Briar and I stay outside Everett's house for the next hour. I never thought I'd say this, but I don't want to talk about The Quiet Nights series anymore. At least for today. And at least with Briar. We might as well be directly talking about my life with the way she picks up on my implications and undertones. I don't find it unnerving because she makes me feel seen, but I don't want to burden her with all of it either. But I also don't trust myself to not burden her, so instead, I offer to show her some skateboarding tricks.

A mistake.

Usually, I have no problem doing flip tricks, but something about knowing Briar is watching me makes me mess up. More often than not, I bail, either landing on the underside of the deck or falling on the asphalt altogether. Landing with the wheels facing up is embarrassing, but Briar still gives me encouraging smiles anyway. I prefer the looks of concern she gives me when I hit the ground a lot more. Soon enough, I find myself falling off the board on purpose just to see that look. Getting scrapes and bruises isn't ideal, but I almost don't notice the stinging feeling on my arms whenever Briar surges forward to help me up.

"Are you okay?" she asks, hooking a hand under my arm. "Maybe you should stop."

I nod. "Maybe, but I'm fine."

Especially since she's still holding onto my arm like she's worried I might fall again. Not to mention, she frowns, pouting a little. It's all I can focus on. Before she can press me—and before my brain starts working again—the front door opens. We turn to see Marlowe and Everett framed in the doorway. Everett smiles at us, but Marlowe shoots Briar a look. Now that I know everything, all the pointed looks Marlowe gives Briar make so much sense. And if I had to guess, Everett might have mentioned something about Briar—maybe Gareth, too—and Marlowe's pissed on Everett's behalf.

Maybe I should stick around for a while longer in case Marlowe does something drastic... But if I don't get home soon, my parents will lecture me. Plus... maybe Briar and Everett need a moment to talk.

I turn to Briar, opening my mouth to say something. But then she looks back at me. She's not pouting anymore, but I get distracted by how bright her eyes are in the remaining sunlight. They're like her dad's and grandfather's eyes in the right light but so much more, too. More captivating. More... sweet... Like being so addicted to honey that just looking at it makes me crave a dose.

I shake my head to pull myself out of my thoughts before I truly become addicted. It takes me another moment to pull my arm out of Briar's grip. "Guess it's late and you should head inside." I swallow and look at the asphalt. "And I should go home."

"You can stay a little longer," Briar offers.

I don't think she has any idea how much I want to. I mean, to be here with her? Seeing her smile and worry about me? Maybe talk a little more about her dad's books—and myself by extension? Sounds amazing. This entire day with her has been amazing. But if I stay, it'll only be to avoid the house, and I don't want to feel selfish about hanging out with Briar.

"No," I force myself to say. "I should head home. Get some lectures over with, you know?"

There's always at least one lecture waiting for me...

Briar nods, a slight crease between her eyebrows. "Tell me how it goes later if you want to?"

I smile. "Of course. Thanks, Briar."

I wrap her in a hug, and she returns it. It takes a little more effort than I'd like to admit to let her go. But I do, and I smile at her before I retrieve my skateboard. By the time I have it in my hands and walk back to Marlowe's car, Briar is already heading inside while Marlowe is heading out. I'm close enough to see Marlowe give Briar another pointed look, which is kind of unfair since Briar can't return it while she faces Everett.

"What's up?" Marlowe asks when we're within earshot of each other. She sits on the hood of her car and leans back on her hands. "What were you doing all day?"

"Hanging out with Briar." I glare at Marlowe. "I'm still mad at you for not telling me she's Gareth Chiem's daughter."

Marlowe shrugs. "She wanted to keep it a secret, and I respected that."

Fair enough.

I look in Briar's direction. She's looking back, so I smile and wave at her. She returns it before disappearing inside. When I turn back to Marlowe, she's already studying me. She sits forward and pulls a knee up to her chest, wrapping her arms around it.

"What are your thoughts on Briar?" she asks.

"She's really cool," I say. No hesitation whatsoever. "Really caring. Really insightful."

Marlowe nods slowly. "And did you decide all this before or after you knew who she was?"

"Before." I feel a smile spread on my face. "But today with her confirmed it for me."

Marlowe smirks, leaning back on her hands again. "And what do you like about her?"

