Egos

Chapter Four

"Help, I lost myself again. But I remember you."

-Billie Eilish

"You need to file a restraining order. Period."

"No! No mom! I won't file anything against the father of my child!"

Sarah sighed. Her daughter was beyond hope.

"Ava, you need to stand up for yourself. And letting this bastard have any control is useless. He should be as far away from that child as possible."

The mother put her silverware down. She looked Ava in the eye, taking her hands. "Do. Not. Let. Him. Hurt. Her. Not like he did to you. It is your duty to protect your child."

"Darius, help me."

Ava looked across the table at Charles's old friend, a man who felt guilt for what Ava was going through because of her husband. A man who was, now, obligated to protect the family that Charles had abandoned. Afterall, loyalty was the only moral he claimed to retain.

Darius had become a source of trust for Ava in the past couple of weeks. Through all the agencies, it was like the whole alphabet was filling her empty home, and he had made it as seamless as possible.

Even though showing his face around cops was beyond dangerous, Darius knew that helping Ava was his duty.

Now, in her mind, she needed his help to keep her husband. Not turn for him to turn his back on her in Charles's time of need.

"I can't help you, A. I'm sorry. Your mother is right. I know how hard this is. But Charles has proven himself to be a dangerous man."

At least, Darius thought, with the information he has on the crew. "I know you only want what's best for Danielle, and is having a man who will surely be absent for over a decade suddenly be around as she enters puberty a good idea? I know what he's done to you, he won't fail to do it to her as well if given the chance."

"Besides," he added, "teenage girls are emotional enough without random men walking out of prison asking to be called daddy."

Leave it to Darius.

"Dani is perfect. She won't anger him."

Characteristically, Sarah laughed "Oh, honey. Even if they're not psychopaths, all parents want to strangle their children at some point."

She paused, glanced at Darius, and proceeded once given a nod. A nod he had given Charles many times.

"Remember how I said it's a mother's duty to protect her child?"

"Mother, this is not your decision!"

Ava jerked up from the table. She pointed at Darius. "No! This is illegal! Falsifying names, or... or... forgery! Slander!"

On the edge of hysteria, Ava's vision faded to almost nothing. She hadn't eaten more than a single meal in days.

"Darius, please! She can't do this, can she?"
"In this case, there are special circumstances." He looked up. "Ava, I'm sorry. I didn't want this for you, but in excruciating circumstances, a family member can take actions to protect those close to them. The restraining order protects your family." He paused. "Even if you can't see that now."

"What do you mean, 'even if you can't see that now?!' I can see perfectly clear now. The two of you just want to get in the way of me and my husband. You're just jealous of what we have, you're using these false accusations to tear us apart."