My heart clenches at the mention of Declan. Maybe it’s my father’s subtle way of checking in—he rarely compliments Declan to me, and I know he still disapproves of the fact that we were dating.

“About that…” I find myself saying before I can think better of it. “We… uh… aren’t together anymore.”

“What? Really?” My dad sounds genuinely shocked. “What happened? Did he hurt you?”

“No,” I say quickly, unable to bear the thought of him blaming Declan. “He didn’t do anything wrong, Dad. I ended it.”

“Oh.”

There’s a long pause. I can almost hear him processing this information, reassessing everything he thought he knew about the situation.

He seems thrown by it, and I guess I can’t blame him after the last time he saw us together. I would’ve moved heaven and earth to get to Declan when he got injured in the last game, and I’m sure my father noticed that determination, so this is probably really confusing to him. But I’m not about to explain it now, not when I still don’t know for sure what’s going on with my head—or with Declan.

“Hannah, if this is because of what I said about dating players⁠—”

“It’s not that,” I interrupt, my throat going tight. “It’s… complicated. Can we talk about it another time?”

“Okay,” he says slowly, although I can hear reluctance in his tone.

“I’d better go. I’m just about to drive home,” I tell him, although I leave out where I’m driving home from. “I’ll see you at the game tonight.”

“Right. See you then,” my dad says, sounding a bit distant, like he’s still trying to make sense of what I just told him. “Drive safe.”

“I will. Love you.”

I end the call, but instead of turning the key in the ignition, I sit staring down at my phone. The weight of all these secrets is crushing, and some part of me is desperate to call him back and come clean.

My thumb hovers over my father’s contact, trembling slightly.

It eats me up inside to hide the truth about where I’m at and what exactly happened with Declan from my father, especially because I could really use his comfort right now. But I don’t want any of my drama affecting him at the game tonight, so I sigh and drop my phone back in my purse before I get any other bright ideas.

I start the car and drive home in silence. I need the time to decompress and mentally brace myself a bit before I head to the arena. There’s no way I won’t cross paths with Declan tonight, and I don’t know what I’m going to do if he tries to talk to me.

Maybe seeing him will give me some closure.