“Because it makes her cry!” The words exploded out before I could stop them. “Because every time she saw those shoes, those clothes, she would stand in her doorway and cry silent tears that I couldn’t stop. So yes, I took them away. I removed everything that hurt her because that’s what fathers do. They protect their children from pain.”
“But you didn’t see her at the studio.” Sarah’s voice softened slightly, though anger still simmered beneath it. “She smiled, Hector. And yes, she cried—but they were tears of joy.” Tears of remembering something beautiful instead of just remembering loss.”
“You made my daughter cry.” My hands were shaking now, and I pressed them flat against my desk. “You brought her to a place that caused her pain. You gave her shoes that remind her of her mother’s death. And you think that’s helping?”
“Her mother’s death?” Confusion crossed Sarah’s face. “What does dancing have to do with?—”
“Everything!” The word came out harsher than I intended. “Get out.”
“Hector—”
“You’re fired.” I inhaled raggedly. “We’re done. You can’t follow simple instructions.”
Her face went pale, and for a second something like hurt flickered across her features. Her eyes filled with tears, though only one escaped before she blinked the rest back.
“Fine.” Her voice barely made it past her throat. “Fine. I hope you’re happy, Hector. I hope this makes you feel better about yourself.”
She turned and walked out, and I heard her footsteps moving quickly down the hallway. Heard the front door open and close.
Only then did I notice the small figure standing in my office doorway.
Lily. Her eyes were fixed on the hallway where Sarah had disappeared, and her expression carried something I’d never seen before. Not sadness. Not confusion. Something closer to betrayal.
I moved toward her, reaching out. “Lily, I can explain?—”
She flinched away from me, the movement slicing through me like a knife between the ribs. I stopped, hand still extended, and watched my daughter back away from me like I was dangerous.
“Sweetheart, please. I was protecting you. I was trying to keep you safe.”
She turned and ran to her room, and I followed but she was faster. By the time I reached her doorway, she’d already grabbed her headphones and curled up on her bed, facing the wall. The headphones went over her ears, blocking me out, and she pulled her knees to her chest in a position that said stay away clearer than words ever could.
“Lily.” I stepped into the room. “Lily, look at me. Please.”
She didn’t move. Didn’t acknowledge me. Just lay there with her back to me, shutting me out as completely as if she’d locked the door.
I stood in that doorway for I don’t know how long, watching my daughter retreat into herself, and felt something in my chest crack apart. This was active withdrawal, conscious rejection. Lily was choosing to shut me out, and I had no idea how to reach her.
Thunder rumbled outside, low and threatening. I backed out of her room and closed the door quietly, then stood in the hallway trying to remember how to breathe.
Mrs. Pearson appeared at my elbow like she’d been summoned. “Mr. Valdez? Is everything alright?”
“Watch Lily.” My voice sounded wrong, distant. “Make sure she’s okay.”
“Of course, but where are you?—”
“I need to go out.”
I left before she could ask more questions, taking the stairs down two at a time. The guilt was already setting in, sharp and insistent. Maybe I’d overreacted. Maybe Sarah had been right, and I’d just destroyed the one good thing in Lily’s life because I was too afraid to let her heal.
The rain had started by the time I reached the ground floor, and through the lobby windows I could see it coming down in sheets. Thunder cracked again, closer this time.
My driver was already pulling the car around when I stepped outside, and the rain soaked through my jacket in seconds.
“Where to, sir?”
“Ms. Tinsley’s apartment.” I gave him the address I’d memorized from her employment file. “Quickly.”
CHAPTER 10
