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“That was a great idea, baby. Thank you for suggesting it.” Katie smiles at Cody.
“Are you guys ready to talk about what happened with Bryce?” I ask the question with as much gentleness as I can muster. I don’t want them to feel like I’m pushing them to talk, but I can’t waste this moment of calm.
Katie raises her eyebrows at Cody, silently asking if he wants to start. He turns to me. “I’m not going to see Bryce anymore. After he tried to teach me to throw the football and failed, I went to play on the playground. I was distracted, and when I looked up, I saw Mom hit him in the throat. Then she came and got me, and we left.”
I whip my head over to look at Katie. Her shoulders are slumped, defeat clear in every line of her body. “He grabbed my arm, and when he wouldn’t let me go, I just reacted. And then I threatened him.”
“You threatened him?” I ask incredulously.
She nods. “It was not my finest moment. Something about the way he grabbed my arm triggered me. Despite my threat, he won’t let this go. I don’t know what he’ll do, but I’m sure it won’t be pretty.”
“Jesus, I’m so sorry you had to go through that yesterday. I should’ve been there.”
“I should’ve been watching out for Mom, but I was too busy playing,” Cody reprimands himself.
“Oh, no, baby.” Katie holds out her arms, and Cody dives straight into them. “You were doing exactly what you were supposed to be doing. It’s my fault that I started to believe Bryce’s nice act.”
“He tricked both of us, Mom.”
I scoot closer to them and put my arm around Katie. “We’ll handle whatever consequences that come together, okay?”
“I took pictures of my arm. There are bruises there to prove how hard he grabbed me and to justify my actions.”
I pull back in shock, lifting her shirt sleeve to see the very obvious fingerprint bruises. “Motherfucker.” I growl.
“I’m okay,” Katie reassures me.
“You shouldn’t have had to deal with this. Either of you. Why did he grab you like that?”
“He wanted to take me out to dinner. I said no—that I was seeing you, and even if I wasn’t, I would have no interest in getting back with him.”
“What an asshole.”
“Agreed,” Cody says. Katie and I grin at each other.
“What do you guys think about ordering some Mexican food for dinner? I’m too tired to cook,” I suggest.
“Sounds good to me.” Cody sits up from Katie’s lap.
“Me, too,” Katie agrees.
We work together to pick up our mats and close the windows. Cody heads to his room to change. I stop Katie at the bottom of the stairs. “Do you think Bryce will come after you?”
“He won’t take what I did lightly. We need to be prepared for anything.” She looks at me with a serious expression.
“Are you two in danger?”
Katie shakes her head. “No, he was never violent, despite his recent behavior. He’ll use his money against us.”
“All right. just keep an eye out, okay? I don’t trust him not to hurt you, given he wasn’t afraid to manhandle you.”
She presses up on her toes to kiss me. “Thank you for worrying about us and being patient while we worked out what happened.”
“I’m always going to be here for you two. You’re my whole world.”
“I know. It’s one of the many things I love about you.” Katie’s eyes sparkle with laughter while I stare at her in shock.
“What?”
