A Father's Claim

TESSA

"Taking care of us?" The words hung in the air between us, heavy and loaded with an entitlement that made my stomach turn. I stared at him, letting the sheer audacity of his statement sink in. He made it sound like putting a roof over our heads was some grand favor, a monumental debt I was meant to repay with blind obedience. As if I hadn’t pulled my own weight every single day. As if I had