Page 77 of Tainted Tempos

“Of course. But I don’t know if it’s the best time. He’s?—”

“I need to see him, Allegra.”

My friend regards me warily for a long moment. “Okay. Yeah. If that’s what you want.”

“Thank you. Just give me a minute to get dressed. And tell my dad.” I point at her. “Don’t warn him. Don’t call Derek. Just let me confront this head on. I need to know if there’s a chance that we can move past this...or if it’s over. God, I never thought it could truly be over, but now...”

“Now?”

I roll my lips together and swear. “I hurt him, A.”

“But you also love him.”

“Sometimes, that’s not enough.”

Allegra sighs again. “Are you sure you want to do this? The band is there. Aiden and Jess. Probably Kimberly. There’s talk of rehab and an intervention. This?—”

“Then I should be there too.”

I need to be there for Mav. To show up for him, the way he always has for me.

Can we salvage this? Or did I light the match that Mav used to burn it all down?

I dress quickly, tugging on jeans and a Boston University hoodie. I twist my hair back and slip on sunglasses since I look dreadful.

When I knock on Dad’s office door, he gives me an understanding look.

“I can take care of it,” he offers.

I shake my head. “I need to do this.”

“You sure you know what you’re doing?” Dad lifts an eyebrow. His expression is carefully neutral, but I hear the curiosity burning in his words. “Mav seemed...really torn up when you left his house the other day. That boy is head over heels in love with you, Kenny.”

“I love him too, Dad.”

“I know you do.”

I clear my throat. “I’ll be home later.”

Dad stares at me before nodding. “Be safe. And Mckenna?”

“Yeah?”

“The great loves in life, they’re hard-earned. They’re fought for. Sacrificed over. Just remember that.”

I frown, taken aback by his words. “Why didn’t you fight for Mom and me then?”

His expression slips, and I note the pain in his eyes. “I wish I had fought harder for you, Kenny. For my relationship with you. And your mom, well, I don’t know how else to say this other than the truth.”

I wait.

“She wasn’t the great love of my life.”

His words land like a sucker punch.

But once I think about it, it doesn’t seem surprising. “Is it Jeannie?”

“I care for Jeannie greatly and I love being with her. She makes me happy,” Dad says carefully. “But the great love of my life…that was a long time ago. Her name was Isabel.”

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