Page 223 of Dream On, Liar

My chest felt strangely calm.

“But you're not going to be part of my life. I don't want anything from you anymore. I don't want your approval. I don't want your money. I don't want your name.”

His face twisted.

“And I don't want a single part of you in my life.”

The last word hung between us just as someone grabbed my arm.

I flinched.

The pitch disappeared.

The stadium shifted.

I blinked hard as I settled back into reality.

“Hey.”

Maeve.

She stood beside me, one hand still curled around my forearm.

Her brows were drawn together.

“What's wrong?”

I looked at her.

For a second, I couldn't place the difference between memory and reality. Then I breathed. The evening air smelled different here.

Cooler. Damp. Real.

I rubbed a hand down my face. “Just thinking about what my father would say if he were here. Got lost in the idea of it, I guess.”

Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “Anything good?”

I looked at her, a smile tugging at my mouth. “Does me telling him to kindly fuck off count?”

Her lips twitched. “Then yes.”

I laughed under my breath.

The sound felt foreign after everything else.

The first drop of rain landed against my cheek.

I tilted my head upwards.

Another touched my forehead.

Then another.

Maeve didn't move.

Neither did I.

“My dad told me you talked to him.”