“You’re here now.” I hated seeing him upset. Especially over this. None of what happened last night was his fault. Just Isabella’s.
“Tell me where it hurts.” He was looking at the bandages on my feet. “Tell me everything that happened. Tell me I can make it better.” His Adam’s apple rose and then fell.
Matt had put me through hell. And I think maybe I had put him through hell too. But us torturing each other ended today. I was just glad he was here. I was glad he was choosing me back. Out loud. Not hidden anymore. Not like my dad had treated my mom.
I climbed onto his lap. “Can you just hold me?” I rested my head against his chest and breathed in his familiar scent. It mixed in the air with my mom’s perfume and made me feel so content. I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
I knew I needed to tell him about the past week. About Miller. Even about James. But not right now. I just wanted one minute where I didn’t feel awful. And when he held me, I no longer felt like I was sinking. I was all in with him. I just hoped he felt the same way after he knew the truth.
“I’m going to fucking kill her,” Matt said.
I believed him. I should have been scared of his words. But I wasn’t. The threat was comforting. He finally had my back. I just wasn’t sure I deserved it now.
“If she even breathes your name, she’s dead.” He held me tighter.
I hoped it was a promise. Because even though I felt safe in his arms, I wasn’t sure I’d ever truly feel safe as long as Isabella was still breathing.
Chapter 6
Sunday
Despite my dad’s reservations, he and Matt were getting along well. The three of us were watching the Giants game together. Matt and I were curled up on the couch and Mr. Pruitt had pulled out my mom’s old couch so that there was enough seating. It looked weird for my dad to be sitting on it when he was usually so formal. The floral couch also looked weird against all the pristine white. The first thing that I’d do once I moved in was paint all the walls yellow. My mom would have liked that. And I wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d been yellow in the first place.
Matt grabbed another slice of pizza. My dad had burned the eggs terribly, but luckily pizza was a perfect back up. Everything about this afternoon just felt…normal.
Except the fact that it wasn’t real. This wasn’t my dad’s real home. I wasn’t his real family. And Matt didn’t know that I’d kissed Miller. The perfection of this afternoon was just a fa?ade. But I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
“Touchdown!” my dad yelled and high-fived me and Matt.
I smiled and rested my head on Matt’s shoulder. Today reminded me of the time Matt met my uncle. We’d all watched a movie together. It had just felt…right. For just a moment everything had been perfect. Right before my whole world had shattered again.
“Are you okay?” Matt whispered.
“Just tired.” I wanted to freeze time. I wanted to stay in this safe little bubble forever.
My dad’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out. “I should take this. I’ll be right back.” He got up off the couch.
“Here, you should lie down,” Matt said. He shifted on the couch and I lay down, resting my head on his lap. But instead of looking at the TV, I stared up at him.
He traced the dark circles under my eyes. Or maybe he was thinking about how he hadn’t been there to wipe my tears away last night. Because the expression on his face was pained.
“I love you,” I said.
He smiled, but it looked forced. “I love you too.” He ran his hand down the side of my neck. “I don’t want you to have to go back to their apartment. I know he’s your dad,” he whispered. “But I don’t trust him. I don’t trust them.”
My stomach churned. All the Pruitts are toxic. That’s what he’d said before. Is that what he saw now when he looked at me?
“Come live with me,” he said.
Whoa, what? “I can’t move in with you.”
“Why not?”
“Well, first of all you still live with your parents.”
“My mom already loves you.”
I laughed. “She doesn’t even know me.”
“She knows that I love you.” His fingers traced my collarbone. “She knows you make me happy.”
“I haven’t been making you happy recently.”
He ran his thumb along my bottom lip. “It’s my own fault that I’ve been unhappy. I didn’t put you first. But I won’t make that mistake again.”