The New Husband(94)

“And don’t forget Glen is out there somewhere,” Simon continued. “What if he wants his kids back? Who is going to stop him? You? The police? You need me, Nina, you need my help.”

“Help with what?”

“Protection, for one, from Glen. But most important, I need to teach you how to be a good mother.” Simon glared at Nina, piercing her with an icy chill. “I’m a teacher. It’s what I do. I educate. And you have a lot to learn before you can be the wife and mother I expect you to be. There is a right way and a wrong way to be, for everything and everyone. That includes you.”

Simon left the kitchen. Finally, Nina felt like she could breathe again. Still, she followed him upstairs, praying he wouldn’t try to do anything to the children. She carried her phone in one hand, 911 pre-entered and ready to send, and in the other was a kitchen knife hidden behind her back. Her heart hammered in her throat while she watched Simon pack a single bag. Minutes later he was downstairs.

He opened the front door and stepped outside onto the porch landing. He stood there a long while, a suitcase of clothes in one hand, the leather bag she’d bought him for a birthday gift in the other. He kept his back to Nina.

Without any sort of good-bye, Simon closed the door softly behind him, and then he was gone.





CHAPTER 51


The evening after I nearly died was Sports Award Night at the high school. Unfortunately, I had to go. Connor was getting some big award so he had to be there, and Mom didn’t want to miss it, because she’s a mom. Our world might have been turned upside down, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t do normal things, too.

Mom was worried about me, of course, but not worried enough to let me stay home alone. With Dad back in the picture, she was concerned he might show up at the house. Maybe he’d try to take me, she said. Or worse. I wasn’t worried. Dad would never hurt me or try to kidnap me, but Mom didn’t see it the same way, and I wasn’t going to argue.

Either way, I felt pretty good. I had rested at home all day, with no side effects from the allergy attack. I probably could have gone to school, but I didn’t want all the attention. Everyone checked in with me anyway—including Laura Abel. We talked by phone (real voices, not just texts) and it was a bit awkward, but it was also kind of okay. I’m not talking rainbows and unicorns or anything like that. I wasn’t going back to my old crew—no way. But I realized it was easier not to carry all that anger and resentment around. In a way, just by being nice, Laura had made it possible for me to leave her and Justin and the rest of the meanies behind for good. I call that progress.

I figured Simon would be joining us at the big event, but no, he didn’t. In fact, I hadn’t seen him all day. When I asked Mom, she told me we’d talk about it after the awards night. That gave me a big lift.

“Talk about it” sounded like code for “we got into a huge fight and he’s gone,” maybe for good. I looked around the crowded auditorium for signs of Simon but didn’t see him anywhere. It wasn’t his school, but still, I figured he might have shown up, invited or not, to watch Connor get his award.

Connor was around somewhere with his team. The football team was always the grand finale. Groan. This evening was going to take forever, and we’d have to stay until the end.

At least Ben was with me. He’d gotten his parents to drop him off even though he didn’t have any siblings who were getting awards. But he wanted to see me, make sure I was okay. Mom hugged Ben tightly and wouldn’t let go for the longest time. I could tell it embarrassed Ben, but I also knew how much he appreciated it. It was Mom’s way of letting him know she didn’t blame him for what happened.

“Don’t ever do that to me again,” Ben said, taking the seat next to mine.

“Like I’m planning on it,” I shot back.

We shook on it, but Ben didn’t seem relieved.

“It wasn’t there,” Ben whispered to me as the auditorium lights dimmed. “I looked in every pouch, every single one. It wasn’t there, Maggie. I swear to you.”

Ben told this to me on the phone earlier, but now he could look me in the eye so I’d know he had no doubt about it.

“But Simon found it,” I said to him, still trying to puzzle it out.

Then something clicked for me, and judging by the OMG! expression on Ben’s face, it did for him as well.

“Do you think—?” Ben didn’t finish the thought because he didn’t have to. We were on the same wavelength now.

I remembered something from that day, a vision of Simon running toward me. Something had been different about him, but what? I asked Ben about it, but he didn’t know either. So we sat in silence, hardly paying attention as the fall sports teams and individuals got recognized—team spirit award, most valuable player, most improved, yadayadayada. I clapped when I heard applause, but my brain was elsewhere, trying to recall what had been different about Simon that day. My memories were scattered. I could see faces in my mind, and remembered the terrible fear and the horrible feeling of not being able to breathe. I’d never experienced a feeling of panic like that and prayed I never would again.

Ben was positive that my EpiPens were not in my backpack. One hundred percent sure! There was only one possible explanation—Simon had removed them the night before, like he did my lab report.