Page 67 of Unbroken Promises

“Please understand, I’m not saying any of this to place blame or make you feel guilty. I am just saying that I was already struggling and it was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back for me. Everything just became too much all at once and I stopped functioning. So yeah, Caleb called your mother because he didn’t know what else to do. He flew her out overnight and she came to take care of me. I’m not saying she fixed everything all at once. Nothing like that. But she got me out of bed, got me to take a shower and eat some food, and then she talked. Didn’t demand anything of me, didn’t ask me to share all the horrific details of my past. But she just talked to me, and by listening to her, hearing her story? Well, it was the step I needed to push myself forward.”

Theo swallows, blinking as he tries to process what I’m saying. “I- I don’t understand. Whatexactlydid Ma tell you?”

My smile is sad as I look at him through the phone, wishing I could touch his face. Wishing we could be having this conversation in person. It’s certainly not ideal, but then, nothing about our history has ever been ideal or conventional.

“She told me about herself. About your father. What happened to her. How you saved her, like you saved me.”

Theo sucks in a sharp breath, surprised at my words. I doubt he thought that information was something his mother would ever share, let alone with the girl he had just broken up with at the time.

“Theo, I know. I know who you are; who your father was and what he made you do.” A tear slips down my cheek, mourning the innocence of the boy Theo had never been allowed to be. “I know that your dad was a lot like Bradley, how he used to hurt you, hurt your mom, and make you watch. About how he was trying to raise you in his image.”

I pause for a moment, letting my words sink in. “I also know that you did what you did to Brad to save me, to protect me from a life that would have been so much like the one your mother had to raise you in. And while I can’t say I will ever be able to understand the horrific things you had to live through, I know you did what you did to protect the people you love. Both for your mother, and for me. And I’m sorryfor all the shit you went through as a little boy. No child should have to grow up living like that. And I am sorry for the position I put you in, for making you feel like you needed to save me the way you saved your mother. And thank you, for doing it anyway. For being who you are and for loving every broken part of me.”

This last part comes out rushed, as I am desperate to be done with the words I have held back for so long. The tears are falling freely down my cheeks now, and as I blink them away, I see tears streaming down my Hoodie Guy’s face as well.

“You knew? All this time, you knew?” He swallows thickly, not bothering to wipe away his tears.

“I’ve known this whole time; known you were watching me in the darkness even after you pushed me away; even after you haunted me no matter where I ran to in this city. And I’ve loved you, and I’ve waited for you to come out of the shadows. Waited for you to come back to me. And there is nothing that you can say or do that will make me love you any less. Because I have seen the man underneath the hood, I know the man that waits in the shadows. I know the boy your father raised and the man you chose to become in spite of him; you’re my silent protector; my stubborn hooded ghost. I love you, you idiot. Always have, and I always will.”

Slowly, the shock fades from his eyes, and a smile breaks across his damp face. And we both laugh through the tears, talking until neither one of us can keep our eyes open any longer.

Chapter Sixty-Two

Danica

HG: Good morning, il mio passerotto

Me: Mmm. Morning, HG.

Me: Two more days until you come home. . .

HG: I can’t wait to see your beautiful face

HG: What are your plans for the day?

Me: I have some admin work to get done today. No clients until later this afternoon, but thought I would swing by Jonathan’s to check and see how he is doing

HG: *scowls* Is that really necessary?

HG: Can’t that man-child take care of himself, already?

Me: Theo, he was shot

Me: At my place of business

Me: Because he was trying to help protectme. . .

HG: *sigh*

Me: Besides, he is one of my best friends, so you two are just going to have to find a way to get along with one another

HG: Do I have to? I feel like the asshole is always making heart eyes at you, and it really pisses me off

Me:

HG:

HG: La mia diavoletta. . . what aren’t you telling me?

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