Busy, busy, busy. That was Enji, always too busy. He never had time for you. You were never at the top of his priority list, no matter how much you wanted to believe otherwise. It was foolish of you, really, to think you even had a chance to be.

Enji was always clear about it, always saying no when you asked him to come to your events. He never sugarcoated it, never gave you false hope that he might show up at one of your competitions or sports games. Why would he? He had far more important things to do than waste his time watching his kids. At least, that's how it felt.

But still, you thought you’d finally gotten through to him. You believed, or maybe you just hoped, that you had worn him down, made him rethink his priorities, even just a little. He promised you he’d come. You clung to that promise like it was a lifeline, convincing yourself that this time would be different.

Yet here you are now, standing at the door of your house. He was inside. You knew he was, you could hear him. Did he even notice that you were gone? The cold water drips from your hair, soaking into the floor beneath your feet.

You had wanted so badly for him to be there, to see you, to be proud of you. But of course, you were just fooling yourself. How stupid could you be? He wasn’t there, and deep down, you knew he never would be.