Page 36 of Give Me Perfect Love

A single bed rests against a wall, with sheets that might have been white at one time. Now they’re faded and have stains. I wonder if she’s seen this, but with the door being almost shut, I feel like she hasn’t.

No telling who slept here after she left.

Empty hangers rest in the closet and a dresser with drawers open stands against the wall.

She left it all. Cleaned out what she wanted and never looked back.

A sick feeling passes through me as I think about the things she endured while staying here.

Did it happen in this bed? On this floor?

Nausea makes my mouth water and I leave the room, slamming the fucking door behind me. I walk through the kitchen, kicking the overflowing leak catcher as I go.

I’m in the living room when I spot something on a side table.

A lighter. Quickly, I grab it and flick it to see if it works. On the second try, a flame shoots up, making me smile.

I head out, careful on the porch before I make it back to the car. I open the door and lean down so I can see her.

She looks over at me with tired eyes. I know she’s ready to go. I know she’s ready to leave all this behind her. I reveal the lighter in my hand.

“You want to burn this motherfucker to the ground?”

Her eyes move from me to the lighter before bouncing back to my face.

And she smiles. “Absolutely.”

I grin back. “Let’s go get some fuel.”

*****

A rush of excitement fills the car as we head back to the broken-down house. We bought two gas cans. One for her and one for me. That house may have been the last place I talked one-on-one to my father, but it’s a place my mother chose over us, and it’s a place Kathrine was abused in.

I don’t want it standing any more than she does.

We couldn’t do anything about the man who lived there. God took care of that. But we can do something about the shell he did his dirty work in.

And we will.

As I pass the county line, my cell rings and I lift up and pull it from my front pocket.

Looking at the screen, I say, “It’s Mills, baby.”

Her brows lift and she gives me a small smile. “Answer it.”

I hit the green button. “Hello.”

“Bryce. Hey… I… um... is Kathrine there with you?” The poor man is nervous, and I don’t blame him. He’s gone his whole life living one way, having no idea he had a child this entire time.

Once he finds out what that child went through, it’s going to kill him inside because there’s nothing he can do about it. He’ll feel like I do, except in a different way, I imagine. Bethany would probably do better not to ever come around again. The fault is on her.

“Yeah. She’s right here,” I say before handing K the phone.

“Hey, Mills,” she says, unsure of herself. Like him, she’s in unknown territory. This is going to take time if either of them cares to do it.

But I could tell he did the moment he found out she was his.

“Yes. I’m still in town,” she says. “Bryce and I are actually headed to my old house. Where Saw lived.” She looks over at me, chewing her bottom lip before she says, “We’re going to set it on fire.”

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