Chapter 152

Ramon POV

I’d given Ollie his own room, decorated it specially for him, made him feel safe and wanted. At the time, I’d thought I was just being a good father figure. But now I wondered—had I been grooming him? Preparing him? Making him trust me so that later, when he was older—

No. No, I couldn’t think like that. I would never hurt Ollie. Never. The thought of touching him inappropriately made me want to vomit.

But hadn’t I thought I’d never hurt Lake either? And yet I had. I’d gotten a fourteen-year-old pregnant. I’d been intimate with a child.

Even if I couldn’t remember it, I’d still done it.

My phone buzzed. A text from Lake: *Ollie’s asking for you. Can you come help with his bath?*

My stomach clenched. Bath time. Which meant Ollie would be naked, vulnerable. Which meant I’d be alone with him in a bathroom.

Everything I’d been reading screamed warnings about exactly that scenario. About how abusers created situations where they