#Chapter 63 – Everything According to Plan

“I didn’t mean it,” Amelia gasps, looking down at Ian and tugging his arm to pull him to his feet.

“Owwww!” Ian shouts, howling even louder.

“Just leave him!” Victor says, shooting her a dirty look and crouching down beside his boy. “Are you okay, Ian?”

“My shoulder,” Ian sniffs, “it really hurts.”

“Can you sit up?” Victor gently helps him into a sitting position and then gently probes his right shoulder with his fingers. “Yeah, it’s dislocated, buddy. I’m going to pop it back in, but it’s going to hurt a little. Can you be brave?”

Ian sniffs but nods his head. Victor takes a moment positioning the arm and then gives it a sharp yank. Ian howls louder for a moment and then tests his arm, smiling. “Okay,” he says. “That feels better.”

“You have to go gentle with it,” Victor says, turning his attention to the cut on Ian’s arm. “It’s going to be sore for a couple of days. Come on, let’s go get a Band-Aid on this cut.”

As Victor stands up, he gives Amelia a dirty look.

“It was an accident,” she insists, stomping her foot, her face pale and grave. “He jumped at me – he was flying through the air! Stalking me, like I was his prey!”

“He was just playing around,” Victor says, his voice cold. “You have to communicate to him that he’s going too far, not just knock him around.”

“I didn’t have a chance –“ she insists.

“You dislocated his shoulder, Amelia,” Victor says, raising his voice and ending the debate. “I think there’s room to say that there was another solution to the problem.” With that, he turns, pointing Ian towards the bathroom.

Amelia watches them go, frustration and anger boiling over in her, tears filling up her eyes.

“It’s okay, Amelia,” Alvin says, wrapping his arms around her leg and smiling up at her. “You didn’t mean it.”

leg to dislodge the boy. She can’t take being touched right now, not by one of those boys

sharp debris left by the broken glass. Alvin falls hard on his rump, his hands going directly into the shards as he works to balance himself. “OWWW!!” he

Ian spin back, taking in the scene – Amelia shocked, Alvin sitting in the

you serious, Amelia?” He hisses, bringing his

up at her with a betrayed look on

–“ Amelia

sons, let you hurt them like this. Shoving a little boy who was just trying to comfort you –

begins to tremble, hardly able to figure out

Victor’s neck, careful to

walk towards the bathroom. As they go, Alvin picks his teary face up off of Victor’s shoulder and looks directly back at Amelia, giving

favorite blankets. The mood is noticeably more subdued than it was earlier, but Victor doesn’t mind. He’s exhausted now – exhausted with frustration, and anger, and disappointment in

two little boys just trying to play with her, to

ice cream waiting on the

needs a drink

sit, Victor heads for the bar in the corner and grabs the decanter of whiskey, pouring himself a big serving in his

back inside in a minute, boys,” he calls. “Just getting fresh

for one small bandaged hand popping up over the couch,

Victor heads

the cool air and

the more I realize that this

out of bed. It had

precisely the world she wanted: beautiful, chic, sophisticated. And

could be more like Evelyn, Victor suddenly finds himself thinking. A great mom, but also clever, willful, graceful, with her lightening

his thoughts go any further. Damnit. Victor

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