Page 151 of The Imperfections

“Good morning, handsome.”

Poor Brant hasn’t slept at all. His clothes are dirty and muddy and he looks so tired.

Sympathy swells up inside me and I push myself up into more of a sitting position on the couch. “Is it done?”

“Yeah, it’s done. I’m sorry I had to wake you, but the sun’s about up, and I didn’t want you to wake up and think something had happened because I wasn’t back yet. I’ve gotta take a shower and then run over to Bri’s for a bit, then I have to get rid of Theo’s car.”

That wakes me up a little more. “What do you mean, get rid of it? Where will you put it?”

“I’ve got some ideas, don’t worry about it. The less you know, the better. Anyway, as long as everything goes according to plan, no one will think he’s missing. They’ll just think he ran off and abandoned his family. It’s a shame for them,” he says, looking down and shaking his head regretfully before lifting his gaze to mine. “We’ll take care of them, though. Bri’s gonna take it hard, so you’ll probably have to step in and watch the boys a little more while she gets it together.”

“Of course. Whatever she needs.”

“While I’m gone, I’d also like you to make a doctor’s appointment for yourself. We’ll go when I get back, just let me know what time it is so I can make sure I’m home.”

“I don’t really think I need—”

“You said he was rough with your stomach, and you were all upset on top of that. Not only that, I… I hate to bring this up, but I don’t know how safe Theo was. I know he’s been with at least one other woman since you, but God knows what he did that I don’t know about. In any case, we should probably have the doctors check you out just to make sure.”

My eyes widen. “You think I need to get tested?”

“Just to be safe,” he assures me. “I’m sure you’re fine, but better safe than sorry, right? We should also make sure he didn’t do any damage to you.”

I wrinkle my nose up, sinking back into the couch and tugging my blanket up closer to my neck. “That all sounds awful.”

“I know. I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” he says, giving my shoulder a supportive squeeze. Flicking a glance out the window, he says, “I gotta get going so I can get in and out before Bri wakes up. You’ll be all right here alone?”

I nod my head. “I’ll be all right.”

“Good.” His hand drifts toward my face and he gives me a tender caress before making his way upstairs to clean himself off.

30

Brant

I’m absolutely exhausted as I haul my ass up the sidewalk to my sister’s house and bend down to fish the spare key out of the little ceramic turtle on the front porch.

I desperately need some coffee or a nap, and I don’t have time for a nap. Since it’s feasible enough that Theo could’ve made himself a cup of coffee for the road, I go to the kitchen first and put on a pot. I know Bri buys to-go cups so they can take coffee with them to drink on the way to work, so I quietly go through the cupboards until I find them.

I sigh with relief as I take the first sip, then I put the lid on and make my way to the spare room—the room where that miserable bastard first fucked Alyssa after luring her in there to look at some shit on the computer.

I walk over to that computer now and pull out the chair. I shift and grab the gloves out of my back pocket, then I pull them on and start typing Theo’s farewell letter.

“Brant?”

My fingers freeze, hovering above the keyboard, and I turn to look in mild horror at my sister standing in the doorway. She looks like shit. Her face is puffy like she’s been crying all night long, her hair is frizzy like she spent a lot of time tossing and turning. She has a blue robe pulled around her body and she’s frowning at me in more than slight confusion.

“Good morning,” I say, keeping it simple since I don’t have the first idea what else to say.

“What are you doing here? And did you… make coffee?” she asks, completely bewildered.

Ah, shit. It’s early as hell, and I didn’t think she’d be awake yet after such a late night.

When I got off work last night, I had to come over here. Bri doesn’t like to tell me when she and Theo have been in a fight, so I knew this must have been a bad one since she did. Eager as I was to go home to Alyssa, I had to stop over here first and make sure my sister was all right.

---