Page 58 of The Truth of Our Secrets

He doesn’t deserve her if he lies.

He’s not protecting her.

He’s deciding what truths she gets. Life doesn’t work that way. Lies always surface and cause more damage than the uncomfortable truth.

Sometimes I feel a thousand years old. I’ve been an adult almost as long as Jayce, but no one believes a seven-year-old is a capable adult. Go figure.

My phone pings. Speak of the devil.

J-Bear: You eat yet?

Me: Are you offering to feed me?

What’s on the menu

I’m curious if he’s going to let me suck his cock. That’s probably not something I should ask in a text. Or ever.

J-Bear: Leave the wiseass home and come over

Me: My ass isn’t detachable.

It’s my entire personality

The dots appear and disappear for a couple of minutes, then they stop. It’s better to know now if he can’t handle my personality. He can’t say jump and expect me to perform some acrobatic leap.

The puck from the pickup game we played together rests on my chest. I’m such a fucking sap.

They are a bad idea.

Happily ever afters are not for people like me. The best a person like me can hope for is a life that doesn’t totally suck ass. Although sucking ass would be much better than this insecurity.

The ping startles me.

J-Bear: Are you coming or not?

Ten replies fly through my head and none of them are appropriate. And because I’m all in for bad ideas, I reply.

Me: Yup

Jayce

I breathe for the first time in hours when Emmet responds. It’s hard to let go of my protective instincts for Madyson, but Emmet doesn’t have a criminal record.

Whatever happened wasn’t serious enough for him to be arrested. And it’s unlikely he has an expunged juvenile record.

I have a friend in law enforcement who checked and found his school records. He was back in school after the gruesome incident in the photo. I promised myself I’d let it go if it was nothing criminal. But it was something traumatic. Something that could still affect him.

I don’t want to make the same mistake twice and bring a snake into my bed, but I can’t trust my judgment. Peter fooled me, and I still have the scars from that relationship.

I’m thankful Peter hasn’t called again. I never know when he’s going to resurface. He gets off on hurting me and threatening Madyson.

Emmet isn’t a snake, but he already has the power to hurt us. We’re too attached and unsure if we’re a phase in his sexual identity, an exploration of a new kink. He said he wants the possibility of more, but he’s liable to change his mind.

Madyson’s curled up on the sofa, a romance novel with a very sexy cover in her hand.

“Is Emmet coming?” She closes the book, giving me her full attention.

I nod, hoping I could escape a conversation about him and see what happens when he arrives. She won’t ask me directly what my problem is with him. She talks around it and so do I.

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