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How was she managing to twist everything around to make it sound likeIwas the one guilty of some sort of wrongdoing?
Ian gave me a reassuring squeeze. I had no idea how he was staying so calm, but I loved him for keeping his cool while I couldn’t.
“No, I found out about it,” he told her. “Because one of the guys who hurt her came to me today after the other two beat me up and left me lying on the locker room floor. He told me about the video and said they sent it to him the day after her assault, and that he deleted it because he didn’t want to be mixed up in child porn. He claims they’ve been holding it over his head ever since and threatening to show the college he’s verbally committed to if he ever tells anyone about what happened.”
“I’m sorry, Ian, but I don’t buy that,” my mom said in a sickly-sweet voice. “And once again, I’m going to insist that you leave my home. I’m not going to allow anyone who watches pornography to date my daughter.”
My chest tightened and my face heated as my hand clenched into a fist. How I refrained from hitting my mother, just like she’d done to me so many times, I had no idea, but I did.
Who gave a crap if he watched porn? Seriously. Most teenage boys did. Heck, a lot of teenagegirlsdid too. I never had because the idea of sex with anyone other than Ian had no appeal to me whatsoever, but I was also a sexual assault survivor. There was no way I could evenconsiderhaving sex unless I trusted my partner completely. The way I trusted Ian.
But, then again, I knew my mother, and I knew the possibility of Ian having watched porn at some point in his life wasn’t really the issue. The issue was that I was dating him, and she’dneverapproved of it. This was just her latest attempt to get me to break up with him.
Except that it wasn’t going to work. If she kicked him out of this house, I was leaving with him. The thought of having to figure out how to make it on my own scared me, but the thought of being without him was absolute agony. If it was a choice between him or my mom, I was choosing him. Of the two of them, only one had never so much as raised their voice with me, let alone physically hurt me. And that person wasn’t my mother.
“Again, Mom, I’m eighteen. You have no say in who I date anymore,” I reminded her.
“As long as you’re living under this roof, I do!”
“If that’s the way it’s going to be, two can play that game. If Ian leaves, I’m leaving with him,” I warned her. “And I’m taking Cosette with me, so I’ll have absolutely no reason to come back.”
“Then I guess you’re both leaving. I’ll give you thirty minutes to pack a bag before I call the police and have you removed from the house. Which is more than you deserve, you selfish, rebellious, ignorant bitch!” she snarled. “You’ll be back. When you find out that he can’t supporthimself, let alone you!”
“I’d rather live in a cardboard box with him than live here without him,” I sniffled, standing up. “For the first time in two years, I feel alive again. And I’ve finally found the courage to speak out about what I went through and try to get the monsters who stole my innocence and childhood put behind bars. That’s all because of Ian. I love him, Mom. This isn’t a high school fling. It’s the real deal. I’m going to spend my life with him, and you can either understand that and get on board with it or not. It won’t change anything except whether I’ll allow you to be part of my life.”
She shot up from the couch and raised her hand to hit me again, but Ian was faster this time and caught her arm before it got to me. And then she tried to raise the other one, but he caught that arm too, holding both of them behind her back just enough to restrain her without hurting her.
“Let me go, you fucking jackass! I’ll make sure you never play football again!” she bellowed. “This is assault!”
“No, this is restraint. Whatyouwere about to do is assault. And if you try to hit Kyler one more time, and Iwillmake sure you leave this house in handcuffs,” he hissed as he released his hold on her. “I’ll call the police myself and have them come supervise us to ensure our safety while we pack up her room if I have to.”
“You do that! Who are they going to believe? Some hotshot teenager or hermother?!”
“I think they’ll find my statement pretty convincing, especially when I tell them who my father is.”
Her face was almost purple at this point, but she didn’t say another word. We’d won this round.
Ian turned to me and pulled me into his arms, kissing my head. “Come on, baby. I’ll set an alarm and we’ll get you and Cosette ready to leave.”
Without another word, he led me back to my bedroom and shut the door. I couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down my face or the sob from tearing out of my throat. I started to head to my closet to get a bag, but before I could, Ian pulled me back into his arms and kissed me fiercely.
“I love you so much,” he whispered. “And I swear to God, if it comes down to it, I’ll figure out a way to support us. You’re my life now, Ky. You have been from the second you agreed to tutor me.”
“She’ll come around,” I sniffled. “Eventually. When she realizes I’m serious about not coming back. The only other time I’ve seen her lash out like this was when my dad left, because she could tell she was losing him. Just like she’s losing me now. She hates losing control of things. But I meant what I said. I’d rather live in a cardboard box with you than live anywhere else without you.”
“Ditto, baby. Now, I need you to focus for just a little longer. Then I’m going to take you home, and you won’t have to think for the rest of the night. Start getting what you need together. Anything you think you might need at some point in case your mom sticks to her guns. And tell me what I need to do to get Cosette packed up.”
“Um, grab the bag of pellets and the bag of hay from beside her table. There’s some yogurt drops on my vanity too. And get all of the wood chew toys and cardboard stuff out of her cage to bring with us. I’ll grab her litter out of the bathroom when I get my toothbrush and stuff.”
As I talked, I grabbed the biggest duffel I had and started throwing random clothes and a couple of pairs of shoes in it.
“Oh, there’s a brush and dustpan under her table too. I need that. We’re going to have to clean out her cage and then put it back together when we get to your place. Do you have any old newspaper at your house, or do we need to bring some?”
“I’ll grab what you have here just in case,” he told me. “And I’ll call Dad on my way home and have him get Maya to grab some lettuce and treats for her on the way home. Do you have anything I can put all of her stuff in?”
“Grab a garbage bag from under the sink in my bathroom. Actually, grab two so I can dump out the stuff that’s in her cage now. And get her litter while you’re in there. And my birth control pills. They’re right there on the sink.”
“Do you have another bag I can throw your pills and toothbrush and shampoo and stuff in while I’m in there? Unless you want to smell like my shampoo and body wash, which I wouldn’t complain about.”
