Page 88 of Stolen Fate
Evelyn
I didn’t knowwhat happened after the cops showed up, but it was another hour or two before Jace would come back, and by that time, Elliot and I were in the middle of our dinner.
Elliot had been quiet since Camila showed up, and he didn’t tell me how he was feeling. But he had been stuck to my side since I brought him back inside the house, never letting go of my shirt.
He was holding onto it while I was in the kitchen, reheating some of the food Ms. Bennett left for us. She would be back tomorrow, so at least that was something we could look forward to.
I sat down next to Elliot and we ate our meals quietly, with me helping Elliot cut up some of his chicken.
It was… worrisome. I had never seen a quiet Elliot before.
He usually carried the conversation equivalent of three people, often repeating stories, and embellishing them a little with each version. Now, he wasn’t exactly sullen or sad, but he was quiet, and he was clingy. He would ignore me for the most part, until I made a move to leave the room, then he would look at me with this almost panicked look in his eyes that would just about break my heart in two.
“Evelyn?” he asked, thirty minutes into our meal. I was so happy he was talking again, I tried not to react.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
“She was mean,” he said softly.
I nodded. I didn’t need to ask him who he was talking about. Camila was mean. “Yes, she was. But you don’t have to worry about her anymore, okay? Your dad will make sure of it.”
His bottom lip trembled. “Will she hurt Daddy?”
“Hey, of course not. Have you seen your dad? He’s like the biggest person around. No one can hurt him.”
He nodded, though his eyes did look a little shiny. I wrapped my arms around him and moved him to my lap. He didn’t protest, and instead buried his face into my neck. “Daddy will keep us safe,” he told me softly.
I nodded. “Yes, he will.”
A noise by the threshold grabbed my attention then, and I looked up to see a haggard-looking Jace. I offered a small smile, but he didn’t smile back. His eyes were focused on Elliot.
I pulled away a little and directed Elliot’s gaze to Jace.
His baby blues brightened when he saw his dad, and he quickly climbed off my lap. Jace bent down in time to catch Elliot, and I looked away, wiping some of the tears that had fallen.
I couldn’t imagine what Jace was feeling now.
And I wondered if he blamed himself for this, even though this was in no way his fault.
It wasn’t anyone’s fault, except for Camila’s, and it was as Jace said, I hoped she rotted forever behind bars.
Not once had I heard Elliot refer to Camila as his mom.
And that said something.
And the fact that he was afraid she might hurt Jace? I shook my head, my fist clenched by my side.
* * *
Elliot wentto bed pretty early after dinner. He barely had the energy to listen to a bedtime story—he didn’t even ask for one.
We tucked him into bed, and he closed his eyes, and that was all.
Neither Jace nor I had the energy to do anything after that. Jace said he needed to get some work done and had been holed up in his office since; as for me, I tried to go to bed early, to forget about the horrible day and the way Elliot had clung to me while his mom yelled at me to give Elliot to her.
I wouldn’t have given Elliot to her even if a gun had been held to my head.
Camila’s visit had been a surprise. She had come inside the house like she owned the place, without knocking. She must have kept the spare key to the house, and I regretted telling Simon he could leave—I hadn’t been planning on taking Elliot anywhere after he had dropped us off at home. Had he been there, he could have held her off while I took Elliot away.
