What I thought was a great family vacation, turned out to be one of my worst childhood memories. My stomach sank the night my mom got the call saying my dad was in jail again. I felt betrayed, heartbroken and so furious, but that was only a few emotions going through my head. How can he leave my brother like he left me? What did we all do that was so bad to make him make these stupid decisions? Blaming myself was the easiest thing to do. I had to grow up not having a dad and wanting what every other kids parents had.

I felt that not writing him or talking to him for a year would hurt him like he hurt my family. I figured he'd get the point and realize that his actions don't just affect him. For the longest time, I kept thinking about how he left me as a kid and now my brother has to go through the same thing. My father and my relationship today is better than ever, he is honestly my best friend. Things with my father when he got back were weird at first I didn't want to trust him again because I didn't want to get hurt again. My whole family is back together and that means the most to me!