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“Thank you.” Paige felt herself actually blush a little at the compliment, partly because they could still take her by surprise, but also because Lauren had seen the very worst version of Paige, and clearly didn’t see any of that version today. “I’ve been doing what you told me to do, to live my best life, experience things in a new way, and own it. Apparently it works.”
Lauren chuckled.
“I’m glad you two found your way back to one another,” Lauren said, smiling at David for a moment.
“Me, too,” Paige said.
Lauren then took a deep breath, her expression turning serious. “So, are you two ready?”
When they nodded, she led them into her main office, which had a very strong seventies vibe, with shag rugs, mis-matched chairs, and multi-colored crocheted afghans. There were also a variety of crystals scattered around—on the bookshelves, on Lauren’s desk, and on the coffee table—some of which were pyramids, towers and beautiful spheres on little stands. A couple of aromatherapy candles were burning, filling the room with the relaxing scent of vanilla and lavender, and after closing the door, Lauren indicated they should all take a seat around the coffee table.
“Jacob’s love of drawing really came in handy,” Lauren said, as she laid a picture down and slid it over to David and Paige, who both immediately leaned in to look.
“This is Ashley, and this is Jacob,” Lauren explained, pointing to the respective figures, which had been drawn with quite a bit of detail, and were easily recognizable. She then slid another picture across the table; this one had been ripped in half, and taped back together. “And this is Ashley’s boyfriend.”
“She has a boyfriend?” David asked, even though it came out as more of a statement.
Lauren nodded. “Yes. His name is Liam, and she’s been seeing him for a couple of months, I think.”
“A couple of months?”
“Yes.”
David exchanged a long look with Paige, before focusing on the picture again, taking in the less-detailed, darkly drawn figure of a man with brown hair. He was also a little out of proportion, much larger than either Ashley or Jacob, with big hands. “She’s never mentioned him,” he said, then added, “And neither has Jacob.”
“Well, I don’t know why Ashley never mentioned Liam to you, but I know why Jacob never did, and we’ll get to that, in a minute,” Lauren told him, pointing to the dark figure. “He’s the problem.”
David took a deep breath. “Not Ashley.”
“No. Now, that’s not to say she’s not a part of this, because she is, but … Liam’s the main perpetrator.”
At the word perpetrator, David felt a little nausea roll through his gut, making everything real.
“And when I say ‘perpetrator’, I don’t mean in a sexual sense,” Lauren was quick to point out. “All right?”
“All right.”
“Now then,” Lauren continued. “He’s been at Ashley’s place almost every weekend Jacob has been there, and stays the entire time. From the beginning, Liam has been emotionally abusive—he’s told Jacob to ‘shut-up’ whenever he makes too much noise, and told him to quit whining when Liam took Jacob’s Scooby-Doo DVD away from him and wouldn’t let him watch it—” she broke off, seeing David’s expression. “What is it?”
“Jacob told me he left it at Ashley’s,” he answered. “When I unpacked his bag after that visit, I asked him where the DVD was, and if he forgot it. He said he didn’t forget it, that he just left it there, but didn’t say why. I thought it was really weird, since it’s his favorite DVD, and he wouldn’t want to be without it for two weeks. I ended up just buying another one.”
Lauren cleared her throat. “Things started to get a little physically abusive about a month ago when Jacob wet the bed over there. Jacob said Liam didn’t like it when Jacob came in to get Ashley—and based on what he said, I’m pretty sure he interrupted Ashley and Liam having sex—”
“Jesus Christ,” David muttered. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, but fortunately Jacob doesn’t know what they were doing, nor did he see anything explicit because it was dark in the room.”
David rubbed his forehead, thanking God for small favors.
“Anyway, Liam got mad,” Lauren continued. “Jacob said when Ashley went to change his bedding, Liam called Jacob a ‘pain in the ass’, pulled him by his pajama shirt and ‘hit his bottom’ for ‘pissing’ in the bed.”
“Oh, God.” Paige covered her mouth with her hand.
David was sure he looked like he was going to throw a chair through a window, because he wanted to throw a chair through a window. “He put his fucking hands on my son?”
Lauren nodded. “Liam also told Jacob if he told on Liam for ‘spanking him’, that Ashley would be mad at Jacob because she really likes Liam and she’d punish Jacob for being a brat and trying to cause problems.” Lauren looked at David. “Liam also told Jacob that if he told you, that you wouldn’t love Jacob anymore, or want to have a ‘tattletale’ and a ‘cry-baby’ around.”
As all of that settled in, David found himself almost unable to breathe, as his heart was breaking for his boy. “That motherfucker.”
