Page 202 of Glass Jawed
“Wait,” I say. “You were supposed to be studying. What were you doing at a party?”
“Mom, I was done for the day, Iswear. I just—shit—I know I messed up. I don’t want to ruin your friendship with—”
“That’s not what this is about,” Lucian cuts in, sharper now. “Is that the only reason you feel guilty?”
“No,” Kai whispers, voice cracking. “I... I fu-messed up. I should’veneverasked for a break. I should’vecommunicated. I should’ve handled everything differently. I love Alisha so much, and now I don’t know how to... how to fix it.”
Lucian’s face finally softens. He glances at me and gives me a sad, knowing smile.
We’re both thinking the same thing.
It’s not the same story. But our son’s about to learn the same lesson.
Lucian leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, rubbing his palms together like he’s collecting his thoughts before speaking.
“You love her,” he says, not a question.
Kai nods, fast. “I do.”
“Well, it’s not enough,” Lucian replies quietly. “Not if you don’t know how to hold it.”
Kai looks up at him, wide-eyed, like he hadn’t expected that.
“You know why your mother and I work?” Lucian asks.
“Because you’re obsessed with her?” Kai offers with a hopeful, crooked smile.
I shake my head, smiling.
Lucian snorts. “That helps. But no. It’s because I learned how to talk to her.Really talk.Even when I didn’t want to. Even when it made me feel like shit. And it was a hard lesson to learn.”
Kai’s shoulders droop again. “I’m trying.”
“Ibelieveyou,” Lucian says. “But trying isn’t the same as doing. Alisha’s not just some girl. She grew up in our house. We love her. She’s family, yeah?”
Kai winces like the words sting.
“And you hurt her,” Lucian says softly. “You didn’t mean to. But youdid.”
“I know,” Kai says, voice thick. “I know, and I hate myself for it.”
“Don’t waste energy hating yourself. Use it to grow,” Lucian tells him. “You want her back?”
Kai nods instantly.
“Then you’ve got work to do.”
Kai’s eyes flick toward me, but he doesn’t speak. Lucian leans back against the couch.
“You don’t earn someone back with grand gestures. You do it by being better. Every single day. By showing her that the boy who made that mistake isn’t the man you’re becoming.”
Silence stretches for a beat before Lucian adds, “She might not take you back.”
Kai blinks rapidly, trying not to cry again. “I know.”
“But if you love her,” Lucian says, “then your goal isn’t to win her back. It’s to become the kind of man whodeservesher. Whether she chooses you again or not.”
Kai nods, slower this time. It’s the kind of nod you give when you understand something you wish you didn’t have to.
