Page 62 of Daddy's Muse

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

“Can we watch the other movie after this one?”

I smiled down at him. “Anything you want.”

And I meant it—as long as it was me giving it to him.

* * *

Colby had been out for maybe half an hour, curled up in bed with his stuffed animals under his chin and the blanket tucked up to his nose. I was careful getting out of bed, not wanting to wake him.

I made my way to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. The glow of Colby’s phone screen was the only light.

I scrolled up through Bryan’s past messages. Most were short and whiny, but there were a few that made my jaw tighten. The kind where you could hear the sneer through the words, evenwithout his voice. The kind he probably used on Colby all the time.

Going back down to his recent texts, I tapped out a reply.

Colby:

Don’t text me again.

Then I deleted it before sending. Too obvious. Too direct. Way too confrontational to be from my boy.

No, it was better to keep him talking, keep letting him think Colby was still reachable. Maybe even sympathetic. Draw him close enough that I could see the whites of his eyes before I made sure he couldn’t use them again.

Colby:

Are you okay?

That was better. Much more Colby-esque.

Three little dots appeared almost immediately. He was hungry—desperate.

Good.

I glanced down the hall toward our bedroom, imagining Colby fast asleep, peaceful, trusting, with no idea what I was doing—no idea that I was making sure nothing ugly could ever touch him again.

Bryan’s reply popped up.

Bryan:

Meet me. I’ll explain everything.

I smiled to myself, dark and satisfied, as I typed back.

Colby:

When and where?

16

Colby

It had been a few days since… everything, when I decided to bring up getting back to my regularly scheduled life again.

I sat at the kitchen table, watching as Pappa stood over the kitchen island, preparing our lunch for the day.

“I should really… get back,” I murmured, just loud enough for him to hear. “I love being here with you, but I’ve already missed too much.”