Page 256 of Tell Me Something True

“I needed you,” Tabitha whispered. “Reed needed you. You were supposed to take care of us.”

Her mother darted a glance at her. Licked her chapped lips. “I want you to go. I want you to leave now.”

Disappointment settled heavily in Tabitha’s stomach.

Guess there was a bit of that little girl left inside her after all.

One who wanted her mommy.

But she couldn’t fix Michelle. Couldn’t save her.

Couldn’t magically transform her into the mother Tabitha had deserved.

And maybe, knowing that, believing it, was the first step in finally letting her go.

With a nod, she crossed the room to the door. Opened it, then stopped to look back at her mother. “It’s too late for you to make things right with me,” she said softly, “but it’s not too late for you to do right by your son. Either way, the truth will come out. It always does.”

Then she stepped out into the hall.

And straight into Miles’s arms.

He held her while she gripped the back of his uniform shirt in her hands, her trembling body pressed against him.

But she didn’t cry.

She didn’t think she was completely done crying over her past or her mother, but for now, for tonight, she’d given them both enough. Enough of her tears. Enough of her thoughts and attention.

It was time to focus that time and attention and those thoughts on herself. Her future.

And the man holding her.

“Come home with me,” Miles murmured.

Lifting her head, she linked her hands behind his neck. “You’ve said that to me before.”

Except this time, unlike that night in The Cockeyed Chameleon’s parking lot, they weren’t standing in the dark, hiding from each other, they were in the harsh glow of LED lights, letting themselves be seen.

They weren’t doing their best to protect their secrets.

They were sharing them.

“I did.” He slid his arms around her waist, his palms settling against the top curve of her ass. “That night, I wanted to eradicate you from my system. Purge you from my memory. But tonight, I want to take care of you. I want to help you put yourself back together. Piece by piece. Bit by bit.”

While she might not be done crying over her past, she had a few tears left for this. They filled her eyes, but she didn’t fight them. They weren’t full of pain and anger and fear.

These were pure, unadulterated joy.

“Yes.” She stopped. Sniffed and smiled through her tears. “Yes, I would love to go home with you.

***

On the way, they stopped at Tabitha’s apartment so she could grab the overnight bag she’d packed with essentials from her car. As they headed to Miles’s house, she filled him in on her conversation with Michelle. He’d held her hand the entire drive, as if sensing she needed that connection.

Or maybe he just wanted it for himself.

Either way, by the time he pulled into his garage, she was much more settled. Steadier.

Slightly less heartbroken.

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