"You're not going, Faye."
"I didn't ask for your permission."
"Yes, you did." I set my coffee down harder than I meant to, the liquid sloshing up the rim. "Every time you bring it up, you're asking me to say yes. And the answer's still no."
She groaned and tossed her apple core into the trash, the clunk echoing like an exclamation mark. "You're unbelievable. Do you even hear yourself? You're not my father, Harry."
My jaw locked. "Yeah, well, someone has to be."
The words were out before I could stop them, sharp and ugly. I saw them hit her—the flicker in her eyes, the stiff line of her shoulders—and I regretted them instantly. But instead of breaking, she laughed.
"Wow. That's rich. Our father's the one freezing my cards and threatening to cut me off. You? You're just freezing my life."
Her voice rang with mockery, but I could hear it underneath. The crack. The ache she wouldn't show me outright.
I curled my fists on the counter and bit back the hundred things I wanted to say. If I opened my mouth, I'd scorch the earth between us.
When we got to campus, I parked and caught her hand on the door handle. "Stay here. I'll call you after class. Don't wander."
She smirked, leaning back like I was the joke. "Relax. I'm meeting Leah anyway."
I frowned. "Leah?"
"My new friend."
"New friend? You've known her for what—five minutes?"
She shrugged, breezy and smug. "Takes five minutes to click with someone. You would know if you met people more."
I bit the inside of my cheek, yanked my bag out, and slammed the door. The urge to drag her with me burned hot under my skin, but I forced myself to walk away.
By the time class ended, it was three. My phone buzzed, and my stomach sank.
Location shared: Mall.
My blood spiked. I jabbed the call button.
She answered on the third ring, voice light as if she hadn't just detonated my entire warning. "Hey."
"Why are you at the mall?" My voice was low, steady—dangerously close to breaking.
"I need swimwear. Didn't exactly pack a bikini when I was running away from home, you know?"
The casual way she said it—like running away was okay—nearly made me lose it.
"I already told you, we're not going."
"You're not going," she corrected. "I am. With Leah."
"That won't happen."
She sighed loud enough to rattle the speaker. "Harry, chill."
I gritted my teeth. "Stay there. I'm coming to pick you up."
"Harry—"
I hung up before she could finish, shoving my phone deep into my pocket as I stormed across the lot. Every step pounded with fury, with dread, with something I couldn't name.
"Harry!"
The voice stopped me short.
I turned, and May was jogging toward me—May from Physics. Ponytail swinging, notebook clutched to her chest, smile wide and hopeful.
"Hey," she panted. "Quick question—are you coming to Jordan's party tonight?"
"No." The word snapped out of me like a whip.
Her smile faltered. "Oh. Well, everyone's going, so I just thought—"
"I have to go. Sorry." I cut her off, already moving.
"Right," she murmured, her voice trailing after me. But I didn't turn back.
Couldn't.
I had bigger problems.
Faye.
Always Faye.
Like a ticking bomb I couldn't defuse, only drag farther from the edge before she blew everything apart.
I gripped the steering wheel so tight my knuckles whitened. Traffic lights, pedestrians, the hum of the city—everything blurred together. All I could see was her, wandering around in some store, smiling, laughing, acting like none of this was serious. Like she wasn't dangling her own safety over the edge just to spite me.
By the time I pulled into the mall's parking lot, my pulse was hammering hard enough to drown out reason.
I spotted her through the glass storefront before I even stepped inside. She was at a rack of swimsuits, twirling a hanger with one finger, laughing at something the girl beside her—Leah, I guessed—had said.
The sight burned.
I pushed the door open, the bell chiming overhead, and crossed the store in a few strides. "Faye."
She turned, startled at first, then smirked. "Wow. That was fast."
"What the hell are you doing?" My voice was low, tight, but every person in the store might as well have been staring at us.
She held up the hanger like it was obvious. "Shopping. I told you I needed swimwear for tonight's party."
The two piece black flimsy swim suit dangled in my face. It infuriated me.
