Junie nodded. “Lots of times, for all the good it does.”

“See, that’s the thing. If you’re apologizing because you’re lonely and you want her to fill the void in your life, then your sorry won’t come across as sincere. Because it isn’t. You’re still thinking about yourself, not how she feels. It’s a different flavor of self-absorption, but if you only care about your desires, even now, then you haven’t learned anything.”

She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide and teary, but Trev didn’t feel even a flicker of sympathy. He folded his arms and waited.

“That is really harsh,” Junie sniffed.

“It’s accurate. Take some time and put yourself in Leanne’s position. Do you have any idea about what she wants from life? Have you ever asked? What I’m hearing from you is that you want a relationship with her, but you’d rather not put in the work. If you care, you’ll stick around and get to know her.”

“Wow.” Her eyes overflowed, and she stared at her feet for a long moment.

He suspected she’d relied on this “pitiful little girl” routine for most of her life, but it was strange seeing it in a woman old enough to be his mother. And his loyalty was to Leanne anyway, so he waited to see how she’d respond.

The silence built, and finally, Junie whispered, “She’s lucky to have you. I’ll…take my bags from here.”

This time, he didn’t argue. Maybe he should’ve pulled his punches a little, but he could see how Leanne tensed when Junie was around. That meant this woman had hurt her a lot over the years, and if he could stand as the wall that kept it from happening again, he’d damn well do so. He watched as she crossed the parking lot and got into a beat-up, blue Dodge Daytona. The thing was so old that it qualified for the “classic” car label, but it looked like it had been driven hard all those years. It must’ve been sporty and fun in the nineties, but like Junie, it showed all the miles of hard road.

When she put the car in gear, she didn’t wave as she drove by, and he turned back toward the elevator. He felt weird heading back up. Leanne wasn’t his girlfriend, but “roommate” didn’t seem quite right either. Their relationship frankly defied definition, and he hesitated outside the door, staring at the keypad. Finally, he input the code and stepped in. When he came in, she was still on the couch, curled up with her feet tucked to the side.

“Do you like this show?” she asked, nodding toward the TV.

“I’ve never watched it. Just let me clean the kitchen, and I’ll check out an episode.”

“Need any help?”