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fingers disappeared in his massive grip. "I'm all right. I feel a
little ridiculous."
"Why?"
"These sessions are for you. And I make a fool of myself
and fall apart."
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Aftermath
by Angel Martinez
Cody leaned in and brushed a soft kiss over his lips.
"These are for us, not just me. Silly man."
Paula's heels clicked back down the hall and she smiled as
she re-entered. "Here we go. Cody, you first." She handed
him a printout. "This is a list of self-defense courses for rape
survivors. I'd like you to look into taking one."
"But..." Cody's brow crinkled. "Aren't these always for
women? I mean, do they even take men?"
Paula waited until he looked back up at her. "I've marked
the ones that have taken male patients of mine before. I'm
not saying you have to, Cody, but this is more than just a few
tips on how to get yourself out of a bad situation. These
classes are full of people who've all been through the same
thing. A ready made support group."
Cody nodded, chewing on his bottom lip.
Now she turned to Vic. "Sometime this week, Vic, I'd like
you to sit down and take a long, hard look at your
employment situation. A list of pros and cons. What sorts of
financial things would be necessity and what wouldn't if you
lost your job tomorrow. What you wanted to be when you
grew up."
"Oh. All right." Baffled, Vic wasn't certain what to say.
"Don't just think about it. Please write it down." She
handed him a little cloth-bound journal. "Now for the both of
you. I'm getting the impression that Vic takes a lot of
responsibility in this relationship, does that sound right? Even
in intimate circumstances?"
They both nodded, Cody still scanning his list, Vic running
his fingers over the journal.
74
Aftermath
by Angel Martinez
"Victor, do you find this difficult sometimes? To always be
in charge?"
Vic opened his mouth, closed it, put the journal down.
"Sometimes," he murmured.
Paula nodded. "This week, I'd like for you to switch roles in
the bedroom. Make a date if you have to and stick to it, but
Cody takes charge and Vic follows. How does that sound?"
A flush rose up Cody's neck but he smiled. "I'm game.
Vic?"
"I'll do my best," Vic managed to get out. He hoped he'd
be able to carry through with it. The hardest thing in life for
him had always been to let someone else lead.
* * * *
Cody caught himself chewing his nails again. He let out a
frustrated huff. Vic was on his way home, as promised, and
Cody couldn't calm his hammering heart. Half of him
thrummed with excitement and the other half wanted to call it
all off. If Victor reacted to anything with even a hint of
irritation, he was going to crumble, he could just see it
coming.
The Mazda hummed down the street, easy to pick up since
cars on the cul-de-sac were few and far between. Cody
readjusted cushions on the floor, peeked in the oven, and
came back to the door, taking deep, slow breaths. "Stupid,
this is stupid," he muttered. "It's Vic, godammit. Vic loves
you."
Vic parked in the drive and eased out of the car, his
movements slow and deliberate. Headache probably. Yep,
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Aftermath
by Angel Martinez
there went the hand to rub his forehead, a sure sign it had
been another rough day. Cody raced to the bathroom for
aspirin and water and made it back in time for Vic to come
through the door.
"Hey, baby. You look tense." Cody disengaged Vic's fingers
from his briefcase and replaced it with the water glass.
"Cody, I don't know about tonight," Vic said, hesitant and
apologetic. The water looked as if an earthquake was starting
in the glass.
"Sh, it's okay." Cody gave him the aspirins and waited till
he had them down. Maybe this little assignment made Victor
as uncomfortable as it made him. "Go get out of that nasty
suit and tie, come down and have dinner with me. If you
don't feel so good, we don't have to do anything, you know."
Vic nodded and trudged up the stairs. His discomfort gave
Cody a bit of confidence. Everyone needed to be taken care of
sometimes; Vic just had a problem admitting it. He hated
being fussed over when he was sick. Pushed people away
when he was miserable. "Mrs. Szoldos, what the hell did you
do to your boy?" Cody muttered as he lit the candles in the
living room.
Mariska Szoldos had been a suck-it-up, walk-it-off kind of
mother. She'd died before Cody had ever met Vic, but he'd
heard it all from his sister. Boys didn't cry. Or get sick. Or do
sissy things like draw. So Victor was sent out to football and
hockey and out to work with his father on construction sites.
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