Page 12 of Give Me Perfect Love

I have a home.

“Well, how did that one go?” Lucy asks.

I hold up my key and give it a jingle.

She nods. “Good job, kid.”

“Thanks for your help, Lucy.”

“Sure thing.” She opens the car door. “I tell ya, menopause is no joke, and this damn Georgia heat makes me feel like I’m burning in Hell.”

I smirk at her as I plop down on the springless seats in her car. The thing comes to life when she cranks it and my eyes go to the cracked dashboard. Well, I’ve got my own place. Now what? I need things. A bed, a sofa? Some plates?

Shit, I don’t know. I need everything.

“I ain’t getting any younger here, girl. Spit it out.”

I turn to her with a lifted lip. “Can you take me to get a bed?”

She laughs. “If you got the money, let’s go.” She fists the gear shifter and the car bounces into drive. I’m floating on air as we cruise down the streets of Atlanta and not just because of the Oldsmobile. How far I’ve come in such a short time.

Oh, how far I will go.

“I got this.”

Lucy gives me a puzzled expression, but I see it when she recognizes what I mean. “You do, kid. You got this.”

Chapter Three

Kathrine

Present day

I’ve imagined this moment more than a thousand times since the day she left me.

How could a mom do that to her only child?

How could she be so cruel to leave me with someone like him?

I have no idea why I came here now. What was I hoping to accomplish? I feel all I’ve done is rip off a scab that took years to heal. This house should be condemned and then burned to the fucking ground along with all the horrible memories inside of it.

My stepdad is with the worms, and as far as I’m concerned, she is, too.

I narrow my eyes at her.

Why is she here?

I walk to the door and open it.

“Kathrine?” my mama questions with wide eyes.

I don’t say anything as she stands there looking like she’s seen a ghost.

Yeah, I feel the same.

“I never thought I’d see you again,” she says, shaking her head.

Is she happy, or just surprised?

---