Shaun arrived quickly and took the diaper bag from my shoulder.
“Tell me what you need.”
“We open the old house.”
The old house had belonged to Mom and Dad.
“I’ve never been more sure.”
After Dad died, Mom stayed there for a while, then moved somewhere smaller. She later transferred the house to me because she wanted it kept in the family.
Ryan hated it.
He called it old and inconvenient.
I had let it sit mostly empty because arguing with him had always felt harder than giving in.
Ryan hated it.
***
Shaun glanced at me as he pulled away from the clinic. Luna was asleep behind us, Soleil was chewing her sleeve, and Bodhi kicked his feet against his carrier.
“All three are fine,” I said. “The nurse said they’re growing well, and we should keep doing what we’re doing.”
Shaun tightened his hands on the wheel. “We? Ryan isn’t here.”
“That’s why we’re leaving.”
“We? Ryan isn’t here.”
He looked at me. “Are you leaving because you’re angry or because you’re done?”
“Both.”
“Anger wears off, Shan. Three babies depend on you. Make sure this is the best choice for them.”
“I know.”
“Then tell me what happens tomorrow.”
I watched the road. “Tomorrow, I wake up in a house Ryan doesn’t control, and I start making choices before he makes them for me.”
“Then tell me what happens tomorrow.”
Shaun nodded. “Okay.”
“Don’t say okay unless you mean it.”
“I mean I’ll help you, sis. We’ll get the house safe for the babies.”
That loosened something in my chest.
***
At the first red light, my phone buzzed. Ryan had sent a picture of himself between Ian and Jason, raising a drink beside the water.
Shaun nodded.
“Finally getting the rest I earned.”
I saved it and showed it to Shaun.
Shaun glanced over. “Want me to say something?”
“No. I’m done explaining his behavior.”
***
When we reached the house I shared with Ryan, Mom was waiting beside the driveway. She touched each baby’s cheek, then faced me. Shaun had called her from the clinic when I was busy with the triplets.
“How was the checkup? Are they all right?”
“I’m done explaining his behavior.”
“They’re healthy.”
“And you?”
I almost said fine. Instead, I handed Shaun my phone. “Show her Ryan’s message.”
Mom read it once. Her mouth tightened. “What do you need, Shannon?”
“First, I need you to watch them while I make calls.”
“And after that?”
“What do you need, Shannon?”
“We open the old house, okay?”
She smiled and nodded.
***
Inside, Mom settled Luna on her shoulder.
“Attorney first,” I said. “Then movers. I’ll photograph everything before we pack.”
Shaun looked up. “And if Ryan calls?”
“We open the old house, okay?”
“I answer.”
“And if he tells you to stop?”
I took Soleil from her carrier and held her against me. “He can tell me whatever he wants. He doesn’t get to choose what I do next.”
Mom nodded. “Then make your calls.”
I opened my contacts, pressed the first number, and stepped into the kitchen.
“Then make your calls.”
Shaun watched me.
“This is your decision.”
“I know.”
Then I made the call.
***
That afternoon, I called an attorney while Mom fed Luna and Shaun folded the empty moving boxes.
“I own another house,” I said. “My husband is away, and I’m taking the babies there. What can I move?”
“I know.”
“Photograph everything,” she said. “Take your personal items and the babies’ essentials. Leave his property untouched. Save every message.”
I wrote it down.
“No shortcuts?” Shaun asked when I hung up.
“No. I want this as clean as possible.”
He picked up his screwdriver. “Then tell me where to start.”
I wrote it down.
“The cribs.”
Mom looked over. “And Ryan?”
“He’ll get the documents. I’m not hiding the babies, Mom. I just need to get out of here. I’d rather struggle where I feel safe than stay somewhere I’m treated as invisible.”
