22. Tessa

“I’m coming!” Eric’s feet thumped on the floor as he came barreling out of his bedroom, still tugging a T-shirt over his head. He skidded on his socks, spinning to a stop just in front of the small bench by the door, which had cubbies underneath it where we kept our shoes.

Moments later, he had stuffed his feet into his tennis shoes, leaving them untied, of course, and thrown a jacket on. He smiled up at me. “Am I late?”

I waited by the door and glanced at my watch. “You have a full minute to spare. Let’s go.”

He snatched his backpack off the hook above the cubbies, and we hurried out to my car. In short order, he was dashing into school, while I followed at a slower pace. Eric loved school, and he excelled at it. For that, I was grateful. Today, we had parent-teacher conferences. Rich had demanded that the principal and Eric’s homeroom teacher accommodate his scheduling needs. Unlike the rest of the universe, who just showed up at the appointed time, Rich badgered and pitched fits until he got what he wanted.

I was early, planning to be seated in the conference room before Rich. That was the only way to avoid a parking lot conversation. I had also asked McKenna to call me, specifically when the meeting was ending, so I could excuse myself and say that I had to take a call for work.

I had barely gotten seated when Rich came walking into the room. Instantly, that familiar cold sense of dread slithered through me. My fingertips felt numb and tingly. My therapist had told me that indicated a vagal nerve response. She explained the physical reactions were almost primal and outside of my control. Her gaze had been concerned when she added, “That’s a reflection of how traumatic it is for you to be around him. Your nervous system knows you’re not safe when he’s near.”

I forced myself to breathe through my nose, mentally reminding myself not to react and to stay calm. Rich’s gaze was flat when he greeted me.

Eric’s homeroom teacher came bustling in. I was beyond relieved to have another adult in the room with me. “Hi!” I said, my voice coming out a little too bright.

The teacher glanced back and forth between us when she sat down. I prayed the principal would show up. It shouldn’t have mattered, but the principal was a man, and that mattered to Rich. He was more respectful toward men.

Just when I thought the principal wouldn’t be here, he walked in. Even though he and I had never spoken of it, I sensed he understood what I was dealing with regarding Rich.

“Rich,” he said with a nod before he glanced at me. “Tessa. Nice to see you both.” He looked at his watch. “We have fifteen minutes.”

Eric’s homeroom teacher informed us that he was doing really well in school, which was nothing I didn’t already know. Because Rich was a fucking asshole, he asked a bunch of pointless questions. He liked to make it seem like he was really involved when he’d never once helped Eric with homework.

The principal interjected precisely fourteen minutes after the meeting had started. “Your son is in the top percentile of his class. His testing has no areas of weakness, and he has all A’s. Is there anything else you need to know?”

Rich narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to see a better performance in sports. He’s not excelling in any of them.”

My stomach churned, and my fingertips tingled again. I clenched my hands into tight fists under the table before stretching them open, trying to bring warmth into them. I knew Rich wanted Eric to be a sports star like Rich imagined he’d been. To my knowledge, he’d been an average football and baseball player in school, but he made it sound like he’d been amazing and only hadn’t gotten scholarships to college due to a minor injury that I was pretty sure he’d fabricated.

The teacher spoke up, bless her freaking heart. “Eric is young. He has plenty of time to grow into his strengths.”

The principal nodded and stood. “Well, our time is up. Nice to see you both.”

Blessedly, my phone vibrated as planned. “I have a call to take from work,” I said, glancing at the screen. “Thank you both.” I hurried out without even looking in Rich’s direction, dipping into the bathroom in the hallway.

I knew this bathroom had a window offering a narrow view of the parking lot. I could see out there if I stood at an angle. I would wait in here until I watched Rich drive away. These were the crazy things I did to manage my sanity and limit my interactions with my ex-husband. I would never regret having my son, but I would always regret that Rich was his father and that I couldn’t change that.

With my eyes trained on the parking lot, I answered the call. “Hey, thanks for calling.”

“I consider it my duty as your friend. I will call you whenever you need me to call you,” McKenna said firmly. “I’m not going to ask how the meeting went because I know Eric’s doing great in school. How are you?”

“I’m fine.” I took a breath and let it out slowly.

“You are fine.” Her warm tone was encouraging.

I felt my lips curl into a smile. It was small, but it was a victory. “I am.”

I watched as Rich walked to his car. A moment later, he was driving away while McKenna was saying something about making sure I came to locals’ night.

“Please. Fiona said her mom is babysitting her daughter so you can drop Eric off over there.”

“You think that would be okay?”

“She offered, so of course. Her mom is the sweetest.”

“I’ll text her to confirm. So I’ll see you there tonight?”

“Meet me at my office. We can walk over together.”

“It’s a plan. Thank you again for calling me.”

“Anytime. Seriously.”