Page 32 of Cold Foot Komodo

Brandon, 4:12:Sasha, you always have your phone on you. Pick up. Your mom is trying to call you.

“Is it loss of control that drives her behavior?” he asked softly, looking up from the texts.

Sasha nodded, chewing slowly, like she’d lost her appetite.

“It’s always been like this?”

Another nod.

He felt sick to his stomach. A mother should never tell her daughter some of these things. “Is this the first time she’s told you she hates you?”

Sasha shook her head slowly. “It was worse for Timber. She was the least favorite.”

“Jesus,” he whispered, scrolling down a rambling thread of insults, growing in anger and venom. “How does Timber handle it?”

“She is no-contact. She blocked them all before her wedding. Didn’t invite a single one of them. My mother took it as a slap to her face, and can’t stand that I’m wanting to maintain a relationship with Timber.”

“She sees this move up here as you choosing a side?”

“Yes.”

Reed inhaled deeply, reading a text from her father that talked of how disappointing Sasha was being.

“You shouldn’t read these texts,” he said. “They’re cruel.”

She shrugged and took another half-hearted bite. “I’m used to it.”

“Don’t say that. No one should get used to this behavior. It’s not okay. Look at Timber. Look how she smiles. Pay attention when you spend time with her today. You can’t be truly happy with cinder blocks tied to your ankles, holding you underwater. That’s not love, Sasha. Timber figured it out.”

“I’m not ready yet,” she admitted low. “No-contact is impossible unless you are ready. I’ve read a book on it.”

“So it’s something you’re considering?”

“Yes,” she whispered, but she couldn’t meet his eyes anymore, and her voice shook.

Fuck, his chest was hurting. He swallowed hard and stood, then sank into the booth seat next to her, scooching her over. He draped his arm around her shoulders, pulled her against his side, and sighed as he rested his cheek against the top of her head. “May I delete the text thread so their words don’t sit inside of you today while you’re alone?”

She huffed a little laugh, eased back, and looked up at him. Her eyes were rimmed with moisture and God, she was so beautiful. “You understand a lot about a lot, don’t you?”

“I can see the other side, somewhat. Yes. I can never understand fully. This never happened to me from a parent. I had a good mom and dad. Had a good support system. They wouldn’t ever talk to me or my brother like this. They built us up, like parents are supposed to do. I can only imagine what it would do to my head if I was called names, and told by the person who was supposed to take care of me that they hated me. Can I delete the thread?”

“No. I keep screenshots of the thread in a folder on my phone for the day I am ready to say goodbye.”

Aaaah. “So you can go back and look at the horrible things they have said to you when your resolve is shaky?”

“Exactly. I’m not very hungry anymore. I’m going to save the rest of this for later.”

“Sounds good. Are you ready to go?”

She smiled softly up at him, then wrapped her arms around his middle and hugged him up tight, resting her cheek right against his ribs, andfuck, what she did to him. Warmth dumped into his body, and his skin tingled with pleasure everywhere she touched him.

He kissed her on the forehead again. Yeah, he was testing the waters after their conversation in the truck. He was checking if she would flinch away after finding out what a monster he was, but she leaned into it and they just stayed like that for three breaths, his lips pressed to her hairline, his eyes out the window on the falling snow outside.

He’d known her for a day.

One day.

One day, and he felt like he’d known her all along.

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