My fists clench at my sides, and I breathe through my nose, trying to remain calm.
“You want to hit me, old man?” he spits, shoving my chest. I stumble but catch myself. “Go on. Knock me around a bit, see if that makes me see reason.”
“I would never hit you,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Sit down, both of you,” Vanessa snaps. “Fighting isn’t the answer.”
Releasing a frustrated growl, I take a step back and return to my seat beside Leni. She’s shaking, so I wrap my arm around her shoulder.
Dylan doesn’t back down though. “Why should I listen to anything either of you say? It’s not like either of you has been a good role model for healthy relationships.”
“Maybe not,” I concede, “but we certainly never taught you to objectify women. Grow up and take responsibility for your actions.”
“Fuck you.”
“Real mature.”
“Enough,” Vanessa shouts. She glances at Leni, who is playing with the hem of her hoodie as she stares at the ground. “I really think we should deal with this privately?—”
“Leni has every right to be here, because of the naked photos our son took of her when they were eighteen,” I cut in, taking no satisfaction when my ex-wife flinches. “Are you going to blame that on us as well, Dylan? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like a pattern. How many more times have you done this and not been caught?”
Something flashes in his hazel eyes, and I feel sick to my stomach that my hunch has been confirmed.
“Look,” he says, levelling his gaze on Leni. “I’m sorry for what I did in high school. It was just something a few of the guys on the team did, and I didn’t know Theo was going to share them further?—”
Blood rings in my ears, and I clench my fists at the mention of my right wing.
“—but hooking up with my dad to get back at me, or whatever this is, is pretty pathetic.”
“Enough,” I growl, tightening my hold on Leni. “This has nothing to do with us, and everything to do with you being hell-bent on fucking up your future because of your dick. You need help.”
“Ethan,” Leni says in a calm voice. “I think everyone just needs to take a deep breath before you all say something you’ll regret.”
Dylan snorts, and I open my mouth to snap at him, but Leni interrupts.
“You can think whatever you want about me, Dylan. I’m done caring. I let what you did to me fester and turn meinto someone I wasn’t, but I’m not giving you the power anymore. I didn’t mean to fall for your dad, but I have, and I won’t apologise for that, even though I know it means I’m going to be a part of your life, because I would never expect him to have nothing to do with you. You’re his son.
“But your dad’s right, you do need help, only it won’t work unless you’re willing to admit what you’ve done isn’t right. The way you treat women isn’t right. I get that you’re upset with your parents for what happened in their relationship, but you don’t have the right to be. Their mistakes aretheirmistakes. That’s for them to rectify.”
The room is silent when she stops talking, and Leni leans in and kisses the side of my jaw, murmuring, “I’m going upstairs while you guys talk.”
I squeeze her waist and give her a short nod, falling in love with her even more for knowing what I need.
Once Leni leaves the room, Vanessa sinks onto the couch beside Dylan.
“We’re trying to help you.”
He scoffs. “I think it’s rich the two of you are trying to help me, when you cheated on Dad for years, and he’s fucking my ex-girlfriend. So I like to record myself having sex. I don’t see what the big deal is. Everyone I sleep with is a consenting adult.”
“Except Leni,” I mutter.
“We were both eighteen. It’s not like I was an adult sleeping with a minor.”
“She didn’t know you were taking photos of her while she was passed out in your bed, Dylan. The photos you passed around to your teammates without her knowledge? That’s the issue at hand here.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “So, did she come to you to tell you what I did, and you made up for it by showing her how a real gentleman treats a woman?” I flinch at the heavy sarcasm lacing his tone. “Or is it just a kink of yours to sleep with the same woman as your son?”
“Dylan,” Vanessa admonishes, resting her hand on his leg, but he pulls away.
