SIXTEEN
LeoWhen I wake, she’s gone, but the smell of her still lingers on my sheets—a reminder that she was here. Last night proves I’m a bigger asshole than I thought I was. I’m going to taint her innocence with my bad intentions.
I’ve been a semi-functional human being for three weeks. Why do I think that’s sufficient enough to pursue someone good, like Alma, when I’ve lived twenty-one years of being straight wrong? I’m weak. My father made sure I knew that at a young age. I’m not strong enough to walk away, not from her. So, I’ve convinced myself that I can be better—for Alma.
Maybe I can hold my s**t at bay for a while, but it will creep back up. It always does. The level of baggage that someone like me brings to the table will drown her and beat her down until she breaks.
Yet I’m
