You were his child, of course he cared about you. But caring isn’t always enough. He had missed almost every show you’d put on at school, every sporting event, every birthday, even a few Christmas’s. You’d gotten used to it, but it still hurt.

Which is why when Morgan was born, and he acted like her life depended on him being present, you pulled away. You loved your sister, but god did you wish he’d cared about you like that, enough to build you your own helmet, or your own hideout. But alas, you had grown out of the cute phase a long time ago.

Today was your birthday. And it was a big one. Eighteen to be exact, symbolic to you crossing the threshold into adulthood, soon you’d be applying to colleges (Harvard you hoped) and leaving the nest. But there was no sign of recognition.

Morgan you could forgive- she was four after all, she could barely remember her own middle name. Pepper was maybe a little upsetting, but you supposed she was probably busy fussing over her real daughter, who was off to her friend’s house for the first time. But your dad? That stung.

You’d been downstairs for an hour, eating your cereal in silence as you bit back tears, staring into the milk as if it would tell you the secrets of the universe. Whilst the rest of them ate pancakes, which your dad had prepared for a special occasion. That gave you a little hope.

At least until you found out it was because Morgan had remembered the correct spelling for all five words she was given as homework.