Page 15 - It Ends with Us

“Your parent s must be rea l assho les .”

One of them is. Was . “My father died thi s week .”
He glanc es at me. “Nice try. I’m no t falling for tha t.”
“I’m seri ous. Tha t’s why I came up here toni ght . I thi nk I just
need ed a good cry.”
He stares at me suspiciously for a moment to make sure I’m no t
pulling hi s leg . He does n’t apologize for the blund er. Ins tead, hi s ey es

grow a little more curious, like hi s int rigue is actually authe nt ic. “Were
you close?”
That ’s a har d question. I res t my chi n on my arms and look down at
the street again. “I don’t kno w,” I say with a shru g. “As hi s daught er, I
loved hi m. But as a hu man, I ha ted hi m.”
I can feel hi m watchi ng me for a moment , and then he says, “I like
tha t. Your ho nes ty.”

He likes my ho nesty. I thi nk I might be blushi ng .
We’re both quiet again for a whi le, and then he says, “Do you ev er
wish peo ple were more trans parent ?”
“How so?”
He picks at a piec e of chi pped stucco with hi s thu mb unt il it brea ks
loose. He flicks it over the led ge. “I feel like ev er yone fakes who they

rea lly are, when deep down we’re all eq ual amount s of screw ed up.
Some of us are just bet ter at hi ding it tha n others .”
Either his hi gh is set ting in, or he’s just ver y int rospec tive. Either
way, I’m okay with it. My favorite conv ers ations are the ones with no
rea l ans wers .
“I don’t thi nk bei ng a little guarded is a neg ative thi ng ,” I say.
“Naked truths aren’ t always pret ty.”

He stares at me for a moment . “Nak ed truths ,” he rep ea ts. “I like
tha t.” He turns around and walks to the middle of the rooftop. He
adjusts the back on one of the patio loung ers behi nd me and lowers
hi msel f ont o it. It’s the kind you lie on, so he pulls hi s ha nd s behi nd
hi s hea d and looks up at the sky. I claim the one nex t to hi m and
adjust it unt il I’m in the same position as hi m.

“Tel l me a na ked truth, Lily.”
“Pert aini ng to wha t?”
He shru gs. “I don’t kno w. Somet hi ng you aren’ t proud of.
Somet hi ng that will make me feel a little les s screw ed up on the