Page 35 of Give Me Perfect Love

“I didn’t have time for friends, much less bad boys.” I grin.

“Yeah, well, I’m glad,” he says, darkness lining his rich tone.

I laugh.

We sit quietly before he balls up his trash and tosses it into the bag on my side.

He wipes his lap off and looks over at me. “I know this isn’t easy for you. All this,” he says, waving his hand, “but I’d like to go back to that house if that’s okay?”

I suck on my button lip and swallow. Man, I don’t want to go back there, but this isn’t just about me. Bryce has been through it, too, and my old home was the place he left before his dad died.

I nod. “Okay.”

ChapterTwelve

Bryce

Baby’s quiet as we head to the house she only remembers as a nightmare. It’s not the same for me, though. It’s a place that connects me to my father. The last place, that it was just he and I, before he got out and retrieved my mom. Jace was there, too, but he wasn’t conscious. Car sleeping and dreaming kid dreams.

I remember talking to my dad on the way here about Mama. I remember the whiskey bottle in the door and the worry on his face.

I miss my dad.

Regardless of the way he was, he tried to be better for us. He really did.

But at some point, you are who you are. And he was a man sick in love.

I reach over as we cross the county line and grab K’s hand. I need her touch right now. I need to know she’s got me as much as I’ve got her.

I need her to tell me she loves me.

I need a lot of things from this woman, but I’ll ask for none of it. I want only what she decides to give.

She squeezes my fingers, giving me a piece of what I need. We continue down the road until a shack comes into view.

A dam opens and memories flood.

Everything about this place is the same, but worse. I pull into the drive, taking in the fallen porch and the door my dad came through with my mom over his shoulder.

I look at the chipped paint and dirty windows.

I see her window and my chest caves.

“I remember seeing you sitting in your dad’s car,” she says pensively.

I look back at her, my hand still in hers. “I remember you, too.” We sit in the driveway for a moment, reflecting on our own heartbreaks and crippling past.

Splinters of light shine through the clouds, warming the fields and melting yesterday’s snow. With a heavy sigh, I climb out of the car.

I need to go inside.

I pass over the treacherous porch and through the worn door. The smell of mold and something I can’t pinpoint overwhelms my senses. I bring my hand to my nose, licking my busted lip as I walk through the house. K didn’t follow me, and I didn’t ask her to.

The kitchen is a mess. The floor is peeling upward and there’s a leak coming in from the roof with a bowl catching the fall.

Jesus, how did anyone live here? I scrub up my face and exhale. I try to picture what it was like when my mom used to come here.

I’m sure everything wasn’t this bad. Time has surely taken a toll on it all. But even so, I can’t see it ever being a warm home for K. Curiosity gets the best of me and I turn toward the hallway, walking back until I reach a door on the left side. It’s slightly open, so with a small push from my finger I open it all the way, revealing a girl’s bedroom.

---