Supposed to be

The only greater agony in this world than knowing your child is hurting, is knowing you contributed to the pain. Only a parent truly understands that any pain they ever felt before, doesn’t even reach how you feel when your kid is suffering. The burning ache that you would literally die for them to stop never fades.

You’re supposed to be the best parent you’re capable of, and knowing you failed feels like an inexcusable fate. There are no excuses. There is only getting your fucking shit together and fixing what you screwed up. When my son first came to find me, I thought I had to do whatever it took not to cry in front of him. I thought he needed some sort of cookie-cutter perfect father figure who had all his ducks in a fucking row to make up for the time lost with him.

( He never needed that from me. I soon learned that it’s impossible not to cry when your kid is in pain... )

MARK CAMPBELL // Original Character