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“Don’t you turn your back on me.”
“Let go of me,” I growl through my clenched teeth.
Bryce narrows his eyes as he pulls me closer. “What are you going to do about it?”
I strike out with quick force. My arm twists to break his hold, and my hand snaps out to hit him in his throat.
He doubles over with a cough. “You bitch.”
“I asked you to let me go. If you even think about pressing charges, I will be taking pictures of my arm that will have bruises. I don’t give a shit how much money you have. I will drag you through the mud.” I turn away to find Cody watching me. His eyes are wide with worry, and I hurry to reassure him.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry you had to see that. Are you ready to leave?”
Cody nods and takes my hand to walk to the parking lot. When we get in the car, I sit in silence for a moment to collect my bearings.
“What happened, Mom?”
“Bryce wasn’t very happy to hear I’m dating Nolan. He grabbed my arm, and when I asked him to let go, he didn’t. It wasn’t okay to physically hurt him, Cody. I shouldn’t have done that, but I panicked. It was purely a reaction to him grabbing me.”
“Am I going to have to spend time with him again?”
“No, baby. If you don’t want to see him again, you won’t have to. I don’t care what he says about it.”
“Okay. I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want him to hurt me, too.”
Fuck, what have I done?
I knew this was a bad idea from the beginning. I knew that allowing Bryce into our lives would end in disaster, but I couldn’t risk losing Cody. Now I’ll do whatever it takes to keep Bryce out of our lives for good.
CHAPTER 28
Nolan
Iglance over at Cody for the millionth time today. He’s been abnormally quiet since yesterday afternoon. Katie has been, too, for that matter. Something happened with Bryce, and neither one has been willing to talk about it yet. It’s starting to scare me a little, and I’m out of my depth about how to handle it.
I dip my brush into the paint tray and continue to edge the ceiling. Cody is painting the walls with a roller, his little tongue stuck out in concentration. Katie has been going through the stuff she’s kept stored in here. She’s got piles of things spread throughout the center of the room. We’ve been working quietly for the last hour while music plays in the background. I don’t think there’s ever been a time when we’ve all been so in our heads that we barely acknowledge one another. It’s disconcerting.
My paintbrush swipes across the wall one last time to finish the edging. The bluish-grey paint we picked out looks great against the white trim I put up earlier today. Katie and Cody decided this room should be a yoga space until they decide what they want to do with it long term. It’s big enough for all three of us to participate without bumping into each other.
I clean up my tools before grabbing a second roller to help Cody finish the spots he can’t reach. It’s taking everything in me not to ask what’s going on. Neither of them was ready to talk about it when I brought it up at the hardware store yesterday. To be fair, it wasn’t the right place or time. I’m hoping that if I bide my time, they’ll open up when they need me.
For now, I’m just trying to show them I’m not going anywhere, whether they talk to me or not.
A couple of hours later, the walls are painted, and Katie has finished sorting their stuff. We kept the windows open to mitigate the overwhelming paint smell. Now, we just need to get everything cleaned up. We work together to get the trash bagged up, and then we load my truck with all the stuff they’re going to donate. What’s left is some decorations Katie wants to put around the house and a few odds and ends she’s going to keep in the garage.
We stand in the middle of the empty room, taking in our hard work. The silence is starting to suffocate me, and I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be able to hold my questions back.
“We should test it out,” Cody says.
“You want to do some yoga before dinner?” Katie asks.
Cody nods. “Yeah, I think it could help.”
Katie raises her eyebrows at me. I shrug. “I’m down. Probably would be a good idea.”
We bring the yoga equipment down from the living room and set it up. Katie has her mat perpendicular to mine and Cody’s so that she can lead us through a gentle flow. I never would’ve believed that doing yoga would connect us better than just spending time together. There’s something to breathing and moving as if we’re one. It’s helping to center me better than anything else I could’ve tried.
When we’re done, the tension in the room has dissipated. We sit up on our mats, our legs crossed and our bodies turned toward each other.
