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I run my hand over the dash, feeling the smooth chrome knobs under the pads of my fingertips. I was only partway into the restoration when she left—when I let her go. Working on this car was how I hid myself, hid my feelings, and tried in vain to process the giant mistake I’d made with the emotional tools of a teenage boy. I might have grown up since then, but I still don’t know how to handle any of this.

“What the fuck?” I mumble to myself, dropping my forehead to the wooden steering wheel.

I’m already talking to myself like she’s gone. She said she needed to think, that she wouldn’t leave without talking to me. I try to rationalize that, but the fear I saw in her eyes tonight…

I know what I saw. She was pulling away, even if she put on a brave face.

“I thought I might find you here.” A way too peppy voice echoes through the garage.

I drop my head to the steering wheel again, this time with enough force to make the horn chirp. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groan to myself.

“Nope, not kidding.”

I look out of the corner of my eye to see Dad walking over to the passenger side of my car.

“Why are you looking for me?”

He hums to himself, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “Your brother and sister told me what happened.”

I sit up straight in the driver’s seat. “What?” I growl.

He leans over the side of the passenger door through the window, holding his hands up defensively. “Woah, there! They only said you and Josie rushed out of The Hatch, and they saw you head this way. Alone. After hood gate, I know better than to ask any of you kids for details.”

I roll my eyes. “And you came here first, not my apartment?”

He grins and holds his phone up. “Again, security cameras.”

I shoot him an annoyed glare. “I’m going to change the password.”

He laughs and looks down at the passenger seat. “May I?”

I sigh. “Knock yourself out.”

He opens the door and plops down like only an old man can. I watch him touch all the same knobs and dials on the dash that I did minutes ago.

He hums in amusement, lost in a memory. “You know, this thing was a real piece of junk when I found it.”

“I didn’t notice.”

He huffs a laugh. “Of course you didn’t. You were so excited. I couldn’t keep you away from working on this thing.”

“Yeah, I know. You threatened to change the locks on the garage.”

“I remember, but I also knew it wouldn’t do me any good because you and Josie would find another way to sneak in here,” he says, nodding toward the office and the window we’d climb in through. My jaw drops, and he laughs again. “Just because I didn’t have cameras back then doesn’t mean I didn’t know you two were always getting into trouble. I could tell when you had snuck in because the recycling would be full and the fridge would be empty.”

I quirk a brow at him. “And your point is?”

“I might not have been able to keep you from working on this car, but Josie could. Your entire world has always started and ended with her. It’s time you accept that.”

I sigh and slap the steering wheel. “It’s not that easy, Dad.”

“It is, son. Just go have fun. Please, go do whatever you want and be happy for once.”

“Just have fun?” I jut my chin at him. “How can I have fun when you need me here?”

He turns his palms up. “Well, if you’re gone, I’ll hire someone until you’re back, if you even want to come back. Who knows, maybe I can hire someone that’s a little less grumpy and won’t scare off customers.” I scowl at him, but he continues to give me a shit-eating grin.

I close my eyes and toss my head back against the headrest. “Look what happened when I was gone for a few days. Hell, remember what happened when I was here and barely managed to save you before?”