Chapter 2Too Late for Sorry

"Sorry I'm late, everyone."

Maya slid into the empty chair beside me, then casually asked the waiter to bring another.

"I'd like you all to meet Finn," she announced. The introduction was brief, almost dismissive.

Finn had the grace to look shy, offering a nervous wave. "Hi, everyone."

An awkward silence fell over the table. No one responded. Eyes flickered between me, Maya, and the boy with the ghost's face. Given Maya's years-long obsession with Connor, it was impossible not to connect the dots.

Maya acted as if she didn't notice a thing. She started setting a place for him, her voice intimate and low. "These are just my old classmates. You don't have to be nervous."

"Okay," he murmured.

Through it all, she never once looked at me. It was as if I were a stranger, a piece of furniture.

It felt like I'd swallowed glass.

Her coldness at home was one thing, a silent war waged within the privacy of our walls. But to bring her lover here, to a reunion, in front of people who had known us since we were kids… she wanted to humiliate me. It was the only explanation.

A sharp, twisting pain shot through my stomach. Something hot and acidic rose in my throat.

I shot to my feet. "Excuse me, everyone. I need the restroom."

"Leo, you're pale as a ghost. You okay?" our old class president asked, his face etched with concern. I glanced at Maya.

She was whispering something to Finn, a private smile on her face. She didn't even register my departure.

I waved a hand dismissively and walked out as fast as I could.

I barely made it to the bathroom before I was retching, vomiting until the world spun. The pain in my stomach intensified, a vicious clenching that brought a cold sweat to my forehead. I was so focused on the agony that I didn't hear him come in.

"Ugh, gross. Who's in here?"

I turned. Finn was leaning against the doorframe, watching me with an arrogant smirk. He was a completely different person from the timid boy in the dining room.