I released him and stepped to the side. “Come in. Sit.” I motioned between the bed and the desk chair, the only two seating options unless you counted the floor, the toilet, and the shower. Finn chose the chair. I sat on the edge of the bed. “How’s your dad?”

He rubbed his forehead. “Better. He slept it off.”

We stared at each other. I didn’t know what to say. “How are you?”

“Exhausted. I stayed overnight.” His shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry.”

I clucked my tongue. “For what exactly?” Was he referring to his dad’s behavior or his own?

“My dad can be a mean drunk. Sometimes he’s a happy one. Other times he’s morose. But mostly, like last night, he’s mean.” He grazed the fabric of the chair with his fingers.

“You warned me about your dad,” I said, tapping my feet. “But I’ve gotta say, I didn’t expect you to just stand there and let him insult me…yell at me.” My voice shook.

“I don’t think I could have stopped him,” Finn said, scrubbing a hand over his face. “Sometimes it’s easier to just ignore him than try to fight him on it. He wears himself out, like a baby crying himself to sleep.”

Like I had the night before. “You didn’t even try, though. You barely acknowledged me.”

A flush crossed Finn’s cheek.

I shrugged. “It seemed like you didn’t even care.”

Finn’s eyes rounded. “Of course I cared! Watching my dad take his grief out on you gutted me.” His faced twisted with anguish.

“How was I to know that when you didn’t say anything…do anything?”

He blinked rapidly. “I was so caught off guard by your being there. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Anything beyond absolutely nothing would have been an improvement.” I sighed. “Your dad’s insults didn’t hurt me, not fatally anyway, but your silence did. You said nothing in my defense. I know your dad wasn’t in his right mind, but I was. Even if he woke up this morning with no memory of what happened last night, I remember all of it.” My body pulsed with all my conflicting emotions. The idea of making this about me felt gross, but there was no denying what happened was relevant to us as romantic partners. “I keep reliving that moment when he said you could do better and you stood still as a mannequin. You couldn’t even look at me and whisper an apology. Nothing.” The memory sent a hot dagger through my heart. “Put yourself in my shoes…my very uncomfortable shoes.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Adi. This is why—”