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“Sole custody,” she murmured.
“Yes.”
“Do you think there’s any chance she’ll back out before signing the papers?”
“No. Her main concern is keeping her boyfriend safe.”
“What if they break up before you get to court, and she no longer cares about him, and you lose your leverage?”
“I’ll still have the threat of taking her to court as leverage, and she won’t want to go through that,” he assured her. “But honestly, Mom, she’s really into this prick, so I don’t see them splitting before I can get the papers signed. That being said, though, I’m going to get it done as fast as possible.”
“Okay,” she said, then gave him a sad smile. “I’m glad you got through that.”
“Me, too. You know, the worst part was realizing she didn’t think anything Liam did was really wrong. Which means, if and when she found out what he was doing on her own, she probably wouldn’t have intervened, or stopped him from doing it anymore.”
“Yeah, that’s troubling to think about.”
Valerie released a little sniffle, and then, as if an emotional dam had broken, started crying. A little shocked at the sudden outburst, David joined her on the couch and pulled her into a hug. “Mom, don’t.”
“I can’t help it.” Her voice was clogged with tears. “I’m just so happy.”
He held her while she got it all out, and when she was finally done, she whispered, “It’s a good day.”
“Yes, it is.”
“So what happens next with Jacob? How do you explain to him what’s happening?”
“Lauren and I talked about that, and she suggested having a joint session with Jacob and me after the court date to explain what’s going on, and if necessary, she’ll have extra sessions to help him deal with any emotional issues he might have going forward. Lauren said even though his relationship with Ashley wasn’t very good, he might still feel a sense of abandonment, or worse, think any of this is his fault.”
“Okay, good.” Valerie nodded her head a few times, then wiped at her eyes again before changing the subject. “So, I imagine Paige was happy with the outcome as well?”
“I haven’t actually told her yet,” he said after a brief pause.
“Why not?”
“Because I came straight here.”
Valerie looked at him for a long, uncomfortable moment, bringing on the urge to fidget. “Has something happened between you and Paige? Since all of this happened?” she asked. When he didn’t answer right away, she bluntly demanded, “What’s going on?”
Haltingly and reluctantly, David told her about the moment in Lauren’s office, when it had occurred to him that most of the time he’d spent with Paige had been when Jacob was at Ashley’s being abused. “And from that moment on,” he told her, “all I’ve been able to think about is how Jacob was going through hell while Paige and I were, uh …”
“Doing things adults do when they’re dating?”
He felt his face heat up a little. “Yes, and it’s really fucked me up. I just can’t stop thinking that—” he broke off with an unhappy sigh. “Never mind.”
“You can’t stop thinking what?” She looked at him with apprehension. “You’re not … blaming Paige for what happened, are you?”
“No, I’m not blaming her.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Leaning forward, he rubbed his face. “I’m blaming myself.”
“Oh, David.”
“If I hadn’t been so … preoccupied with Paige, for lack of a better word—”
“Yeah, I don’t like that word. Use another one.”
