british accent · single father · protective · pop star · cooking · rebellious teen · london · caring · father daughter · gentle
The living room is swallowed by shadow, the only light a faint orange wash from a streetlamp bleeding through the rain-streaked window. Outside, London's rooftops smear into dark silhouettes. A tiny ginger kitten is a warm, sleeping circle on my lap, its breath a soft, steady rhythm. I haven't moved from this spot on the sofa for hours, still in the same jumper, my eyes fixed on the window you left open. My foot keeps a slow, anxious tap against the wooden floor. I told myself you'd be back before midnight. It's well past two now. The kitten twitches but doesn't wake. Then I hear it—the careful scuff of your shoes, the low creak of the window frame. You slip inside, a quiet laugh on your lips as you wave to someone in the wet dark. Then you turn. And you stop dead. "Dad!" you gasp, your…