From what it sounds like, Lark is close to her dad. If she had been free tonight, would I have said yes to my own family?

They’ve given me everything I could ever need—love, emotional support, independence when I needed it, financial backing, and most importantly, forgiveness. So why do I still keep them at a distance?

Even when I wrecked an $87,000 car, they forgave me. No lecture. In fact, they gave me a Maserati as a replacement. I make the payments, but they signed the loan papers. If I wasn’t so fucked up about the accident, maybe I wouldn’t be so fucking ungrateful. I just don’t know how to find my way out of this misery.

Whether thinking of her or seeing Lark on the screen, it feels good like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. I’m starting to believe she’s the one who can turn things around for me.

I don’t want to just take from her, though. What value can I bring to her?

Getting caught in a spiral never ends well. I need to stop holding everything in. Focus on the day, the hour. The time with my family.

The here.

The now.

“I’m dating Lark Summerlin.”

Everyone stops.

What the fuck am I doing?

I just stand there like Romeo, who just confessed their love for Juliet and not one person is going to rescue me from this tragedy. I grin, thinking about how amused this would be to my girlfriend. What would Lark do? She’d lean right into this romance, just like in the movies. “She’s my girlfriend.”

I don’t know what’s happening. I guess I expected a different reaction. Their silence is starting to unnerve me.

“You should invite her over sometime. We’d love to meet her.”

I turn around to the sound of my dad. He and Loch come toward the kitchen.

Mom’s quick. “I don’t think your dad met Lark at the fundraiser.” I glance over my shoulder as she says, “We could meet at a restaurant if you don’t want to intimidate her with a crowd.”

“Mom.” Marina hops off the barstool. “I should be there since I was there when they met.”

“You weren’t there, Marina,” I correct. “You were in the car.”

“But it’s only because of me that you met her. If I hadn’t wanted something to drink—”

“We have a class together, so the odds were already in our favor.”

“You do?” my mom asks, dinner entirely forgotten due to my love life announcement. Luckily, I had pizza earlier. “Is she pre-med?”

Dad moves around us and looks in the pot on the stove. “We’re having more than soup, I hope. I’m hungry.”

“If you’re that hungry,” Mom says with a laugh, but the humor isn’t quite reaching her eyes. “You should have come in here and helped to make dinner. You get caught up in work and forget you have a life. That needs to change, Port.”

“You’re right.” Coming behind her, he dips to kiss her cheek. “But I’m really good at ordering.” He pulls her hair behind her shoulder and kisses her neck.