Page 85 of Sweetest Sin

“Remember that we moved in with Daddy?”

He nods.

“We live too far away from Frankie, so you can’t go to school with him anymore. But maybe we can talk to his parents and visit.”

Damien pouts. “I wanna go back to school.”

“I know, and you will?—”

“Tomorrow?” he cuts me off.

“No, not tomorrow. Hopefully?—”

“It’s not fair!” he cries, his tiny fists hitting the water and splashing. “I wanna go to school!”

He starts to cry, and I take a calming breath, reminding myself that he’s overtired and emotional. Moving to a new place and everything changing have been a lot for me, so I know it’s a lot for him as well.

“And you will,” I tell him, pulling the drain plug and grabbing the towel.

I intended to get him out before he had a full-blown meltdown, but the second I pick him up, he arches his back and loses it—kicking and flailing about, tears pouring down his face.

“What the hell is going on in here?” Dominick barks, appearing out of nowhere.

I jump, assuming that he’s pissed that Damien is being loud and unruly, and hold Damien closer, preparing to protect him from Dominick’s wrath.

“He’s—” I begin, but Damien cuts me off.

“It’s not fair!” he wails. “I wanna go to school. I wanna see Frankie and Gracie and Ms. Judy. It’s not fair!”

Dominick stalks toward us, and I retreat, the back of my legs hitting the side of the tub. I’m cornered with nowhere to go, and I need to protect my baby.

I tighten my hold on Damien and try to turn around to get him out of harm’s way, but before I can, Dominick plucks him out of my arms.

I open my mouth to yell at him, to stop him from hurting our son. He’s just a little boy, and sometimes, he’s going to throw temper tantrums.

But before I can get a word out, Dominick says, “Hey, buddy, it’s okay,” his voice soothing as he holds Damien close to hischest, not caring that his wet body is soaking his clothes. “What’s the matter?”

Damien sniffles, several tears sliding down his cheeks, and Dominick wipes them away.

“Talk to me, buddy. Tell me what’s wrong. I’ll make it better. I promise.”

His soft tone—the opposite of what I was expecting—causes me to choke up.

He wasn’t going to hurt him.

He wants to fix it.

“I want to go to school,” Damien says, fresh tears filling his eyes. “But Mommy said no.”

Dominick glances at me and then back to Damien. “If you want to go to school, then you can go to school.”

I should tell him that giving in to Damien’s demands during a meltdown sets a bad precedent, but something in Dominick’s eyes tells me to let it go. We can talk about it later. He’s clearly distraught from Damien crying, but not in the way I thought.

“Tomorrow?” Damien asks, optimistic.

“Yeah, buddy, tomorrow.” Dominick wraps the towel around Damien and kisses his forehead. “We’ll find you a school tomorrow.”

Dominick carries Damien into his room and helps him get dressed into his pajamas while Damien tells him everything he wants to do at school. Dominick listens patiently, telling him he’ll make sure the school has everything he wants and needs.