“You know I will, but why do I feel like I’m not going to like this?” he asked. His hand was gently rubbing her back, trying to soothe her. Yet she couldn’t be soothed, not after what had happened.

“Take me into the city?”

“This again?” he asked. “Maybe you should sleep on this. Try to talk to Lydia again in the morning.”

“And what? Wait for her to get firmly planted in her beliefs? Lydia is staunch in her opinions.”

“Like someone else I know.”

Her gaze was as hard as steel, and she shot out of his lap. “She won’t believe me! I’m not going to pretend any longer to be okay with what’s going on. Are you going to help me or not?”

He nodded his head. “Of course, I’ll help you.”

Trihn hurried back to her house, purposely going in through the rear door to avoid her family. She did not want to have a run-in with anyone after the catastrophe of a conversation with Lydia and Preston. She listened intently at the stairway until she knew the coast was clear. Then, she dashed up the stairs and entered her room. It was exactly how she had left it this morning before she had run to Ian’s after hearing Lydia and Preston having sex.

With a huff, Trihn threw a bunch of clothes along with her headphones into a backpack. Then, she snatched up her purse and traded out her sandals for her sneakers. The rest would just have to stay. She threw the backpack over her shoulder and then inched out of her room.

Lydia’s door was closed, and Trihn could hear her shuffling around inside. There was no chance of Trihn seeing her at least. She darted down the stairs and to the door. She had almost made it outside when she heard someone behind her.

“I have a feeling your mother isn’t going to like this,” Gabriel said, stopping her in her tracks.

She dropped her hand and turned to face her dad. He was seated on the darkened deck with an iPad in his hand.

“Hey, Dad,” she said softly.

He sighed, put the iPad on the side table next to him, and stood. “Want to tell me what’s going on with you and Lydia?”

Trihn bit her lip. “Nothing is going on.”

“You have a backpack hanging off your shoulder and tennis shoes on your feet, and you’re sneaking out the back door. You always act like this when you and Lydia fight, ever since you were this high,” he said, holding his hand up to his knee. “Now, you don’t have to tell me the problem, but you do have to be held accountable for the fact that it looks like you’re running away.”

Trihn dropped her bag. Busted. There was no way she was going to get away now. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

“I really don’t want to get your mother involved. Work has been extra stressful lately, and she needs this time to relax.” Gabriel walked over to Trihn and picked up the pack. “Is this something that you can resolve with Lydia without your mother knowing anything was wrong?”

She shook her head. “No way.”

He sighed. “I had a feeling you would say that. Am I right in assuming Ian is involved in the escape route?”

“Well, I’m not leaving now.”

Her dad smiled. “I know this is hard to believe, but I’ve known you your whole life.”

Trihn snorted.

“It has to be serious for you to resort to drastic measures. The last time this happened, you were in the fifth grade and Lydia punched you in the face the day before picture day. You ran away, and we couldn’t find you for three hours.”

Trihn laughed at the memory. “I completely forgot about that.”

“I’m still not sure why she hit you, but you got over it after you had your space.” He pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket and offered them to Trihn.

“What…”

“I saw you come in earlier. I think I know my kids.” He dropped them in her open hand. “Make Ian drive.”

Her jaw hit the floor. “Thank you so much,” she said, throwing her arms around her dad. “You’re the best.”

“Just be safe, and don’t worry about your mother. I’ll take care of it.”

“I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too. Just promise to try to make up with your sister once you start to feel better.”

Trihn nodded. “I will.”

If I ever feel better…

She shouldered her backpack again and texted Ian to tell him to meet her in her garage.

He showed up a couple of minutes later. “Trihn?” he called softly. “What are we doing in here?”

“Over here,” she said. “Dad caught me.”

“Shit!”

She tossed him the keys, and he snatched them out of the air with his left hand.

He looked at her in confusion. “What are these for?”

“Dad said you should drive.”

“He’s letting you go?” he asked in disbelief.

“Yep. Said he had seen this coming all along and then handed me the keys. Said he would handle Mom and everything.”

“Whoa! That was unexpected. I was going to try to sneak the keys to the Beamer and suffer my father’s wrath, but this is way better.”

Trihn laughed. “Way better.”

They jumped into her parents’ silver Mercedes SUV, and Ian maneuvered it out of the garage. Trihn rolled down the window and let the evening air whip her hair around her face. She plugged her iPhone into the system. Ian looked over at her with worry in his eyes. They didn’t see eye to eye on music. While she could appreciate almost anything and she could dance to even more than that, her heart belonged to rock music.

Fall Out Boy blasted through the speakers, and Ian just shook his head. “I knew this was coming.”

“That’s what she said,” Trihn said.

She relaxed back in the passenger seat and let the tunes relax her. Driving away from everyone and everything might not be the most mature choice, but being miles, rather than feet, away from Preston was good for her psyche. She was already feeling more like herself.

But after three hours of on and off traffic, even the music couldn’t chill her nerves or her desire to be out of the car. She pulled her mane of hair back into a ponytail and tapped her foot. She could see the skyline from the distance, which only made her more anxious to be there.

“Just remind me of the turn for your place. It’s been a while since I’ve been there,” Ian told her.

Trihn shot up in her seat. “Wait.”

“What?” he asked, his eyes widening with concern.

“Take me into Manhattan.”

Ian deflated. “Why? It’s late. I’m tired. I’ve ignored about a hundred phone calls from my mom. I just want to get somewhere and relax before being demolished tomorrow.”

“I know for a fact that your parents are not going to demolish you. Anyway, I think my dad will smooth the whole thing over,” she told him. “But still…into Manhattan we go.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“Do you have a reason?”

“I need to do something,” she said conspiratorially.

“Is that supposed to reassure me?”

“Probably not.”

Ian shook his head. He had just driven her three hours back into the city on a whim, so he wasn’t exactly going to question her next move even if he probably should.

“We’ll have to find parking somewhere close. It’s probably going to be a fortune.” She groaned, directing him down another side street through the maze. “There!”

He pulled up beside another car and then expertly parallel parked the SUV.

“Whoa. For a kid from the suburbs, you’re good at that.”

“I actually passed my driver’s test, Trihn.”

“Yeah, well, I passed.”

“The third time,” he mumbled.

“Who needs to drive in New York City?” she demanded, stepping out of the car.

Ian just laughed at her and followed her down the street. “Where are we headed anyway?”

She rounded the corner and stopped in front of the familiar building. Her heart wrenched as she remembered the last time she had been here—Preston’s insistence before they had gotten to the show, the way he’d looked at her when she brought him to her underground world, the waves of desire when he’d watched her dance, the hungry glint in his eye and the casual way he’d offered her a threesome, as if it were her idea to begin with. She should have seen the signs. But she didn’t and hadn’t wanted to.