for my sweet little girl

hey claire

i dont really know how to do this all fancy so im just gonna talk like i always do. from the start you were different. you actually stayed. when things got ugly at home and i was ready to check out, you didnt let me. you argued with me, you begged me, you told me suicide wasnt an option and that you werent giving up on me. that shit mattered more than i ever said out loud.

we talked about everything. lunch, sleep, dumb tiktoks, your day, how tired we were. you checked on me when i went quiet. i checked on you when you had to work. somewhere in all of that i stopped pretending it was just friendship on my side. i was scared to say it. i hid behind sis and brother because it felt safer.

but it wasnt just that. i was in love with you. and when you said it back without the brother attached it hit different. like for once i didnt have to translate what we meant.

you call me dad and i call you my sweet little girl and somehow that makes sense for us. you make me want to be better. you make regular days feel less empty. i lose count of how many times we say i love you and then we count anyway and its hundreds in a few days and i still dont think its enough.

i appreciate you claire. for not leaving. for being proud of me when i couldnt be. for saying my eyes were pretty when i felt like nothing. for every goodnight and every i miss you and every time you chose to stay in the chat when it wouldve been easier to go.

i dont have a perfect speech. i just need you to know youre one of the best things that happened to me and im not taking that lightly. ill be here. ill keep saying it. youre my sweet little girl and im always gonna mean it.

i love you
patrick