The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 531

"What is it, Archie?"

Garrison followed the boy's gaze and started to turn his head, but then he stopped himself.

His first instinct was to look down at the sling across his chest. The white cast glared harshly in the winter light.

"Dad is fine," his voice was incredibly soft, soothing him like a frightened animal. "I just broke my arm a little. It will heal in a few days. You don't need to worry."

Archie didn't respond.

His eyes remained fixed on the opposite side of the street, cutting right over Garrison's shoulder. His gaze held a profound, disorienting shock that didn't belong on a ten-year-old's face.

Only then did Garrison realize his son wasn't looking at his cast.

He turned his head, following Archie's line of sight directly across the busy road.

Instantly, his pupils shrank to pinpricks.

Two people were standing on the opposite sidewalk.

Josh, dressed in his dark gray coat, was gripping Sloane by the shoulders, his lips moving frantically, panic plastered across his face.

And Sloane—her hands were clamped desperately over her temples, her knuckles white with strain. She was bent completely in half, her body trembling as if she were enduring an unimaginably agonizing pain.

Her face was deathly pale, her lips quivering violently. Those eyes he knew better than his own were wide open, yet entirely vacant and chaotic, drowning in a violent storm of raw emotion.

She was looking at Archie.

Garrison's heart plummeted like a stone.

He snapped back around, grabbing Archie by both shoulders, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Archie, stay right here and wait for me. Do not move from this spot. Do you understand?"

Archie finally pulled his gaze away from the street, looking up at his father. His eyes—an exact mirror of Sloane's—were swirling with deep confusion.

But he didn't ask questions. He just nodded quietly.