Page 148 of Morally Gray Daddies

I cleared my throat for what felt like the thousandth time today. “We moved on with our lives, because we had to. We had no choice. We were powerless in a hopeless situation. We were kids, and even if we’d suspected even of a fraction of all the things that were wrong with your arrest and sentence, who could we have gone to? There was no one to trust. That was kind of the point. That’s what they wanted. That’s what they did. They preyed on kids. Kids like you, like Ashley Carter. Like Trask King. And there was nothing anybody could do about it. We were all victims. Not as much as you, but we were victims too.”

He shrugged, like it didn’t matter, and I realized I’d gone off on a tangent.

“The point is, we moved on because we had to. Not because we wanted to. We had no choice. It was a fucked-up situation, and it hurt too much. So we leaned on each other, and I got Sabrina out of here, because I knew that’s what you wanted for her. And yeah, we didn’t look back, and maybe we should have. For that, I truly am very sorry.”

“We both are.” Sabrina put his hand on top of mine, on top of his. Damon ripped his gaze from me to our stacked hands, and I watched as his Adam’s apple constricted, revealing his emotions.

“We both are,” I repeated. “But today has shown us that we made mistakes. We gave them powers we didn’t have to. And I’m not willing to do that anymore. They are in jail cells. Their days of ripping lives apart are over. They can’t physically do any of it anymore. So why are we still letting them do it mentally?” I shook my head. “We shouldn’t. We can’t. I don’t… I don’t… want to.”

Damon’s eyes were glassy again, as he looked down at the table instead of at me. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

I swallowed thickly. “I’m saying, I missed you, babyboy. And I don’t want to miss you again. You have a lot to deal with, a lot to catch up on, a lot to heal from, and I don’t want you to do it without me. I can’t stomach the thought.”

His eyes narrowed, furrowing his brows, and he looked between me and Sabrina. “I’m not… I don’t… I’m not trying to break you guys up. I mean like, yeah, it sucks. Yeah, I’m jealous as fuck. Yeah, it hurts. But I’m not trying to be no homewrecker.”

“That’s good,” Sabrina said with an easy laugh, “cause we’re not trying to let our home be wrecked.”

“I don’t understand.” Damon put his head in his free hand. “Fuck, I feel like I’m saying that a lot.”

“Maybe.” I chuckled. “But it’s probably our fault. So let us be more clear. WWhat you and Sabrina had was good. You were her Daddy. What Sabrina and I have is good. It helped us both cope, and we aren’t in any sort of dynamic, but our relationship is strong.”

He nodded, though it was clear he was still confused. That was okay though, because I wasn’t finished.

“And babyboy, what you and I had was so good. So if we combine three good things, I think what we’d end up with is something really great.”

“Combine...” He trailed off as he looked between Sabrina and I. “What, like… a menage á trois?”

“I mean, I was thinking more like a throuple, but, essentially yes.”

“You guys…” He looked between us again. “You guys want me after… after what I did?”

I nodded. Sabrina spoke up.

“I think I want you because of what you did.”

“You have fucked-up captive-rape fantasies or something?” he grunted, his expression skeptical. He was joking… mostly, but also having a hard time believing what we were saying.

“Nooo.” She smiled slowly and shook her head. “This isn’t going to make much sense, but I think it was brave, in a way.”

“You’re right. That makes no fucking sense.”

“It makes sense to me.” She shrugged. “For so many years, I’ve just accepted things that were out of my control. I rolled over and let life stomp all over me. I never really did anything about it. I never fought back. You did. You do. You always have. And sometimes your methods are a little messed up, yeah, but…” She trailed off and smiled. “I don’t know, I think that’s admirable. I think it makes you someone I admire. And Damon, I’ve always loved you. I love you.”

He was getting choked up for real now, unable to hide it behind his gruff demeanor. “I love you too. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Fuck. I hated to see my babyboy cry. With one last sidelong look at Sabrina, we both stood and made our way over to Damon on the other side of the table.

I put my arms around his left side and hauled him to his feet. Sabrina hugged his right side, and we made a nice little Damon sandwich.

When he started crying, I did too, and Sabrina followed suit. We just stood there, clinging to each other, a throuple sandwich, with no idea how we were going to make this work, only knowing that we had to. It was the only thing that felt right.

Damon

After we’d hugged it out, shedding new rounds of tears as we released the pain of the past six years, we pulled apart and I sat back down.

“So… what now?”

Sabrina and Fin looked at each other, communicating in that silent way they had–the one I’d be jealous of if I wasn’t so damn thankful for it–and I realized they were just as lost on what came next as I was.

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