Page 58 of Spencer's Satisfaction
“But I did a bad job. I’m not s’posed to cry at work. I’m not s’posed to ask for Daddy.”
“You’re supposed to be safe from assholes,” I mutter, and he gasps.
“Bad word, Daddy.”
“You’re right. Sorry, baby.”
Chuckles sound out around us and I’m reminded that my friends are still here. I look up at them, clustered together a couple of feet away and smile gratefully. “Thanks for looking out for him.” I cast my gaze around, then frown. “Where’s Tanya?”
I know she was here earlier because this is where she had called me from. She’d even handed the phone to Charlie.
“Ted took her for a walk and a chat,” Charlie says, and I feel bad for forgetting that Ted had also been here. I shouldn’t have, considering Zephyr is loitering with Charlie and Ash.
My brain is scrambled with the stress of the situation, and I need to get my shit together for Tony’s sake. Licking my lips, I nod. “Good. That’s good.” Because if anyone can calmly and smoothly help her understand Tony’s escape into his little headspace, it’s Ted.
“Ugh,” Tony makes the sound of complaint after a few more minutes pass in contemplative silence. He pulls away suddenly to rub the heels of his palms into his swollen red eyes.
I can’t bring myself to release my hold on his hips. I give him a gentle squeeze, whether to reassure him or myself, I’m not quite certain. “You doing better, sweetheart?”
“Uh…” he gives his head a quick shake, as if the action is going to clear his thoughts, “yeah. God, I’m so sorry. I…”
“Wejusttalked about this,” I scold lightly, feeling relief wash over me in a wave now that he’s coming back to his big headspace.
Tony rolls his eyes at me and sighs. “Yeah, well, forgive me for feeling embarrassed for melting down like this.In public, at that.” His expression morphs into horror and he clutches at me, his cheeks turning as red as his eyes. “Fuck. I totally lost it in front of Charlie and Asher.AndGerald.”
“After going through something traumatic,” Ash informs him. Tony startles and spins around to find that the others are still here with us and I can see him shrinking back into himself.
“It’s okay,” I soothe him. “Breathe, angel.”
Tony brings trembling hands up to cover his face. “I wanna go home.”
“Soon, I promise,” I hate that I have to break this news to him, knowing that talking about the situation is probably the last thing he wants to do. “But you’ll need to make a statement to the police first.”
“The police?!”
Folding my arms, I raise an eyebrow at his incredulous tone. “The guy assaulted you. Of course Ted called the police.”
Tony shakes his head. “He grabbed my shirt. I…I overreacted.”
“Grabbing your shirt and intimidating youisassault,” Charlie cuts in calmly before I can say anything. That’s probably a good thing, because I want to grab Tony by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. Charlie continues, “And the hate speech and yelling was harassment. Not just against you, either.”
That last sentence seems to register in Tony’s brain and he looks suitably chastened. “Is Steph okay?”
“She’s fine,” I answer, even though I honestly have no idea. From all accounts, she abandoned him to deal with the guy on his own, so I don’t have a huge amount of sympathy for her. If that makes me a dick, so be it.
Tony’s quiet for a little while, watching his shoes as he scuffs the worn toe of his right foot across the dirty concrete beneath us. “Okay,” he eventually agrees. “I’ll make a statement.”
I run my hand through his hair, finding it sweaty from the exertion of his emotional breakdown, and then cup his jaw. “Good boy. I’m proud of you. And I’ll be right by your side.”
“Promise?” His eyes are wide and wet and terrified.
“Always, Tony.”
* * *
“I want to be a writer,” Tony declares later in the evening, when we’re sitting across from each other at my tiny dining table with a half-eaten pizza in between us and Frank meowing piteously for scraps of meat from the kitchen bench. (I’ve given up on trying to prevent him from plonking his gross cat butt there, seeing as he does it for every meal now. Tony finds it hilarious, and I’m loathe to stop anything that brings my boy joy. Especially now.)
Tony’s words are so quiet that I almost miss them. We’ve been steadfastly avoiding the topic of work, so it surprises me that he’s bringing this up now.
