Tyson turned down my street, and I held up my hand.

“Drop me off here,” I said.

He nodded and pulled over. I unbuckled my seatbelt and let it slide back. I wanted to leave and stay at the same time. I had a pretty good idea about how Dad was going to react, and I really didn’t want to face him right now. Plus, I knew the moment I got out of the car, the magic of this evening would evaporate like rain on a hot summer day.

“I’m sorry if I got you in trouble,” Tyson said. I felt his gaze on me.

I turned and shrugged. “It’s no biggie. Dad will get over it.” Truth was, I didn’t know if that was true. I’d never done something so grievous that he had to “get over it.” If his inability to move past what Mom did was any indication, then I had no chance of saying anything that would calm him down. Or instill his trust in me again.

“Well, if he grounds you forever, I promise to come visit you.” There was a playful hint to his voice.

I glanced over at him. “I’ll hold you to that. You might have to slay a dragon to get to me, but I expect that you’d chance bodily harm to see me again.”

He did a mini bow in his seat. “Yes, m’lady.”

I grabbed my purse and pulled on the handle. “I’ll see you later.”

Tyson’s expression grew serious. “I hope so.”

I hated it when he did that. When he made me hope. I was pretty sure that it was just his flirty side coming out. He wasn’t intentionally hurting me over and over again. But it did. Every time.

He dropped his smile as if he suddenly realized what he’d said. “Sorry, Tiny. I didn’t mean to—”

I shrugged. “It’s fine. It’s really a fact more than anything else. You will see me on Monday. So…” I shrugged and stepped out onto the curb.

Just then, a yellow Bug drove by. But I ducked down next to his car out of instinct. Once it was gone, I straightened, smoothing out my skirt and shooting him a sheepish look.

“Maybe you should text me tonight. Just so I know that your dad didn’t kill you or anything.”

I snorted. “I think you’d be the one he’d come after if anything.”

His skin paled, and I waved away his worry. “I’m not going to tell him. I want us to go to state as well, and dropping his best player would be stupid.”

He wiped at his brow. “Whew. Thanks.”

Before our conversation went down the path that only led to heartbreak for me, I gave him a thumbs up, stepped away from the car, and shut the door.

I watched as he drove away and then started the long and anxiety-inducing walk to my house. When I got to the front walkway, I glanced up at the windows.

Every light was on.

My stomach squeezed. This wasn’t good.

I took a deep breath and made my way to the front door. After I pushed the door open, I paused, listening.

“I just don’t understand why she would lie to me like that,” Dad’s voice carried from the living room.

My brow furrowed. Who was he talking to?

“She’s a teenage girl. I’m sure it’s not unheard of.”

Was that Ms. Swallow? What was she doing here?

I stepped into the entryway and dropped my purse down on the table. “I’m here.”

I heard scrambling and then Dad appeared.

“Where have you been?” He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Go with an apology. “I’m so sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean for things to get out of hand.”

“You said there weren’t going to be boys there, and then I get a call from Rebecca telling me she can’t find you.” His face reddened from just saying the words.

My thoughts flashed back to the kiss Tyson and I shared and then the image of Dad’s head exploding if he ever found out.

“I realized that the party was getting out of hand, so I left. I forgot to call Bec, and my phone was on silent.” I cringed as the lies kept piling up. But it wasn’t only me that would be affected by Dad finding out about me and Tyson. It could hurt Tyson as well. So I pushed forward. “I decided to walk, which is why I’m home now.”

“Sounds like a responsible move.” Ms. Swallow appeared behind Dad. She gave me an encouraging smile.

“Hey,” I said, nodding at her and then I glanced between the two of them. “What is Ms. Swallow doing here?”

Dad lifted his finger. “Don’t change the subject. I am not the one on trial here. You were out, with boys, and you lied to me.” He sighed. “I’m disappointed, Tiny.”

Ms. Swallow reached out and rested her hand on his forearm. “But she left when she realized that the party was getting out of hand. You have to admit, that shows some good integrity.”

I tried not to grimace. Why was Ms. Swallow still talking? It was like she was heaping the guilt on me. I really wanted her to stop.

“I’m really tired. I just want to go to sleep. We can talk about this in the morning.” I ducked my head and began to walk past them.

Dad grunted, but didn’t say anything more. I wondered if Ms. Swallow had hinted that he should let me go.

Once I moved past them, I glanced into the living room, where the TV was on and there were two glasses of wine and a bowl of popcorn sitting on the coffee table.

Were they on a date? A sour feeling took up residence in my gut. Ugh. What was happening? How could Dad be so upset about me spending time with the opposite sex when he was doing the same thing? It felt hypocritical and made me angry.

But I wasn’t going to push my luck right now. I was going to head upstairs, take a shower, text Rebecca that I was safe, and then go to bed. In the morning, I’d face all my feelings about Ms. Swallow and Dad. And maybe, my feelings about Tyson.

Dad was in the kitchen when I came downstairs the next morning. He was sitting at the table, drinking a mug of coffee. Steam rose from the dark liquid in white wisps.

I nodded to him as I passed by on my way over to the cupboard, where I grabbed a glass and filled it with water. I could feel his gaze on me. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say to him, so I poured myself some cereal and leaned against the counter.

“I wanted to apologize for getting so upset last night.”

I was grateful that he’d decided to be the one to break the silence. I was mid-bite, so I just nodded. Once I’d swallowed, I said, “I’m sorry I misled you. It wasn’t my intention.”

