Chapter 5: Chapter 5

“He took care of me after the accident, when I was too injured to work. He was there for me when my parents divorced. He can be an asshole, but do I think he’s an abuser? No.”

“But why? If you told a therapist what happened to you, they would say he is.”

“He never hit me,” Phillip repeated flatly.

“He didn’t have to.”

* * * *

Our next morning went by intense silence. We showered, dressed, and headed over to the house. Mom wasn’t home. Her Sedan wasn’t in the driveway, which meant that she was either running errands or visiting with friends. It was typical of her to blow off meeting times. I quickly dialed her number and it rolled to voicemail.

“Hey Mom, it’s Kuro. You said ten, but you’re not here. We’re grabbing our stuff. Just letting you know that we haven’t broken into your house.”