister Despite the warmth of the
7:07
night she trembled in the dark gripping
7:10
her hands together so tight that her
7:12
white knuckles glowed against the
7:14
darkness She was 2 months from her 13th
7:17
birthday and already the weight of the
7:19
world was pushing heavy on her shoulders
7:22
Johnny decided that although they shared
7:24
the same name he did not have to share
7:26
the same fate that befell his father Me
7:29
too He responded to her softly and then
7:32
stood from his seat letting the swing
7:34
drift gently away from him Let's go home
7:37
I'll make us some bacon mac He bribed
7:39
Kaye with her favorite meal offering a
7:42
hand to help her up She hesitated
7:44
momentarily before nodding and taking
7:46
his hand to walk the half mile back home
7:49
The swings drifted gently in the empty
7:51
air for a little while after they left
7:53
before finding their stillness suspended
7:56
in abandoned silence The stars blinking
7:59
and flickering continued to watch the
8:02
world as they always did before
8:04
disappearing within the blurry dawn of a
8:07
new