Page 165 of Perfect
“I know howhardit’s been for you,” Danny hisses, and I close my eyes and try not to panic. “Don’t you fucking lie to me and say you wanted to come home. You’ve been out here whoringaround for ayear.”
“Dan-”
“Shut up. You’re so fucking stupid, you know that? You don’t know anything about the world, and you’ve put yourself in so much danger without me to protect you. The guy you’ve been spreading your legs for is a dangerous fucking creep, and you couldn’t even tell.” His face shifts into more concern than anger, and I know I’ve got a way out.
He figured out who Theo is, and I just need to play dumb and act grateful.
I stay quiet, trying to look confused, and Danny removes the photo of us to show a mugshot of a college-aged Theo with short hair, a black eye, and a cut lip. I gasp on purpose, but all I feel is a pang of pity as I look at how young and miserable Theo looks in the photo.
“He’s a fuckingcriminal, Alice. He almost killed his college roommate just because he wanted to fuck the guy’s girlfriend. He stalked her and everything.” Danny pulls the mugshot away to reveal a close-up photo of someone from the shoulders up, their battered face peeking out between a neck brace and the slightly bloody bandages wrapped around their head.
It has to be Kevin, but you’d never be able to tell.
My eyes widen as I lean forward to look at the photo. Seeing what Theo did is so different from just knowing about it. Kevin’s face is covered in deep cuts and purple and black bruising, hiseyes are swollen completely shut, his nose is obviously broken beneath a cast, and his lips are split so badly they need stitches.
Looking at this, I’m positive I saved Ben’s life.
“The poor kid has permanent brain damage, and that’s not even the worst part. This fucking guy killed his dad when he was akid!Look at this shit,” Danny spits, pulling the photo of Kevin away to reveal a crime scene photo of Theo’s dad dead on a living room floor, blood pooling on the carpet beneath his head. There’s a handgun next to his dad’s head, the handle coated in blood.
My gasp is involuntary this time.
I lean farther forward and stare at the photo for a minute, feeling nauseous. Theoseverelydownplayed what happened. He might have shot his dad in the head, but I can’t even tell if it’s true. His dad’s face is collapsed in on itself, brain matter splattered in the pool of blood and along the handle of the gun.
Theo said he lost it, but he was just a kid. I didn’t realize he could have done something likethis.
Realization washes over me as I look at the photo, followed by an enormous amount of pity and anger. Watching him do that is probably why his mom abandoned him. I wonder if his grandparents saw these photos, if this is why they pushed him so hard to be normal.
I’m so absorbed in the photo that I almost forget Danny is there until he starts talking again.
“It’s horrifying, right? You had no idea you were whoring yourself out to a fucking psychopath, did you?” Danny’s voice has gone from frustrated to furious, and he pulls away the photo of Theo’s dad to reveal more pictures of us in Yachats. Danny flips through them slowly, laying them out on the coffee table so I can look at all of them.
There are so many photos of us, but they’re only of us having sex. Most of them are in the living room or dining room, butDanny even climbed down the hill and got photos of us in the bedroom.
Did he seriously watch us all weekend?
I get why Danny’s so angry now.
He has to be aware that I’ve never enjoyed sex like this with him, never looked at him like this. My eye catches a photo of Theo and I in the kitchen, me on my knees and his hand in my hair. I’m sure Danny was pissed watching that – I’ve never once blown him without him asking for it. When I see how Theo’s looking down at me, possessive and adoring and so obviously in love with me, I lose focus for a second and smile a little.
It’s a fucking mistake.
Danny grabs my shoulders and I’m suddenly looking at him, his pale blue eyes wide and his face turning red.
“What thefuckis wrong with you,Alice? Have you lost your fucking mind? He’s a goddamnmurderer.” I swallow hard and nod, remembering that I need to pretend that I didn’t know that Theo had done those things.
“I’m just…shocked. I’m so stupid. Thank you for saving me from him, Danny.” The words are bitter in my mouth as I force them out, but they have the intended effect. Danny relaxes a little and sighs angrily, shaking his head at me as he looks down at the photos.
“I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with you, I really don’t. You ran away from me, you hid from me, you cheated on me, and you’re acting like it’s fuckingnothing,like I’m fucking nothing to you. You don’t even seem sorry that you did this to me.”
Oh,of course. That’s why we’re here. He’s going to make me apologize.
“I’msosorry, Daniel,” I say slowly, trying to seem sincere. “I want to make it up to you.” I’m grateful he doesn’t have Theo’s preternatural ability to know when I’m lying.
He huffs out a breath and nods. “You’ve really fucked up here, but I’m going to try to forgive you. You’ll have to work hard to make it up to me, Bunny, but I’ll let you.” I’m Bunny again, which means I’m calming him down. I just need to keep him calm.
“Thank you. I’m so sorry, pumpkin. I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness.” When he looks at me, I can tell he believes me, and I struggle not to flinch when he pets my hair.
“God, you’re lucky I love you so much, babe. You’re coming home with me, and we’ll get back to normal.” I nod eagerly, knowing I’m not going to Boston. Theo’s going to show up, just like he always does. He’s not just my boyfriend, he’s my fuckingstalker, and he’s going to find me. All I need to do is run out the clock until he can get home from Salem.
