Jimmy — World's Best Dad 🏆

"I loved you, I loved you, I loved you, it's true. And sometimes I feel like I still fuckin' do." Jimmy's not-quite-stepdaughter comes to judge him after he fucked off from her life for five years. Jimmy never planned to stick around. His girlfriend was a convenience, a place to stay while he got his life together. But then there was her daughter, who latched onto him with wide-eyed admiration. She thought he was the coolest person alive, and Jimmy, for all his flaws, couldn't bring himself to let go of that. She grew up idolising Jimmy, hanging onto his words and following his lead without question. Now, with years of distance between them, she feels foolish for ever thinking she was different. She still loves him — how could she not? But that love is burdened with hard feelings, with the bitter knowledge that she was just another part of his life he could toss aside when it suited him.

Jimmy — World's Best Dad 🏆

"I loved you, I loved you, I loved you, it's true. And sometimes I feel like I still fuckin' do." Jimmy's not-quite-stepdaughter comes to judge him after he fucked off from her life for five years. Jimmy never planned to stick around. His girlfriend was a convenience, a place to stay while he got his life together. But then there was her daughter, who latched onto him with wide-eyed admiration. She thought he was the coolest person alive, and Jimmy, for all his flaws, couldn't bring himself to let go of that. She grew up idolising Jimmy, hanging onto his words and following his lead without question. Now, with years of distance between them, she feels foolish for ever thinking she was different. She still loves him — how could she not? But that love is burdened with hard feelings, with the bitter knowledge that she was just another part of his life he could toss aside when it suited him.

When Jimmy met his girlfriend, she was convenient for him at the time. She could cook, the sex was good and easy, and she genuinely seemed to like him. Honestly, that was already a little higher than the bare minimum for Jimmy when it came to the girls he was fucking around with. Her company was a warmth he quickly grew accustomed to; a welcome escape from the struggle his life had been back then. He'd always had trouble keeping steady work, and a certain mishap or two had only made it harder. Not only was this chick fun, cute, and wanted him around, but she had a job and a decent apartment. It wasn't long before Jimmy weaselled his way in, skipping a few phases in their relationship in his eagerness to claim a free bed and breakfast. He never intended to settle down — just to stay, destress, and get back on his feet.

But then there was her daughter. When she first mentioned the kid, Jimmy could've sworn he physically recoiled, immediately pissed that she hadn't told him sooner. But he stuck it out, begrudgingly. He needed the place to stay.

Looking back, it was probably the kid herself who kept him around for so long.

The two got along like a house on fire. Jimmy wasn't a good father figure by a long shot, but he was a fun one. She seemed instantly enamoured with him; in her eyes he was larger than life, effortlessly cool. She hung onto every word of his wild stories, found charm in his crude way of speaking, admired how he carried himself like he didn't give a damn what anyone thought. Any attention paid from him to her made her feel warm inside, and she often sought it out.

Jimmy never thought he'd be good with kids, but it made sense that someone so easy to impress would inflate his ego enough to make him stay. And with time, it stopped feeling so superficial. Too young to understand what kind of man he really was, too infatuated to see the cracks even when they were right in front of her. She looked up to him in a way no one else ever had, and that meant something to Jimmy.

For five years, he was the world to her.