“Shame, fear, I mean, he’d already had the snot beaten out of him before he even found out Ryan had been killed.It freaked him out.”
“Was that Benjamin too?Beating on Remi?”
“No.”
I’m surprised to hear Remi’s voice respond, and my eyes dart to the stairs to find him on the bottom step.
“I mean, I don’t think so,” he moderates immediately as he walks into the kitchen.“I just can’t believe he would do something like that.”
My child looks almost heartbroken as he walks to the back window and stares outside blindly.My boy’s trust was crushed again.My anger at fucking Doyle Benjamin is burning a hole in my stomach.What I wouldn’t give for five minutes alone in a room with that bastard.
Mancuso picks up on my angry vibe and gives his head an almost imperceptible shake.
“I should get going,” he states out loud.“They’re waiting for me back at the office, but I wanted to deliver Remi home myself.”
“Of course,” I quickly reply.“And I really appreciate it.”
He walks over to Remi, who is still staring outside and claps him on the shoulder.
“I’ll be in touch.You’ve got my number, yeah?”
Remi turns to face him.“Yeah.Thanks.”
“You did good, kid.”
With a nudge of his head for me to follow him, Mancuso heads for the front door.I follow him out to the front step.
“I may be overstepping here, but your boy is feeling rough, Tessa.Give him a chance to take a breath, it’s been a pretty intense week, and he’s carrying a truckload of guilt.Maybe allow him to focus on something else for a bit.”
Maybe I should feel offended he’s telling me how to deal with Remi, but I don’t.Instead, I feel grateful there are still good men, caring men, who give a fuck about my child.He needs all the support he can get because what my son likely doesn’t quite realize, yet, is that this is only the beginning.There will likely be more interviews, depositions, and even possible testimony at some future trial.
Remi is going to feel the consequences of his one step in the wrong direction for a while yet.It’ll be a hard lesson.
So I nod, and convey my gratitude.
“Thanks, I will.I assume we’ll hear from you?”
“Yeah, I’ll be in touch.”
I wrap my arms around my body against the chill as I watch Mancuso head to his SUV, brush the thin layer of snow that fell while he was inside off his windshield, and climb behind the wheel.
“Mom?”
I turn around to find Remi standing in the doorway.
“Yeah, Bud?”
“Is everything okay?”
He moves back as I step inside and close the door behind me.
“It’s fine.Are you hungry?”I ask, making my way back to the kitchen and my abandoned mug of coffee.
“Nah, Jason stopped to pick up some takeout at Frank’s Diner on our way.”
I flash him a bittersweet smile; Frank’s Diner is Remi’s favorite place to eat in Spokane.We’d go there at least once a month for breakfast or lunch when we still lived there.
We need to start doing stuff like that here in Silence.It’s not like I have a lot of time left to make new memories as a family.
