Page 82 of Perfect
“Alex, don’t freak out, okay?” I can feel the edges of my perception starting to get blurry, but I can’t afford to get numb right now. I need to focus.
“You were in her house?” He grimaces as he sits next to me and grabs my hands, gripping them tightly.
“Uh, yeah. I needed to talk to her, and she was avoiding me.”
“Can you blame her? Being stalked is terrifying.” He winces slightly, but I don’t think the jab lands fully.
“I’ve tried to apologize.” He makes a face. “She hasnotaccepted.”
“Would you have killed Kevin?” Theo looks up at the ceiling, his jaw tense.
“Probably. I wasveryupset at the time.”
“How are you evenout?” He shrugs.
“I had good lawyers, I took a plea deal, and I got out on parole for good behavior.” He seems so nonchalant about it, and I narrow my eyes at him.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” His face goes blank instantly, and I lean away from him. He looks over my shoulder, and his mouth becomes a thin line.
“Um,yeah,” he says quietly, “I killed my dad when I was twelve.” My eyes widen uncomfortably, and I lean farther away from him, feeling his hands grip mine tighter.
“You killed yourdad?” Theo’s face hardens, and his eyebrows jump up as he looks at me.
“It was self-defense, and he deserved it,believeme. That fucking meth-head piece of shit knocked up my mom when she was sixteen and used to beat the shit out of both of us. I don’t think anyone was that upset about it, honestly.”
I highly doubtthat.
“What about your mom?” Theo scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“Oh, Melissahatesme. She fucked off to Florida while I was being held in juvie and didn’t speak to me again until last year, and she only talked to me because Nana left me everything. The first thing she said to me in almost two decades was that it was unfair of me to steal her kids’ futures by keeping all the money for myself.” He rolls his eyes again. “She conveniently forgot I’malsoher kid, I guess. And before you think I’m a total asshole, I offered to have Catherine set up a trust for her other kids. Shefreakedout, calling me a monster and a financial abuser and all this shit just because I wouldn’t just giveherthe money. Mother of the year, right?” His tone is almost joking, but I can tell from the tight, clipped edge of his voice that it bothers him a lot. My brain seems to skip over the broader context of the conversation and focuses on that.
“I can’t imagine parents like that. It sounds awful.” He looks a little shocked at my response but rubs his thumbs across the back of my hands.
“Um, yeah, but Nana and Boss were basically my parents after that. They adopted me, actually. Melissa signed over her parental rights for, like, five grand or something.” He tries to smile, but his mouth is too tight. “I was definitely a handful, but they were great. I know they would havelovedyou, especially Nana.” I have no idea what to say to any of this, so I just nod. He looks at me, his face softening, his smile small and a little crooked.
“God, you’re so sweet. I’m so fucking sorry about today. Again, this isnothow I wanted you to find out about any ofthis.” He shakes his head. “If I ever see Adam again, I’ll fucking kill him.” My mouth drops open in horror, and he holds up his hands. “I’m kidding! Bad joke, sorry.”
I don’t think he’s joking.
He runs a hand through his hair and stands up, pulling me with him. “Right, okay.Brunch.”
We don’t talk while he starts to make food. I sit at the kitchen island and watch him, my mind reeling. My stalker is a murderer who has a bad relationship with his mother, and the last woman he stalked meantlessto him than I do. Bailey tells me about all the true crime shows she watches, and this sounds like one of those.
This is bad. This is very fucking bad.
The one thing I keep coming back to is that he didn’t hurt Ashley. It’s the only thing keeping me from spiraling into a full-blown panic attack.
“Alex?” Theo looks at me expectantly.
“Huh?”
“I asked if you like orange or grapefruit mimosas?”
“Whatever you’re having.”
“What doyoulike?”
“Uh, grapefruit.” He smiles at me.
