Less than Perfect by S. J. Evans (librera reader .TXT) 📖

the garbage they serve at the hospital. You’re right about it Skye, it’s awful.”
Stifling laughter, Skye bit her bottom lip and nodded, slowly. She didn’t say anything else though, only followed behind as her mother headed towards the house. As they both neared the door, Skye felt a hand clamp over her arm and stop her in her tracks. She sucked in a breath, quietly.
She’d practically forgotten Johnny was even behind them; he’d been so quiet.
Frozen to the spot, she gulped down her fear and squeezed her eyes shut a moment so she could recollect her thoughts. Her heart was beating faster, the rapid pulse throbbing against her neck. She grabbed onto her jeans with her suddenly sweaty palms and let out one long breath.
“May I have a quick word with you, Skye?” Johnny’s cold, lucid voice spoke from behind her.
She could feel his presence, so near, so overwhelming, that she had to struggle with herself not to lash out at him and run away. She wanted to let the secret lose, right then and there; but, she didn’t. Instead, she turned her head towards Johnny, stiffly, and, against her better judgment, nodded.
After giving a quick glance back at Leah, she noticed she hadn’t moved inside. Although she hated doing it, Skye forced a smile and, with her eyes, told Leah to go on inside. She hated the feeling that stirred inside her, a raw feeling that something was incredibly wrong. She still stood, back facing Johnny, watching Leah until she’d entered the house completely and closed the door behind her.
“What was he doing here with you, Skylar?” Johnny demanded, abruptly spinning Skye around to face him. She was practically thrown into his chest by the force he used, her feet barely stopping her before she smashed against him. “Julian

isn’t right for you.” He spoke Jules’s name with such vile and hatred, that she flinched away at the sound of it.
She was utterly lost, unable to speak in the midst of confusion and horror. Why was he so upset about Jules? What had he ever done to him? Her heart slammed against her chest and she thought it might explode.
“W—what are you talking about, Johnny?” she stammered, trying to get a grip on why he was so appalled to the mere idea of Jules being with her. Jules hadn’t done anything to him to make Johnny hate him. Could it have been something Skye had said about him? Suddenly, a thought dawned on her—a disturbing and torturous thought. “Is this just another one of your sick, twisted ideas? The one where I’m nothing but a little doll you can torment and mess with? Because I’m not, Johnny! I’m not your helpless little victim anymore!” She was practically screaming at him. If she’d had more air in her lungs, the sound would’ve carried far into the house and around the neighborhood.
Johnny’s face twisted with anger, disgust, and—possibly—guilt. His grip on her arm tightened, cut off her circulation and caused her to cry out a little in agony. She didn’t seem to follow up with her outburst. She looked helpless and scared as she grabbed onto her arm and keeled over a little.
His other hand clenched up at his side, his entire body shaking with rage. “Don’t talk to me like that, Skylar! You’re whatever I want you to be, and you’ll listen to me if you know what’s best for you. Answer my question, Princess, or I swear I’ll take you far away from here and give you the kind of punishment you deserve.” With every word he spoke, water sprayed from his mouth, spit. His chest heaved when he finished and his eyes were like daggers as they stared down at her.
Skye was on the verge of tears; pain, humiliation, and fear, squeezing all of the life out of her. Her eyes stung as she looked into his dark and soulless eyes, and her heart raced. She shook her head hastily and gasped for air.
“Johnny, I—I’m sorry. Look, nothing happened between Jules and me. He just brought me home last night and came back this morning to make sure I was okay. N—nothing happened, I swear.” She stumbled over the words, barely catching her breath enough to speak them. Once they passed by her lips, she narrowed her gaze and looked down, down at her clenched up hand.
His grip loosened, his breathing slowed, as she heard him groan. “Whatever you say, Princess,” he said darkly. “Whatever you say.”
She pulled away, stumbling a few steps back. Her eyes were starting to water but she managed to keep it all inside with one quick squeeze of them shut. “Johnny I—” she started.
“Don’t,” he warned. “Let’s just go inside and pretend nothing happened, alright? Leah’s waiting.”
Skye didn’t know what to think. But, against her better judgment, she obeyed Johnny’s wishes and turned around to go inside. She could feel him behind her, his ragged breathing that was finally calming, and it repulsed her. How could he be so good at controlling his anger when he had to contain it for Leah but not when Skye wanted him to stop? Why did he torment her like that? She would never understand him like she wanted to; she would never understand his reasoning.
She tried to shake everything that had just happened off, for Leah’s sake. And when she stepped up the front door, grasped the handle, and took one long, deep breath, she hoped she could be stronger. She’d already had to give up so much, waiting for Johnny’s torment to stop—she didn’t want to give anything more.