I feel my smile widen. I look at some random point on the ground as I list things off my fingers. "She gives the greatest hugs. When she listens, she really listens and empathizes. I love having conversations with her. Not just about her dad's books, but just in general. And the way she's protective of me even though we just met..." Her concerned expression every time I fell flashes through my head, making my voice come out a little quieter. "That means the most to me." I laugh softly. "Especially when it comes to my family. It's entertaining and brave of her to get their attention off of me and on her. I don't think anyone else would defend me the way she does. Kind of shows she goes the extra mile for people, you know?"

Marlowe nods slowly, her smile slipping. "Yeah. I guess. Just not for Everett."

I blink, the fuzziness in my head dissipating. "Well, yeah, but that makes sense considering what happened with Gareth."

Marlowe makes a face, sliding off her car onto her feet. "Did she tell you everything?"

"I think so, but if not, I know enough now." I adjust my grip on my skateboard. "I know you and Everett are close enough for him to actually be your grandfather, but Briar has the right to feel anything she feels about the entire situation. It's her family. Her problem."

Marlowe nods, perching on the car and tapping her finger against the hood. "I know, but I also know how much Everett cares about Gareth and how much he was looking forward to meeting Briar for the first time. He wanted to get to know her, but she's been making more and more passive-aggressive comments towards him. When she is polite, they don't talk about anything of substance."

I nod, but I keep my mouth shut. I don't even know if I know the full extent of why Briar is starting to be so passive-aggressive towards Everett. And even if I did, it's not my place to talk about it with Marlowe if Briar doesn't want to herself.

Marlowe stares at the front door, humming. "I think I'll talk to Everett for a while longer." She smiles at me. "If you wait around, I can give you a ride home."

I wave her off. "No. It's fine. It's not that dark, so I should get home just fine. Besides, Roman might be there."

Marlowe reaches out to ruffle my hair. "I can handle your brother. And it's not like he's said anything fucked up to me since we graduated."

"I know, but still. I don't want him to say anything to you."

Marlowe's expression softens. "You're such a sweet kid, you know that?" I shrug, making her lightly punch me in the arm. "Well, you should know it." Her smile slips. "Sorry that your family isn't as sweet as you are, though."

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well, it's not like I can do anything about it."

"You can move out and never look back."

I laugh, but I know Marlowe isn't joking. "That's the plan." Eventually. I look up at the sky. It's starting to go into that transition blue color between night and day. "I guess I should get going. I'll see you later, Marlowe."

"Later, kid."

I hug her before getting on my skateboard and heading home. Without Briar's eyes on me, I don't face-plant every few yards. But that means I'm getting home pretty quickly. If I want to make it there before dark, I really should skateboard the entire way. But if I want a few extra moments of peace, I should walk.

When I'm out of Marlowe's sight, I get off my skateboard and walk. I don't live that far from Everett's house, so the walk doesn't even last as long as I want it to. And what's worse is Roman's car is already parked in front of the house. On the bright side, at least it looks like my parents aren't home yet, so I only have to deal with my brother if he's in some sort of mood. And there's a chance he won't be.

I don't know if he'll bring up Briar. Hopefully not. Even if he doesn't, though, I'm sure he doesn't have the best impression of her. And if I argue, he'll just shut me down and tell me I don't know anything about anything.

I grit my teeth, feeling the blood rush through my head. All Briar's done is defend me. Every single time. She never hesitates to step in, and it sucks that her being brave and a good friend makes her seem "disrespectful" to my family. It's stupid.

But I don't want them to say anything bad about Briar either when she's such a good person. A good friend. An amazing girl. Someone worth defending like how she somehow thinks I'm someone worth defending.

I inhale before opening the front door. I peek into the kitchen. Roman stands at the stove, still in business casual with his blue button-up untucked, cooking what smells like batchoy. He looks over his shoulder at me.

"Were you with that girl all day?" he asks.

At least I don't have to worry about waiting for him to bring up Briar or bringing her up myself. I adjust my grip on my skateboard and shrug even though Roman isn't facing me anymore. "Yeah. Pretty much." After a pause, I add, "And her name is Briar."

Roman stops cutting the pork into strips for a second. "Right. Briar." He starts cutting again. The sound of the knife slamming into the cutting board makes me flinch every time. "Was she also the one that Nanay and Tatay told me about? The one that made a scene at A Quiet Café when they stopped by for lunch?" I shouldn't be surprised that our parents mentioned that to Roman, but I still find myself blinking at the revelation. My hesitation is all Roman needs to know that they were talking about Briar. "You know Nanay and Tatay hate her, right?"

I move to grab four bowls from the cabinet. "I don't think they hate her." Roman scoffs, shooting me a skeptical look. I sigh, carefully setting the bowls on the counter. "Yeah, okay, they hate her. But I like hanging out with her."

