“God willing, neither of us will. Not Mom either.”
“You know where she is, though?”
I nod even though he can’t see me.
“That’s good at least, but you aren’t going to tell me where she is? I’m not in league with Dad! I would never tell him!”
“It just took everything in me to convince her to run away from him,” I say slowly. “It’s not you. I just can’t trust anyone, you know?”
“I get that, but it’s me, Katie. It’s Kyle. You can trust me. I’m not Dad.”
“I know you aren’t,” I say softly.
“Well, then? Start talking.”
“There’s a group of four guys on campus who have been giving me a bit of a hard time,” I say in a rush.
Yes, I would rather talk to him about the guys instead of Mom. Maybe it’s ridiculous that I’m unwilling to give Kyle details about Mom, especially since Kyle only knows my new number because of the few times I’ve texted to check in with him.
I’m pretty sure I told him not to give out my number to anyone. He knows not to give it to Father, right?
“Four guys? Why the hell are they harassing you? If it’s legit harassment, talk to campus police.”
“Campus police are basically rent-a-cops. They won’t do anything.”
“Does that mean you considered it? They really are harassing you criminally?”
“I don’t think it’s quite that far,” I hedge, “but it’s bullying, and it’s tiring.”
“You aren’t going to tolerate any shit from them, are you?”
“Of course not!”
“Seriously, I know you studied karate, but a good old-fashioned kick to the groin might be in order, and if that’s the case, I want you to go for it.”
I laugh. “Like I need your permission to kick a guy in the nuts.”
“I’m just saying that you have to take care of yourself. It sounds like you’ve taken care of Mom, and I’m glad. I… I should’ve been there for you both. I wanted to talk to Mom about the Thunder Crows, but Dad made certain we were never alone together, and then I went away to college… He even wouldn’t let me call Mom.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. He’s so damn controlling and manipulative, but I didn’t realize the extent he would go until Carla.”
“Well, if she was willing to be blinded by an older man’s money, then she never was the one for you.”
“Yeah.” He huffs a sigh. “I’m not going to settle for just any girl. Promise me you won’t settle for any guy either. You deserve to be happy.”
“So do you.”
“And Mom.”
“But not Father.”
He grunts. “When did you stop calling him Dad?”
“Maybe when he stopped acting like a dad.”
“What do you mean?”