I leaned back in my chair, yanking my hand away from his and feeling my shattered armor repairing itself in record time. “Yeah, right. After seven years, you expect me to believe you woke up this morning and decided to see what I was up to?”

“Not at all. I expect you to believe that I wake up every morning thinking about you. You don’t just cross my mind; you live in it.” He held my eyes with such burning intensity that my gaze fused to his.

What was he implying? How could he say such a thing after he’d cast me away like yesterday’s garbage? I took in a shaky breath when my lungs screamed for air, then found the strength to drop my gaze. Every hour and every day of the interminable pain I suffered after he left crashed over me, washing away the numbness. There was no question how seeing him made me feel—it was the excruciating refracturing of a wound I’d thought long healed.

“Please, leave.” It was only a whisper, and all I could muster past the aching lump in my throat. I couldn’t even lift my gaze as he stood.

Nico bent to place an unexpectedly soft kiss on my forehead, his rough fingertips cupping my cheek. “I’m sorry, Sof.” His rumbled words constricted themselves around my heart, making it hard to breathe as he pulled away from me.

“Nico? Are you leaving so soon?” my mother asked from nearby in a boisterous voice. “You’re welcome to join us, you know.”

“I appreciate the offer, Mrs. Genovese, but I have somewhere to be. Take my card. It’s got my number on it. Maybe we can all get together sometime. It was lovely running into you both.”

“Oh … yes, of course. Please, keep in touch.” My mother reclaimed her seat and attempted to continue our luncheon as if nothing had happened, but it might as well have been a lunch for one. I couldn’t force down a single bite, nor could I stand to look at her. Instead, I sipped my water and counted the delicate petals on each fragrant rose in the bouquet beside our table. I made it to seven hundred and twenty before the nightmare was over and we left for home.

One would think I would have overcome the feeling of being utterly alone. It was not the first time I’d experienced it, or even the second, and it surely would not be the last. But each time, it hurt just as profoundly as the time before. Seeing him brought back the stabbing pain of loneliness. It was ironic because when we’d first become friends, Nico was my only refuge from that very same pain.

I wasn’t the same as the other kids at Xavier Catholic School. When they talked about their gaming systems and extravagant family vacations, it was easy to tell their families were different from mine. Their moms didn’t work and were able to come to school for class parties. They had bouncy castles and magicians at their birthday parties. We lived in a tiny two-bedroom house and had never been on a single family vacation.