Page 161 of The Baby Bargain
Ariel's brow furrows. "Sorry, was that—"
"You say this shit that everyone is thinking. Hell, there's a part of me thinking it, but I can't quite reach it."
She nods with understanding. "You didn't realize you were—"
"Plagued with mommy issues?"
"Subconsciously repeating a past trauma." Her lips curl into a half-smile. "Yeah, plagued with mommy issues."
My laugh deepens. "No. I just thought… it wasn't like I loved her in spite of her illness. Or because of it. There was no separation in my mind. Grace was Grace. She happened to have a condition. Just like I did."
"But you're not—" Ariel bites her lip. "Or maybe you are."
"Maybe I am…"
"You should talk to a professional, not me."
"Is there a diagnosis for plagued with mommy issues?" I ask.
"No." She bites her lip. "But, uh, you do have a lot of the symptoms of… no one really knows what comes first—a chemical imbalance or the negative thought patterns."
"You're gonna have to dumb that down."
"You're like Daredevil."
I arch a brow. "What's that have to do—"
"That guilt and self-loathing and habit of seeing the worst in everything—"
"I see the worst in everything?"
"A lot of things." She pushes her chair back. "It… it might not be your personality."
"What?"
She bites her lip. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't… I should go."
"Why?"
"I… I just should."
She's scared of something. Of me.
She must see it too.
That she needs to get the fuck away, ASAP.
"If you want to leave, you can," I say.
"I don't want to. I just…"
She knows she should. That she needs to protect herself. Avoid a guy who turns everything to shit.
"The story doesn't get better," I say. "All the details I have… they only make it worse."
Ariel bites her lip. "I don't know."
"You don't know?"
