Too Late to be My Dads

Once Ethan walked away from the kennel, I slipped out of the estate.

After getting a bottle of pills, I went to the place where Kylee used to live.

With a picture of Kylee in my hands, I lay in bed, ready to chug the pills, when I paused.

Given the circumstances of my death, the discovery would be a burden to the police.

Hence, I wrote a letter to clarify that I was taking my own life.

The pills tasted bitter, burning through my throat like fire.

It didn’t take long before darkness devoured my consciousness.

‘Here I come, Mom!’

Time passed in a blur, and I felt my stomach churning.

I threw up violently and woke up in sheer agony.

Staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, I jolted up in joy. Before crying out for my mother, I met Lee Davies’ eyes.

Lee stood before me in a white doctor’s coat, his hand clutching my suicide note.

His fingers shook from the force of his grip.

In the end, he hurled the letter right in my face.

“Niamh, you’re something else to get attention, playing the victim.

“Couldn’t you die somewhere far away? Why did it have to be there? You have defiled your mother’s home!”

Lee’s screaming threw me for a loop.

In fact, out of my four fathers, my favorite was Lee, the doctor.

He was a medical expert, well-versed in both modern and holistic medicine.

Lee was the one who showed me the basics of medicine.

He was kind and fun, spending the most time with me.

For a moment, I was convinced that he was my biological father.

Even when Sadie came into the picture, Lee didn’t put all his attention on her like the rest.

He told me, “Niamh, you’re my only daughter. No one can take your place away.”

That changed when Sadie passed out in front of everyone.

Lee discovered a fresh needle mark from a syringe on the back of her head.

When Lee asked Sadie what had happened, she fell to her knees before me.

“I’m sorry, Niamh! I didn’t say anything to Dad Lee. He found out on his own. You can do it again.”

That was the first time Lee lost his temper at me.

With a look of disappointment, he said, “Niamh, I taught you medicine to help others, not kill them!”

Nothing I said could make him believe me.

No one in the family besides him and me could have used a syringe.

“Easy there, Lee.” It dawned on me that Ethan, his face grimacing, was in the ward too. “Something seems wrong with Niamh. She tried to commit suicide at home, and she consumed pills at Kylee’s home. I suspect—”

Lee cut him off. “Ethan, are you feeling bad for her? Have you forgotten how manipulative she is?

“She’s too obsessed with our wealth to leave us. She’s putting on a show to get our attention since it’s Sadie’s birthday today.”

The doubt across Ethan’s face was gone. “You’re right.”

Just then, both their phones beeped in notification.

They took out their phones and tapped on the voice message.

“Dad Ethan, Dad Lee, when are you coming home? The other dads are here, waiting to start.

“It’s my eighteenth birthday today. I’m going to be upset if you don’t come home now.”

Sadie’s sweet voice boomed in the ward.

Ethan and Lee grinned from ear to ear.

They cautiously held their phones up and responded via voice notes.

The scene was familiar to me.

This was the tone of voice they used with me once upon a time.

My fathers were still the same people. I was simply no longer the one they held closest to their hearts.

As they kept calling Sadie their little princess, I scooted to the window in dejection.

Terrified of the pain, I had been trying gentler ways to end my life.

However, I couldn’t wait a second more.

Right in front of Ethan and Lee, I climbed over the windowsill and jumped.

‘Goodbye, Dads.’