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Huh. Looks like I trust him.
I trust that he’s going to say the right thing.
It’s a nice feeling, and I’m just about to give him a grateful smile when Sofia gasps.
Liam goes instantly tense, his playful expression dropping away, replaced with a hard alertness that makes him look like a Marine. “What is it?”
“Dad just pulled up.” Sofia’s voice is peppered with panic.
Liam’s eyebrows dip together. “Is Mom home?”
“No.”
“Call the police.”
“No,” Sofia whines. “She hates it when I do that.”
Liam huffs, scrubbing a hand over his head. “Fine. Just go to your room, then. Lock the door. I’m coming.” He hangs up and is rushing out of the kitchen before I can even say anything.
My heart is thundering because I instinctively know things aren’t good.
Ethan’s running into the entryway after Liam. “I’ll drive.”
They’ve done this before. I can tell by the tension in the air, by the knowing glances between people.
Liam has silently told Casey to stay put. The house clown gives him a serious nod, and Mikayla’s forgotten all about her high score to share a worried frown with Ethan.
He blows her a kiss before bolting out the door after Liam.
I rush back into the kitchen so I can look out the window, watching their headlights disappear down the driveway.
“It’ll be okay,” Mikayla murmurs behind me.
“How often does this kind of thing happen?”
“Not very. But it always sucks when it does.” Casey sounds frustrated, and I spin to watch his usually goofy face harden into a scowl. “I don’t know what the hell is up with that family. Liam doesn’t say shit. He hates talking about it. But…” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “It must be bad. It’s about the only thing that gets him really riled up.”
Mikayla’s small arm curves around my waist, and I wrap her in a hug.
She rests her head against my shoulder, and we squeeze tight. I know we won’t be heading to bed any time soon. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m waiting up to check on Liam as soon as he walks in the door.
CHAPTER 16
LIAM
Mom’s house is just over an hour southeast of Nolan. We used to live near Ethan, but Mama moved my sophomore year of college, in spite of Sofia’s protests. Thankfully, she’s settled into her new high school, and things have been going pretty well.
But of course Dad found out where they were. We had nearly a year of nothing, but then Mama let it slip, and he, of course, had to come visit.
Why the fuck does she still pick up when he calls?
There’s a restraining order out against him, but it’s not one my mother put in place, so she lets him break it all the time. When he’s having a soft, tearful day, she always capitulates, and it kills me every time.
Ethan drives like a NASCAR driver, and we make it there in under an hour. We’re lucky we didn’t get busted by any cops. I was so busy worrying about what Dad might be doing that my only concern was the delay if we did get pulled over.
Screeching to a stop in front of Dad’s badly parked sedan, I scan for Mama’s car, grateful that she listened for once. I called Sofia on the way down and told her to make Mama promise not to go home. She listens to her youngest daughter. She used to listen to me, too, but that was before I got her husband thrown in jail.
Sofia is safely locked inside the house. If Dad did smash a window, her bedroom is secure, plus she has the closet to hide in.
