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“You really done?” The question hung between them.

“I want more. Or nothing. And you can’t give me more. Not from in here.”

“I still love you,” he said finally. “I’m always going to love you. Please, pause for me ba- I mean Paige. Give me some more time to figure shit out. You know I’m tryna get outta this bitch.”

Paige smiled because she wasn’t falling for that line anymore. Love was an action word, and she needed to see it in real time. “If you love me, wish me well and mean it. Stop calling. Stop the letters and the emails.”

The buzzer sounded, forcing them into a silent stare off. Both searching the eyes of the other. Both of them wished it didn’t have to be like this. But both were also clear that they’d reached the end of their beautiful out-of-the-box story.

“Visitors, please stand and step back.”

She stood slowly, adjusting her shirt, and looked at him one last time. Not with pity. Not with pain. But with peace. She wanted to say something to reiterate what she needed from him moving forward, but his words stopped hers.

“I can’t do it, Paige. You know that.”

She nodded once, understanding that it would always be on her to ensure this goodbye stayed final. He’d still call. He’d still send letters. He’d still be wondering if she was okay. Waiting for her to come back. But Paige knew she wouldn’t.

“Goodbye.”

She didn’t wait for him to respond. She didn’t need to. This goodbye wasn’t for him. It was for the part of her thatsettled. The part that confused crumbs with commitment. Even put her plans on hold. It was time for her to reclaim her time, and she declared she would. She didn’t turn around. Didn’t glance back. Not even when his name showed up one last time later that night. She didn’t flinch, didn’t open the message. Just swiped and deleted. For once, she wasn’t dragging closure behind her. She walked away and let it stay where it fell, behind her.

Chapter 3

Saturday

The morning after visiting JT, Paige woke with a clarity she hadn’t felt in months. Ending things left her lighter. She was kicking herself in the ass for not doing it sooner. She’d finally set down a weight she didn’t need to continue to carry. But Saturday was a dialysis day for her father, and some responsibilities couldn’t be shed so easily. She dressed in simple jeans and a tank top, trying to hold on to that weightless feeling, even as duty called her back.

“Momma, why are you threatening me? All I said was that I was still thinking about it. I don’t know if I’m going, but I may also go. What’s so hard to understand about that?”

“You outta watch that mouth, Paige. I don’t want them to go to waste, that’s what you need to get. I’ll come pick you up myself if I have to.”

“I called you to keep me company, not to hear you fuss about this car show. Who is having it again?”

There was something about the hum of the dialysis machine that haunted Paige. Not just the steady rhythm of it, but the way it echoed like a heartbeat, distant from life. That’s why she had called in the first place. It certainly wasn’t to hear her mouth about a car show.

“Get your bald-headed daddy to keep you company. That’s the only opinion you care about. It doesn’t matter who’s having it. You will be there.”

“That’s not fair. I love you both, but y’all could make it a lot easier if you would try and get along.”

“We do get along, I don’t see the need to do dinner, phone calls, and such. I don’t need anybody on my roster getting the wrong impression.”

“Goodbye, lady. You work my nerves so bad.” Paige disconnected the line and laughed at herself before going back inside to sit next to her father.

When her father came back into her life, she didn't know what to expect. She didn’t know how to welcome him back, how to move with him, how to create a new rhythm with a man she barely knew. He had always been her father. No prison walls, no courtroom chains, no passing years could change that. But Paige hadn’t had her daddy in the flesh in over twenty years. He’d missed everything: the school dances, the heartbreaks, the promotions she celebrated alone. And yet, she loved him anyway. Even knowing it was his choices that took him from her.

She’d already buried enough family to know grief didn’t end, it only shapeshifted. The Bishops had buried more than their share. Now it was her cousin Brooks ensuring the family name set a new standard. Someone had to break the cycle. And collectively they were.

She had imagined their new beginning would be a beautiful one. Soft. Healing. But that wasn’t the hand she’d been dealt. So, she adjusted her grip. Took what she could get. Made it her business to make sure he was comfortable. That’s why she was sitting right there beside him.

He was fragile, shrunken, the rough outline of the man she remembered, softened by sickness and guilt. The stress of losing him again, this time happening in right before her eyes, no warnings, no mercy, no escape sat heavy on her chest every single day.

“Girl, your daddy is lucky to have you here. I know a young fine thang like you knows how to get into some trouble,” the nurse said with a grin while adjusting Perry’s IV. She’d unplugged a little. No work badge today. No planner. No catching up.

“Please, don’t be fooled. I’m on my way to being a crazy cat lady,” Paige replied with a quick smirk, dropping her phone into her lap.

The nurse laughed, shaking her head. “That means you picky, waiting on the right one. Nothing wrong with knowing your worth.”

“Picky, jaded, tired. Ma’am, it’s all the same thing these days.” Paige said it with a laugh, but it stuck in her throat a little too long after.

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