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I’d spent the rest of the evening avoiding Roger’s leering glances as I’d unloaded endless crates of alcohol and it was only the stack of cash Roger had placed into his offer of a ride ho and clearly hadn’t cared that I had no interest in his unwelcome advances…advances I’d allowed only because I’d needed the cash more than I’d needed to escape the touch of a man who made me physically ill

But all of that had been pre-Hawke Because I’d given up everything the second Hawke had walked out my front door The moment I’d heard the door click into place, I’d rushed out of Matty’s room and flipped the flimsy lock that I’d knoouldn’t really keep the rabbed Matty’s backpack along with the packed duffle bag I kept stashed undersome of his clothes into my duffle I’d jammed the two toys I’d known he couldn’t live without into his backpack along with a couple of books and then I’d wrapped a s body and had carried him out of the apart trust inaround only for a second before he’d snuggled up against my neck

After all, it wasn’t the first time we’d been in the exact same situation

I hadn’t liked ditching the apartment, especially since I’d just paid the entire erous looking Haould be back at some point I’d seen the hatred in his eyes when he’d knockedhis way into oing to risk another encounter with the man Especially since I knew he probably wouldn’t find what he was looking for just because he now had na

I’d ended up finding a cheap motel on the other side of town and Matty and I had spentout there I’d hts later and then another one a few nights after that I hadn’t returned to work at the diner and I hadn’t risked taking Matty back to daycare despite his insistence that he had to turn in his art project The project - which I’d ended up leaving behind in the apartment – was a family self-portrait that had only taken Matty a fewit on the wall of our ures hand in hand outside a colorful little house surrounded by what I could only assuth I’d needed when all I’d really wanted to do was let my body fold in on itself in a desperate atte me

I’d finally started to feel h I still hadn’t been brave enough to return to the aparts I had no doubt that iven away and I’d briefly considered going to Roger’s club to see if he had any work forat a rapid rate I’d even floated the idea of asking Roger for a loan, but then I’d remembered the feel of his clammy lips on my neck and the look in his eyes that said he knew that, in that moment, he owned er than I could re that no one had the right to look at ain – that Matty would never know that look hile I’d endured worth it

But all that had changed two days ago when I’d been getting Matty dressed and I’d noticed the bruises The same bruises I’d seen a feeeks earlier that I’d attributed to hi with other kids at daycare

They’d had nothing to do with roughhousing

And they had changed everything

Everything

“Mr Travers, I’ the Medicaid paperwork sub this is the correct social security nulanced at lasses and then turned her computer screen my way so I could see the number