Chapter 12

The old woman talked to the police while Clyde guided Rowie on a vacant sofa. She was still in daze and was trying to sink in everything that happened. She didn't talk and just stared in the air. Clyde was starting to worry about her so he spoke.

"Are you okay?"

She did not answer his question but instead, she said, "He said he was selling drugs alone. According to Gloria, he was doing that because of Raven." A tear fall on her cheek and continued speaking, "I can't believe that he would do that."

When it started to get hard breathing, she fisted her hand and placed it above her chest. "But you know, I wanted to believe. I wanted to believe that he is changing - that he is still my father. It was almost 10 years now but I know that despite what he did to us, I still believe that he'll become a father to me even for once. I want to believe in him."

Clyde guided her head on his chest carefully. He wanted to comfort her even just by doing this. That was when she started crying harder. She cried on his chest like a child lost in the middle of a crowded place.

She felt like a lost child looking for a father's comfortable hug. It was 10 years already but hope was still in her. She was still hoping for her father to hug her and show her how much he loved her.

Her Mom was right since the beginning. No matter what happened, no matter what her father did, she would not stop forgiving him because he was still her father. She would love him no matter who her father was. That wouldn't change and no one could change that.

"Everything will be fine. I know that your father isn't a bad person. He just wanted to help his little daughter. I may not know what really happened before, but I know that every father in this world loves their angels." Clyde calmed her down.

"Rowie..."

They both stood when Gloria approached them. She sat beside the two and smiled a little. She helped Rowie wiped her wet face before speaking.

"He's going behind bars for six months. That was given to him. But he'll be free if the master mind will be caught." She looked at Rowies reaction and smiled. They were both relieved because it was only six months.

"What did they said?" asked Rowie.

"Well, your father said that he really didn't do it. He wanted to, at first, but he changed his mind after rethinking. But the police didn't let that slide easily. They wanted to catch the culprit first."

Rowie sighed in relief. Gloria knew how she felt since then. It was not because Janice didn't want this to happen to her husband. It was because Rowie didn't want her father to be a prisoner.

Even though she won't admit to it, Gloria knew what kind of a person Rowie was. She was not the type to let her family be in pain and sorrow. She would do everything to protect everyone she loved in her own ways. Gloria often wondered what would happen to her if ever someone took advantage of her kindness.

"You need to go back to the hospital, Rowie. Or go home first to change clothes." Gloria instructed her.

"Um, Gloria? I want to talk to my father first." Rowie said. The old lady gave her a warming smile before nodding. Clyde gave her a reassuring nod and winked at her.

The police let her talk to him but the condition was he was not allowed to go out of the room. They talked while bars were between them. It was like a wall that was separating them, a wall that was long separating the two of them.

"Why'd you do that?" Rowie asked in a soft voice. She seemed to lose her energy from crying a while ago. Her eyes were a little swollen and red but she ignored it.

"I heard what happened to Raven. I don't have a choice. I didn't continue, though. I stopped myself from doing it because --" Rowie did not let him finish with the same question.

"Why'd you do that?"

James eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I told you -- "

"Why did you have to do that for Raven? Since when did you care for this family?" She gritted her teeth while speaking. She thought all her tears were gone but here she was, still crying a bucket.

James remained silent. He didn't know how to answer his daughters question. "Answer me!" Rowie shouted.

"I'm in pain, Rowie." He admitted in a low voice.

Rowie stopped sobbing. She wanted to hear those words again to make sure she heard it right but her father continued what he wanted to say. "After your Mom died, I regret everything I've done. I wanted to turn back time, but I can't. I was lost. Maybe that's why I'm hurting Janice as well. She reminded me of your Mom."

Rowie's starting to lose her patience. "That's impossible! If you misses Mom so much, why did you have to hurt Janice as well? Did you know that it could affect Raven's mind, like how it affected mine? It'll forever be engraved in her mind as she grows up!"

She stood up and turned her back at her father. Before leaving, he said, "I'm sorry, Rowie. Please forgive this hopeless father of yours."

Sighing, she replied, "I already forgave you since the day Mom let me realized how important family is." She left him and went back to the hospital to look for her Mom and little sister.

James was left there, crying and blaming himself for everything. Why would he only realize this now? Why now that her little angel was sick and her daughter in pain? He was a failure as a father. He deserved everything he's in right now. He deserved to be in pain, too.