His Daughter Is Now 13 And Wants To Meet Him, But He’s Not Ready
Many people who become parents when they’re teenagers find that their lives change in so many ways, and the future may look nothing like they intended.
A man recently decided he wasn’t ready to meet his teenage daughter, who he had with his estranged high school girlfriend and former best friend.
He’s 29 and had a childhood friend named Sara, who was the same age. They met in elementary school and became very close rather quickly.
One of the best parts of his friendship with Sara is that she started bringing him around her house to hang out with her family, which was great for him, as he grew up with somewhat absent parents who worked a lot.
Before he met Sara, he felt like he was a lonely kid. Then, as they got closer and he got to know her big family, he felt as though he had a second family that would always welcome him.
“Sara’s mother began inviting me over every day after school to eat and spend the afternoon with them,” he said.
“I practically became her fourth child. Her family raised me, and I thrived with them. I [went from] a shy little kid to a confident and lively child.”
After a while, his parents and Sara‘s parents became friends, and they started taking family trips together, which made him very happy.
Everything changed when he and Sara entered high school, and they started having feelings for each other. They dated for a year and a half before Sara became pregnant, which caused their downfall.
shchus – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Sara’s dad was very traditional and old-fashioned, so when he learned that his daughter was pregnant, he became furious.
His parents offered to take care of Sara and support her pregnancy, but her dad wasn’t having it and shipped her off to a center for abused mothers in another city. Sara was banned from having any visitors and was practically living in a prison until she had their daughter put up for adoption under the orders of her dad.
“The guilt I felt for Sara and for the loss of my family broke me completely,” he explained.
“When Sara returned after having the baby, we couldn’t connect anymore. It was too much for me, and I started using [drugs] at 16.”
He was a wreck after everything that happened between him and Sara, but after some hard work and healing, he was able to pull himself together.
He’s been clean for eight years, finished college, got a great job, and met a woman with two children. He now lives with all of them and has tried to move on from his painful past.
But recently, his past came knocking when Sara called him a few days ago.
She told him she had gained custody of their daughter four years ago after she went through two failed adoptions. Their daughter is now 13, and she and Sara have been living at Sara’s family house, giving him the impression they’ve all repaired their relationships.
Sara told him their daughter had been asking about him and asked him if he would be interested in meeting her.
“I want to meet my daughter and Sara, but I’m stunned by how close she remains to her parents despite what they did to her,” he admitted.
“I’m afraid that if I accept, I’ll have to meet her parents [again] too, and I’m not ready for that. I’ve never gotten over the fact that her mother stopped speaking to me after we told her about the pregnancy.”
After learning that his daughter was back in Sara’s care, he’s determined to do what he can to support them financially, including sending child support and starting a college fund.
Still, he’s unsure if he’s ready to re-enter their lives after everything that went down.
Should he consider meeting his daughter?
You can read the original post on Reddit here.
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