I have a sudden, jarring flashback to when he and my mom were dating. When I wanted to leave thehouse with them, but my mom wanted me to stay. “Girls,” he’d said, as if my mom and I were on thesame level. As if she was as immature as I was, and he was above it all. “Let’s not do this.”
It hurt then, too. I hoped Howard would be on my side, but at the end of the day, he’d rather stay out ofit. It was me against the world, like always.
“You shouldn’t even be here,” I seethe at him. “The moment she showed up, you should have left. Youknow where Nikolai lives. Leave a f*****g note. But don’t ambush me with her.”
“‘Her’?” my mom hisses. “That’s the kind of respect I get? Like it or not, I’m your mother. You can’tcut me out.”
“Wrong.” I face her, my expression hard as steel. “You aren’t my m
