After my parents split up, they just got rid of their daughter
I begged her, but Mum was absolutely firmshe chucked my stuff quickly into a rucksack, handed me some cash and chucked me out of the house. Honestly, Id always thought of us as a pretty normal family: mum, dad, me and then good old Grandad Walter. Things seemed to be going well for my parents, at least for a while but then Mum just sort of stopped looking after herself and Dad went off and found someone else.
Dads new girlfriend was a lot younger than him and soon enough, she was pregnant with his child. Mum just couldnt forgive him for the betrayal. So Dad moved out to live with his new partner, and both my parents started to build separate liveswith absolutely no space for me in either one of them.
It all sort of came to a head when I was finishing Year 9. Mum brought home this new boyfriend, who was much younger than herI wasnt having any of it. At the same time, I started hanging out with the wrong crowd: drinking too much, chopped my hair short and dyed it bright pink. Mum didnt bat an eyelid, honestly didnt care at all, so I just carried on, acting out. After my first year of sixth form, another row ended with Mum throwing me out to the street.
She told me, Listen carefully: youre a grown girl now, and just like your dad, I deserve my own shot at happiness. Pack your things and go live with your dad! I didnt really have a choice, except to beg her to forgive me, but she just ignored my pleas, stuffed my bits into my rucksack, and bundled me out the front door.
When I turned up at Dads, he just looked at me and said, You know, this flat actually belongs to my wife, and she wont want you here. Youll have to go back to your mother, sort things out with her. And just like that, he slammed the door in my face.
I was lost. All I could think to do was buy a train ticket with the little money I had. A lot has happened since that day. I ended up travelling to a little town up north, enrolled at the local college, and after finishing, got a job as a kitchen assistant.
Not long after that, I met someone special, fell in love, got married, and later we bought our own flat together. My husband would always encourage me to make peace with my parents. He grew up in care, never really knew what a mums love was, and really understood how tough it is being on your own.
But I kept putting it off. It went on like that until he said to me, Youre luckyyouve actually got a mum and dad. Because of your pride, youre choosing the life of an orphan. You cant go on like this. We all make mistakes, were only human. You need to go see your parents and sort it out with them.
So off we went to my home town. When we got to my old house and rang the bell, it was my parents who answered, both looking older than I remembered. The second Mum saw me, she dropped to her knees and started begging me to forgive her. That was the moment I realised I had forgiven them ages ago honestly, but never wanted to admit it, not even to myself.
We went inside together, I introduced my husband to Mum and Dad and told them they were going to be grandparents. My parents admitted to me that theyd managed to make up after they both started looking for me, and that my disappearance had actually brought them back togetherthey were a proper family again.
As it turns out, Dads second wife, seeing how much he missed Mum, let him go; and soon after, she married the man shed actually cheated with. Dad had honestly believed that girl was carrying his child, which is why hed left us, but it turned out she didnt even know whose the baby was.
After the divorce, she got a DNA testturns out my dad had nothing to do with the baby. Now, my parents are happy. Im happy. Honestly, this is what I dreamed of as a teenager: Mum and Dad, back under the same roof.
