Chapter 61

Any other time you could, just rewind the moment and replay it differently, that’s the beauty of VR. But tonight the program’s not responding and he’s just lying there, waiting for you to do something else. You’re not getting a second chance. You can’t just pretend it didn’t happen. You’re going to have to apologize.

You’ve never had to say you’re sorry before. You’re not even sure you know how.

He’s waiting. Maybe he thinks you’re going to hit him again. You don’t want to—his eyes are rimmed with a sadness you put there. You hate that, look what you’re doing to him. So you’re not at the damn beach, get over it. You have a boy who’s willing to let you love him and that’s why you came here, isn’t it? To get a piece of him, not to hurt him—you’re not into that.