“Hi!” she greeted with a big smile on her face.

For the first time, seeing her on my phone didn’t ease the tightness in my chest. If anything, it only made it worse. I swallowed hard a few times before I could tell her “Hi” in return.

Her smile dropped, and her green eyes began to glitter. “What’s wrong? Are you sad? You look sad. Do you need a hug? Where is Ciana? She needs to hug you right now!”

I definitely needed a hug, but only hers would help me. “Nova…my mom is sick.”

“Oh no, is she going to be okay? Does she have a tummy ache?”

“Yeah, kind of,” I told her, swallowing roughly again. The lump in my throat only got worse and worse, and my nose was burning. “She’s pregnant, and she’s been really sick. We won’t… I can’t come to your party this weekend.”

The glittery look in her eyes only got brighter. “Wh-what?” she whispered, her chin already trembling. “But…but you promised.”

“I know.” I closed my eyes. The way her voice was shaking told me she was about to cry, and I didn’t know if I could keep my own emotions in check if I looked at her right then. “I’m sorry, Nova.”

“You promised,” she repeated, a little bit of anger bleeding into her tone. I hated her being mad just as much as I did her crying. But her anger had never been directed at me before. It was usually reserved for Garret. “You’re breaking your promise.”

“I wish I didn’t have to. But Mom is sick, Nova. Please try to understand. I want to see you, but I can’t.” I pressed the palm of my free hand into one of my eyes when they started to sting.

“I’m sorry your mommy is sick, but can’t…can’t your daddy bring you?”

“He’s not home. He’s on a work trip,” I tried to explain. “I promise, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll come for Christmas next month. We can stay for a few extra days. I just can’t right now.”

“No,” she cried, her anger only increasing. “I want you to come now. You promised you would come to my party. That’s all I wanted. I didn’t ask my mommy and daddy for any presents because all I want is to see and play with you.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I promise I’ll bring you more presents for your birthday. I’ll—”

“I don’t want presents!” she shouted. My eyes were still closed, but I could picture her stomping her foot. She was so cute when she did that. “I want to see you. I want to hug you. And you promised. You promised, and now you’re breaking it.”

“Nova—”

“You’re a liar.”

“Nova, please just listen.”

“No. I’m never talking to you ever, ever, ever, ever again.”

My eyes snapped open, and I looked at the screen, trying to will her with my eyes not to threaten something like that. Anything else, I could take, but I couldn’t handle it if she stopped talking to me. I lived for the sound of her voice, the way she smiled at me. When things got bad or I got scared, I just imagined her, and I could breathe easier again. “Nova, I—”