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“He said that we have to leave New York. And I told him that I wouldn’t go with him if he didn’t let me see you again. He was stubborn and stone-hearted. He didn’t let me. And I didn’t want to do that to you. So I didn’t just leave without saying a proper goodbye. But I didn’t know how to see you again without running away from him again. I thought about bribing Andrew and Calvin, but they are more loyal to my father than me, even though they treat me like a little sister. And I—” Myah’s voice breaks, and I see her trying her best to keep a straight face.
I pull her closer again and hug her.
“It’s all okay now, Myah,” I whisper.
“No. No. I don’t want to go to Washington without seeing you again, Sloane,” she cries out. Myah always puts on a brave front, but she is still a kid. And it pains me to know that as much as I hate Owen for involving her with our issues, I still am part of the reason we are here in the first place.
“I’m here now.”
“It was tough to escape to this place because Andrew and Calvin kept on popping into the park. I knew that there were a lot of places to hide in here, but I was also afraid that I would get lost if I veered off the path too much.”
I hug her tighter again, then let go.
“Do you want hot chocolate?” I offer.
Myah nods and takes my hand again. I lead her out of the park to the nearest coffee shop. We both order a steaming cup of hot chocolate to warm our insides. I watch her flinch when the hot drink burns her tongue.
“Hey, take it slowly,” I say, laughing a little.
Myah sticks her tongue out, and I chuckle. I take a sip of my drink and let the hot drink warm my throat. It feels good to have such a wonderful drink and company after days of being alone. I wish I could stay with Myah for a bit longer.
“You know what, Sloane, I realize now that my dad is pig-headed.” Myah puts her cup down and looks out of the window. “I kept on telling him that you didn’t do anything wrong before. I was the one who followed you around. And I was the one who forced myself on you. You could have ignored me, and I might not have survived being on the streets. So he should be happy with what happened. But all that he’s doing lately is grunting and staring into space.”
I sigh before answering. “Myah, your father is just concerned about you.”
“No. He just wants to control me again. Like he did before.”
I frown. “But, really. There’s… Something happened. And your father may seem pig-headed to you, but he has his reasons for not letting you see me again.”
“What’s his excuse?” Myah challenges me, but I don’t want to take the bait. I can’t tell her all the details. Yet I also know that I can’t avoid her question.
“Myah,” I sigh again. “There are aspects to what happened recently that you don’t know…yet. And —?”
“What aspects?”
I calculate my following words carefully because I can’t just blurt that I had been fucking her father while I was helping him find her. I don’t know how Myah would take that, and I don’t ever plan on finding out. “I actually was seeing your father while he was looking for you.”
Myah’s eyes widen.
“But he initially didn’t know that it was me because I was wearing a mask. And I told him the truth about the hidden persona and my feelings for him — that I love him. He told me that he could never trust me again.”
Myah stares at me for a few minutes, and I start to feel self-conscious. I brush some of my stray hair behind my ears and focus my eyes on my mug. I feel like hours have gone by, but she is still staring intently at my face. I take a sip of my hot chocolate.
“Sloane. I think you need to get over your self-esteem issues.” I almost spit out my chocolate. Myah continues, “wearing a mask on a date is so ridiculous. How do you even eat food or express yourself with a mask on? I really don’t understand how people date sometimes.”
I laugh at Myah’s statements, but I don’t try to explain further. She doesn’t need to know the details about my sexual escapades with her father.
“I’ll take note of that for the future. But right now, Myah, we need to inform you, father.”
“No.”
I reach for her hand across the table. And I feel glad when she doesn’t pull away. “But, Myah, if we don’t tell your father that I found you, he will take you away from me again and forever forbid you to see me. I really don’t want that to happen.”