He folded up the newspaper that was spread across the table. “I know you would never intentionally deceive me.”

That statement was like a kick to my gut. Ugh. Why did he have to say that? I felt like a terrible person and an even worse daughter. But I wanted to be able to see Tyson—even though it hurt—and owning up to everything didn’t seem like the smart move to make.

So I shrugged, drank the remaining milk in my bowl, and rinsed it out. “I love you, Dad.” At least that wasn’t another lie.

“I know, Tiny. I love you, too.” He stood and walked over.

When he wrapped me in a hug, the guilt dug deeper into my chest. How had everything become so complicated? Why was me liking a guy so terrible to him? If he just got to know Tyson, then I knew he’d like him too. After all, Tyson was so responsible that he acted like he had the world on his shoulders, and Dad could relate to that.

Maybe that was the solution. If I could just get Tyson and Dad to talk, maybe Dad would realize that Tyson was a good guy and let go of his ridiculous expectation that I die a nun.

It could work.

I gave him a good squeeze, and we broke apart. Dad rinsed out his coffee cup, and I waited around the kitchen. It was Saturday. The day we normally did something, just the two of us.

Dad set his mug down in the sink and then turned. “What do you want to do today?”

I threaded my fingers and cracked my knuckles. “Oh, I was thinking about kicking your butt at mini golf.”

He raised his eyebrows. “I feel a challenge coming on.”

I laughed. “Oh, old man, you don’t want to challenge me.”

“Them are fighting words. You sure you want to go head-to-head with your old man?”

I pretended to punch his bicep. “Oh yeah.”

He laughed and nodded. “Alrighty, Pirate’s Cove it is. But don’t go crying if I beat you.”

“Ha! You always say that and yet never do.” I raised my hands as if I were addressing my adoring fans. “I am reigning champion.”

Dad scoffed. “Well, be prepared to be taken down.” He leaned in and narrowed his eyes. “It’s time.”

“Thirty minutes. I need to shower and get dressed.” I skipped toward the stairs.

“Sounds good,” Dad said as he smiled over at me. “Hey, Tiny?” he called right before I disappeared.

I hesitated and turned. “Yeah?”

“Make sure to bring a bucket for all your tears.”

I laughed a maniacal laugh and then took the stairs two at a time. Once I was showered, I dressed in a pair of shorts and a flowy t-shirt and made my way downstairs to find Dad sitting on the couch, studying his phone.

He leaned over it and typed with his thumbs. Like he was texting someone. But who? I didn’t think that Dad even texted his friends.

“Xavier?” I asked as I grabbed my Converses from the entryway and walked over to the couch.

Dad snapped his gaze up, dropping his phone to his leg. “What?”

I stared at him. Wow, he was acting strange. “Are you texting Xavier?” Then I shook my head. “Wait, that wasn’t what I wanted to ask. What I meant was, since when do you text your friends?”

“I’m not that old. My friends and I text.”

I snorted as I slipped my feet into my shoes. “Right.”

When my gaze made its way over to the coffee table, I saw the wine glasses from the night before.

Ms. Swallow.

How on earth could I have forgotten?

“So, that was weird, huh? Ms. Swallow being here last night.” I eyed him, waiting to see his response.

Just as I suspected, his cheeks flushed pink. “Yeah, it was nice of her to come hang out with an old fart like me.”

Hang out? Old fart? What was with him? He never talked like that and most definitely didn’t act all flustered when talking about another teacher.

“Was it a date?”

“A date? What? No.”

There that voice was again. Something was going on and he was not being truthful about it. “Isn’t there some rule in every parenting book that says you shouldn’t introduce your children to your girlfriend until you’re sure it’s serious?”

My chest squeezed. Why was I reacting this way? What did it matter if he liked Ms. Swallow? I didn’t care. Except, he’d forbidden me to fall in love, and I felt a bit betrayed that he seemed just fine with it happening to him.

“Ms. Swallow is not my girlfriend.” He sighed and leaned back. “And if she were, there’s not a lot I can do about you not meeting her. She is your teacher.”

I stood, suddenly feeling really anxious. “Ugh, Dad. Why would you even entertain the idea of you and her? What happened to ‘love sucks’? You always say that boys leave you brokenhearted and pregnant.”

Dad laughed, making me more upset. I hated that he thought I was being funny. “Angelica is not a hormonal teenage boy. I figured I didn’t have to make that clear.”

I rolled my eyes. “Because every boy is just out to take my flower…” Back track. This was not a conversation I wanted to have with my dad. “I mean, virtue.”

Dad’s face turned bright red. How had this conversation gone so horribly? I swallowed and tried to still my frustration.

“It just feels a little hypocritical that you’re here, unsupervised with a member of the opposite sex, and yet I can’t go to a fully staffed party with some boys.” I folded my arms.

A stony expression passed over his face. He stood, tucked his phone into his pocket and then folded his arms. “The difference is, I am an adult. You are a child. While you are under my roof, you will follow my rules. I don’t have to explain myself or my actions.”

He walked over to the front door and opened it. “Now, are you ready to play?”

I stared at him. This was not cool in so many ways. Dad had never acted like this before. And maybe it was because I was rebelling. But I was beginning to realize that maybe it wasn’t me. Maybe it was him. And right now, he was the one that needed to change.

So I slipped my shoes off and shook my head. “I’m not in the mood anymore,” I said as I turned and headed back up to my room.