I nodded. They had already eaten because it was late, and Lyra talked about all the cool things she’d done at school. Silas and I had gone to the meeting with her teacher and with several other officials, and the result had been something much better for her. She was in a different class that they said was moving faster, and she was with other kids who were also into reading and science, stuff that she liked, too. Today, she had given one of her bracelets to a girl named Katara and she thought they were going to be best friends for sure. She talked so much and for so long that it seemed unnaturally quiet when she went upstairs to take her shower.
“Camille.”
I dropped my fork, and then realized that I’d been holding it partway to my mouth with pasta still on it. That bite was now on the floor. Silas started to bend to wipe it up and I stood to stop him. “No! You’ll hurt yourself more.”
“Why don’t you go to bed?” he suggested. “I’m…yeah, I’m not going to say it, but I am.”
“Please sit down to discuss this with me,” I said, much as I would have to one of the paralegals if we were having an issue at work. I also said the next thing I usually told them. “This is about finding a solution.”
“Sure,” he answered, his eyebrows raised. But he did sit, in a careful way that made me get upset.
“Did you tell the police that Dax did this?” I asked first.
“No. They caught the guys who did it, and I have no idea if that dipshit is involved. I suspect it, but I don’t know. I don’t feel like digging deeper and this won’t go on any police priority list. As far as they’re concerned, it’s over.”
“But who’s to say he won’t try something else? Are you going to live your life looking over your shoulder? Maybe I should try to get a PPO.”
“A restraining order? That won’t do shit. They would need evidence, and what do you have to tell them?”
Nothing, because Dax wasn’t dumb. He hadn’t threatened me via text and he hadn’t admitted to anything in incriminating voicemails. “I have to get this under control,” I said. “I’m also going to move out.”
“What the hell is that going to do?” His voice had gotten louder. “No, no way. You’re better here.”
“But you and Lyra may not be,” I said. “Would you put your sister in danger?”
I had him there. He looked at me, clearly seething, but he didn’t answer.
“You said that your house would be safe, but are you sure about that? You probably didn’t expect them to jump you outside of work and you can’t predict what’s next.” I rubbed my neck, which was aching from the long day. “I knew that Dax wouldn’t stop. He did the same thing when he got fired from a bar in Knoxville and he went after the manager because he blamed her for losing the job.”
“Did he hurt her?”
“No, he never got physical but he treated her terribly, harassing her and making her miserable. He was relentless and it was one of the reasons that I was glad to move to Detroit, to get away from that situation.”
“Why the hell did you stay with him?”
I drew in a sharp breath. “That’s not the issue right now. I’m going to pack tonight and then—”
“Camille?” Lyra called from upstairs. “Can you help me comb my hair?”
“You know what she’s going to think if you leave,” Silas said.
“I’ll be right there,” I called back. My voice was thin because my throat had gotten tight, since I knew exactly what Lyra would think if I left her. I would be acting just like her mother, and no matter what Silas or any counselor told her, it was impossible to believe that someone loved you when she did that.
“I don’t know what’s right,” I said.
“Don’t do anything tonight. We’re not going to solve this now, with both of us so tired.”
“Camille? I need you,” she reminded me.
“I’m coming, Lyra,” I answered, and went upstairs. We fixed her hair and talked about what she’d wear the next day, and about a book she thought that Katara would like.
“I sat next to Boris,” she mentioned casually.
“Who is Boris…wait, do you mean Boris from across the street?” I asked. “Mrs. Alford’s Boris?”
She nodded. “He wanted to know if he could have a bracelet and I said yeah, because you always say that thing about people having good parts.”
“I do say something like that,” I agreed. She had listened? “I don’t think that anyone is all bad.”
