Page 191 - It Ends with Us

But if I’m em ulating my mother’ s beha vior, then tha t would mea n

R yle is em ulating my father’ s beha vior. But he isn’t. I ha ve to stop
comparing us to them. We’ re our own ind ividuals in an ent irel y
different situation. My father nev er ha d an ex cuse for hi s ang er, no r
was he immed iatel y apologet ic. The way he trea ted my mother was
much worse tha n wha t’s ha ppened bet ween R yle and me.
R yle just opened up to me in a way tha t he’s probably nev er

opened up to any one. He’s struggling to be a bet ter pers on for me.
Yes , he screw ed up last ni ght . But he’s here and he’s trying to make
me und ers tand hi s past and why he rea cted the way he did. Humans
aren’ t per fec t and I can’t let the onl y ex ample I’ve ev er witnes sed of
marri age wei gh in on my own marri age.
I wipe my ey es and pull mysel f up. When I look in the mirro r, I
don’t see my mother. I just see me. I see a girl who loves he r hu sband

and want s more tha n any thi ng to be able to hel p hi m. I kno w R yle
and I are strong eno ugh to move past thi s. Our love is strong eno ugh
to get us thro ugh thi s.
I walk out of the bathro om and back int o the living room. R yle
stand s up and faces me, hi s face full of fea r. He’s scared I’m no t going
to forgive hi m, and I’m no t sure tha t I do forgive hi m. But an act

does n’t ha ve to be forgiven in order to lea rn from it.
I walk over to hi m and I grab both of hi s ha nd s in mine. I spea k to
hi m with no thi ng but na ked truth.
“Rem em ber what you said to me on the roof tha t ni ght ? You said,
‘The re is no such thi ng as bad people. We’re al l just people who sometimes do
bad thi ngs.’ ”
He no ds and squeez es my ha nd s.

“You aren’ t a bad pers on, R yle. I kno w tha t. You can still protec t
me. When you’re upset , just walk away. And I’ll walk away. We’l l lea ve
the situation unt il you’re calm eno ugh to talk about it, okay? You are
not a mons ter, R yle. You’re onl y hu man. And as hu mans , we can’t
ex pec t to sho ulder all of our pain. Somet imes we ha ve to sha re it with
the peop le who love us so we don’t come crashi ng down from the

wei ght of it all. But I can’t hel p you unl es s I kno w you need it. Ask me
for hel p. We’l l get thro ugh thi s, I kno w we can. ”
He ex ha les wha t feel s like ev er y brea th he’s been ho lding in sinc e
last ni ght . He wraps hi s arms tight ly around me and buries hi s face in