Chapter 40 Nate
NATE
Kelly’s front door hadn’t changed since yesterday. Same welcome mat, same potted fern on the step. Same brass knocker that Scott had installed crooked.
Twenty-four hours ago, I’d walked through it with Maya’s hand in mine and a birthday present under my arm. Now I stood on the same step with my knuckles swollen and a sick weight in my gut, with no idea what I was going to find on the other side.
Maya’s fingers laced through mine and squeezed. I squeezed back.
The door opened before I could knock.
Kelly stood in the doorway in her pajamas, her hair pulled back in a knot that looked like it had been done in the dark. Her eyes were tired, a little swollen, and carefully hooded.
“Hey,” she said quietly.
“Hey, Kel.”
A beat passed where none of us moved. Three people standing in a doorway, each one carrying their own version of yesterday, each one waiting for someone else to go first.
“Come in.” Kelly stepped back and held the door open.
The living room was the aftermath of a long night.
A blanket bunched on one end of the couch, a half-empty mug on the side table, toys scattered across the rug.
Scott was in the recliner with Isla asleep on his chest. His parents, Dave and Teresa, sat at the kitchen table.
Jasper sat on the floor near his dad’s feet, a plastic T.Rex in his hands.
He clutched the dinosaur to his chest and gave me a small, uncertain wave.
Kelly glanced at Jasper, then caught Dave’s eye across the room. He was already standing.
“Come on, little man. Let’s go kick that new football around.”
Jasper lifted his head, turning his attention to Maya.
She offered him a warm, reassuring smile. “You go. We’ll be right here when you come back in.”
That settled it. He scrambled up, grabbed Dave’s hand, and trotted toward the back door.
The moment the door closed, Kelly turned to me. “Sit down. Please.”
We sat. Kelly lowered herself into the armchair across from us and pulled her legs up underneath her.
“How’s he doing?” I asked.
Kelly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“He had a rough night. Tears at bedtime, asking why Grandpa was so angry at him.” She exhaled slowly.
“He’s been a bit clingy today. Wanted to sleep in our bed.
Of course we let him. And he’s got a really good dad, you know?
That makes a difference.” Her gaze shifted to Maya.
“He won’t stop talking about you, though. ”
Maya let out a shaky breath and slid her hand into mine. We sat there for a long moment, nobody saying a word.
The quiet was thick and so fucking uncomfortable. The words I had come here to say sat heavy on my tongue, clumsy and insufficient, but they needed to be said.
“Kel, I’m so sorry about yesterday. About all of it. The way I handled things at your son’s birthday party, in front of his friends and their parents.” I swallowed. “I should have done it differently.”
“I fucking knew you would do this.”
“I know, and I’m just so sorr—”
“Come over here and apologize, like you did something wrong.” She pressed her fingertips to her eyes for a moment, then, “I’ve barely slept all night, going over everything that happened.
Because I knew you’d show up and I knew you’d try to make this your fault.
I need you to stop talking and listen to me for a minute. Okay?”
“Kelly—”
“Nate.” She hit me with a look that could have stopped traffic.
I closed my mouth.
“I was coming through the sliding door with Isla’s bottle.
” Her voice was steady but her hands gripped her knees, knuckles going white.
“It all happened so fast. Dad grabbed Jasper. I instantly recognized that absolute rage on his face, because I grew up seeing it.” She paused to drag in air.
“I was too far away. My son was fifteen feet away and I couldn’t get to him fast enough. ”
The room was very quiet. Scott’s hand had stilled on Isla’s back.
Kelly’s gaze moved to Maya, and her voice cracked on the next words.
“Then you stepped right in front of him. I have never in my life been so grateful and so terrified at the same time, because then he raised his hand to you and I thought...” She stopped.
Pressed her fingers to her mouth. Took a second.
“I grabbed Jasper. I had him on my hip and I was trying to get to you and then Nate was just there, and Dad was on the ground, and it was over.”
Maya’s hand tightened on mine. Her fingers were trembling.
Then Kelly’s gaze swung back to me.
“I’m guessing you thought I told you to leave because I was mad at you.”
I could only nod.
“No, Nate. I did it because I knew what it cost you to hit him.” Her eyes filled with tears.
“I spent my childhood watching my baby brother be abused by my own dad. I know what it took for you to raise your fist to him. I didn’t want you standing in my yard dealing with the aftermath.
I just… I just wanted you gone. Safe. Away from him. ”
Everything behind my ribs pulled tight.
Kelly wiped her face with both hands, dragging her palms down her cheeks. She took a long breath.
“So, here’s where it’s at. I’m going no contact with Dad.
He lost his access to my children and to me.
” She hesitated, something more complicated moving behind her eyes.
“Mom... I don’t know. She stood right there and failed to step in, and that’s hard to sit with.
But I also know what it’s like to live in a house with that man, and I’m not ready to write her off completely.
So limited contact with her for now, and we’ll see. ”
Scott shifted carefully in the recliner. “We talked it through last night. It feels like the right call.”
Kelly leaned forward, her eyes locked on mine. “So don’t you dare sit on my couch and apologize to me, Nate. You protected Maya. Maya protected Jasper. Dad’s the only one in the wrong here. He had it coming.”
I was scraped raw. Emotionally wrung out, and I couldn’t think of what to say. So, I didn’t say anything.
We both stood, and I crossed the room, pulling my sister into my arms.
“I love you, you big lug.” Her words were muffled in my shirt, but I caught them.
“I love you, too.”
After a long moment, she patted my chest twice, firm and final, the way she used to when we were teenagers and she’d decided a conversation was over.
She stepped back and turned to Maya. Tears tracked silently down Maya’s cheeks as she rose from the couch. Kelly closed the distance in two steps, pulling her into a fierce hug.
“Thank you.” Kelly held on tight, her words barely above a whisper. “For getting to him when I couldn’t.”
Maya’s arms tightened around her. “You don’t have to thank me for that.”
“Yeah, I do.” Kelly pulled back and held Maya at arm’s length, her hands gripping her shoulders. Her eyes were red and shining but her voice was steady when she said, “You stepped in front of my father for my son. I’ll never forget that, Maya. Ever.”
Maya’s chin wobbled. She pressed her lips together and nodded, and Kelly pulled her in again.
The back door burst open and Jasper exploded into the living room at full speed, a football tucked under his arm. Dave appeared behind him, slightly out of breath.
“Sorry.” He held up both hands. “I couldn’t hold him back any longer.”
Jasper skidded to a stop in front of us, his cheeks pink from the fresh air, his eyes bright with the singular urgency of a four-year-old with a football and insufficient players.
“Uncle Nate, will you come kick the ball with us?” His attention bounced from me to Maya and back again. “Maya, you can be on my team.”
I met Maya’s gaze. She nodded. “You’re on, buddy.”
Jasper pumped his fist. “Let’s go. It’s game time, no excuses.”
Kelly let out a sound that was half laugh, half sob, and wiped her eyes one more time.
Scott laughed from the recliner, then winced. “Sorry. He gets that from me.”
Maya was already smiling, that warm, wide smile that had her dimples flashing, and she held her hand out to Jasper.
“Yeah, let’s smash ‘em!”
He grabbed her hand and hauled her toward the back door with the determination of a tiny wrecking ball with places to be. Maya glanced back at me over her shoulder, her eyes still damp, but a soft smile on her lips.
I followed them out into the yard.