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Paige hoped neither, but they weren’t off the table yet. She paused to take a breath and consider the best way to say what needed to be said. Not knowing if there was any way to ease him into it, she decided to just rip the band-aid off. “I think Ashley is abusing Jacob.”
Chapter 44
A thick silence fell over the kitchen for several long moments before David finally responded. “Are you serious?”
Paige nodded.
“Jacob’s never come home with … bruises … or anything like that,” he told her.
“That’s good,” she said, relieved to hear that, even though it didn’t change her mind. “But not all physical abuse leaves bruises. Spanking, for instance. Now, I know a lot of people don’t consider it abuse to spank their kids, but I do, and I bet every kid that’s ever had intentional pain inflicted on their ass does, too, especially if there’s anger behind it. And,” she added, “not all abuse is physical. Emotional abuse is probably the most common form, and can sometimes be the most damaging because of the psychological aspect. It leaves no physical marks, but the impact is huge and can last a lifetime.”
David thought back to how Jacob had looked and behaved when he got home, and took another drink. He wanted to tell Paige she was wrong, because for it to be true was unbearable. But, she wouldn’t have voiced such an opinion if she didn’t think it was true. “Well, fuck. Just … fuck.”
“Right now, it’s obviously just a theory,” she told him. “I know what she’s capable of with adults, but I don’t know for sure if she’d be emotionally or physically abusive to her own child. However, from what I saw this afternoon—and heard—both of them are possible, in my opinion. Something unpleasant is happening to Jacob and it goes beyond the crap that Ashley’s peddling. He may have been ‘fine’ before you decided to break up with Ashley, but I’m positive that his being ‘not fine’ now, has nothing to do with that.
“So, to find out what’s happening, you need to start by taking a hard look into Jacob’s visits with her. If there’s nothing there, then you look in another direction, but I truly believe whatever’s happening is happening at her place, by her words, or her hands. Or … both. It’s making him not want to go there, and it’s making him not want to be separated from you. And you need to find out before he sees her again.”
David exhaled a huge sigh, and was about to respond when a voice in the doorway stopped him.
“I’m hungry.”
Paige and David both froze and looked over to see Jacob standing on the other side of the island.
“You’re supposed to be taking a nap, Little Man,” David told him, going over and picking him up.
“I’m hungry,” Jacob repeated.
David frowned a little, surprised that Jacob would be so hungry only a few hours after lunch. “What did you have for lunch?”
Jacob shook his head.
David frowned. “You didn’t have lunch?”
Jacob shook his head again.
“What about a snack?”
This time, Jacob nodded.
“Well, no wonder you’re hungry,” David said, striving to keep his voice neutral as he set Jacob down on the island. Then, after exchanging a quick look with Paige, he quickly got Jacob a granola bar and a cup of milk. “Here. This should tide you over until dinner.”
Jacob immediately took a bite of the granola bar, and as he washed it down with a sip of milk, his eyes cut over to Paige. She was glad to see his gaze was a little less vacant, but he was still too quiet for her liking. She’d never wanted to do anything as much as she wanted to crush him to her in a hug, but instead, she smiled and said, “Hi, Jacob.”
Jacob looked at her with solemn eyes and returned the greeting. “Hi, Paige.”
As she watched Jacob begin eating his granola bar again, an idea started taking shape. “Actually, I think we should have linner, instead.”
“What’s that?” Jacob asked, looking confused.
Paige pretended to be shocked. “You’ve never had linner?”
“No.”
“Have you ever had brunch?”
He thought for a second, then answered, “Yes.”
“Okay, so, you know brunch is eaten halfway between breakfast and lunch, right?” She waited until Jacob nodded, before continuing. “Well, linner is eaten halfway between lunch and dinner.”