He narrows his eyes. "What's there to like about hanging out with her?"

She's not family. "She's cool." She doesn't insult me every chance she gets. "She's sweet and compassionate."

Roman arches an eyebrow. "That's not what I've seen."

Because you're you. "Well, she's always cool, sweet, and compassionate with me."

Roman shrugs, scooping the noodles into a bowl and handing it back to me, so I can put the pork, liver, and intestines on top. "If you say so." He grabs the next bowl. "But that doesn't mean you should hang out with her when Nanay and Tatay don't like her. Sooner or later, they'll ask you why you're out of the house all the time, and if you say you're with her, they'll want to meet her. And if you bring her home, that won't be a pretty scene."

Good point... I shake the bowl to spread out the ingredients and to give myself more time to think that over. Nanay and Tatay will probably start asking questions about why I get home pretty late. I can't say I'm working all the time when I'm out of the house from dawn to dusk. That'll make them suspicious.

Not that they're ever suspicious of Roman when he says he's out from dawn to dusk for his internship—Oh wait!

I practically slam the bowl on the countertop, straightening. "It's not like I'm only out of the house to hang out with her. I'm working and I have an internship."

"You have a what?" Roman and I turn to see Nanay standing in the doorway. Her eyes are wide, and the corners of her mouth turn up in approval. "You have an internship, Anak?"

I nod, not trusting myself to talk just yet. I don't think I've ever seen Nanay look at me with pride before. I always thought that look was reserved for Roman, but apparently, my parents can look like they're proud of me, too. But if I say something stupid, I know that look will go away, and who knows when I'll see it again?

"What's the internship?" Roman asks.

I try not to flinch at the edge in his voice. I don't have to look at him to know that whatever concern he had for me getting in trouble is gone. He's probably putting all his focus on pouring the caldo into the bowls to hide the annoyance in his voice. It's not working, but Nanay doesn't seem to notice. She and Tatay never seem to, but that's especially true now when all her focus is on me.

I clear my throat, taking the two finished bowls to the kitchen table. I keep my eyes on the ground in case I trip and spill food everywhere. Apparently, I can't think and perform what should come naturally to me at the same time. First, skateboarding while Briar was watching me. Now, carrying bowls of noodles while Nanay and Roman wait for me to tell them about the internship.

Once I set the bowls on the table, my mind clears a little bit. I clear my throat again and slowly say, "I'm... doing the first rounds of revising and editing documents before they go to other people to be revised and edited further and then published." That's basically beta-reading, isn't it?

Nanay smiles, coming over to hug me. I try not to flinch under her touch. "That sounds exciting."

Roman sets the last two bowls on the kitchen table with a thump. "That sounds like reading."

Because it is, but it's reading for Gareth Chiem. And with Briar Chiem which makes it more worthwhile than anything else I've ever done in my entire life.

I risk a glance at Roman. He gives me a blank look, but his jaw is tense. I take a seat, staring at the bowl of batchoy. "I guess it's just reading."

Nanay runs her hand through my hair. I grip the edge of my chair to stop myself from reacting to her touch. "But you're getting experience this summer and doing something you like to do."

She has no idea...

Nanay starts drilling for more information about the internship. When Tatay comes home, we start on dinner and Nanay catches him up on what we're talking about. Now he starts drilling for information, too. I'm caught between wanting to drain my entire bowl to get out of here as soon as possible and taking small bites, so I have time to think through my answers.

But no matter what I do, it feels like I'm about to choke with every swallow I take. When have my parents ever been this invested in my life before? It's weird and a little overwhelming. If I tell Briar about this, she'd probably bring up how Hien felt the same way whenever her parents praised her for taking on just a little more responsibility with breeding animals, attending crops, or building houses.

"Are you that excited about your internship?" Tatay asks.

I blink, realizing that I'm smiling. Thinking about Briar always seems to make me smile. "Oh. Yeah. I'm excited."

The corners of Nanay's lips pull up, too. She reaches across the table to put her hand over my arm. "We're excited for you." She gently squeezes before pulling back. Once she does, I lift the bowl to my lips to finish dinner and hide whatever expression I'm making. I can't tell if I'm still smiling or if I look confused from the way they're treating me right now. "Aren't you glad you listened to us and stopped spending so much time with that girl?"

"You're a lot better off without her," Tatay adds.

