Free Perfectly Imperfect (Perfectly #1) by Fabiola Francisco Page A

the cheating accusations, and fought for shared custody so dad would pay her child support, too, though she didn’t care about having me around. I hated going to her house. I would have to go over every other weekend or so when the law required it and couldn’t escape it, but mom always had different guys over, or was out getting drunk and finding a guy to bring home.
    “It was uncomfortable growing up with the eyes of different males looking you up and down wondering if you were as loose as her mother. They must’ve thought the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. One even tried to test that theory out, but fortunately my dad taught me to defend myself at a young age and I kicked him so hard in the balls he fell over crying. My mom told me to leave the house and she eased his pain. I don’t even want to think how she did that. I more than happily went back to my dad’s house.
    “Truth is during middle school and half of high school I was reserved, quiet, even shy. I didn’t want to be the center of any more scandals. My parent’s divorce and my mother’s less than decent acts were already the talk amongst their friends, spreading over to their kids’, my schoolmates. I got tired of hearing it all, and the comparisons between my mom and me; the rumors that I was following the same path or the inevitability that it would happen. I finally figured if they were going to accuse me of it I might as well give them something to talk about. When I turned 18 , I left for college and left that drama behind. A few months before that my mom moved to New York with her most recent boyfriend, missing my graduation and college move.
    “My dad and I still talk, and I visit every once in a while. He’s turned his life around in the past few years, but I don’t talk to my mom. She’s been in New York ever since, I think. I vowed I would never go through that nor hurt anyone as much as my parents had hurt each other. I also vowed I would never be that kind of parent. That fear seeped into my core and kept me distant from everyone, protecting myself, and whoever was near me. I don’t want to go through the same pattern as my parents did, and I know it is inevitable. I don’t want to be the reason anyone feels the way my dad did when she left.” I let out the air I had been holding in. I spoke so fast I didn’t have a chance to breathe evenly. I feel my eyes water, and I take a deep breath to settle down. It’s been a long time since I’ve thought or spoken about this.
    I just stayed still near Grayson’s chest with my eyes closed as I spoke. I feel his arm tighten around me. He raises my chin with his other hand, prompting me to open my eyes. When I do, I see him staring at me, eyebrows furrowed. “Mia, you aren’t your parents. I hate what my parents did to me, but I know I’d never be anything like them. I learned from their mistakes. I know you aren’t like that. You are one of the most caring and compassionate people I’ve ever come across. You are a great friend, a hard worker, funny, witty, and beautiful, inside and out. You’d never intentionally hurt anyone.”
    I smile at Grayson and blush at what he’s said. “That’s what Steph says, but I can’t help but think the pattern is engraved in my DNA. Now you know why I don’t date. It’s no one else’s fault but mine. I can’t allow to get hurt again like that, nor be able to handle hurting someone that much. If the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally, don’t, how will anyone else love you like that?” 
    “I always knew Steph was a smart girl. Mia, not all parents love unconditionally. It’s not our fault ours didn’t, but we can control our paths. You don’t have any pattern engraved in your DNA. You choose how your life ends up. The decisions you make throughout your journey will determine how your path will flow.” He smiles, and then adds, “Two peas in a pod. I never realized how right I was about that. Don’t worry, Sweet