Page 104 of Tempting-
I nod. Emma is different than she was before the accident, but I'm not sure how much is her growing up and how much the ache of losing Mom and Dad.
"Mom saw me coming into the house. Asked about the tat in thatwhy would you do thatvoice. I told her Ryan had done most of it. She'd met him once or twice."
"And she hated him?"
"She never said as much, but yeah. She grabbed Emma and made up some excuse about how they had somewhere to be. Then she found me and told me she didn't want me around her daughter. Not if I was going to throw my life away."
"Oh, Brendon. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It was—"
"That's your mom. It must have hurt."
Like a knife in my chest. But that was how it had to be. "Not everyone deserves to be in your life."
"Still. I know how much you love Em. How much you... well, you really are a family man."
"You could say that."
"It must have killed you, that rejection."
Maybe. I've always been angry. I think about it and I see red. I see injustice. I see bullshit. Sadness doesn't seep in.
"Your dad too?"
"He always followed her lead."
"And you... did you not see Em for all that time?"
"I still did. Just not when Mom was around." I'm good at keeping secrets, I guess.
"Oh." Kaylee takes another step forward. Another. Another. She stops in front of the building. Looks to her phone then to the stone sign. "This is it."
"First stop tomorrow."
She nods. "It looks good. Traditional." She gives the tall brick building a long once over. "Were you... were you hanging out with the kinds of people Em shouldn't be around?"
"Sometimes. I wasn't choosy about my friends. Or the way I spent my time."
"You mean..." She presses her lips together.
"You can ask."
She looks up at me. Runs her fingertips over my jawline. "You mean drugs?"
"Sometimes. It was never my thing."
"You'd rather be in control?"
"How the fuck did you know?"
It's strange. I never want to share anything. And certainly not with Kay. The way she looks at me—like I'm a guy worth loving—is too intoxicating. I can't bring myself to convince her otherwise.
But I want to tell her this.
I want her to know how many people I disappointed.
How many people I continue to disappoint.