I pause, glad that the last of the broth doesn't slide down the wrong pipe. I carefully set the bowl back on the table, wiping any feelings from my face. My eyes flicker to Roman. He looks back, his eyes dark. He can easily tell Nanay and Tatay that I haven't listened to them and I'm still spending time with Briar. My heart pounds the longer he stays silent. His eyebrows twitch upwards, waiting to see what I say.

Guess he's not in that bad of a mood that he would throw me under the bus.

But I don't want to throw Briar under the bus either.

"She's a good person," I say, my voice monotone and quiet.

Suddenly, my parents aren't smiling anymore. Nanay sits back, the warmth radiating off of her earlier turning cold within seconds. I try not to shiver as my parents stare at me like I just admitted to murder.

"That's not for you to decide" Nanay scoffs, picking up her fork. "You're only sixteen. What do you know?"

A million responses build up at the back of my throat, but I know they want me to say I don't know anything and the best thing to do is to defer to my parents who have the absolute best judgment in the world. But all I say is, "I'm sorry."

Tatay sits back in his chair, glaring at me. "You better be. Don't act like you're better than you were this morning just because you managed to get an internship. When Roman was your age, he never talked back no matter how many things he accomplished."

I glance at Roman. His eyes aren't as dark anymore, but he doesn't look at me. He's looking up at the ceiling, listening to our parents compare us like they always do when they think I'm doing something wrong. And, as always, Roman isn't saying anything about it. I don't know if he's even feeling anything about it. So maybe he's not in such a bad mood that he would rat me out, but he's not in any mood at all that he can feel anything about this.

"I'm sorry," I say again. "I didn't mean to talk back." Nanay and Tatay narrow their eyes like they don't believe me. I clear my throat and stand, taking my bowl to the sink. "Anyway, I guess I should get to bed, so I can get up in time for my internship." And to go see Briar. "I'll probably be out of the house the entire day since I have work, too. I think it might be like that for the rest of the summer." I throw in, "Sorry," in case they think I'm being disrespectful.

No matter how arrogant they think I'm acting, "internship" is apparently the magic word now because they nod and wish me a good night. I quickly clean my bowl and head up to my room. The conversation didn't end well, but that was a lot more respect than I usually get from my parents. And just because I have an internship. Like I had to... prove myself...

Like Gareth...

Guess I relate a lot to Briar's dad. I always thought it would be exciting to have something in common with someone famous, but why would anyone be happy about having this type of relationship with their parents? If anything, this makes me understand Hien more which means I understand Gareth more which means I have a little less respect for Everett.

Well... I see where Briar's coming from now...

But at least Everett's trying to fix his mistakes. I can't see my parents doing that if they ever realize how worthless they make me feel.

"I can't believe you just lied to Nanay and Tatay like that."

I pause at the top of the stairs and turn to face Roman. "What?"

He gives me an incredulous look. "You lied to them about having an internship just to hang out with that girl."

I throw my hands out. "I didn't lie about the internship just to hang out with Briar. I have one." It just happens to involve Briar, too.

Roman narrows his eyes. "Really?" I nod. "So you didn't just say all that to Nanay and Tatay to get out of the house more?"

Well... that's definitely part of the reason, but I'm not about to admit that to Roman. "No. I have an internship. I didn't make it up."

Roman's expression becomes unreadable. Just as quickly, his eyebrows furrow, and I have to fight the urge to back away from him. I manage to stay where I am, gripping my skateboard a little harder just to ground myself. I don't know what I said to make him go into a mood, but I must've said something to really piss him off if he's not instantly blowing up at me right now.

I wait, too scared to say anything or move in case it sets him off. I count to ten over and over again just to focus on something other than his stygian eyes boring into me. In the end, he doesn't tear into me. He nods and starts to walk around me. I almost think I can retreat into my room without having to deal with Roman's mood when he pauses next to me.

"I wouldn't be surprised if the internship falls through for you," he says. "And I wouldn't be surprised if it's because you didn't know anything about anything and decided to spend time with that girl instead of focusing on what's important."

With that, he walks down the hall to his room. I stay where I am, staring straight down the stairs until I hear his door shut. Once it clicks into place, I let out a breath, feeling my heart pound against my chest. Like I had to force myself to stay where I am, I force myself to move to my room, quietly shutting the door.

I drop my skateboard on the floor and fall face-first into bed. I don't have the energy to even turn my head to breathe, so I slowly fall asleep like this: hollow, conflicted, and thinking I'm going to die from lack of air but too tired to do anything about it.