Dakota said something to Kenzie that set her off, and she stood up, grabbing the corners of the table to support herself, and leaned over her older brother to whisper-yell at him, “I was doing you a favor about letting you stay with me, but you can put your shit back into your backpack and get out of my apartment. See if Trent hasn’t changed the locks yet.”
“Kenzie,” Dakota immediately tried to backpedal.
“I’m notlikeDad,” she said, sitting back down, but not letting go of the table. “I’m not going to let someone talk to me like that.”
Thomas’s heart sank.
In that moment, he knew Kenzie had picked up on all of the things he and Jennifer thought they’d been so skilled at hiding. He’d been so focused on trying to present both of the kids with the model of a cohesive family unit, he hadn’t even stopped to think about the way he was presentinghimselfand what kind of example that set for both of them. He glanced at Dakota, whose face was red with anger directed explicitly at Kenzie.
“It’s okay,” he said, meaning to direct it at both of them.
Kenzie relaxed her fingers from the table and dropped her hands into her lap. “Please go get your stuff out of my apartment and leave the key on the counter.”
“You’re a—”
“Don’t,” he interrupted his son. “Don’t even think about it.”
“I did you a favor and you took advantage, and besides that, you’re just mean.” Kenzie smoothed her hands down her thighs anxiously, and Thomas recognized it as the same gesture he often used to calm his nerves. “You’re older than me, and you can go take care of your marriage now.”
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Dakota mumbled under his breath, standing up and glaring at them both. He pointed at Thomas, anger now directed at him instead of Kenzie. “I don’t care what she thinks she knows. I know what kind of man you are.”
“And what’s that?” he asked.
“You’re weak.”
Thomas bit the side of his tongue to stop himself from reacting to Dakota like he was anyone besides his son. He recognized how he could have appeared that way by taking Jennifer’s accusations and bad behavior on the chin for so long. He should have stood up for himself. That would have set a better example to his kids. But instead he’d offered fake apologies to hide Jennifer’s indiscretions from them. He’d settled for far less than he deserved and, in doing so, taught them that happiness wasn’t something worth fighting for. Kenzie could barely stand him, though he wondered if she was on the verge of changing her opinion of him, and Dakota thought him the worst person in the world.
“You’re right,” he agreed. “I let a lot of things happen that I shouldn’t have.”
He should have left Jennifer as soon as she cheated. He should have worked less. He should have been more present. He should have fought harder for balance.
Dakota looked flustered, his cheeks still red and his eyes wide, like he didn’t expect Thomas to agree and he didn’t know how to fight back when he did.
“I think it’s time your mother and I were honest with you,” he said. “So you can understand what happened between us.”
“You don’t have to, Dad,” Kenzie said, and he knew she knew.
He knew she knew everything.
“We do.” He gave her a reassuring nod. “And it’s okay.”
“Go pack, Dakota,” she said, angling her face toward her brother.
Dakota stomped off without a word, and Thomas reached for his drink, swallowing half of it in one go. The ice had melted and the liquor was watered down. It was nowhere near enough to calm him down as the adrenaline spiked through him.
“I know Mom cheated on you,” Kenzie said.
Thomas rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a long breath, turning to face his daughter once Dakota was out of sight.
“I never meant for either of you to know what happened between us.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“I didn’t want…wedidn’t want your opinions of either of us to change.”
“But they should have changed. I grew up thinking you were just completely removed from everything going on and, in reality, Mom was the one who was being horrible and Mom was the one saying mean things and she was the one out there sleeping around.
“She’s still your mother.” He sighed.
