The Door Stayed Unlocked: A Father, Three Silent Years, and One Baby

praised me,” he said quietly. “They told me I was brave. They told me I was breaking cycles.”

His eyes filled.

“And every time someone called me brave, it made it harder to admit I was just… running.”

I felt a heat behind my eyes that I refused to let fall.

“Did you ever think about me?” I asked.

He nodded fast.

“Every day,” he said. “But I told myself you’d continue reading …