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A ball of grief filled oodbye to Michael Sullivan for good Pushing ers clenched around the heether Needing to be courageous because I hadn’t been in the past, I bravely aze and whatever he saw in mine caused him to snap to his feet and reach for me

I retreated from his touch

His vexation was obvious “Don’t do this to ain, Dahlia”

“I’estured between us “Aren’t you tired of it? Of all the drama and pain?”

“It doesn’t have to be that way We can work through it”

“Can we?” I retorted, disbelieving “I don’t think you can work through that kind of bitterness and blame I left I’rabbed my purse and let out a shaky exhale—“as irrational as it o”

Michael was stunned He looked like I’d slapped hiht hiain

“Goodbye, Michael” I almost choked on the words

He didn’t respond

He didn’t come after me as I crossed the room to the front door

Even as I stood out in the dark of the earlybehind me

A sob crawled up inside me, but I forced it down My God, it hurt I walked, huddled into rets when I’d promised myself as a kid that I’d never have any

I’d lied to Michael To protect him To protect me Yes, there was an irrational part of o, but I’d lied when I’d used it as the ain That reason was buried deep, a splinter that had never worked its way out

So afterward, I heard footsteps behindhand pulled me around and out of myself I blinked stupidly up into my dad’s face, confused and discombobulated

“Dad?”