I let out a bitter laugh and twirled my straw. “Then I really fooled you. Ian, you have no idea how messed up I feel. I’m mad at my mom all the time for ignoring me and trying to push me toward schools that favor math and science. Just because I’m good at those subjects doesn’t mean I want to have that career focus. She’s been trying to get me to intern at a law firm and says a restaurant is beneath me. I love to cook and really want to study it more. And I love art—I thought of getting a minor in art history. When I mention doing any of those things, she shuts me down and says I need to support myself and make money. Then she trots off to work and forgets all about me until the next fight. Do you know why we’re really in Italy?”

He leaned forward, his gaze laser focused on mine. “Tell me.”

“Because I got busted for smoking weed. The police picked us up when we were driving, and I got arrested. These were the same friends I planned to join on a cross-country road trip in their RV. One of the guys is a musician, so we were going to hit a bunch of clubs. I was so tired of feeling trapped in this small little existence I had.”

“What’d your mom do after the bust?”

“Lost her shit. The next week, we were booked for Italy for the summer. Problem solved by yanking me away from it all.”

The bitterness still ran deep. She hadn’t even pretended interest in why I was trying weed and had stopped hanging out with my usual friends. Because she didn’t know who I really was and didn’t care to find out.

“Want to know what’s worse?” I asked, unable to stop the dam from breaking open.

“What?”

“In a sick way, I was kind of happy when she first told me we were going to Italy because of the weed. I was actually grateful to have her attention. And then I found out she was working on this huge new account and lost being the lead person to run it, which must’ve freaked her out. I bet she figured she’d go on a vacation for a while to let things settle before heading back. Once again, it was about her. Not me.”

He looked thoughtful and sympathetic at the same time. “Your mom seems to like control.”

“She lives for it. That’s the reason I don’t have a dad.”

“What do you mean?”