“I don’t have an accent at all anymore.” I switch hands with my phone. The first goes in my hoodie pocket. I’m colder than I’ll admit, but I’ll survive.

Her eyebrow lifts, a spark in her eye. “You did last night when you told me to come.”

I scrunch my face. “Fine. I have a little bit of an accent when I’m hard as hell and watching you finger-fuck yourself.”

Eyelid flutters shut. “You moved to New York,” she says, moving us along.

I wait until it opens. “We lived in a suburb at first, which is where he fucked up my hand. I’d deal with Andrew West two days on, two days off. My mom would dutifully wait for his return.” We’re getting close, so I slow my steps, taking it to a leisurely stroll. “After three years, we moved to a town not far away. A nice neighborhood, great for kids. It had a wonderful medical staff for when he broke my face.”

More sadness in her eye, maybe an apology in there too.

“He quit messing with me after I shot up at thirteen and hit back.” My lips twitch, remembering how goddamn good it felt the first time my fist connected with his jaw. “As a freshman, I tutored as an excuse to not be there when he was. I went to three houses twice a week. My favorite, Landon, was nine and only a twelve-minute bike ride.”

The bronze statues come into view, so I stop. I do the same as Remi. I cover my lens to adhere to her rule, flip the mode, and then move to show her my eye.

“Hi, Foster,” she says, and I smile and reply, “Hey, Remi.”

Then I breathe for a moment, disconnect as much as I can. “Landon’s mom pushed our session later one day. Andrew left that morning, so I almost canceled to stay home and play my guitar. But she offered extra for the inconvenience. I rode my bike over, sat at their kitchen table like I had the past six weeks, and didn’t even glance when his mom squealed at the garage door opening.”

I look skyward, hating I still feel it after everything. Betrayal fucking annihilates under the right circumstances, though. And then it leaves you constantly in fear of it happening again.

“Landon’s dad was home from a business trip. The kid mentioned once his parents weren’t married. His mom added it’s why she gave Landon her name, so Drew would finally put a ring on it one day if he wanted to carry on his legacy.”

She gasps. “No.”