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"Probably. But shorter. And—"
"Submissive, apparently?"
"Yeah." Her cheeks flush.
I shouldn't have said that. It's too late. The part of me that knows better is tired.
"How exactly did it happen?"
"I moved out the day I turned eighteen. Moved into a shitty place in Downtown LA. Had too many roommates. But I still came by to hang out with Em. Picked her up from school. Took her out on the weekends. Not like Mom was gonna take her to do the shit she actually wanted to do."
Kay nods.
"It was fall. I'd just gotten my sleeve. I was gonna take Emma hiking up in the Malibu hills. She used to enjoy that kinda thing. If you can remember."
"Sort of. She doesn't ever get dirty now. Unless it's the beach."
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 that why would you do that voice. 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 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.
