Then his voice returned.<\/p>\n
Calm.<\/p>\n
Controlled.<\/p>\n
Dangerously calm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d<\/p>\n
The call ended.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t sleep.<\/p>\n
Instead, I cleaned.<\/p>\n
I cooked.<\/p>\n
I thought.<\/p>\n
By four in the morning, bacon sizzled in a skillet.<\/p>\n
Eggs sat warming in the oven.<\/p>\n
Fresh biscuits cooled on the counter.<\/p>\n
Coffee filled the kitchen with a rich aroma.<\/p>\n
I pulled the embroidered tablecloth from the hall closet.<\/p>\n
The expensive one.<\/p>\n
The one reserved for holidays and special occasions.<\/p>\n
I polished the silverware.<\/p>\n
Set the plates.<\/p>\n
Folded the napkins.<\/p>\n
Everything looked perfect.<\/p>\n
Because this was a special occasion.<\/p>\n
Not a celebration.<\/p>\n
A turning point.<\/p>\n
Shortly before six, headlights swept across the front windows.<\/p>\n
Richard arrived.<\/p>\n
His hair was grayer now.<\/p>\n
His shoulders broader.<\/p>\n
His expression harder.<\/p>\n
He stepped inside carrying a leather folder.<\/p>\n
One look at my face told him everything.<\/p>\n
His jaw clenched.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere is he?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUpstairs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAsleep?\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
Richard set the folder on the table.<\/p>\n
His eyes moved across the carefully arranged breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou only do this when something important is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt ends today.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me for a long moment.<\/p>\n
Then nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He opened the folder.<\/p>\n
Inside were documents.<\/p>\n
Legal papers.<\/p>\n
Program brochures.<\/p>\n
Protection order forms.<\/p>\n
Resources I had been too afraid to consider before.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you sure?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
I closed my eyes.<\/p>\n
I remembered Brandon at six years old.<\/p>\n
At ten.<\/p>\n
At fifteen.<\/p>\n
Then I remembered the sound of that slap.<\/p>\n
I opened my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard nodded once.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we do this properly.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, we heard footsteps overhead.<\/p>\n
The stairs creaked.<\/p>\n
Brandon was awake.<\/p>\n
And he had absolutely no idea what was waiting for him.<\/p>\n
He walked into the kitchen yawning.<\/p>\n
His hair was messy.<\/p>\n
His confidence completely intact.<\/p>\n
Then he saw the breakfast.<\/p>\n
The tablecloth.<\/p>\n
The spread.<\/p>\n
A grin appeared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, look at that,\u201d he said. \u201cYou finally figured it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reached for a biscuit.<\/p>\n
Then his eyes landed on Richard.<\/p>\n
The biscuit slipped from his fingers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s he doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard remained seated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down, Brandon.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something in Richard\u2019s tone made him obey.<\/p>\n
Reluctantly.<\/p>\n
Brandon dropped into a chair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard slid the folder toward him.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. What\u2019s ridiculous is hitting your mother and thinking nothing changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t hit her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an argument.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hit her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was just a slap.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard\u2019s eyes narrowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou hear yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
Brandon turned toward me.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is what we\u2019re doing now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeriously?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard opened the folder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a temporary protection order.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brandon laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re kidding.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richard continued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis revokes access to your mother\u2019s accounts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another document.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis removes you from the vehicle insurance policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Then his voice returned. Calm. Controlled. Dangerously calm. \u201cI\u2019m coming.\u201d The call ended. I didn\u2019t sleep. Instead, I cleaned. I cooked. I thought. By four in the morning, bacon sizzled … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11501,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11504"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11504\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11507,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11504\/revisions\/11507"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11501"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storyintheworld.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}