The color seemed to drain from his face.
His friends went quiet.
That’s when I saw a man walking up quickly behind the boy, and something in his expression told me this teenager’s day was about to change completely.
I held Mason tighter.
The man never took his eyes off the teenager.
And I had absolutely no idea what was about to happen next.
The man stopped a few feet behind the teenager.
For a moment, nobody said anything.
Mason was still crying against my chest. I could feel milk soaking through the front of my shirt where his wet hair pressed against me.
The teenager looked like he wanted to disappear.
The man stared at him.
“Connor,” he said quietly.
That was all.
But something about the way he said the name made the boy straighten immediately.
“Dad.”
So that was his father.
I looked from Connor to the man and tightened my hold on Mason.
