The apartment still smells faintly like her perfume. Something subtle and probably inexpensive but somehow memorable.
I need to stop noticing things like that.
My phone rings. Maya.
"Hey."
"Did you get my messages?" She sounds stressed. More than usual.
"Yeah, sorry. Practice ran long. What's up?"
"Dad called. He wants me to visit him in Minneapolis this weekend." Silence. "I don't want to go."
My jaw tightens. "Then don't."
"He says it's important. That we need to 'have a conversation about my future.'" The way she says it, I can hear the air quotes. "I think he's going to try to make me quit therapy again."
Our father doesn't believe in therapy. He thinks it's a weakness. That mental health is something you just push through with discipline and hard work.
It nearly killed Maya last year.
"You're eighteen. He can't make you do anything."
"But he pays for school and if he decides I'm 'not taking my future seriously'—" Another air quote. "—he'll cut me off. Then I can't afford the private school, can't afford therapy, can't afford anything."
"I'll pay for it."
"Carter, you can't afford?—"
"I'll figure it out. But you're not going back there if you don't want to and you're definitely not quitting therapy because Dad's an asshole." I pace to the window. "Comehere instead. This weekend. Stay with me. We'll figure out the Dad situation together."
"Really?"
"Really. I'll pick you up Friday after your last class. We can get dinner, hang out, you can come to my game Saturday."
She's quiet for a moment. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds good."
"Good. Text me your flight details."
"I'm driving. It's only four hours."
"Maya—"
"I need independence, Carter. I need to know I can do things without everyone hovering." Her voice softens. "But thank you. For letting me come. For always letting me come."
"You're my sister. You can always come."
After we hang up, I stare at my phone, anxiety building in my chest.
Maya's visit is good. I want to see her, make sure she's okay, be there for her, but it also means she'll be here during the Lennox interviews. During practices she might observe. During a time when I'm supposed to be making the journalist's life difficult.
And Maya has a sixth sense for when I'm being an asshole.
She's also been asking questions about whether I'm becoming like our father. The last thing I need is for her to see me bullying someone. Well not bullying, because I’m not doing that, but not making someone's job easy.
I need to recalibrate. Find a balance between not making this easy for Lennox and not being cruel in front of my sister.
Fuck.
