I didn't think it was possible to feel numb and mad all at the same time, but watching Briar drive away confirms that it's a thing. Turning to face my parents does, too. Nanay and Tatay take me in with cool expressions. And Roman... his expression is blank. Almost relaxed. I don't have the energy to read too much into it right now, but I have a feeling he's taking in every little detail of what just happened and he'll do the same with what's about to happen.

"Get in the house, Idris," Tatay snaps.

No matter how pissed and numb I am right now, Tatay's anger washes over me, drowning out both feelings with fear and anxiety. I glance in the direction Briar drove off in, but she's gone. It's probably for the best, so my family doesn't keep accusing her of being an awful person. But I can't say I'm not a little selfish and don't wish she was still here with me. To comfort me. To stand with me. To make me feel brave. To make me feel safe.

But it's better that she isn't here right now. So to compensate for her absence, I grit my teeth and keep my eyes on the ground as I walk into the house, brushing past my family. I feel all three of them trail behind me, making me grit my teeth a little harder. I head straight for the living room and slump down on the couch, setting my skateboard next to me.

Roman pauses at the threshold. The darkness in his eyes is gone. I guess now that our parents think my internship was fake, he's in a better mood and doesn't feel the need to make sure I'm in our parents' bad graces. Just thinking about him planting that idea in their heads makes something spark in my chest, a single flint setting off a wildfire.

Roman and I make eye contact, and the moment we do, the wildfire snuffs out. There are still embers burning, but I don't think they're strong enough to start another fire. Not when Roman looks concerned. Like it wasn't his fault that I'm in this situation in the first place. Like he wants to step in and talk my parents down. It's rare, but it happens.

But now isn't one of those times.

He may look sorry for me, but he can't even bother to stay in the room. He keeps walking, but I'm sure he's not too far that he can't eavesdrop. That's the least of my worries, though. Nanay and Tatay stand directly in front of me, their arms crossed over their chests. They have identical looks of anger and disappointment on their faces.

"What were you thinking?" Tatay asks first. "We told you to stay away from that girl, and you go ahead and take an internship from her? And work for her family?"

I take a deep breath and sit forward. "I've been working at A Quiet Café for a little over a year before I even met Briar and knew who she was. And when I found out who she was, she convinced her dad to let me intern for him because she knows how much I like his books. It was a good opportunity to—"

"Get away from the house?" Nanay sneers at me, her eyes blazing. "Get away from us?"

Well, yes. That's definitely part of it, but I'm not stupid enough to admit that. "No—"

"Really?" Tatay asks, glaring at me. "Because it's starting to look like you'd rather spend time with another family than spend time with your own. If you hate us that much, just say so."

My mouth goes dry, and I have to swallow a few times to get any words out. "I don't hate you guys. I just—"

"Would rather spend more time with some girl," Nanay says. She tightens her arms around her chest. "Some girl that's turning you against us. Before you met her, you never talked back to us. And you did what you were told."

I look down at my hands as the embers burn a little hotter in my chest. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not mindlessly obedient to you..."

Tatay sighs. "I am, too."

What the fuck?

I stop myself from snapping my head up. The embers fizzle out a little as surprise sets in. But should I really be surprised that they're upset I'm not listening to them all the time? Isn't that what all parents are like?

Nanay sighs. She sits next to me, putting her hand on my shoulder. I have to fight the urge to curl in on myself. She takes it as an invitation to gently squeeze my shoulder, but that makes me want to move away from her even more.

"Anak," she says, her voice softening. "This is for the best. You don't want to be involved with someone like that."

I frown. "Like what?"

Nanay ignores my tone, but I can't ignore how she's talking to me like I'm three and not sixteen. "Someone that's too outspoken against adults. If you start speaking out like that, people will just think you're disrespectful." Nanay gestures towards the threshold, and when she brings up Roman, I have a feeling she knows he's nearby, too. "It's like how your brother knows when he should listen and when he should say his part."

I really don't need to be compared to Roman right now, and the fastest way out of this is to apologize. "I'm sorry that I've been talking back a lot, but—"

Tatay scowls. "If you meant that apology, you wouldn't have to add anything else to it."

And if I want to get out of here, I shouldn't have even thought of doing that. I nod, looking down. "I'm sorry."

My parents wait. When I don't say or do anything else, it feels like the room becomes so much brighter. Almost like the sun chooses that exact moment to shine directly through the window to cue me in on how I'm safe from more lectures and glares. At least for now. At least until I mess up again.

Nanay wraps me in a hug, and I force myself to return it in case that becomes another lecture. She pulls away with a smile and rubs my back. The gentle touch makes me relax, but at the same time, I feel my chest tighten. Like any second the affection will stop and she'll start yelling at me again.

"Good," Tatay says with a nod. He straightens up, looking down on me even more than he already was. "I hope you learned to listen to us more. Now go to your room and call that girl's grandfather and father right now to tell them you quit." He shakes his head. "I wouldn't put it past her to lie to her family or not tell them anything."

I take a deep breath and count to ten in my head as I nod, not trusting myself to talk. I pick up my skateboard and walk past my parents. I head straight for my room and shut the bedroom door. The moment it clicks shut, all my carefully wrapped emotions completely explode out of its glass box, shards scattering everywhere, stabbing me from the inside out. I throw my skateboard on the ground, watching it roll across the room and collide with the wall with a bang. I inhale through my teeth and hold my breath, waiting for one of my parents to come up here and tell me off for making so much noise. No one comes, but when I exhale, I don't feel relief. I just feel the glass cutting into me.

I fall back on my bed, my hands on my head. This fucking sucks. And maybe that's on me. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything about Briar being the one that offered me the internship. Wasn't Briar telling me something about how things always get worse when Hien tries to defend Lanh?

I should've listened...

I turn on my side and curl in on myself. I shut my eyes, ready to fall asleep, but my phone chimes. Insistently. I pull it out of my pocket to silence it, but I sit bolt-upright when I see who it is.

Briar: I am so so so sorry.

Briar: I didn't mean to get you in trouble.

Briar: I hope things are okay.

Briar: Your parents aren't too harsh on you, right?

Briar: It's not like they can force you to do even more work in the fields like Hien's parents.

Briar: Sorry, that sounded insensitive.

Briar: It sucks no matter what happens.

Briar: And I'm sorry.

Despite everything, I have to laugh at all the texts. Only Briar could make me laugh like this right now. And only she can remove the shards from my chest without physically being with me.

Me: YOU don't have anything to be sorry for.

Briar: It probably would've been better to let you head home yourself, though. I shouldn't have insisted on driving you or saying any of those things.

Me: No. I felt safer and braver with you there and hearing what you had to say. Just like Hien with Lanh. Thank you for being there with me.

Briar: I still wish I could've done more for you than get you in trouble.

Me: I'll be okay.

Briar: I hope so. But what are you gonna do now that your parents don't want you working for my family?

Me: No idea. But I'll try to work things out. I'll see you around when I do.

Briar: See you around. Good luck. Hien always pulled through. I know you can, too.

Me: And Lanh was there waiting in the end. You'll do the same for me, right?

Briar: That's a dumb question. Of course, I will.

I smile, reading the entire conversation a few times. God, how can Nanay and Tatay think that Briar's a bad influence? Just because she stood up for me? And because I stood up for her?

I drop my phone screen down on the bed and stretch out. So stupid... I don't know if I'm referring to myself, my parents, Roman, or the entire situation. But stupid or not, I'm talking to Briar again. At this point, that feels like the only freedom I have in my life. Just like Hien with Lanh.