Chapter 7: The Man Who Came Back For A Lease
I had spent years wondering what my father would say if he ever came back.
Would he apologize?
Would he explain?
Would he pretend nothing happened?
I imagined a hundred different conversations.
None of them started with him trying to take my apartment.
I stared at his signature on the screen.
A signature that looked familiar because I had seen it before.
On old birthday cards.
On school forms.
On documents from a life when I still believed he was someone who would always be there.
My father had a handwriting I used to recognize instantly.
Now I recognized it because it was attached to something that felt like betrayal.
"Can you contact him?"" Dale asked.
The question snapped me back.
I looked at him.
"What?""
"Your father.""
I laughed quietly.
"I don't have his number.""
My mom looked down.
Dale noticed.
"You do.""
She didn't answer.
"Mom.""
She sighed.
"Kendra...""
"No.""
I shook my head.
"Please don't tell me you have his number.""
Her silence was enough.
I stared at her.
"How long?""
She looked away.
"Since last year.""
My chest tightened.
"You talked to him?""
"Only a few times.""
"About what?""
My mom wiped her hands together nervously.
"About you.""
I felt something twist inside me.
"About me?""
"Yes.""
"Did he ask about me?""
She hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than anything.
"Sometimes.""
I nodded slowly.
"Sometimes.""
Dale looked at my mom.
"Did you know he was trying to do this?""
"No.""
Her answer was immediate.
"I swear.""
I believed her.
That was the worst part.
Because I could see she was telling the truth.
Everyone in that room had secrets.
But not everyone was trying to hurt me.
Marlene cleared her throat.
"We need to focus on the immediate issue.""
I looked at her.
"Can he actually do this?""
She looked at the document.
"Not simply because his name appears.""
"Then why submit it?""
"Because he believes he has authorization.""
I pointed at the screen.
"But he doesn't.""
Marlene nodded.
"That's something we need to verify.""
Dale stepped closer.
"How?""
"We need the original authorization document.""
Marlene clicked through the file.
"There should be a copy attached to the original application.""
She searched.
A minute passed.
Then another.
Her expression changed.
"What?""
I asked.
She looked up.
"The original authorization isn't in the file.""
Dale frowned.
"What does that mean?""
"It means we have the reference to it.""
She pointed.
"But not the actual document.""
My stomach dropped.
"So someone removed it?""
Marlene didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Dale looked at me.
"Who had access?""
Marlene looked through the records.
"Anyone listed on the account.""
My heart sank.
My father.
My old laptop.
Jasmine.
Too many possibilities.
Too many people.
I stepped away from the desk.
"I need air.""
Nobody stopped me.
I walked out into the lobby.
The rain outside had gotten heavier.
People rushed past the windows, completely unaware that my entire life had turned into a stack of papers on a leasing manager's desk.
Marcus looked up when I walked out.
"Kendra?""
I shook my head.
"Not now.""
He stood anyway.
"What's wrong?""
I looked at him.
For a second, I wanted to tell him everything.
But he was sixteen.
He shouldn't have to carry adult problems.
"It's complicated.""
Marcus frowned.
"Everything is complicated when nobody tells you anything.""
The sentence hit me.
Because it sounded exactly like how I felt.
My little brother sat back down.
And I stood there realizing everyone in my family had been learning the same lesson.
We just handled it differently.
My mom came out a few minutes later.
She closed the office door behind her.
"Kendra.""
I didn't turn around.
"Did you love him?""
The question surprised her.
"What?""
"My dad.""
She was quiet.
Then:
"Yes.""
I looked out the window.
"Do you still?""
She took a long time to answer.
"I love the person I thought he would become.""
My eyes burned.
"But not the person he became.""
She nodded.
"Yes.""
I swallowed.
"Then why didn't you tell me he was still involved?""
"Because every time I mentioned him, you shut down.""
"Because he hurt me.""
"I know.""
"Then why protect him?""
"I wasn't protecting him.""
