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I was a mess, and it wasn’t getting any better. Atticus wasn’t what I needed, and I knew better than to hope he’d be anything but what he had been.

The bitterness always stayed, however.

I was in a delicate place. Jade finding out terrified me. Her keeping her distance made me want to find her.

We could fight it out. I’d take her yelling at me. I’d take her hating me.

I just needed to see her.

“So, what’s the plan for heading back to San Francisco?” he asked.

My shoulders slumped. This was the last thing I wanted to talk about. “I’m waiting for my apartment to be done, and then I’ll be gone, just like last time.”

Atticus hummed and then watched me carefully. “How do you feel about that?”

I paused. “What?”

“I asked how you feel about it.”

“Since when do you care about how I feel?” The words came out harsher than I meant them to, but I didn’t have it in me to rein it in.

Atticus didn’t take the bait. Instead, he took a deep breath. “You’re upset.”

For a long moment, I only stared. Had I fallen asleep and woken up in a different world where Atticus cared about me?

No. I was awake. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I was awake.

I still needed to be the Gabriel he knew. “I’m . . . fine.”

“What do you need?” he asked.

My entire body tightened. “I-I don’t need anything.”

“I think you do.” He crossed his arms.

“Why are you pushing me? Usually, you let me do whatever I want.”

“You’re right. I do.” He sighed. “But I don’t think that’s what you need this time. I don’t think I’ve been what you need for a while.”

I blinked. “W-what?”

“You’re conflicted.” I didn’t like how right he was. “Is it about leaving?”

Something churned in my gut. I’d been trying not to think about it. Even the thought of packing triggered hives. Jade had been right. I was upset by it, but I didn’t want to talk about it.

“Why are you here?”

“To talk.”

“No! Why are you here? You’ve never been my dad before. Why are you trying now?”

“Because I care.”

I scoffed. I shouldn’t have been like this, but the resentment I’d held onto all these years spilled over. He was here now . . . for what? He’d never felt bad before. “Do you?”

“Yes. You know I do.”

I closed my eyes. I knew he’d done a lot for me. He’d always been there when I asked him to be. But nothing more. “On your terms, yeah. I know.”