"This isn't happening." I grabbed the hanger from her and shoved it back on the rack. "We're leaving."
Leah stepped in, brows raised. "Um, excuse me—"
"This isn't your business," I snapped, not even looking at her.
Faye's mouth curved into that infuriating pout. "Harry, you're making a scene."
"You already made it the second you came here." My chest heaved. "You think this is a joke? Running off, sneaking around, planning to show up at some party like—" I stopped myself, teeth grinding. Like some girl I couldn't protect. Like some girl I already wanted too much.
Her smile wavered, but only for a second. Then she lifted her chin, stubborn to the bone. "You can't control everything I do. You are not my father."
I stepped closer, my shadow swallowing hers. "Watch me."
The air between us was so taut, I could've sworn the whole store felt it. Leah looked between us, wide-eyed, as if she'd stumbled into something she couldn't name.
Faye finally broke the stare, brushing past me out the door.
The ride home was silent. Not the comfortable kind, not even the awkward kind—it was a silence so sharp it felt like it could cut me open if I breathed wrong.
Faye sat angled toward the window, scrolling through her phone like the glow of the screen could shield her from me. She seemed unfazed, but I knew better. I knew the way her thumbs stilled a second too long, the way her teeth worried her lip when she thought I wasn't looking.
She was rattled. She just wouldn't admit it.
And some part of me hated that I was the reason. That my voice, my anger, had put that flicker in her eyes.
But I couldn't take it back. I couldn't soften now. If I did, she'd slip further out of my hands, and I couldn't let that happen. Not with her.
By the time we stepped into the apartment, my chest ached from holding everything in. Before I could speak, she snapped.
"Why the hell did you do that?" Her voice was sharp, vibrating with all the words she'd bitten back in the car. "In front of all those people? You embarrassed me."
I turned to her slowly. "Embarrassed you? I said we weren't going to that party—"
Her eyes blazed. "It's not about the party, Harry! It's about you. You don't let me breathe."
The words slammed into me, and I felt the shift—this wasn't just about tonight. It was about everything.
"You think I want to control you?" My voice rose despite myself. "I'm trying to protect you."
"From what?" She threw her arms out. "From living? From having friends? From making my own choices?"
"From getting hurt," I bit out.
Her laugh was sharp and bitter. "That's exactly what Dad says. That's exactly what Mom says. And you—" she jabbed her finger at me—"you're no different. You've just built another cage. If I knew this is how it would be, I never would've come here."
The words landed like a fist to the gut.
"What's the difference, huh?" she went on, voice trembling now. "Between this place and that house? Tell me."
I snapped. "The difference is that I give a damn about your happiness, Faye! You're acting like a child, running off, throwing tantrums every time you don't get your way. Grow up!"
She froze, chest heaving. Then her lips curled into a smile that wasn't a smile at all. "You should never date, Harry. Any girlfriend you had would suffocate to death. Just like you're choking me now."
Her words scraped against every raw nerve I had. I opened my mouth, ready to fire back, but she didn't stop.
"You know what your problem is?" Her voice shook, fierce. "You're a coward. You ran away from that house, but you're still letting them control you. You still live like Dad's voice is in your head, telling you what to do."
"Don't—" I warned, low, but she steamrolled on.
"Look at you. Pretending you're free. Pretending it's your life. You play your music at night like it's your lifeline, but in the morning you're off to school, studying Engineering because that's what they wanted. You think that's strength? That's fear, Harry. You're terrified of cutting the cord, so you just keep living their life instead of your own."
Silence.
It was like all the air had been sucked out of the room. Her eyes widened as soon as the words left her mouth, her hand flying up to cover it. "Harry—wait, I didn't mean that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
But it was too late.
The sting cut too deep, straight into the part of me I kept locked tight where even she couldn't reach.
I stood, my movements sharp, deliberate, because if I stayed a second longer, I'd break. "I need air."
"Harry—please—"
I didn't look at her. I didn't trust myself to.
I walked to the door, opened it, and closed it behind me with finality.