restaurants in sight, which left me with only one sadistic thought.
Please don’t let him be a weirdo who is dragging me to his dungeon or something.
My heart sank when he pulled into a circular driveway and parked behind an oversized SUV that screamed
family vehicle
.
“Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me you’re not some crazy stalker. That this isn’t your secret residence and you plan on chaining me up in your basement or something,” I said, eyeing the brightly lit house with trepidation.
He looked at me like I had sprung an extra head before laughing loudly. “Sorry. I’m fresh out of chains. This is my mom’s house.”
“Fuck me,” I mumbled as he jumped down from the vehicle.
He laughed at my colorful choice of words, but I could have sworn I heard him mutter something along the lines that he’d like to do just that.
7.
Present Day
12:14 PM
“This is bullshit,” Justin ranted. He surged to his feet after twenty minutes of uncomfortable silence in our stalled-out tomb.
I remained silent as he paced back and forth, swearing with each step. His outburst was unexpected. The entire time we’d dated he’d always been so laid back, except for the end, of course. I watched him with a heavy heart, wondering where the boy I had fallen in love with had gone. The man pacing in front of me showed little resemblance to the person I once knew. Was this my fault? Did the lies and secrets lead to this?
After a few minutes of watching him tick like a bomb waiting to go off, I finally broke into his rant. “How’s your family?” I asked quietly.
The words instantly had the effect I knew they would. Above all else, Justin loved his family. The first night I met them I would have gladly swum with a tank full of hungry flesh-eating piranhas rather than walk into their house. It had taken Justin a full five minutes to talk me out of his jeep. I remember how he had laughed at my apprehension as we made our way up the lighted path to the front door. It was obvious he thought I might bolt, which was completely possible.
“They’re all the same,” he sighed against the elevator wall. “Crazy, loud, obnoxious at times, but I guess some would call it lovable,” he answered with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Some things never change,” I mused. I had to admit I missed them.
“They still ask about you,” he admitted, studying his knuckles.
“They do?” I asked, although I wasn’t surprised. They were sweet people who had welcomed me from the beginning.
“I never told them what happened.”
“You didn’t?” I asked in a strained voice.
“No. I figured, why ruin the illusion?” he said bitterly. “They all thought you were perfect.”
“I never pretended to be perfect,” I mumbled, picking invisible lint off my pants. “How’s Hollie?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from another yell-fest.
“She’s great. The same gangly, awkward, but beautiful girl. She started middle school last year and is a total band geek now,” he answered like a proud parent. She was his kid sister, but in truth he was probably a better father than her real dad.
“Band? That’s great. I guess the tone-deaf gene skipped her, huh?”
“Must have. She definitely has mad skills.”
“What about Travis?”
“He’s better once we convinced him he wasn’t that unique just because he came out of the closet.”
“And your dad? Is he still giving him a hard time?” I inquired with an edge in my voice. Out of his whole family, the only one I’d disliked was his father. Since his parents were divorced, I’d had the misfortune of meeting him once. He was a total monkey-douche. How Justin’s sweet, loving, and a bit harebrained mother wound up with such an ass was beyond me. He was unyielding and opinionated and gave all new meaning to the word
dictator
.
The ringing of the elevator’s emergency phone interrupted our conversation. “Finally,” I shouted, jumping to my feet as
Please don’t let him be a weirdo who is dragging me to his dungeon or something.
My heart sank when he pulled into a circular driveway and parked behind an oversized SUV that screamed
family vehicle
.
“Please, for the love of all things holy, tell me you’re not some crazy stalker. That this isn’t your secret residence and you plan on chaining me up in your basement or something,” I said, eyeing the brightly lit house with trepidation.
He looked at me like I had sprung an extra head before laughing loudly. “Sorry. I’m fresh out of chains. This is my mom’s house.”
“Fuck me,” I mumbled as he jumped down from the vehicle.
He laughed at my colorful choice of words, but I could have sworn I heard him mutter something along the lines that he’d like to do just that.
7.
Present Day
12:14 PM
“This is bullshit,” Justin ranted. He surged to his feet after twenty minutes of uncomfortable silence in our stalled-out tomb.
I remained silent as he paced back and forth, swearing with each step. His outburst was unexpected. The entire time we’d dated he’d always been so laid back, except for the end, of course. I watched him with a heavy heart, wondering where the boy I had fallen in love with had gone. The man pacing in front of me showed little resemblance to the person I once knew. Was this my fault? Did the lies and secrets lead to this?
After a few minutes of watching him tick like a bomb waiting to go off, I finally broke into his rant. “How’s your family?” I asked quietly.
The words instantly had the effect I knew they would. Above all else, Justin loved his family. The first night I met them I would have gladly swum with a tank full of hungry flesh-eating piranhas rather than walk into their house. It had taken Justin a full five minutes to talk me out of his jeep. I remember how he had laughed at my apprehension as we made our way up the lighted path to the front door. It was obvious he thought I might bolt, which was completely possible.
“They’re all the same,” he sighed against the elevator wall. “Crazy, loud, obnoxious at times, but I guess some would call it lovable,” he answered with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Some things never change,” I mused. I had to admit I missed them.
“They still ask about you,” he admitted, studying his knuckles.
“They do?” I asked, although I wasn’t surprised. They were sweet people who had welcomed me from the beginning.
“I never told them what happened.”
“You didn’t?” I asked in a strained voice.
“No. I figured, why ruin the illusion?” he said bitterly. “They all thought you were perfect.”
“I never pretended to be perfect,” I mumbled, picking invisible lint off my pants. “How’s Hollie?” I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from another yell-fest.
“She’s great. The same gangly, awkward, but beautiful girl. She started middle school last year and is a total band geek now,” he answered like a proud parent. She was his kid sister, but in truth he was probably a better father than her real dad.
“Band? That’s great. I guess the tone-deaf gene skipped her, huh?”
“Must have. She definitely has mad skills.”
“What about Travis?”
“He’s better once we convinced him he wasn’t that unique just because he came out of the closet.”
“And your dad? Is he still giving him a hard time?” I inquired with an edge in my voice. Out of his whole family, the only one I’d disliked was his father. Since his parents were divorced, I’d had the misfortune of meeting him once. He was a total monkey-douche. How Justin’s sweet, loving, and a bit harebrained mother wound up with such an ass was beyond me. He was unyielding and opinionated and gave all new meaning to the word
dictator
.
The ringing of the elevator’s emergency phone interrupted our conversation. “Finally,” I shouted, jumping to my feet as
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