Page 4 of Fame & Rhythm

I let out a sharp breath. “You and Dad swear all the time.”

“Yes, but we’re adults,” she replies.

“So am I.”

Dad huffs a quiet laugh, like I’ve just said something ridiculous. “Sweetheart, you’re thirteen. You’ve got a long way to go before you’re an adult.”

Something inside me snaps. “Right. Of course. Because I’m just a kid, so nothing I do matters, right?”

“That’s not what I said,” Dad replies, his tone firmer now.

“Then what are you saying?” I shoot back. “Because from where I’m standing, you couldn’t even give us thirty minutes. Thirty minutes, Dad. That’s all it was.”

“Annie—”

“No, don’t,” I cut in, my voice tightening. “Everyone else stayed. Everyone else watched. But you two just… walked out. I bet my ‘real’ parents would have been proud of me, and would have wanted to watch me perform.”

“Annie!” Ella’s hand settles on my shoulder, steady, grounding.

“Lennox…” Aston warns quietly.

I shake my head, pushing past it. “I needed you here,” I say, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “Just this once.”

Dad’s expression hardens, something shifting behind his eyes.

Mum’s face is bereft. “We didn’t leave because we don’t care,” Mum says. “We had something important to deal with.”

“And it couldn’t wait?” I ask.

Dad steps closer, his presence suddenly a lot more commanding. “Enough,” he says, low and firm.

The room goes quiet.

“You’re upset, and I get that. But you don’t get to speak to us like that. Not in front of everyone.”

I swallow, my chest tight, anger and something else twisting together. “It mattered to me,” I say, quieter now, but no less sharp. “And you weren’t here.”

There’s a beat of silence.

Then Dad exhales. “We heard you. And we’re proud of you. But we’ll talk about this properly later. Not like this.”

I let out a shaky breath, shaking my head as frustration claws back in. “Yeah… sure.”

I pull away from Ella, dragging a hand through my hair.

“Annie—” Mum starts.

“Save it,” I mutter, already turning away. “This is just… unfair.”

“Life’s not always fair, Annie,” Dad calls after me.

That does it.

I wrap my arms around myself as I walk out, heat burning behind my eyes. Away from the room. Away from everyone who just watched me lose it.

My chest tightens, the weight of it all crashing in at once.

Because the worst part?