Seduced

“Where are going?” Crissy asks, excitement in her voice.

“It’s a surprise,” Phillips says. “But here’s a hint—we’ll be able to see giraffes right outside the window at our hotel.”

Crissy’s eyes go wide. “Africa? We’re going to Africa?”

Phillip laughs. “That’s right, baby girl. You’re smart as a whip, aren’t you?”

“My new friend, Jess, says she thinks I’m a genius,” Crissy says, shy but proud. “Will we see hippos, too? And lions?”

He ruffles her hair. “Sure. We’ll book a safari excursion with some of the locals. Take a few days to see the sights before we start looking for an apartment.”

Crissy’s smile fades. “Apartment?” She shoots an uncertain glance my way. “Are we moving, Mommy? We just moved. I don’t want to move again. I like my bedroom and Hannah and Cam. And the playground by the food trucks and ice-skating in the park.”

“You’ll like Kenya just as much. Probably even more,” Phillip says before I can talk her down from the edge with something vague but comforting. “We’ll be living near the coast, where it never gets cold. And you can learn to surf and scuba dive and be a water baby.”

“But I get bad sunburns at the beach,” Crissy says, even though she loves the water. But she’s not a fan of change. It was hard enough getting her excited about our move to New York, and I had months to coax her into a more receptive frame of mind.

“Don’t worry, honey,” I say, resting a hand on her back. “It’ll be fine. Daddy and I will work this out after dinner. First, let’s get some food in our bellies.” I stand, nodding toward the dingy kitchenette with the buzzing light on the other side of the room. “Can we talk in private, Phil?”

Phillip parks his hands on his hips. “Anything you can say to me, you can say to Crissy, too. No more secrets. We’re a family, and from now on, we’re going to act like it.”

“Mommy, I want to go home,” Crissy whispers, pushing her coloring book away and standing beside me.

I put my arm around her, drawing her against my side. “We will, baby. Just let me talk to your dad alone first. Can you go into the bathroom for a little bit and give us some privacy?” I stroke her hair from her forehead. “I’ll come get you in just a few minutes.”

“Okay,” she says, but when she starts to step away, Phillip whips his arm out, grabbing her so fast that by the time I reach for her, she’s already dangling from his hand by her elbow, howling in pain.

“Mommy, help!”

“Put her down,” I demand, adrenaline making my voice shake as I shout. “Please, Phillip, you’re hurting her.”

“No, you’re hurting her, Natalie,” he says, jerking her out of my reach when I take a step forward. “You hurt her by keeping her from her father for years. You hurt her by moving her all the way across the country. And now you’re hurting her by being a sneaky fucking liar. You think I can’t see through you? You think I’m that stupid? Or that I forgot you speak Japanese?”

Stomach dropping into my shoes, I lift my hands in surrender. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry. I’ll do whatever you want. Just, please, put her down. If her shoulder is dislocated, we can’t get on a plane, Phillip. They’re not going to let a little girl who’s injured and in pain through security without asking questions.”

He hesitates another beat, before lunging forward and tossing Crissy onto the couch. “Stay there,” he shouts, pointing a finger at her face. “And stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about. You aren’t hurt. I know when I’m hurting people, baby girl, and that wasn’t even close.”

“Mommy, I want to go home. I want Cam,” Crissy whimpers between sobs, ripping my heart from my chest.

“Shut up!” Phillip roars, making me flinch and my eardrums begin to buzz. “Don’t say that name again, Cristina, or you’ll be sorry. Your mom’s fuck boy isn’t your dad, I am. And it’s time you started acting like it. When I tell you to do something, you do it. You respect me the way I deserve. You understand me?”

“You said a super bad word,” Crissy whimpers, curling into a ball on the couch, her eyes so wide and terrified it takes all my willpower to keep from scooping her up and making a run for the door.

But running would be futile. Phillip would catch us, and this already fraught situation would get even worse. And likely violent.

I have to defuse things before someone gets hurt.

“It’s okay, he’s a grown-up, he can say those words,” I tell Crissy in the calmest tone I’m capable of at the moment. “And this is just a misunderstanding. Phillip and I will work it out. Just pick a new page to color and do your very best job on it, okay?” She pulls in a breath, but I cut her off before the protest I can see coming has a chance to form. “Please, honey. For me. You know how much I love you and that keeping you safe is at the top of my list. So, I just need you to color really quietly for a little while until the grown-ups figure out what to do next. Okay?”