“Fine,” I bite a little harshly.
He drags his tongue across his bottom lip and sighs. “It’s good to see you.”
I fold my arms over my chest and tilt my head. “What do you want, Finn?”
“Can I see her?”
“No,” I say instantly.
My entire body tenses at the protectiveness that crawls over me. I’m not ready for that yet. He might have the right to see her, but he’s the one who left, and I had to pick up the pieces.
Finn blinks, shoulders drooping at my answer. After a few moments, he nods and glances away, running a hand down his face. “I’m sorry, Maya,” he rasps thickly. “For everything. I am so fucking sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t fix the past.” I try to contain the shiver that rushes through me, but it’s harder than expected. “Sorry doesn’t repair my broken heart.”
Hurt flashes past his eyes, the kind I used to see when he felt guilty and worthless, and it allows uninvited emotion to crawl up my throat. “I know it doesn’t,” he says with tears in his eyes. “But I want to do better, and I want you to know that I’m different.”
My gaze lowers as he takes a step forward.
“Do you want me to get on my knees and beg, Maya? Because I will,” he chokes out, and when I raise my head to look at him, tears are streaming down his cheeks without reservation.
He’s being deadly serious.
The second he starts to bend his knees, I grab onto his wrist, and those green eyes filled with remorse and pain almost make me fall over. “Don’t,” I say through gritted teeth. “Don’t do that.”
He releases a ragged breath as his tears drip off the edge of his jaw. “You owe me nothing, I know, but I can’t just stand here and let you keep doing this by yourself. I should have been there, but I want to be there now. I want to show you how important this is to me. Tell me what I can do.”
My eyes flick between his slowly as a ball feels like it’s been lodged in my throat. “I said I needed time,” I whisper deeply.
Finn purses his lips and sniffles. “Nothing I do will make up for what I did, but please let me try to fix the future, even if I don’t deserve you or Skye.”
I watch him for a long moment, and the devastation on his face. My eyes start to burn, and I attempt to hold back my own tears, but it proves difficult.
“I’ll text you when I’m ready,” I whisper.
Finn’s expression falls to surprise. “When? Not if?”
“As much as I hate this situation, you’re her father,” I say as I raise my head. “But just give me a second to wrap my head around everything.”
“Okay.” He swallows. “You text me, and I’ll be there. Without fail.”
“Goodbye, Finn.” I turn my back on him and walk back to the bench with Jade and Alice’s eyes on me.
When I sit back down, I watch Finn as he walks down the path, glancing over his shoulder once as he wipes his eyes.
“What happened?” Jade asks with wide eyes.
“He wanted to see Skye.”
“And you said no?”
“Not yet, does that make me a bad person?”
“No!” Alice exclaims. “It’s your choice, your call. Not his.”
My lungs release a sharp breath. It’s only now that I realise how badly my hands are shaking until Alice cups them soothingly.
“It’s gonna be okay,” she says supportively.
