Page 127 of Make Me Trust Again
The corner of my mouth tips upward at her blasé attitude.
“Besides, your dad’s busy, and our cleaner has occupied the house, so it’s not like I had anything better to do at home. Oh, look at this.” She pulls out a pale blue dress shirt. “Kyle could wear it to church.”
“We’re shopping for school clothes, Mom.”
Mom waves me off. “One shirt never killed anyone.”
Knowing there is no sense in fighting with her when she sets her mind to something, I pull the last tee in the right size and putit over my arm. I spot Kyle wandering around the store. His gaze meets mine, and I wave him over.
“Let’s go try these.”
Kyle groans.“Do I have to try it on?”
“Don’t you give me that attitude, young man. We came here to buy you some new clothes before school starts. Or do you want to walk in pants that are too small?”
Kyle lets out an exaggerated sigh.“Okay.”
“Don’t forget about this.”Mom gives me the shirt she picked out, and from the corner of my eye, I can see Kyle’s nose furrow when he sees it.“I’ll wander around and see if I can find anything else.”
Nodding, I take Kyle back to the dressing rooms, where I hang up everything. He insists that he can do it alone, so I leave him in the dressing room and wait outside. Mom joins us halfway through, letting me know she’s going to check another store, and she’ll be back quickly. A dozen outfits later, including the dang shirt, I’m at the register paying for the clothes.
“We still have to buy school supplies,”Kyle points out as we’re leaving the store. I swear that’s the only thing that the kid’s excited about when it comes to school—that and spending time with his friends.
“I didn’t forget. That’s our next stop.”
Pulling out my phone, I text Mom where we’re going, when Kyle’s words have me looking up.“Is Dad coming?”
Hitting send, I slip my phone into my pocket.“No, why would?—”
“He’s there.”
My body freezes as I spot John on the other side of the courtyard. Only, he isn’t alone. My lips press into a tight line as I watch him stand by the ice cream stand, his arms casually wrapped around Lucy Donovan’s waist, while hers are drapedover his neck, fingers playing in his hair as she pulls him down for a kiss.
Kyle’s fingers grip mine tighter. Bile rises in my throat as I just stare at them as they pull apart and move closer to the stand.
Then I see it. The boy with them. Lucy’s son. I recognize him because he’s in the same class as Kyle. I think his name is David.
He turns around and asks something before placing his order at the stand. John pulls out his wallet and pays. All of them moving out of the way soon after. The boy smiles at John, holding the ice cream in his hand. John returns his grin—something I haven’t seen in so long it feels foreign on his face—and ruffles his hair playfully. My heart breaks a little at the movement. He never did something like that with Kyle. Never showed him affection.
Kyle’s fingers are sweaty as he squeezes mine tightly, his gaze fixed on them. Watching. Observing.
“Ky?”I rub my thumb over the back of his hand, trying to draw his attention and offer him some comfort, but his gaze is fixed on the retreating group.
A family.
That’s what they look like.
The perfect little family.
John looks up, his gaze scanning the space as if he can feel us watching. In a matter of seconds, his eyes find mine across the room. He takes me in, his gaze falling on Kyle.
I hold my breath. Time seems to slow down as my heart beats wildly inside my chest while I wait. I’m not even sure for what, but in the blink of an eye, John’s gaze shifts past us and back to Lucy and her son as if we don’t even exist.
Fucking asshole.
“There you are. I thought I would miss you guys; I found this most amazing dress. It will be perfect for you—” Mom’svoice trails off when she comes in front of me, and she must see something’s off because her eyes narrow. “What’s wrong?”
I shake my head, still unable to form words and explain what just happened. Hell, I don’t even want to explain it if it’ll lead to another round of her trying to reassure me that John’s not so bad, and I should give him a chance.
