the time. Well, I’m mad now. I’m mad at him,” she said with a jerk of her head toward her dad.
Her mom straightened. “Yeah. I think you’ve made that pretty clear. But that does not give you the right to be so disrespectful. Especially not to your father. Apologize. Now.”
Though her mom was using her serious voice, the one that meant business, Bree lifted her chin, met her mother’s eyes. “No.”
“What did you say to me?” her mom asked in a quiet voice.
Bree’s lower lip trembled so she bit down on it, tasted her own blood. “I said no. I won’t apologize to him. He should apologize to me.” She forced her eyes up to meet her dad’s. “You should apologize to me for never noticing me. For not ever seeing me on my birthday and for making me eat a stupid salad.” She was screaming, her voice hoarse. “I didn’t want a salad. I wanted a cheeseburger!”
Now her dad was looking less mad and more confused. As if he couldn’t understand why she was so upset. “If I’d known you really wanted a cheeseburger,” he said, talking to her as if she was some little kid who needed things explained carefully, “you could’ve had one.”
“You’re lying.” Tears streamed down her face, her nose ran. She wished she could stop crying. Hated that she was crying over him when she’d promised herself she wouldn’t. “You never cared about me. The only reason you’ve been spending time with me is because you want me to lose weight so I don’t embarrass you.” She was breathing heavy, sweating. “You think I’m fat.”
“I never said that.” He looked at her mom. “I never said that.”
But he didn’t deny it, either.
“You don’t have to say it,” Bree said, wiping her nose with her sleeve. “You’re always telling me to eat this, not that. That I should exercise more.”
“I want you to be healthy,” he said. “I just want what’s best for you.”
She almost believed him. Would have believed him a few months ago, but she’d grown up since then and she remembered how he’d ignored her for Luke today, how he never asked her what she liked, what she wanted to do.
“As an athlete,” her mom said, “your dad’s very into exercise and being fit and eating the right things. It’s part of his job and it’s something we should all do to be healthy. But, honey, neither your dad nor I want you to worry about this. You’re still young. You’re going to grow taller and slim down. A lot of girls put on weight at this point in their lives and then lose it when puberty starts. That’s what happened to me.”
What if it didn’t happen to her, though? Her mom didn’t understand what it was like. She wasn’t always fat like Bree. And how could her mom take his side? It wasn’t fair!
“Pops says blood is thicker than water,” Bree said, “which means that family comes first.”
But her mom didn’t take the bait. Her dad did.
“Family should take care of each other,” he said.
“You don’t. All you do is send money but you don’t take care of anyone else. You missed Grandma Gerry’s birthday last year and she cried.” His face went white and Bree felt a sense of satisfaction that she had the power to hurt him. “And you never come back for Christmas even though Aunt Fay begs you to every year—”
“You know I’m working.”
“That’s all you care about. Playing hockey. So I don’t think it matters that we’re blood. I think Grandma Gerry’s right. She says what makes people family is what’s in their hearts. And you don’t have anything in your heart for me. You never have.”
He stepped toward her, blocking the sun. “That’s not—”
“You never cared about me. You ignore me and forget all about me and now, all of a sudden, you want to be my dad?” Keeping her eyes on his, she shook her head. “It’s too late. But it’s okay,” she said, her throat tickly. “It’s okay that you don’t want me, that you’ve never wanted me. Because I don’t want you, either. I don’t need you,” she told him, wishing she felt better about telling him that. Wishing she didn’t want him to tell that he needed her. That he loved her. “Not anymore.”
* * *
MADDIE WAS STUNNED at her daughter’s vehemence. Her kid didn’t get angry. It was one of the traits that Maddie had no idea how to handle, wasn’t