THE CRAZY GOOD SERIES - Rachel Robinson Page 0,62

died all of the possibilities died with him,” she tells Windsor. “This,” I hear her ice rattle. “All of this is just imposter. This is what you will have,” Kathy says.

“I will never be like you,” Windsor bites back. Her voice holds more anger than I’ve ever heard. I want to see her face. I want to know what this looks like for myself. “If it’s the very last thing I do, I will make sure that my life never turns out like yours,” she says.

“Then my goal in life will be reached. Be strong enough to take what you want,” Kathy says. “Don’t be a weak girl. Be a noble woman.” I can’t listen to this fucking shit anymore. I wish I never came here. Never hearing those horrible words would be preferable to knowing exactly who…or what Windsor calls family. I sneak away from the door just as quietly. I dress quickly in my running gear and walk downstairs. Guilt washes over me for leaving Windsor with the damned monster upstairs for any amount of time. Her good is so good, that she would choose to stay here and help the woman who never gave her anything except heartache and bad advice. It disgusts me almost as much as the bad guys I kill. A rat in the house is far worse than a rat in the attic.

I want to do anything I can to reassure her that I won’t burn her the way Nashhole did, but I can’t. I started dating Windsor with the intentions of breaking her fucking heart. I knew I would and it didn’t matter—at the time, of course. It still doesn’t make me any better than him. That doesn’t make me any better than the person Kathy thinks I am. It makes me think of my own family, something I try to do as little as possible. We’re not so different, Windsor and I.

My precise control slips and I’m flooded with the insecurities I never let anyone see. Maybe I am the fuck-up everyone thinks I am. I try so hard to cover up who I am with what I do, that I get lost inside. Pushing my jog into a fast run, I let everything in. All of it. It doesn’t break me like it used too, but it still fucking hurts. It always hurts.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Windsor

MY MOTHER DIDN’T eat dinner with us and, damn, it was so delicious. Maverick is a fantastic chef. He doesn’t have to measure anything and only glanced at a recipe twice.

He was a little out of sorts when he came back from his run. I pray to any deity that will listen that my crazy ass mother won’t scare him off. It would be fitting if she did though. He has been so sweet to me since we’ve been here. He knows I need something to balance out the ugly. He brought home two bouquets of flowers when he returned. One for me and one for my mother. Obviously overkill, but who was I to deny my boyfriend motherly bonding with Krazy Kath? I have to keep reminding myself that I’m used to being an emotional bomb when I’m near the beast. Maverick has no clue this is how it is every time we’re together. I’m sure he’s catching on.

Kathy drank herself to sleep before 4 p.m. Fitting. Now Maverick and I are snuggled in my double bed, staring up at the plastic glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to my ceiling. No matter which way we lay, we’re touching. It’s only now that I feel gratitude toward number two for buying me a double bed instead of the queen that I’d asked for. This has always been my room. It feels strange now. My mother always lived in this house. Husbands came and went through the revolving door downstairs. I guess I should be grateful I didn’t have to move constantly, like some of my friends with divorced parents. I think she promised my Dad she’d give me a stable home life. I scoff at that crazy notion.

I roll to face Maverick. “I’m going to miss you so much,” I whisper, turning my head to kiss his neck. He breathes out a contented sigh. I can’t help the giggle and then kiss a little more wantonly—my tongue licking, lips brushing, and teeth trailing. He rolls on his side, one hand splayed on my ass, the other behind his head. Of course I’m insanely turned on because Maverick is in