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“But you didn’tknow.”
Her lips pressed into a terse line as her hands stilled within the towel. She swallowed before addressing the boy frozen at my side. “Hey, honey, go get in the shower, okay? You can tell me about your night after.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw him turn toward me, then back to her before nodding. But I didn’t look at him. I stared at his mother with only one thing on my mind.
What if it hadn’t been us?
Noah left us alone, and once I heard the bathroom door close behind him, I took a few steps toward Ray, slowly closing the gap between us.
“Ray, you can’t be like that,” I said, keeping my voice down. The last thing I wanted was to freak Noah out.But,shit…
“Likewhat?” She was exasperated, laughingincredulouslyand shaking her head. “I knew you guys were coming back, so I unlocked the door. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that Seth is out there, and you have no idea when—”
“He’s not coming back.”
I scoffed. “Oh, he’s not, huh?”
She wet her lips and dropped her gaze to the towel in her hands. “No.”
“How do you know that? Is he dead?”
Her jaw shifted as she shook her head. “No, but …”
“Then, you can’t assume that he’s not coming back. And you don’t know when that’s going to happen, if it does, and if I’m not here—”
“Jesus, Soldier.” She rolled her eyes back to mine. “You’re beingfreakin’ ridiculous.”
“Am I though?”
She laughed again, unraveling herhandsand letting the towel hang limp as she walked toward me. “Yes.” She outstretched her arms, and I met her halfway, bending at the waist to wrap my arms around her hips for hers to wrap around my neck. “I told him to stay away, and he will. It’s been months.”
“Oh, so you think he’s going to just start listening to you now?”
“Yes,” she replied, stern and serious. “I told him I’d call the cops if he ever came back, and the last thing he wants is to be arrested again.”
She pressed her body to mine as her lips touched my cheek, then my neck. “You’re sweet for being so worried though.”
“Someonehas to worry about you,” I muttered, burying my nose in herhairand taking a deep breath. “And Noah.”
“We’re fine,” she assured me as her fingers tangled in my hair and curled to grip the back of my neck. “As long as you’re here, I know we’re fine. And if I’m not worried, you shouldn’t be either.”
Resignation didn’t come easily, but I pretended as I sighed and nodded. The bathroom door opened, telling us that Noah was done in the shower. Ray released me from her grasp and kissed my lips before heading in the direction of his room.
I helped myself to some dinner and sat at the table as the sickening churn of foreboding made itself at home in my gut. The fork poked around at the ravioli, blazing trails through a sea of sauce, while I thought about Ray and her willingness to trust despite the hell she’d been through. How could my presence alone give her so much confidence in that asshole staying gone?
“He must’ve been exhausted,” Ray said, breaking through my thoughts. “He told me about his time at Jay’s house and could barely keep his eyes open.”
I glanced up to watch her approach. “Yeah, he had a good time,” I agreed, nodding. Then, I held her gaze firmly in a proverbial grasp and said, “Ray, please do me a favor and promise you’ll keep that door locked whenever you’re here.”
Her eyes filled with an exhausted disdain toward my paranoia, but neither of us could prove whether it was simply unfounded worry or a premonition. So, she relented with a reluctant nod.
“Okay. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
“I’ll get you a key, so you can let yourself in when you want.”
