The Atonement (The Arrangement, #3)(55)

I put a hand up to stop him. “I wish it was just a stupid fight, but your mom’s got her mind made up. I…” I pressed a thumb to my lips, looking away for a beat, and then looked back at him, my mouth hanging open. “I don’t really know how to tell you this. I’ve thought all this time about how I would tell you, but I guess I’ll just come right out with it…your mom is having an affair.”

He jerked his head back. “A what? Seriously?”

“She’s met a man named Matt. He’s young, looks like he’s your age, and they’ve fallen for each other.”

“You can’t be serious. Mom wouldn’t do that—”

“There are things you don’t know about her, bud. It’s…look, this isn’t easy to tell you, but this isn’t the first man this has happened with.”

“What? No.”

“We’ve always worked it out. No matter what. I’ve looked the other way and forgiven her time and time again. I love your mother, son. I love you guys. And I want us to be together, but…this time, she’s too far gone. She won’t listen to me. I can’t convince her—”

“Let me talk to her. She listens to us. She can’t want this—”

“Listen, there will be time for all of that, but right now, it’s not safe.”

“What do you mean?”

I turned away from him, starting the car. “Nothing. I shouldn’t have said that. Ignore me.”

“No, Dad, tell me what you meant.”

“It’s not my place. You’re just kids. This is between the adults. It’s all going to be okay. I need you to believe that. I promise you, somehow, I’m going to make sure it’s okay.”

“I’m not a kid, Dad. I’m practically a man now,” Dylan said, his voice purposefully deeper than before. “You can trust me.”

I weighed my options, drumming my fingers on the steering wheel. “Matt’s…not a good guy. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Not a good guy? What does that mean?”

“Look, I don’t know what’s going on between your mother and this kid, but the reason this all came to light was because I saw a bruise on her back.”

“A bruise?” He sounded horrified. “Like…like he hurt her?”

I didn’t answer straight away. “She never confirmed it, but I suspected. That was when she admitted she was having the affair. She took you kids away because he was planning to meet her in Florida, but then he changed his mind—I think he was mad that you guys were with her—which is why you left in such a hurry, I’m assuming. She came home and sent you kids away so she could smooth things over with him. She must’ve blocked your number in my phone, or mine in yours, something. It’s why I couldn’t reach you. I tried to call you every day, son. I’ve…been worried sick.”

“What the hell?” he asked under his breath. I didn’t chastise him for cursing like Ainsley would’ve. This was life under Dad’s rule. “Why would she do that? Why wouldn’t she want us to talk to you?”

“I wish I had an answer. Maybe she was afraid I’d tell you the truth. I’ve tried so hard to keep you kids out of it. But…when I saw her yesterday, she had these…these cuts all over her face. Bruises. Like she’d been thrown into a wall. Or a floor.”

“But then…you have to do something. You have to help her.”

“I would if I could, but she won’t let me around. She’s staying at your grandmother’s. Matt’s there. For all I know, he’s hurting them both. I…I’m at a loss, son.”

“So call the police. Have them save her. She can’t want this.” He was on the verge of crying then, though neither of us acknowledged it.

I nodded slowly. “It’s hard, sometimes, realizing your parents are…we’re just human, bud. We make mistakes all the time. Bad decisions. Your mom made a really bad decision, and now, I’m not sure there’s any saving her.”

“You have to try!” he shouted, angry now.

Yes. Use that anger. Channel it.

“Well, there is one way, but…it’s… No, it’s too much. We can’t. I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’ll come to her senses. Your mom is smart.”

“What? Tell me. What’s the way?”

“There are some people in this world who don’t deserve to live, Dylan. Murderers. Terrorists. People who hurt women and children.”

“What are you saying?”

“Matt is going to keep hurting her unless we do something to stop it.”

“What? Like…hurt him?” He waited. When I didn’t respond right away, he added, “Or…or kill him? You can’t mean that. It… That’s insane.”

“I know. I said it’s too much. It’s ridiculous. I’m just so worried about her, you know? That’s why I have her phone. She brought it to me yesterday, so I have no way to contact her anymore. I guess he doesn’t want her to have one. It’s… It’s all just happened so fast, and the police won’t do anything because she says she’s fine. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Yeah, but, I mean, there has to be a way, right? We could fight him, maybe. You and me. Two against one. Or…we could get proof. Pictures of her. We could hire a private investigator—”