The hospital smelled like sanitizer and plastic. I wrinkled my nose as I walked past the front desk. Ms. Swallow nodded at the woman sitting behind it and motioned toward the hall.

They must have known each other because all she got was a courtesy wave before the woman returned to the computer on her desk.

I let Ms. Swallow lead me down the hallway. She hesitated in front of room 43B. I studied it as she reached up and knocked.

The door opened and a nurse came out.

“Oh, hello. You must be Josh’s wife and”—she glanced around to look at me—“his daughter?”

I watched as Ms. Swallow’s cheeks turned pink. “I’m not his wife,” she whispered.

“But I’m his daughter. Can I see him?” I asked, stepping around Ms. Swallow and nodding toward the door.

The nurse nodded. “Of course.”

I didn’t wait for Ms. Swallow. Instead, I entered the room. The farther I walked, the slower my gait became. Did I want to see him? Pain gripped my heart as realization sank in.

I could have lost Dad today. It could have been a lot worse than a broken leg and a concussion. And if he had died, where would I be? With Mom? I scoffed. That was a joke.

No. If Dad had died, I would be alone. Like alone, alone. As the weight of the day and this realization settled in around me, I felt tears sting my eyes.

I couldn’t believe that I had been so angry before. I had lied to Dad about where I was going and who I was spending time with. And the stupid part of all of this was that I’d tried to trade the person who cared about me for a guy who dropped me the moment things got hard.

Dad was right—boys were trouble. All they did was lead you along and then break your heart. From this moment on, I wasn’t going to allow anyone to derail me from what was important. I would never lie to Dad about who I was seeing. I would be upfront and honest. Always.

The clicking of the machines grew louder as I passed the bathroom and saw Dad lying on the hospital bed. His head was wrapped in a bandage. His left leg was raised higher than the other, propped up on a pillow. I sucked in my breath as I studied the white gauze on his leg.

Half his face was scuffed up and puffy. Like he’d landed on it. His eyes were closed, and I contemplated turning around and leaving him to sleep.

If I were honest with myself, I was being a little selfish. I didn’t want to see him like this. It broke my heart, even more than it already was. Why hadn’t I just gone with him to Pirate’s Cove? He wouldn’t have been with Ms. Swallow. He wouldn’t have been in the crosswalk, where that jerk hit him.

Even though I was inclined to blame myself, when I really thought about it, it was all Ms. Swallow’s fault. Why had she even called Dad in the first place? And who had picked that restaurant?

I turned to glare at her as she walked in and touched Dad’s arm, the arm that had an IV sticking out of it.

“Why are you here?” I asked, wincing at the bite in my tone.

If I’d learned anything these past few days, it was that Dad and I were better off alone. All we needed was each other. He didn’t need Ms. Swallow, and I didn’t need Tyson. If we could just go back to the way things were, I’d be happy, and Dad…well, I’m sure he’d be happy as well.

Ms. Swallow’s gaze made its way over to me. I must have had a menacing look because her eyes widened. “Your dad wanted me to bring you here,” she said, her voice low, as if she’d felt the full weight of my accusation without me having to say anything.

I felt like I should smile and say it was fine, that she could totally stay. Instead, I opened my mouth and said, “Well, you did that. You can go home now.”

I couldn’t meet her gaze, so I focused on grabbing a nearby chair and pulling it toward Dad’s bed. Once I’d settled in, I glanced over to where she still stood.

She’d dropped her attention back to Dad’s face. His eyes were still closed. That man could sleep through an alien invasion. Her fingers still lingered on his arm, and for some reason, that really bugged me.

“I’ll let you know when he’s up,” I lied. I folded my arms. Was she really going to make me say it? I had the power here. After all, I was family and she wasn’t.

Thankfully, she took the hint and nodded as she shouldered her purse. “Sorry. You’re right. You should have some time with your dad.” She tucked a curl behind her ear. “I’ll have my uncle tow your dad’s car here so you have something to drive. His keys are most likely in his belongings.” She nodded toward the closet on my right.

“Sounds good,” I said. I really needed her to leave before I broke down. I didn’t want to give her another reason to stick around.

She sighed and then took a few steps toward the door. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything.”

I hated how nice she was being to me. It made disliking her that much harder. “Yep,” I said, emphasizing the p.

She took one last look around then walked out into the hall, shutting the door behind her.

Now alone, I let my gaze sweep the room and, every so often, I let it linger on Dad’s face. Regret and anger built up in my chest as I studied him. Why was I such a terrible daughter? I was ridiculous if I thought it was okay to run around with a boy behind Dad’s back.

He deserved better than that. He’d always protected me. Why was this any different?

Exhaustion overtook me, so I brought up my foot and rested it on my seat. I used my knee as a tool to prop my head up, I relaxed and let my eyes close.

“Tiny?”

