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The following morning, Akila had a plan to try to go back home to her father. However, on her way, she started to get cold feet, so she made a wrong turn and headed for her school instead. I have to go back eventually, I guess, she thought to herself. After a few more minutes of walking through the busy sidewalks, she made it to her school. But when she walk inside, she noticed the other students giving her looks.

Oh, just great, Akila thought in annoyance, gone for a couple weeks and now there are tons of rumors about me. Irritated by all of the looks she got, Akila sped up and hurried to her first class. Once in class, to her surprise, someone sat next to her.

Akila turned to see Casey at her side. He stared down at his desk with pitiful eyes and spoke, "I know you probably don't wanna talk about it..but I'm really sorry...about what happened."

"About what happened..?" Akila repeated, obviously beyond confused. 

Casey finally met her eyes. "About..your dad," he clarified somewhat awkwardly. But seeing that Akila had no idea what he was talking about, Casey's eyes widened, "you...don't know?"

"Know what, Casey?" Akila asked desperately; what was going on. Her heart was pounding in her chest; what was going on?

"Where have you been?" Casey questioned carefully.

Akila averted her gaze nervously as she answered, "uh, visiting family, out of state." The she composed herself once again and asked, "what's going on? What happened?"

Casey looked shocked and sorrowful. "Akila...your dad..." Casey whispered. "He drank too much one night..." Casey clarified with sad eyes, "I'm so sorry." But she couldn't even hear him anymore. Akila was too in shock to answer. She felt her heart speed up and her vision blurred. Before she knew what she was doing, she was out of her seat and running.

Akila raced out of the school and down the road until she reached her apartment building. After climbing the fire escape up to her window, she climbed in and ran to her father's bedroom. He wasn't there. Nor was he in the living room. Or the kitchen. He wasn't even in the bathroom. The car was parked right outside, but her father was nowhere to be found.

Akila's legs wobbled and she fell to her knees. Her hands shook, but when she looked down at them, she saw something else. 

"And what is this?" Edward asked as he held up an index card with a picture on it. 

"A duck!" A small child answered proudly. 

"That's right!" Edward praised, "good job, Akila, we're done for today." He smiled and lifted the younger Akila up into his arms, planting a kiss on her temple. 

"Mr. Ed," Akila began, "why won't Mommy kiss my head like you do?"

“Shh, shh,” Edward's eyes darkened as he quickly hushed the toddler, “remember what we talked about?”

The toddler frowned a little. “Oh, I'm not supposed to call her that.”

Edward's eyes held so much emotion that Akila could barely believe this was the man who'd raised her. “...Some mommies...are just very busy," he stated, "but that's why I'm here, Ki." Edward smiled down at the child.

When Akila finally came back to reality, she sat on her knees staring down at her shakey hands. All that time, he was putting on a mask, a positive facade to protect her from the harsh truth. Everything he went through, the situation he was in, the way he did his best to keep Akila happy despite knowing how messed up everything around then was. And then, having to raise her on his own, having to entertain her false memories of a loving mother while having no choice but to keep the truth hidden. It was always only ever going to be a matter of time before he'd break.

But, as upset as she was, Akila did not shed a single tear; she couldn't. How could her dad be dead? It felt like at any moment he'd walk through the front door and ask for a beer. He'd turn on the sports channel and grumble about refs not calling fouls. Never in her entire life did Akila believe that she'd miss that. But now that she'd seen the way he was with her as a child, now that she had seen how much he loved and cared for her, now that he was really gone, she couldn't help but feel an excruciating pain in her heart.

Slowly, Akila rose from the ground and left the apartment; she needed her turtle friends now more than ever. So she walked down a few blocks silently, then through the sewer to the lair. She had only just left the lair a two hours ago, and yet so much had happened.

When Akila entered the hide-out, Leo was just walking through the living room and caught sight of her. "Oh hey, Akila," Leo greeted her with a smile, "did you make it home alright?" When Akila didn't answer, he frowned. "You okay?"

When Akila's eyes met Leo's, the tears that she'd been unable to cry began to flow down her cheeks like small waterfalls. Leo's eyes widened and he quickly made his way to where she was standing. "Hey, what happened?" He asked in concern.

Leo looked around; no one else was around. Putting a gentle hand on her back, he led her over to the living room couch and sat down with her. Then, Akila explained everything. She told him about her memories that she'd been having of her father, and of the horrible truth that she learned earlier this day. "If I had just known how much he loved me," she sobbed as she finished her story, "I could've stopped him from getting so bad..."

"Akila, please don't blame yourself for this," Leo urged. "As much as it hurts, he's gone..." He spoke with heavy sorrow, "thinking of what you could've done will only hurt you even more."

Akila sniffled and wiped at her wet cheeks. "I know," she agreed, but her tears continued to flow, "it's just....so unfair. I..." She felt completly and utterly helpless. After all, now she would never get the chance to tell her father that she understood.

Sitting beside Akila on the couch, Leo put his hand on top of hers comfortingly. "I know it is," he soothed. The conversation went on for a little while longer, but eventually faded into silence.

"Leo," Akila croaked, her head hanging low, "thanks for staying with me."

"Of course," Leo replied with a sweet smile, "and thank you for trusting me enough to tell me all of this."

Akila felt a small, sad grin pull at her lips. "You know what?" She said, her voice still quivering from crying, "wherever he is now, he doesn't have to feel pain anymore. And I'll see him again someday..." I'll see him sober again some day, she thought, I'll see the real Edward...

Leo smiled gently down at Akila. "..You're very strong," he complimented her.

Akila looked up to meet his eyes and blushed when their noses bumped slightly. "Th-thank you," she replied before quickly looking away. 

Leo chuckled at her cute reaction, then stood. "Come on," he began to speak, hoping that Akila will appreciate a little distraction from her racing thoughts, "since you're back so early, you might as well join us for training." He offered his hand to Akila and pulled her to her feet, and she smiled a little. Together, they walked toward the training room, not even noticing that their hands were still clasped together.