Page 18 of Imperfections Forbidden
“What about the elderly lady?The other victim, where’s her justice?Who is going to stand up for her and give her the justice she deserves?”I ask him, feeling sad for her.
“She becomes an unfortunate casualty in the pursuit of justice for all.Her cuts and bruises will heal.She’s had a chance to live her life.Sometimes you make a deal with the devil, and he comes back to collect.
“That was the first deal I ever made.I’ve made a few more since then.Today was the last of my deals I made with one of the many devils out there.He came to collect.”
Wow.“Have you ever regretted making the choice you made?”
“No.But I was sorry she didn’t get the justice she rightfully deserved.I know it doesn’t make up for what happened to her, but I paid her legal fees and paid her rent anonymously until she died last year.”
This is a side of him I’ve never known.He’s really showing me everything, good and bad.
“In many ways, I’m like my father, as much as I try not to be.I’m not perfect, Cat, I’m the definition of perfectly imperfect.”
So am I.
“That’s another reason I tried so hard to fight my feelings for you.”
“Personally, I don’t know your father well, I’ve heard things about him, but what does that have to do with your feeling for me?”
“My dad was never faithful to my mother.Well, maybe he was in the beginning of their marriage…that’s what I assume, anyway, from their pictures and the way my mother used to talk about the start of their marriage.It definitely wasn’t the case toward the end of their marriage.”
“What happened, why did they get divorced?”
“He couldn’t keep it in his pants.He had women practically falling out the kitchen cabinets.Didn’t even try to hide it.”
“That must have been hard for you.”
“Yeah, it was so bad I was afraid to go in the kitchen.I was afraid a big-breasted woman might fall on top of me and smother me to death.”
I laugh at his attempt at a joke.“Nick, that’s not funny.”
“Yes, it is, you’re laughing.Picture the headlines.”
I shake my head at the thought.“He was a repeat offender.”
“A repeat offender?”
“A guy who cheats more than once—it’s their thing.I dated a few of those; I’m so happy I didn’t sleep with any of them.”
“That makes two of us.”
He takes a sip of his beer and puts it back down.
“I can’t believe he would do that to your mother.She’s such a nice person.”
“Seriously, fucked-up things usually happen to the nicest people.”
“I’ve only met your father a handful of times, but he was always nice to me.”
“He was probably scouting you out to recruit you to be one of his new mistresses when you came of age and were ripe for the picking.”
My eyes wide, I turn my head up.He looks down at me with a smile and a soft chuckle.
“Eww, I’m glad you’re joking ’cause that would just be gross, a real perv move.”This is the first time Nick has ever really talked about his father to me.Now I know why.“It must have been hard to go through that, to see her go through that.I know how much you love your mother.”
“I don’t want to hurt you like that.”
I twist around in his arms and sit up on my knees in front of him.“Will you?”
