“But if it does…” He clutched her hands. His grip was fierce, and Jack wanted to pull away, but she didn’t. She sat there, wincing, as he whispered, “You have to look after my son. You could move into this house, and you could make sure—”

“That isn’t going to happen.” Jack pushed off the couch, sliding her hands from his grip. “Look, what happened to Evelyn is terrible, and I don’t understand it. But you cannot leave Raven alone. You can’t let anything happen to you and…” Here she caught his gaze, holding it as fiercely as he’d gripped her hands. “You can’t send him away again.”

Raven’s father nodded, rubbing at the dark stubble on his chin. He hadn’t showered. Hadn’t shaved. And while Jack felt for him, she was not about to stand there and watch him push Raven away. “You’re the only family he has left. He needs you.”

“I know. But I don’t know how—”

“Then figure it out.” Jack shook her head, her fists tightening in anger. She shouldn’t be mad at him. He hadn’t asked for any of this. But she was so sick of parents abandoning their children, and maybe she’d never be able to say these things to her mother, but she could say them to someone who would listen.

She strode around the couch, crouching in front of Raven’s dad. “I know it would be easier to just check out completely. Blame some witch for cursing your family and never get off this couch. But pretty soon, your son’s going to come down those stairs, and he’s going to need to know that he still has a father.”

“How—”

“Get off the couch. Take a shower. And make him breakfast.” Raven’s father opened his mouth, as if to protest, but she cut him off. “You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be present, all right? You have to be here.”

He nodded, slowly, wrapping his fingers around the edge of the sofa. In one swift movement, he’d pushed to his feet. He wobbled a little, as if he’d been hunched over on those cushions for hours, and Jack caught his arm, steadying him.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Don’t thank me yet. I’m going to come check on you to make sure you’ve done what I said.” When Dr. Holloway chuckled, Jack smiled a little too. “I’ll bring you vegetables from the garden you helped me plant,” she added, as he hobbled toward the stairs. “You can make him an omelet, like you did when he was a kid.”