When Jason’s estranged parents appeared on my doorstep, demanding the home he left behind, I knew I was in for a fight I never wanted to have. Still grieving his loss, I braced myself and made them a deal: they could stake their claim if they could answer the one question that haunted Jason until his final breath.
The Beginning of Everything
The day Jason showed up at my door changed both of our lives forever. We were 17. He stood there, backpack slung over his shoulder, eyes red and swollen from crying. His parents had thrown him out with nothing but a few clothes and broken dreams.
My mom took one look at him and ushered him in without hesitation. From that moment on, Jason became part of our family.
We leaned on each other through high school’s awkward years and college’s chaos. I pursued HR, drawn to the complexity of human behavior, while Jason delved into computers, his natural brilliance shining through.
We were inseparable, a team. But life doesn’t let joy last forever. Four years ago, Jason was diagnosed with bone cancer.
The Fight Against Fate
Cancer changed everything. I picked up more hours at work to keep us afloat, handling the mortgage for the house Jason had proudly purchased. Meanwhile, Jason quietly held onto hope—hope that his parents would return, that they’d apologize for abandoning him.
They never did. ….
