Chapter 12 - Rain at the Gate
“Why is he kneeling?” Leo asked.Chloe turned quickly. “You should be upstairs.”“Is he hurt?”“No.”Leo looked at the screen. “He looks hurt.”Chloe muted the audio. “Mrs. Alvarez will stay with you.”“Do I have to go?”“No. You never have to see anyone you do not want to see.”Leo nodded, but he did not move.At the gate, Julian lifted his head when Chloe approached. Rain ran from his face and soaked the front of his shirt.“You came,” he said.“You asked.”“I know I do not deserve that.”“You do not deserve access to me because you are ashamed.”Julian flinched. “I am ashamed.”“That is not the same as being sorry.”He pressed both hands against the wet gravel. “I am sorry.”The gate remained locked between them.“I watched the press conference,” he said. “I saw what Mother did.”“You knew what she did.”“I knew she wanted you gone. I did not know how far she would go.”“You signed the papers.”“I was afraid.”“You brought Vivian into our home.”His face twisted. “I was weak.”“That is a word people use when they want their choices to sound accidental.”Julian lowered his eyes.For several minutes, the only sound was rain against the iron bars.“I want to see Leo,” he said.“No.”“Please.”“You can request supervised visitation through the court.”“He is my son.”“You denied that when it was convenient.”“I never denied it to myself.”“You denied it to him.”Julian stood unsteadily. “I can be different.”“You can begin by telling the truth without asking for a reward.”He looked toward the house. “Does he hate me?”“He is five. He is trying to understand why the man who was supposed to protect him let people hurt him.”Julian covered his face.Chloe felt an old reflex rise in her, the urge to comfort him. It had once been the reflex that kept their marriage alive. She let it pass.“I will sign whatever the court requires,” he said. “I will attend counseling. I will accept supervision.”“You will do those things because they are necessary, not because I promise you Leo.”“Can you forgive me?”“Maybe.”His eyes lifted.“Forgiveness is not trust,” Chloe said. “It is not a key to this gate.”Behind her, the house door opened.Leo stood in the entrance in blue pajamas. Mrs. Alvarez was a step behind him.Chloe turned. “Leo, go inside.”He looked at Julian.Julian’s mouth trembled. “Hello, Leo.”Leo did not answer.“I have missed you,” Julian said.Leo glanced up at Chloe. “Did he miss me when I lived away?”Julian closed his eyes.Chloe’s heart cracked, but she did not answer for him.Leo looked at his father again. “You can go now.”Julian nodded as if the child had given him a sentence.“I will,” he said.He walked away from the gate without asking for another chance.Leo watched until the rain swallowed him.“Was that my dad?” he asked.“Yes.”“Can I call him that?”“You can call him whatever feels true to you.”Leo thought for a while. “I think he has to earn it.”Chloe knelt and drew him into her arms.From the road came the flash of headlights. Mara watched the sedan pass the gate, slow down, and continue.She touched her earpiece.“Chloe,” she said, “we found a second vehicle near the school.”Chloe held Leo tighter.The house was guarded. The company was protected. The evidence was public.Yet the danger had not ended at the gate.
