The ringing sounded like an alarm and I jolted awake, scrabbling for my phone, which for some reason was in my bed under the covers. When I finally found it, the screen said DAD. I meant to silence the call, but I accidentally hit the wrong button. I heard his tinny voice through the speaker: “Aria? Are you there? Can you hear me?”

I sighed and lifted the phone to my ear. “Hi. Yes I can hear you.”

“Sounds like you’re half asleep.” He laughed. “It’s almost noon.”

“Really?” I blinked and looked toward the window. The blue curtain was outlined by bright sunlight that made me squint.

“Up late?” he said, sounding amused.

The party. Steph. Shit.

“Aria?”

“Sorry, yeah, I’m here.” I sat up, rubbing my face.

“I’d offer to talk later but I only have the landline for a brief time.”

“Okay.”

“How was lunch with your mom?”

I groaned involuntarily. “Do we have to talk about that?”

“She called me afterward.”

The blankets were hot and scratchy, and I shoved them away. “What did she say?”

“She told me she’s engaged. And she told me about her offer to help pay for MIT.”

His tone was too even. “How do you feel about it?” I asked carefully.

“I’m happy for her,” he said, but he still sounded so neutral that I wondered if he was lying.

“Really?”

“Of course. I’m glad she met someone she wants to marry. But how are you feeling about it?”

I wished desperately that we weren’t having this conversation. “I don’t know. I haven’t been thinking about it.”

“She’s very glad you’ve agreed to be in their wedding.”

“What was I supposed to say?”

“You could’ve said no.”

“No I couldn’t.”

He exhaled. “It is your choice. If you need me to tell her that, I will.”

I felt tears well up in my eyes. “Dad, can we please talk about this later?”

“It’s not a good idea to avoid it.”

“I’m not avoiding anything, I’m just—I just woke up. That’s all.”

“She’s really trying now,” he said, ignoring me. “Her offer to help with MIT is very generous. I would think about accepting it.”

“I don’t want to be beholden to her.”

“It’s her money to give. She gave you as much as she could in the past, and she’s still trying to.”

“Why are you always defending her?” I snapped. “She left you, didn’t she?” I flinched as I heard my own words, but I couldn’t stop. “How can you expect me to forgive her for what she did to you, and to me?”

“That’s not fair—”

“You’ve never even gone on a date with anyone since you guys got divorced. Aren’t you still in love with her? Isn’t that why you can’t finish your novel?”