Faded Perfection (Beautifully Flawed Book 2) by Cassandra Giovanni Page A

have to deal with any of those. You’ll be okay, I promise.”
    Adam shook his head as we started down the stairs. “You’re always taking care of me now. Isn’t it supposed to be the other way around?”
    I kept my eyes ahead as my heart hammered against my chest. “It goes both ways.”
    Adam smiled as he opened the door, and the winter air bellowed into the warmth of the building. I pulled my scarf up further as we walked out the door.
    “I’ll make dinner tonight, okay?” he said, reaching over and rubbing my arm as I shivered.
    I smiled up at him, swallowing as my mouth went dry. I didn’t know if he would make it through the day, let alone want to make dinner at the end of it.
    “Sounds fabulous,” I replied as I fought the urge to look at the sky and pray it would happen.
    “What do you want?” Adam asked as we reached our cars and he turned to face me.
    “I think there are some meatballs in the freezer, and I could go for spaghetti,” I said.
    “And garlic bread?” Adam added as he tucked my hair behind my ear.
    “Even better,” I replied, trying my hardest to keep the fear out of my voice as I glanced up at him.
    His eyes were red, and I knew he didn’t sleep much the night before. He leaned down, kissing me before pressing his lips on my forehead. The hollowness flashed in his eyes before retreating as he whispered, “Love you.”
    “Love you more,” I replied as I opened my car door and sank into the seat. I waited for him to pull out before shutting my eyes and leaning my head back. I needed to have faith he could do this.
    I knew he could.
    I opened my eyes and put the car into gear.
    I wasn’t sure I could handle it if he couldn’t.
    ~~~
    The first two hours of the day I spent looking at my phone over and over again. Finally, at the third one, I stopped looking, but anxiety continued to play with my mind. My body flushed with heat as I told myself everything was going to be okay. At hour four my body finally relaxed, and I was able to get some work done. I sent the final print files for the restaurant and booked the models for my next shoot. I stood to stretch, looking out the window at the busy Boston street. Three blocks away Adam was busy teaching his students. I smiled to myself as I sat back down, pulling my apple out and biting into it just as my cell phone rang. The song from Fade Burn made my eyes prick as I looked down at the picture of Adam.
    This couldn’t be good.
    “Adam? What’s wrong?” I asked, and my voice pitched as I looked down at my apple, one bite mark out of it. I swallowed the gritty piece in my mouth, feeling it move down my throat as I waited for Adam to response.
    “I…I don’t know what I was thinking,” he said, and I heard him curse under his breath.
    “I don’t understand,” I replied, my heart hammering too hard against my chest. I rubbed my hands across my collar bone. He didn’t sound bad.
    “I just…I fucked up, Riv. Can you get me?”
    “I need you to explain,” I said as the urge to vomit rolled over me as my body went cold. What had he done?
    “I brought…” I heard him grit his teeth, and a trash can go skittering across a tile floor. “I drank–not a lot. But…now I’m afraid I smell like booze, and I can’t drive if I smell like booze–but I can’t go back out there when…I don’t…God, I’m so fucked up.”
    I pressed my fingers into my forehead. “Where are you?”
    “In the bathroom. I dumped the bottle out, but now I still have a bottle. Riv, I don’t–” his voice cracked; “I don’t know what to do. I love my job.”
    “Stay there. I’ll pick you up. Make some vomiting sounds intermittently.”
    Adam didn’t respond.
    “Adam?” I asked.
    The line was quiet for another moment before he asked, “Do you hate me?”
    “No,” I replied, biting my lip before continuing; “I’ll be there in a little bit.”
    “Thanks, Love.”
    I nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see it before hitting the
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