It was for the best that she didn’t respond. For her sake, for mine, even for her parents, who would most definitely not approve of Jing-Jing fraternizing with a starving artist side-hustling as a professional fake boyfriend. Though it didn’t keep me from banging my head against the wall as I checked my phone every five minutes for a few days until it finally sank through my thick skull that nothing was coming except more ba-boop-boops.

Regret. Embarrassment. More head banging on the wall. I painted sad, blue, dripping moons.

Soon, as always (given enough time), with each brushstroke came the memories.

Drew, why you pick a career with no future? The best you can wish for is getting paid to draw silly distorted doodles of tourists at the beach.

Why can’t you be more like your younger brother? You’re supposed to be the role model for him, not the other way around.

If we’d known you would just throw away everything we’ve given you, we wouldn’t have given you so much.

Every swirl of paint reminded me how my parents were right—I was a failure. At school, at the very passion I had given up so much for, at everything except pretending to be someone else—a better, more put-together fake person that, ironically, they would have been proud of.

I painted red, angry, fiery moons fueled by memories. Moons that no one would see except for me.

Chloe CHAPTER 21 A TEXT A DAY

December 13

I was considering removing text messaging from my phone. Or blocking my mother’s number. Because in the past week and a half, she had sent a flurry of nauseating texts, one a day to keep the joy away.

December 3

Don’t forget! No hanky panky!

December 4

Hongbo is very sad without you. His parents have never seen him so sad before.

December 5

Hongbo is worried Andrew is bad for you. He has a sixth sense about these things.

December 6

Did you know Hongbo is also a skilled martial artist? He has a black belt! He was so good he jumped all levels and got it in just one year! The first person to ever do that!

December 7

The Kuos are sending gifts to us every day. Their chef’s homemade sauces, the best peaches shipped from overseas, the rarest teas from Taiwan.

December 8

They gave us No One stocks today!

December 9

The Kuos are spoiling us. We are getting a taste of what it will be like when you and Hongbo are married. Maybe you can give him another chance? Can you at least keep your options open? It won’t kill you to send him a nice message. Hello. How are you. I’m thinking about you. Do it for me!

December 10