After a long, awkward afternoon spent with Leah and Johnny, Skye retreated up to her bedroom for “rest”. Truth was, she needed a break from being around Johnny, a break from seeing him with Leah so calm and normal. He wasn’t normal though, she knew. He was a monster who enjoyed feeding off of her fear and weakness. He was the monster who ruined her relationship with her own mother; he stole her away from Skye with all of his lies and acts. Leah sometimes trusted the soulless man who was carrying her baby more than she trusted her own daughter. Skye’s relationship with Leah had grown a little as they’d spent time together that afternoon. Yet, it still was not near what it had once been.
Skye faked her own happiness when she was with Leah, from fear of Johnny’s wrath. She had to be the perfect actress down there; watching movies together, eating lunch together, and having leisurely conversations with one another—she had to tolerate whatever came next for her. Luckily, Johnny was well-behaved and Leah did most of the talking, questioning Skye about everything there was between her and Jules. She didn’t mind talking about him; in fact, talking about him was the highlight of her time spent with them. It was a pleasure for her, talking about the boy she’d grown to care so much about as she watched the soulless monster’s eyes grow cold. She found satisfaction knowing that he was the uncomfortable one for once.
As evening drew in, Leah became tired and wandered up the stairs and into her room for proper rest. She’d kissed her daughter goodnight (something she hadn’t done for years), and closed the door to her sleeping chamber.
Skye hadn’t wasted even one moment before she’d departed from Johnny. In her room, she gathered her thoughts and placed herself in front of the computer screen to—finally

—look up her father’s name. She’d wanted to do it ever since she discovered him, but the right time hadn’t arrived—until then.
Clicking on the internet browser, she typed his name into the search engine that first popped up. Almost instantly, many different sites popped up. Each one involved at least something with the name Derik Pembroke. Skye scrolled down the page, searching for something that seemed to fit the man from the picture; but she found nothing. With every page she clicked many different men would come up, but none of them would be him.
She was getting anxious, her heartbeat quickening. She needed to find him; she needed to know how to reach him. He couldn’t possibly go on with his life thinking that she’s dead. The truth had to be brought to his attention, somehow

—and she was that somehow. No one else was going to tell him. Who else could’ve known besides Johnny?
Clicking page after page, searching for the father she wanted so badly to meet, she managed to not find anything. She scanned pages after pages, looking for a picture or sign of her birthfather; still, nothing came. With her free hand, she tapped the desktop over and over again, her nerves getting the best of her. She was starting to doubt her chances at finding him.
“What are you looking at, Princess?” a dark voice spoke behind her. The sound of the cold and cryptic voice chilled her to the bone immediately, jolting her body into the state of a frozen statue. The hair on her arms stuck up, chills spreading down along her arms. Johnny.
Closing her eyes, she hoped that if she said the right thing he would go away without saying anything else. But, deep down inside, something told her otherwise. She inhaled and exhaled painfully, exiting out of the browser.
“Nothing, Johnny,” she lied. “Nothing at all.”
Johnny didn’t buy it. “Now why don’t I believe you? Could it be because I can’t trust you anymore, Skylar? Could it be because of your inability to keep a secret?” His voice was hard and cold, sending chills down Skye’s spine. “Well, I think you’ve become quite a liar, Princess. And you know I don’t like liars.”
Her blood ran cold. No, no, no

, she chanted in her head. This can’t be happening. How could he possibly have found out that I’d told someone? All of the air in her lungs was sucked away by his words, her breathing hitching in her throat.
Gaining her composure, she sucked in a deep breath and slowly turned towards him. She didn’t want to face him, see his dark and cold eyes, but she knew she must. If she was going to play in this game, she had to be strong. There was no time for weakness. Or recklessness.
“Johnny I—” she choked out, getting up from her swivel chair.
“No, don’t speak,” he told her, waving a finger at her. “Be quiet, don’t lie, and everything will be okay for you. I promise.” His voice was low, menacing. Slowly, he stepped closer to her, a small smirk forming around his lips. There was a deep, cold look in his eyes, full of schemes. And to Skye’s dismay, they were dark schemes.
“But Johnny, I—”
“No,” he snapped. “What did I tell you, Princess? Don’t speak. I’ve had enough of your excuses and lies. You told our little secret, Princess. And I told you there would be consequences.” His jaw tightened, his face gone hard. He only had a few steps to go before he reached her.
Searching for an escape, she backed herself against the desk, and kept going, hands searching feebly for something to fend him off. He wanted to punish her. It wasn’t a