Page 71 of Imperfectly Perfect

“Mom used to tell me that Dad wasn’t that bad at first, when they met, when she agreed to marry him. Tia, however, told me a different story. He was that bad. He just didn’t let Mom see it.” Fallon wrung her hands together tightly. “Stop lying to yourself, Savannah. It’s not going to do anyone any good, Brinley the least of all.”

“You’re right.” Savannah puffed out her lips. “He’s always been a bit controlling. But he never used to yell or control like he does now, and it seems he’s starting to use Brinley to exert even more control on both of us.”

“I’m not sure you’re hearing my concern.” Fallon pushed herself back into the couch and then immediately sat up again. She couldn’t stay still. For the first time since they’d met, Fallon was struggling to say something, and it was making her incredibly uncomfortable.

Setting down the mug, Savannah scooted closer to Fallon and covered her hand. She laced their fingers together and squeezed tightly. Fallon seemed to settle. She, at least, relaxed slightly. Savannah pulled Fallon’s hand up to her lips and kissed her delicate skin.

“Then try again. I’m listening,” Savannah murmured. She sounded so calm, but she wasn’t. Her heart hammered, thudding against her chest to the point that it nearly hurt. Her shoulders were so tense that the ache slid down her back and into her hips.

“I can’t be in a relationship, friendship or otherwise, that’s going to put me right back where I was when I was a kid.” Fallon squeezed Savannah’s hand tightly, not letting up. “I can’t watch Brinley go through what I went through.”

Savannah took in a shuddering breath. “What are you saying?”

“Tonight was too much of a reminder of my childhood.” Fallon let go of Savannah’s hand, breaking the connection they had, smashing the hope that Savannah had harbored these last few weeks. “I can’t put myself in a situation where I’m going to be a witness to that, or where I’m going to be forced to ignore it, or worse yet, where I’m allowing it to happen again.”

Fallon straightened her back, but she didn’t stand up to leave. She didn’t raise her gaze to meet Savannah’s. Spinning in the circles of what Fallon had just confessed, Savannah couldn’t find traction. This sounded like a breakup before there was even a relationship, a true one anyway. And it was because of Forrest? Not something that Savannah had specifically done, but more something she hadn’t done.

“I can’t control who her father is,” Savannah stated, her tone sharper than she’d intended, but all those defenses were pulling tighter and fighting their way to the surface. “I can’t make him not exist anymore.”

“I’m not asking you to,” Fallon snapped.

There was the argument that Savannah had been looking for. There was the sharp pang in the center of Savannah’s chest, a hurt that was exploding and multiplying before she could even begin to capture it.

“I’m asking you to protect her.”

“Iamprotecting her.”

Fallon shook her head slowly, her eyes wary. “Not well enough. Tonight shows exactly that. She needed you tonight, and you were out here dealing with him.”

“Fallon, I can’t be in two places at once. Hell, I can’t be in three places at once. I can’t be coddling her while fighting him, and I can’t be standing next to you and watching it all either. What you’re asking is impossible.”

“It’s not.” Fallon stood up and paced back and forth in front of the television. “Brinley is your number one priority, she has to be.”

“And you think she’s not?” Offense swept through Savannah, stealing over her heart and capturing her in its grasp. She wasn’t ever going to be able to come out of this one, was she? What right did Fallon have to tell her this? She wasn’t a parent. She hadn’t even been in Brinley’s life for more than a few months.

“I think she is.” Fallon put her hands out to her sides and closed her eyes in defeat. “I think she needs to remain there.”

“And you think that you’re going to change that?” Savannah was ready to scoff, but she held it in. Something about Fallon’s countenance was off, and she couldn’t put her finger on what exactly it was.

Fallon shook her head slowly. “I’m going to make sure that I don’t.”

“Are you arguing the same thing Forrest was? That because Brinley was with Kyla, she wasn’t my priority?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying.” Fallon brought her hands to her sides and bunched them into fists. “Brinley wasn’t your priority with Forrest tonight. You wanted to poke him and argue with him. You wanted to prove your point that he was wrong.”

“He is wrong.”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s right or wrong. That’s what I’m saying.” Fallon’s voice rose, louder by the second. She took abreath, blowing it out. “You were out here when she needed you in there.”

“Sheneededme out here,” Savannah rebutted. “She needed me to be the barrier between him and her, and that’s exactly what I was doing. Like I said before, I can’t be in two places at once, Fallon. I’m grateful you were there for Brinley, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t doing my job as her parent because I wasn’t calming her down but instead shutting down the fight that upset her to begin with.”

“You didn’t shut it down!” Fallon shouted. “He’s going to come back, and he’s going to fight, and he’s going to rip you apart from limb to limb just to prove his point.”

If Savannah had been standing, she would have stumbled back. There were tears in Fallon’s eyes. There was pain stricken across her gorgeous face. That look was the most powerful one that she’d ever seen. It was devastation.

“Fallon…” Savannah pushed herself to stand, and she walked slowly to where Fallon stood. Taking Fallon’s hands in her own, she laced their fingers together and stared down at them. What was she going to say? Fallon was right. Forrest was going to do exactly what he’d promised, and he was going to sue for custody again, take her back to court, claim she was an unfit mother. She’d been there before. This wasn’t a new argument.

What was different this time was that Fallon was here.

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