“Nate wins! The crowd goes wild!” His arms shoot up. “Nate the Great is king!” Dancing on his toes, he thrusts a hand-microphone at Billy. “Mr. Loser, tell our viewers how it feels to give up the title of Strongest Man Ever? Are you disappointed? Will we see a rematch?”

Mr. Quinn, how do you plead? Mr. Quinn, speak up. Mr. Quinn, the court needs to hear a verbal answer.

“How do I feel?” Billy leans forward into the mike. “Honestly? Relieved it’s over.”

“But your legacy lives on.” After one final twirl, Nate heads out. “Late lunch. Dad’s making pancakes. Although for you, Mr. Loser, I guess it’s breakfast.”

Once we’re alone, I tell Billy I’m here if he wants to talk. “Anytime. And I’m finished with classes in May. I’ll come home for the summer if it will help.”

“Thanks, Cassie. But don’t rearrange your life for me.”

“I want to rearrange my life; I want to be here. Nate too. We love you.”

Billy looks out the window. “You know what’s strange? I’m not angry. I should be, but I’m not. This is how Diana operates. When I get busy with classes or whatever, she gets anxious. She calls and texts all day, but that makes me anxious and I retreat. So, she’ll whip me into a frenzy to get my attention and then we’ll be back right where we started.”

His resigned tone alarms me. “Billy, Diana is trying to ruin your life. What she’s doing is destructive—and criminal. You have to see that.”

“Cassie, you don’t know Diana. We’ve been through a lot together. I just want her to drop the charges, so we can go back to normal.”

“You can’t go back. Even if she tries to drop them, the machine is in motion and the DA can still prosecute. No matter what happens, Billy, this accusation will always hang between you.”

“I think we can.” Turning to me, he juts out his chin. “I love her. She loves me.”

He means this, I realize. “Billy, this isn’t love. What you’re describing, what Diana is doing, is something else entirely. But there’s no way it’s love.”

* * *