She stepped closer.
"I was protecting you.""
I turned around.
"Everyone keeps saying that.""
My voice cracked.
"But nobody understands that hiding things doesn't make them disappear.""
My mom looked at me.
"I know.""
"No, Mom.""
I shook my head.
"You don't.""
I pointed toward the office.
"Dale protected me by signing something. You protected me by hiding something. Jasmine protected herself by lying.""
I paused.
"And my father protected whatever he wanted.""
My mom looked down.
The silence was painful.
But it was honest.
A few minutes later, Dale walked out.
He didn't interrupt.
He just stood beside us.
Finally, he said:
"I found something.""
I looked at him.
"What?""
He held a piece of paper.
"An old copy from my files.""
My eyebrows pulled together.
"Your files?""
He nodded.
"When I signed as guarantor, I kept everything.""
He handed it to me.
The page was old.
Folded.
Worn around the edges.
At the bottom was a section I had never seen.
*Additional Conditions.*
I read it.
My hands started shaking.
"What is this?""
Dale looked at me.
"This is what your father wanted.""
The document said:
*In the event the tenant is unable to maintain occupancy, authorized representative may request reassignment of lease rights.*
I looked up.
"Unable to maintain occupancy?""
Dale nodded.
"That was the language.""
"Why would he write that?""
Dale didn't answer.
Because we all knew.
Control.
Not help.
Control.
My mom looked at the paper.
"I thought he destroyed this.""
Dale turned.
"You knew about this?""
Her face changed.
"Knew about what?""
Dale looked confused.
"You said you thought it was gone.""
My mom froze.
Then she whispered:
"I saw him with it.""
"When?""
She looked at me.
"Last month.""
My heart stopped.
"What?""
My mom's eyes filled with guilt.
"He came to my house.""
Nobody spoke.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
She shook her head.
"Because he said he just wanted to talk.""
Dale's voice hardened.
"What did he ask?""
My mom swallowed.
"He asked about your apartment.""
The rain hit the windows harder.
"What did you tell him?""
"Nothing important.""
I stared at her.
"What does that mean?""
She looked terrified.
"It means I told him you were doing well.""
My stomach dropped.
"Anything else?""
"No.""
She looked away.
Then quietly:
"I told him you were living with a roommate.""
Everything stopped.
Jasmine.
The roommate.
The transfer request.
The timing.
I felt sick.
My father hadn't just found a random opportunity.
He knew.
He knew about the apartment.
He knew about Jasmine.
He knew I was vulnerable.
Dale looked at the old document again.
Then at the new request.
"He's not trying to take the apartment because of the lease.""
I looked at him.
"Then why?""
Dale's face was serious.
"Because the lease is proof.""
"Proof of what?""
"That he still has a way into your life.""
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
Nobody moved.
The screen showed a call.
I stared at it.
I knew before answering.
I knew.
My father had been absent for years.
But somehow, the moment he wanted something, he knew exactly how to reach me.
The call continued ringing.
Dale looked at me.
"You don't have to answer.""
I looked at the phone.
Part of me wanted to ignore it.
Part of me wanted to hear his voice.
After years of silence.
After all these documents.
After all these secrets.
I pressed accept.
"Hello?""
For several seconds, there was only breathing.
Then a man's voice.
Older than I remembered.
Calmer than I expected.
"Kendra.""
My throat tightened.
"How did you get this number?""
A pause.
Then:
"I've always had it.""
I closed my eyes.
"Why are you trying to take my apartment?""
Silence.
Then he said something I never expected.
Something that made everyone in the room freeze.
"I'm not trying to take your apartment.""
I frowned.
"Then what are you doing?""
His voice lowered.
"I'm trying to stop someone else from taking it.""
I looked at Dale.
He looked just as confused as I was.
"What are you talking about?""
My father exhaled.
"Kendra...""
May you like
A pause.
"Do you know who originally gave Jasmine access to your account?""
