Page 102 of Unfix Me

Sen:I’ll try.

Kai:Are you safe? Tell me the truth.

Sen:I’m fine. I love you.

Kai:I love you. If you want to leave, say the word and I’ll get you out.

Dropping into a crouch, I leaned my elbows on my knees and stared at the white-coated yard. I hated that he was there. I couldn’t even try to pretend that I was okay with it, but it was his decision.

Honestly, I thought it was stupid. He should be here right now, not with someone who wouldn’t even let him talk to me as if he wasn’t twenty years old. It was infuriating.

I brought the phone to my ear again, ready to have a moment of rage.

“Hey, bud,” West answered. It sounded like he was chewing on something. He was always eating. “How’s the fam?”

“Good. Had a Toblerone with Dad. Your sister is wrapping my gift for Sen, so if that goes to shit, we know why.”

“Did she try to bone you?”

“As soon as I walked in the door.”

He laughed around a mouthful of something. “She’s insane. I don’t know how we turned out so different.”

“Right. Can you tell me if I’m crazy?”

“Uh, you are, but why?”

“Sen’s dad won’t let him talk to me on the phone. He says it’s breaking their deal.”

“That’s bantha fodder. What are you gonna do?”

“I don’t think I can do anything. It’s up to Sen. If I were to march in there and demand he come with me, I’d be trying to make decisions for him like his dad does.”

“Yeah, but you’re actually protecting him.”

“Sure, but he clearly wants to choose for himself. I don’t want to try to take that from him or make it seem like I know better. I mean, in this case I do, but saying that would make me sound like a dick.”

“Then be a dick. I know you’re capable.”

I huffed and kicked some snow. “Maybe I try to be soft because he's been through so much. I don’t want to take away his autonomy, but I also know that he doesn’t think clearly when it comes to his family. I’m worried he’s gonna fall right back into their manipulation.”

“He needs to see them for what they are. Seems like he’s still trying to cling to some fantasy of loving parents.”

“There’s not really a way to shatter that unless they do something, which I don’t want to happen. I don’t know them, but they’re obviously capable of doing bad things and claiming it’s love.” With a sigh, I pushed my fingers into the snow, letting the bite of the cold center me. “I don’t want him there, West. I’m so scared.”

There was shuffling on the other end. “What about the stuff you found about the camp guy?”

“Travis McKinney.”

“Wait-”

“Yeah.”

“And they said he was dead?”

“Sen blamed himself. I’m gonna tell him, but with everything else going on, I decided to wait until we got back.”

“You should stop coddling him. I know that you’re worried about him dealing with too much, but trauma doesn’t necessarily make you fragile. It can force you to become resilient too.”

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