Page 92 of Thanking Her Brother's Best Friends

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Selene

WatchingDave get hauled away by the police, and holding my son in my arms, solidified the decision I needed to make.

Dave tried to reason with me, even as the police took him away.

"Selene, we can still work this out."

"I made you who you are, you bitch!"

"You're nothing without me!"

"That kid is a loser."

Smack.

I did what I'd wanted to do forever.

The well-aimed Nike Air Max 97 LX hit him right across the face. It almost happened in slow motion, and the satisfying crunch of what sounded like one of his teeth breaking made my fucking heart sing.

Shutters clicked furiously, but I couldn't care less. Hell, I wanted this news to come out.

I hoped it would tell enough women that they had whatever the fuck it would take to get out of abusive relationships and own themselves.

"Whoa, nice shot, Selene!" Riley called out. One of the officers gave him a reproachful look, so he toned it down.

"I mean, calm down, ma'am," he corrected himself hastily. "We got this."

Ben's car reached the spot within the next five minutes, and he had the look of a man who'd been struck by lightning. I did not hold anything against him, but Abigail...

"Selene, I am so, so sorry," he said, rushing out of the car toward us. To my surprise, Niall got out with him. "I'll be sorry for the rest of my life."

"It's fine," I muttered. "He's safe."

Niall's eyes lingered on me. He looked like he wanted to bundle Ollie and me into his arms, but I'd already made too many assumptions about the men in my life.

No more.

I bent down to kiss Ollie's forehead and asked him to wait with Ben for a minute. Niall had gone over to talk to Aiden and Dom. I went to the three of them.

"Guys?"

They wheeled around to face me simultaneously.

"I... ah—"

"Selene, I'm so sorry I couldn't get here earlier." Niall's face was stricken. "Fuck, you have no idea how glad I am that he's safe, that—"

"I think we should take a break."

His mouth hung open as if he wasn't sure he'd heard the right thing. Dom and Aiden looked at each other and then at me.

Aiden was the one who spoke next. "Selene, what is it? What did we do wrong?"

If I'd have to show that to him, then it wasn't any good, anyway. My voice was stuck in the back of my throat. Words had never felt more difficult.

"You've done nothing wrong. It's just that, with everything that's happened, I feel like we all need to step back and reassess what we're doing here."

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