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Another tear slipped over her lash line, but she was quicker this time, swiping at it before it had a chance to fall.
“So one night my father and I got in a huge fight over Scott, and I told him I wasn’t going to let him control my life anymore. I left, and that was that. I wouldn’t answer his calls or his texts. I wouldn’t go see him. Almost a whole year went by, and I refused every attempt he made at reconciling with me. My whole life was centered around Scott, the one person I thought really cared about me and wanted what was best for me. And he had me all to himself, just the way he wanted.”
She turned to Da
Leah shrugged as she said, “After I left the hospital that night, I went to Scott’s apartment and found him in bed with another girl.”
Da
She nodded slowly. “So there it is. I threw my family away for a controlling, manipulative liar. If my father had died that night, he would have died thinking I resented him, after everything he’d done to try to hold my family together, after how hard he worked to take care of us all.”
He stared at her, his eyes swimming with pain and something else Leah couldn’t quite place.
She used the end of her sleeve to wipe her nose. “I’m pretty awful, huh?”
Da
Leah closed her eyes and exhaled. She would relive that story again and again if it ended with being in his arms, because the way he was holding her made her feel like she was someone worthy of forgiveness.
It was some time before Da
“Leah?”
“Hmm?” she said, her eyes still closed.
“The guy who killed your mother. Do you hate him?”
Leah’s eyes opened as she sat up, looking at him. It seemed like such a strange thing to ask, but his expression was smooth as he waited for her answer.
“Um…I don’t know. I mean, I never really think about him. He died on impact.”
He looked down and nodded. “Do you think he got what he deserved?”
Leah chewed on the inside of her lip. Did she think he got what was coming to him when he lost his life? She looked up sheepishly as she asked, “Would it make me a terrible person if I said yes?”
Da
She sat there staring at him, trying to comprehend what he was really asking her. His questions seemed completely irrelevant to their discussion, and yet she knew there must have been some co
“I will tell you, Leah,” Da
“Okay,” she said softly, and his eyes met hers.
“Really?”
She nodded. “You can take whatever time you need. I just can’t be lied to. I don’t ever want to be lied to.”
“I won’t ever lie to you, I promise you that.”
She smiled softly. “That’s all I ask.”
They sat there for a moment, looking at each other, and then Da
“You’re feeling it, huh?” Leah asked.
“I think I’m go
She laughed as she stood from the couch, and his eyes flew open. “Where are you going?”
“You need aspirin,” she said. “Bathroom?”
He nodded, closing his eyes again. “Medicine chest above the sink. On the bottom shelf.”
Leah got him the aspirin and stopped in his bedroom to get him the bottle of water she’d left there earlier before returning to the couch and handing them both to him. After he had swallowed the pills and about half the bottle of water, he looked over at her.
“Thanks. I’m still not cleaning up those coffee grounds.”
She laughed and he smiled up at her, revealing the dimples that made her chest flutter. Da
And then he lifted his arm, inviting her into the space beside him.
She probably should have shown some hesitation, just to maintain some semblance of dignity, but instead she immediately crawled over to him, laying her head on his chest. He exhaled contentedly as his hand came to the back of her hair, lazily ru
It felt so perfect to be lying with him this way, like they had done it a million times before. And she knew she would crave it now, like an addiction that weakened her until it was fed.
Leah sighed softly as she curled her fingers into his shirt, and she felt him kiss the top of her head as he continued playing with her hair.
She didn’t have all her answers yet, but she would. And it was enough to know that for now—to believe that whatever he had to tell her wouldn’t be significant enough to change what was happening between them.
Because she didn’t want to have to walk away from him now.
“How’s that working out for you?”
Da
He brought his fist to his mouth. “S’good,” he mumbled.
Leah chuckled as she pushed off the counter and reached above the refrigerator for the bread, and Da
Her smile broadened as she turned and took the dish from him. “Say what? I told you so?” she asked, dumping the contents in the trash. “I would never.”
He brought his fist back to his mouth and closed his eyes, and she laughed again, giving him a gentle nudge. “Go lie down. Give me five minutes to work my magic,” she said, coming back to the counter and pulling a slice of bread from the bag.
Da
Da