Chapter Twenty

Asher’s car rolls to a stop outside my house. The lights are off—good. My parents must already be asleep. I’m exhausted, drained, and all I want is my bed and silence.

“Good night,” I murmur, already reaching for the door handle.

It doesn’t budge.

I blink and turn back. “Asher… the car is locked.”

He frowns as if confused. “Really?”

He leans closer—too close—and while pretending to check the lock, his hand slides onto my thigh.

My breath stutters.

“I swear, red is your color,” he murmurs, his palm rubbing slow circles over my skin. “It matches you so well.”

His fingers creep upward, tugging at the edge of my dress like he’s entitled to what’s underneath.

I shift away. “Asher, I’m tired. Let’s… let’s talk tomorrow.”

He laughs under his breath. “Playing hard to get, huh?” His hand climbs higher.

I slap it away—hard. “Seriously, Asher? We just got back together, and this is what you’re doing? Were you that horny that you called me—”

“No, Catherine.” He cuts me off quickly. “No. I missed you. Missed us. Touching you… hearing your heartbeat… kissing you…”

He leans in, his eyes dropping to my lips. His face inches closer, closer—

But something in me stays frozen.

And something else whispers: No.

“We’re moving too fast, Asher. This feels… weird and—”

“Fine, Catherine. Have it your way.”

He snaps the words like an insult and hits the lock.

I get out and slam the door, watching his taillights streak down the street before disappearing completely. A sigh spills out of me—long and shaky. After being apart for weeks, he doesn’t even feel familiar anymore.

I step inside, fumbling for the switch—only for the lights to flick on before I touch them.

“Mom— you scared me!” I jump back. She’s leaning against the wall in her nightwear like some silent movie ghost. “Why didn’t you keep the lights on? And why are you sneaking around?”

I kick off my shoes and head for the couch.

“I was worried,” she says, following me. “Is this how you always stay out late?”

She sits beside me as I grab the water bottle and take a long gulp.

“Wasn’t that your ex-boyfriend’s car? I could recognize it from hell.”

“Mom…” I groan.

“Why are you still seeing him? He broke things off with you. You want to stay with a guy who cheated on you?” Her voice is dripping with pure disgust. “I raised you better.”

“You barely raised me, Mom. Let’s at least agree on that.”

I turn on the TV, just to have something else filling the air.

She exhales sharply. “So what about Dominic? Alice’s brother.”

I look at her. “Alice’s younger brother, Mom. A nerd. With… beautiful eyes and a beautiful face, I guess.”

The words tumble out before I can stop them. “One day he’s going to wake up and become that guy—the one everyone wants. The one with the perfect job and the brilliant life because he’s super intelligent and good and kind… and then he’ll realize I have nothing meaningful to offer him.”

My voice cracks, just a little.

“So forgive me if I’m trying to avoid that day.”

I grab my shoes and stomp upstairs before she can say anything else.

I slam the door shut.

I didn’t mean any of that—I just needed to get away from her eyes, from the way she looks at me like she can see right through my chest.

I flop onto my bed, legs dangling before I drag them up. The ceiling swims. God, I must have made Dominic so mad. I stalked him to a concert… only to run straight back to Asher like an idiot.

“I’m so stupid. So, so stupid.”

A hollow laugh slips out, breaking halfway. I bury my face in the pillow, letting the tears spill hot and endless. All Asher cared about was getting his hands under my dress. What was I expecting? Him on his knees? Some apology that would magically fix everything?

A soft knock taps at my door.

Before I can lift my head, it opens.

Mom steps inside.

“I didn’t give you permission to walk in,” I snap, muffled by the pillow. My head is pounding. “Please, Mom… I just want to be alone right now.”

She doesn’t listen.

She never does.

The mattress dips under her weight, and I wipe my nose on the corner of the pillow, trying—failing—to pull myself together.

“Don’t shut me out, Catherine.”

Her voice is soft, careful—like she’s approaching a wounded animal. “I’m your mother, and even though we haven’t always been there the way we should have… you should know how much I love you. How much I care. You’re my daughter. Our princess.”

Her hand slides over my hair, gentle in a way that breaks me a little more.

“I love you,” she whispers. “And you’re still too young for this emotional rollercoaster this boyfriend of yours is putting you through.”

“Mom…” my voice cracks. “We’ve been together for three years. How am I supposed to just let it all go, Mom?”

My chest folds in on itself. You build something for years… and then it just crashes, burns, disappears like it meant nothing.

She pulls me into her arms before I collapse completely, nudging my shaking body against her. I cry into her shoulder, loud and hopeless and tired.

“How can I just let it go,” I whisper again, choking on the words.

“I know,” she murmurs, stroking the back of my head. “I understand. But you don’t have to figure it out alone, okay? I’m here. And we just have to know if you still love him. It doesn’t matter if it takes days, or weeks, or months to understand how you truly feel…”

She presses her cheek to my hair.

“Mom will be right here.”

She let me cry like an idiot—until the headache crawled in, until my eyes burned and my throat felt scraped raw.

“It’s okay, baby. Mom is here,” she whispered, holding me tighter.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, curled into each other on the bed, but at some point the exhaustion dragged me under.

When I blinked awake again, sunlight was already flooding through the curtains, too bright, too sharp. It stabbed at my eyes.

I push myself up slowly, wincing. Mom must have gone back to her room.

My head is pounding like hell.

I shower quickly and put on just enough makeup to hide the bags under my eyes. My head still feels heavy, but I grab my backpack anyway. I still have to go to school. I still have to survive the whole Asher telling me to break up with Dominic in front of everyone disaster.

I step into the hallway. It’s quiet—too quiet—so I turn right toward Mom’s room. But as I get closer, the quiet breaks.

“Fred, can you toss me the bag on your right? I need to pack a few more things,” Mom says.

“You have three bags packed already,” Dad groans. “You have more than enough.”

My stomach sinks. They’re leaving again. Like always. They’re going to leave.

I push the door open.

“You’re not the one carrying the bag on your head, Fred, so let me pack what I want in peace,” Mom snaps, brushing past him to grab the bag herself.

“Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad,” I say quietly.

Mom gives me a smile while tossing clothes into her already-overstuffed bag.

Dad shakes his head. “Great. You might as well carry the whole house.”

“Your flight is this morning,” I whisper.

Dad turns to Mom, stunned. “I thought you said Catherine was the one begging you for this.”

“She was, but I—”

“Beatrice, don’t tell me this was your idea.”

I lift a brow. “You guys are leaving again? Don’t beat yourselves up about it. I’m used to it.”

Dad hisses under his breath and stomps out of the room, annoyed.

I turn to Mom. “What’s up with him?”

“We’re going on a vacation, and your money-minded father is scared of losing a client,” she says.

“What—wait.”

“We’re going to our lake house. As a family.”

A smile breaks across my face at the same time hers does. She laughs.

“No boys,” she adds.

I nod, almost laughing too. “No boys.”