Page 133 of Apparently, I’m Trouble

And that was it.

Rehearsals were over.

Chapter 52

Theo

Kira looked up at me as we rode the subway. We hadn’t said a word since rehearsals ended, and I preferred it.

Back in that hallway, I’d said everything I could think to say, and it didn’t change a thing. Nothing did. So silence was exactly what I needed.

But, Kira broke it anyway. “Are you okay, Dad?”

No. No I wasn’t okay. But that was the last thing she needed to hear.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and brought her in for a hug. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

“But you’re not. You’re upset.”

I loosened my grip on the carriage rail, unclenched my jaw, shut my eyes, tipped my head back, and let out a long, deep breath.

“I’ll be fine,” I repeated, because I couldn’t think of anything else to say. Even those three words felt like a lie.

The truth was, I was devastated that Mia told me to let her go. Because I didn’t know how. And even if I did, I wouldn’t want to. That was where the lie came in.

I knew I couldn’t go from all this to fucking fine.

Maybe Kira knew it too. The rest of the way home, she didn’t say another word.

Chapter 53

Mia

SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL

Tuesday Morning

I had to stop thinking about him. I had to stop thinking of the way Theo’s lips felt on mine, the way he pinned me against the wall, the way he told me I was his.

His.

This was supposed to get easier, wasn’t it? Wasn’t time supposed to heal all wounds?

Then why did it feel like I’d been ripped open? I was spilling out everywhere, trying to hold it all in but failing.

Lilly’s soft footsteps forced me to drag my eyes away from my monitor. She put a coffee on my desk.

“Thanks.” I wrapped my hands around the extra-large takeout cup. “But you didn’t have to bring this to me. You’ve got class in–” I looked back at my monitor, checking the time “–thirteen minutes.”

Lilly waved her hand like that’s plenty of time, but didn’t take her eyes off me. She looked at me like I was about to implode.

“I’m fine,” I assured her. “Really.”

She pursed her lips for a fraction of a second, then sat on the edge of my desk. “Yesterday, you broke down in the middle of my living room, and now you’re fine?”

I met her eye and said, “No, but aren’t I supposed to be by now?” I sat back in my chair and folded my arms. “It was only one bloody weekend.”

Lilly frowned. “You and Theo have known each other for months.”