Page 106 of Catch the Sun

“Oh, hmm. Max and I haven’t discussed plans yet.” I absently pick at the stitching on the bedcover. “I’ll let you know.”

“I’m sure Max will go. We can dress up and ring in the new year in style!” She infuses animation into her voice, though it still falls flat. “I have the perfect outfit. We can get ready together. I–I think I need a distraction from all these big decisions.”

“College, you mean?”

She bites her lip. “Something like that.”

I stand from the bed with a nod, knowing what it’s like to need a distraction. A friend. An escape from life’s bitter throwdowns. Smoothing down my dress and hair, I lift my chin and send her an agreeable smile. “Okay, sure. It sounds like fun,” I concede. “Count us in.”

“Really?” she beams.

A subtle unease settles in, a voice inside my head whispering to take it back and choose a quiet night at home with Max.

But I don’t listen.

I push aside the feeling and widen my smile. “Yeah,” I tell her. “We’ll be there.”

Her face lights up when I join her in the hallway and we link arms, sharinga tender look before heading to the kitchen for blueberry pie.

I say yes.

I agree to go to the party.

And for the strangest reason, I can’t help but feel like I just agreed to a goodbye.

Chapter 25

Max

“Dad!”

Glass shatters. Curse words bounce off the half-painted walls. My heart recoils in my chest as my stomach drops out of me.

This cannot be happening.

No, no, no.

I call over my shoulder for my brother. “McKay, I need a hand!”

The small Christmas tree McKay helped me cut down lays tipped over at my feet, shards of multicolored ornaments scattered across the still-in-progress floors. Dad is on a rampage and it came out of nowhere—first he was helping me with my tie for the New Year’s Eve party tonight, his hands shaky as he worked through the stubborn knot. I wanted to look nice for Ella, so Dad offered to let me borrow his dress suit. Money is tight and it didn’t make sense to buy something new.

“You look so handsome, Maxwell,” my father said, his eyes prideful, smile warm.

“Thanks, Dad.”

Trembly fingers fiddled with the teal-blue fabric, sliding down the length of the tie. Everything was fine. Everything was perfect. An enchanted evening of music, fireworks, and midnight kisses that just might lead to more commandeered my mind as the clock ticked down to 8:00 p.m.

Then he paused. My father swayed on the chair across from me, his glimmering eyes turning dull and dazed. He stared straight ahead, attention locked on my chest, before his chin slowly tipped back up and our gazes tangled.

I frowned.

I blinked at him.

“What’s wr—”

He erupted.

With one staggering lurch, he reached for Mom’s old dishware set on a nearby shelf and started heaving dishes at the far wall, one after the other.

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