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“No. We’re not.” A sob escaped my throat.

“Scarlett...” Sophie tried to grab my hand.

But I turned and ran down the hall. I could barely even see where I was going as the tears blurred my vision. But I managed to push open the front doors of Empire High and run out onto the steps. I leaned over as a sob ripped through me. It felt like my heart was on fire. Like all the times Axel had hurt me times a thousand. I loved Jacob. I loved him, and he practically said he never loved me back.

A few students stared at me as they walked into school. I needed to get out of here. I ran down the steps. And I kept running. I didn’t know where I was going, but I wanted to be anywhere but here.

“Scarlett!” my dad’s voice sounded behind me.

I kept running.

“Scarlett, wait up!”

I didn’t know what to say to him. I just wanted to be alone.

But I was never a star athlete.

And my dad quickly caught up to me and pulled me into his arms.

“Pumpkin, what happened?”

I sobbed harder as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Sophie said you needed me, but she didn’t say why. What happened?” My dad lifted my head off his chest and cradled it between his hands. “Talk to me. Please, before I lose my mind.”

“Dad.” My voice cracked.

“Tell me what happened, pumpkin.” He tried his best to wipe my tears away with his thumbs.

My bottom lip kept trembling. “Jacob broke up with me.”

“What? Why?”

Because I lied to him. Because I’m not his type. Because he only ever saw me as a friend. I just shook my head and pressed the side of my face against my dad’s chest. I was glad he hadn’t heard anything Jacob had said. I didn’t want my dad to think I was as much of a loser as Jacob did.

My dad held me tight in the middle of the parking lot as I cried. “I’m so sorry, pumpkin. What can I do to make it better? Do you want me to go beat up Matt?”

I laughed against his chest. Which I knew was what he was trying to get me to do. “Can we just stay like this for a while?”

He rested his chin on top of my head. “For as long as you want.”

I’d never been happy that my dad had started teaching here. But I was grateful now. School had definitely started by now. I was going to get in trouble. And so was my dad. But he didn’t say a word as he held me.

“You should get to class,” I said and finally pulled back. “So you don’t have to donate any more money to the school.” I wiped at my cheeks.

My dad shook his head. “Better idea. How about we go home and get some ice cream and watch a movie?”

“Yeah?”

He put his arm around my shoulders. “If I go back in the school right now, I might assault a student. And I don’t think there’s any going back from that.”

He managed to get me to laugh again.

I climbed into the car and he shut the door behind me.

“We could also stop by Hunter Tech and see if Rob is up for an elaborate prank.”

I smiled. “I don’t want to prank Jacob. And I don’t want you to fight with his parents. I just want to pretend none of this ever happened.” I wasn’t sure I meant the last part as soon as I said it out loud. I looked down at Jacob’s varsity jacket around my shoulders. Jacob was my first boyfriend. And I’d loved every second of it until the very end.