I swallowed hard and looked up and saw that my dad’s eyes were red, that he was looking away and clenching his fist tight as a muscle pulsed in his jaw. “Stevie,” he said, his voice crackly. He walked over to me and hugged me tight. I hugged him back, and there was something about this—about being hugged by my dad, which had always meant that things would be okay, somehow—that made me cry even harder, right onto his cashmere sweater, which couldn’t have been very good for it.

“I’m so sorry, honey,” my dad said, his voice trembling as he ran his hand over my hair. “That I made you feel that way—I’m so, so sorry. I’m going to do better, okay? I promise.”

I nodded, and the tears were just falling now; I couldn’t stop them if I wanted to. I knew that somewhere, Joy was in the kitchen pretending to make tea, and that we had lots more stuff to figure out. But it felt like—in that moment—we had taken our very first steps toward doing just that.

CHAPTER 24

Kat

I stared out the window as the cab came to a stop. “Are we here?”

“Yep,” the cabdriver said, “18 Ninth Avenue. Gansevoort Hotel.” I stared at it, at this huge building, its purple neon columns bright against the night, wondering if I should laugh or cry. This hotel—the place that Stevie and I had talked about when we first came in—was where my parents had been all along.

I paid the driver, mentally thanking Cary for his cash, then walked up to the entrance to the hotel, hoping that it wouldn’t be too hard to find wherever this engagement party was. And I was well aware that I was going to be in big, big trouble. But you reach a point where you just want your parents.

I was tired of being scared and being by myself and having to navigate New York City without a phone. I didn’t want to think about how I’d hurt my best friend and made a huge mistake when I’d chosen myself over her. I didn’t want to see the people who I’d believed in suddenly turn on me and reveal their true selves. I didn’t want any of it anymore. It had seemed like such a fun, adult adventure when Stevie and I had headed into the city, but clearly I wasn’t able to handle it.

I wanted my mom and dad. I wanted to go home.