I twist the knob on the door and push open the door. My mom is sitting on her leather brown couch next to my father as they watch the news. It's as if he never left. I'm guessing  the creaking of the door causes them to look back at us. My mom is the first one to shoot out the couch and hurriedly rush to us. 

She rests her hands on either side of my face. "Bay, are you okay?"

"As if you care." I bite back and slap her hand off my face. 

"Why are you here?" I ask the male stranger who is trespassing in my house.

"Bay...I missed you guys. I figured Thanksgiving is in 2 days. Maybe we could have a family dinner. All as one. I can meet Leo. I heard he wants to be in NASA."

"Like you care. You left 2 weeks after he was birthed." Zoe speaks up.

"Zoe. My beautiful Zoe." He walks toward us, but Zoe and I simultaneously move back. His eyes flit between the two of us hoping for one of us to give in to his act, but I don't trust him.

"Girls. Give him a chance. He is trying here." Mom defends him and rests a manicured hand on his shoulder and he shoots her a smile.

"Give him a chance? After everything he has done!" I yell and look at my so called father in disgust.

"He left you with a newborn to take care of own your own. He has been gone for 8 years!! What is wrong with you!" Zoe yells at mother.

"Don't speak to your mother like that Zoe." Sean says sternly.

"Um I think the fuck not. You don't get to just march in here and act like you could tell us what to do. You have been gone for 8 years. As far as I know, you are a complete stranger."

"Bay.." He murmurs, he runs a stressed hand through his hair. 

"How could you let him come back here after everything. No heads up, nothing" Zoe says and her voice breaks. She is going to cry again.

"He wants to try to be in your lives again."

"Really? Well that sounds like a load of bullshit to me. Where have you been the last 8 years, huh?"

"I have been bouncing around and trying to find my place."

"YOUR PLACE WAS MEANT TO BE THE FATHER OF THIS FAMILY, THE MAN OF THIS HOUSEHOLD!" 

Mother and Sean flinch at the volume of my words, but I don't care.

"I love you Bay and I love you Zoe. You have to believe me."

"I don't believe in love. Well specifically, yours."

His face falls and the light he had in his eyes before disappears.

"I wish I could've been here for you girls. I missed you everyday and-"

" Then why weren't you!" I yell, but the cracking in my voice can be heard. A lump forms in my throat and I know I will be in tears soon as well. 

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I just needed some time to figure out some things."

"Some time is a few weeks. You left for 8 YEARS!" Zoe screams and she bursts into tears. She runs past me and out the study and her footsteps are heard going upstairs.

"Bay, please. I know I messed up."

"You made a mistake coming here. Leave and don't come back." I croak and head for the door.

"Bay I love you!" he yells after me.

"I don't" I mutter loud enough for them to hear and I walk out the study and out my heartbroken house. I don't know where I am going. 

I let my legs guide me to somewhere, anywhere that isn't that house. The fall breeze is getting colder everyday and I have yet to adjust to the change of season. I should've grabbed a sweater because wearing a sleeveless top was not a good outfit choice. 

I'm beyond shocked at where I end up 30 minutes later. I am at the hill that my father took me to that overlooked the entire city. I climb the hill despite tripping about 4 times. I sit on the damp  grass and watch the lights in the city change colors and I invite the woodsy scent that surrounds me. 

I don't get it. 

Why is he here? I want him gone. 

Every time I look at him, I see the man that turned his back on me, left the house that his kids grew up in without looking back, and got in his jeep and drove down the road. I remember the night he left, I stood there at the door long after he left waiting for him. I waited all night for him to come back, but when the sun rose the next morning and he didn't come back, I didn't know it at the time, but that was the last time I would see my father.

Until now.

My phone rings in my pocket and I take it out and look at the caller id.

Mother

I shut my phone off and drop it on the grass beside me.

I have spent years trying to forget my father and now he just comes back and it's like he is ruining my life all over again. I feel like he betrayed me again. He betrayed me by coming back. I have been wishing on a golden star for him to come back and now that he is here, I don't know what to do. I just feel angry.

The sun slowly descends and the light yellow sun tucks behind the mountains out in the distance leaving the sky a dark color. I get up off the grass and hurry down the hill. I am not going home. I don't want to set foot in that house. I can't see myself in that house, especially if he is there. There is a hotel a block away from here that I will stay in for however long I need. I just don't want to be around people for a while.

I open the door to the hotel and the scent of lavender and spice floats around in the air.  A woman with fawn brown hair, lightly tanned skin, and chocolate brown eyes is seated at the desk. She looks up at me with a warm smile.

"How can I help you today?"

"Are there any rooms open?"

"Yes. Hold on." She types something on the computer and I take this time to look around. This is definitely not an ordinary hotel. This is one of the hotels near the city, so I already know the price of this hotel will not be cheap. 

"Okay 13F is open."

"Okay, how much will it be?"

"For one night is $89."

Like I said not cheap. And chances are, this is where I will be sleeping for the next few nights because I refuse to sleep under the same roof as a coward and a desperate wife. 

"I will take it."

"How many nights are you staying?"

I have my date with Brett on Friday and I for sure don't want him picking me up at home if my deadbeat father is there and I am definitely skipping the big Thanksgiving dinner in 2 days so.. "Until Sunday afternoon"

"OK" the lady respond, while typing the information on her computer. "You have to check out at 2 pm on Sunday. Do you want to pay now or later." That is 4 days. 356 dollars. Thank god, I had saved up money left.

"Now" I tell her and take my credit card out of my phone compartment and I swipe it on the device and put it back in the compartment. The lady hands me the key to the room and I walk away from the desk and inside the elevator. When I reach to the floor I am on, I go to the room, swipe the card, and enter. 

The smell of linen and fresh flowers is the first thing I smell when I enter the vacant hotel room. My eyes drift around the room looking at every inch of design and furniture in the room and I am in awe at how beautiful the room is. If I were running this hotel, the price would be way higher. $89 is way too cheap. Some of the walls are designed with a burgundy colored wood while other parts are just a plain white wall, but the two colored walls work together with each other. There is a queen sized bed in the center of the room with a white duvet draped on the bed and a gold and light pink blanket on the bottom of the bed. There are 4 throw pillows on the bed, all matching the blanket on the end of the bed. I have a perfect view of outside, which mainly shows trees and directly outside the hotel. There is a desk and chair in the corner of the room along with a TV on the wall that is angled right in front of the bed. There is also a white right arm chaise couch near the window of the room. 

I close the door behind me and walk to the table and grab the remote. I turn on the TV and the first thing that comes on is the news. I skip that channel and go straight to cartoon network. I throw myself on the bed and I nearly fall asleep right there due to the bed's amazingly comfortable mattress and sheets, but I figured I should just stay up. 

I don't intend on going to school tomorrow anyway.