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"You were talking to strangers? You're not supposed to do that."
Billy stops when I lay a heavy hand on his shoulder. "Let him go."
"I need to–"
"Let. Him. Go." I don’t care who Billy thinks he is, or what the fuck he's so freaked out about. Nobody reprimands and grabs my son and gets away with it.
Billy takes a deep breath and Chase shrugs his hold off, looking upset. He takes a step back and I can see he’s hurt. First, by Billy not bothering to show up for the game and now, for him acting weird and angry all of a sudden.
I place a protective hand on Chase's shoulder, and he leans against me. No one is touching him again.
"What’s going on?" Mia asks, finally approaching us with Mikey. The other kids have filed out and the auditorium is now a few people thin.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Chase says, then shoots Billy a sour look. "Is that okay with you?" He then storms off.
Mikey hesitates, then follows him.
Billy watches after him as though he wants to follow them, but he doesn't. That tightness hasn't left his face.
"No seriously, what’s going on with you?” Mia crosses her hand over her head, and she has the protective mom stance. "What did you do to Chase?"
"He came in here yelling at him. You’re not going to do that again, by the way." I level him with a look, and he has the decency to look embarrassed.
“I’m sorry,” he says. “It's not what it looks like. It's just that I have some PTSD from, you know, the military."
"Bullshit," I say. "You’ve probably never even been in active duty. Have you?"
Billy's eyes widen, showing me that I have him pegged right.
I don’t care about that discussion though, so I let it go. "Why on earth did you blow up on my son? What gives you the right to do that?"
“I just wanted him to do the right thing.”
"That’s not your job," I tell him, "He’s not your son. He’s mine and Mia’s. You’re only here to, well, we still don’t even really know why you’re here and we’re going to tell him the truth, that I’m his Dad, before you leave, anyway."
He nods and regret passes over his expression. "I'm sorry. You're right, I messed up."
"Why?" Mia asks and she sounds as furious as I am. "Why did you yell at Chase?"
"I don't know I just..."
"Why are you back?" she asks again when he doesn't complete the thought. "Tell us the truth this time."
"Dad."
We turn around and Mikey is standing there, a few feet away. He turns around, pointing behind him. As I look through the rink room windows, to the front of the building, I see Chase running out the front door.
My stomach drops and I realize how loud we were. Chase heard us.
"Shit."
"Oh no," Mia looks at me with her eyes wide. "My poor baby!" She covers her face in her hands, bending over in distress. Then, just as Mia starts to run to Chase, Billy speaks up.
"It doesn't matter," Billy says urgently. "We have to go get him, now. Chase might be in danger."
27
MIA
