Page 55 of All Along

Her gaze darts to the door and I slide my chair back to block her exit. She can’t run from me. I won’t let her.

“But it’s embarrassing,” she whines.

“As embarrassing as having a panic attack in a crowded restaurant where everyone in town saw me?”

She scowls. “A panic attack is nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“And you shouldn’t be embarrassed of your parents.”

She gasps. “You know?”

“All I know is you saw them.” I palm her neck and squeeze. “What happened, Bunny? You can tell me anything. I won’t think less of you.”

I would never think less of her because of how her parents act. I love her. She’s mine to protect. To cherish. To worship.

Chapter 20

“Has anyone seen a cupboard to another dimension so I can avoid this conversation?” ~ Maya

Maya

Inibble on my lip as I contemplate how to answer. I believe Caleb when he says he won’t think less of me. But he doesn’t know what I’m going to say. He doesn’t know how unlovable I am.

“Please, tell me, Bunny.” He massages my neck. “I can’t help you through it if I don’t know what ‘it’ is.”

“Promise me you won’t think less of me.”

He crosses his heart. “I promise.”

“I ran into my parents at the grocery store.” I pause. I don’t know how to explain what happened. When I replay the incident in my mind, it doesn’t sound bad. Except it was.

“What bullshit did your mom spout this time?”

“Bullshit? How do you know what she said was bullshit? How do you know it’s not true?”

He leans close and holds my gaze. “Because I know you.”

“You don’t know me as well as you think you do. You don’t know how it was for me growing up. You don’t know how they treated me.”

I kept my home life separated from school. I never told anyone what happened. Sophia only found out because her brother is a cop.

Caleb leans his forehead against mine. “Please tell me what it was like for you growing up.”

I know how my parents treated me wasn’t my fault. I took enough psychology classes in college to figure that much out. But it’s hard not to believe what they say. It’s hard to feel lovable when your own flesh and blood are nasty and mean to you.

“My dad’s an asshole.”

Caleb’s eyes flash with anger and I nearly flinch before I remember. This is Caleb. He would never physically harm me.

“What did he do?”

“He belittled me every chance he got. He made fun of me. I don’t think he ever hugged me or told me he loved me growing up.”

Caleb places his free hand on my thigh and squeezes. “What aren’t you telling me?”

A lot.

“You can’t repeat anything I say. This room is a cone of mermaid silence.”

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