Fake it with me
Mariaa don't act like i'm averagei'll let you set the pacedont act like im averagefalling again but not into your arms
Mason's father watched game tape the way other people read contracts.
Frame by frame, pausing at specific moments, rewinding, watching again, building a case from evidence that Mason had learned, over sixteen years, was never going to close in his favor. The television in the living room had been on since seven, the Thursday night replay of last week's game running on mute while his father sat forward on the couch with his elbows on his knees and the particular focused stillness of a man conducting an assessment.