His Knees, His Pleas, But Our Son's in Peace

Chapter 30

His face crumpled a little, but I didn't care. He needed to leave, to stop standing in my

yard like some wounded puppy.

"If you don't leave," I

rising, "

"I warned, my voice

"I'll call I the police again."

Nathan winced at

at that, but sun

didn't

move. .He just stood I there, blood still trickling from the cuts on his arms, his clothes torn from the earlier fight with the rogue wolves. Stubborn fool. The man had always been stubborn, but now it wasn't something I admired-it just made me tired. ured.

I turned on my heel and shut the door,

leaving him outside. I pressed my back

against the door for a moment, listening to the silence. No footsteps. No engine 18:49

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3

30

revving as he left. He really wasn't going anywhere.

Let him stand out there, I thought bitterly.

He made his choices; he can deal with the consequences.

But as the night dragged on, I couldn't help

but check the window. I saw him out

the side of the house, still clutching

bathed his face,

he looked. He

to bandage the cuts.

mixture of

me. The anger won out. He didn't deserve my

It was late,

the yard was silent. When I finally glanced outside again, Nathan was

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Knees, His Pleas, But Our

3

30

passed out? I bit my lip, torn between letting him suffer and helping him. But I wasn't a monster. Not like him. Grabbing my phone, I dialed a familiar number. It rang

sharp. "He's in my yard, passed out. Bleeding. I don't care what you do, just get him off my property." There was a pause on the other end.

Nathan," I snapped.

I be talking about?"

replied, and I hung up without

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His Pleas, But Our Son's in

30

as Nathan's

unconscious body

the yard and into

watching him go. I just

hair. Nathan wouldn't stop coming back. It didn't matter how many times I threw him out-he'd keep finding ways to worm back into my life. But I was done. Really done this time. The next morning, I gathered all the materials I'd collected over the past few months-emails, text messages, witness

grueling process, but I was ready. I wasn't going to let her

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But

3

30

the money, she had to record a public apology. That must've been the real punishment for her, knowing she'd have to face the world and

the day it was

once flawless and 'full of arrogance,

Herp

in

valued above all else had been destroyed that

with the marks