I bolted up from where I had hunched over. I winced as the crick in my neck tightened. “Dad?” I asked.

He was sitting up in his bed with a tired expression. When I met his gaze, his eyes widened. “How did you get here?”

I rubbed the knot in my shoulders with one hand while I dragged the chair closer to him with the other. “Ms. Swallow brought me.”

He glanced around the room. “Angelica? Where is she?”

A bit of jealousy crept up into my chest. Why did he care where she was? Hadn’t he told me that relationships were dumb? We were better off without them. “She said she had things to take care of,” I said flatly.

I tried to ignore the hurt expression that flashed over his face. “Oh,” he said.

Add that to the list of things that made me a horrible daughter. I knew that Dad was completely smitten by Ms. Swallow, and yet, here I was, trying to push them apart. Then I shook that thought away. I was helping Dad. After all, wasn’t that what he’d been doing for me all along?

“But I’m here.” I gave him a hopeful smile. That seemed to appease him, and he returned it with a smile of his own.

“That makes me so happy,” he said, reaching out to grasp my hand.

I held his hand, and before I could stop myself, the words “I’m sorry” tumbled from my lips.

He shook his head. “No, I’m sorry. I should have never let something like that get in the way of our relationship. You didn’t know that boys would be at that party, and you’ve never broken my rules before. I should have trusted you.” He steadied his expression. “I trust you, Destiny.”

Wow. He went full name and everything. He only did that when he was serious.

I swallowed, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. He trusted me. He thought that I would never lie to him. Ugh, I was a terrible daughter.

But the truth was, I wasn’t ever going to lie to him again. I just wasn’t ready to tell him that I had lied in the past. Or that I’d snuck around with Tyson, one of the guys he forbade me to even look at. And I was definitely not going to tell him that I just might have fallen in love with Tyson.

Love.

Just saying that word in my mind caused my already hemorrhaging heart to squeeze. Why did I even think that word? It would be easier to get over Tyson if it was just a dumb crush. But if I loved him?

I halted that thought. Nope. I wasn’t going to dwell on that. If I had any chance at getting over him, I had to stop thinking about our time together. Or how he made me feel.

I inwardly groaned. I needed to talk about something else.

“So, what are we going to do once we break you out of here?” I asked, grabbing a nearby pillow and hugging it in my lap.

“Well, I was telling Angelica about the cabin we used to rent up on Lake George. Remember that?”

Anger settled in my gut. “Ms. Swallow? Really, Dad?”

He glanced over at me. “What? Don’t you like her?”

“She’s nice, I guess. For a teacher.” I raised my eyebrows, hoping he’d get the hint.

He didn’t. He looked as oblivious as ever. “And?”

“I guess I just can’t believe that you want to let this stranger enter our lives like this. I mean, come on, haven’t you told me that relationships are doomed from the start? That all they do is end with you brokenhearted? To avoid them like you would the plague?” My voice began to rise as agitation boiled up inside of me.

His eyes widened. “I said those things?”

He’s in a hospital bed, Destiny. Cut him some slack.

I let out my breath slowly and settled back into my chair. I didn’t have to get all worked up. I just needed to remind him why he hated relationships. I needed to bring up Mom.

“I just figured that since Mom pretty much ripped your heart out and abandoned me, she’d ruined you from wanting a relationship ever again.” I picked at the fraying cuff of my sleeve, trying to act like I didn’t care what his response would be.

He was quiet before he let out his breath. It sounded like he was getting ready to tell a long story and needed to prime his lungs. “Well, if that’s what you think of me, then I’ve failed you.”

I stared at him. “What?”

“You mother hurt me, yes. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t ever want a relationship again. And I most certainly want you to find a guy and marry him.”

My eyes bugged.

“Some day way in the future.” He winced as he raised his arm, waving his hand.

“Really? ‘Cause I did not get that from the last few years of my life. I thought you hated everything about marriage and dating.” I folded my arms. Nothing like finding out your dad wanted love for himself, even though he forbade it for you.

He sighed and reached up to gingerly rub his temple. “Can we talk about this another time? I’m tired.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Sure.”

He lay back onto his bed and closed his eyes. Five minutes later, he was snoring.

I pulled out my phone only to find that I had a message from Tyson. My heart took off galloping. Part of me wished so bad that he had texted to tell me he was an idiot, that we should be together no matter what. Actually, not part of me—all of me wished for that.

But I couldn’t stand another heartbreaking statement from him. So I deleted the message. I really didn’t want to hear from him ever again.

After ten minutes of sitting in Dad’s room with nothing to do, I got up and wandered out to the hall. After asking a nearby nurse where the cafeteria was, I followed her directions and got in line to order.

It felt good to do something mind numbing. Something that I didn’t really need to think about. Because if there was one thing I was sure of, it was that I needed to stop thinking for the day. Or maybe the month.