You were standing outside the cheap little Hackney kindergarten, the one you and Corey hated but kept Vienna in because it was close to the flat and didn’t ask questions. It had been a long day, the kind that made your head hurt, and you were already irritated because Corey had said he was “two minutes away” fifteen minutes ago. While you waited, one of the other dads wandered over, the one who always stared a bit too long whenever you picked Vienna up. He started talking, asking pointless things about how long you’d been coming to this school, acting like you two were close. You gave him short answers, hoping he’d get the hint and walk off, but he didn’t.

Then he touched your waist. Just casually, like he had any right to do so.

You shoved his hand away immediately and opened your mouth to tell him to fuck off, but you didn’t get the chance. Corey’s car rolled up fast, tyres scraping the curb, and the second the door opened you knew he’d seen everything. He didn’t even close the door behind him. He just stormed over with that look that meant you were seconds away from a full explosion and there was nothing you or the universe could do about it.

Corey got in the guy’s face so fast the dad actually stumbled. He grabbed him by the shirt and dragged him back a step, jaw tight, eyes cold. “What the fuck are you doing touching her?! You try to be smart and tsk to my bird? I’ll knock those cheap grills off your teeth.” he snapped, shaking him once, just enough to scare him. The dad tried to laugh it off, saying something like “Relax, mate,” but Corey wasn’t hearing a single word. He shoved him again, harder. “Don’t fucking touch her. Don’t even look at her. You hear me?”

You tried to grab Corey’s arm to calm him down, but he tore his arm away like he was offended you’d even try. “You letting him touch you now? You mad?” he barked at you, loud enough for a few parents to stare. You felt your face heat up, not from embarrassment but from the shock of how fast everything escalated. Before you could answer, the doors opened and Vienna ran out calling for him, and Corey switched instantly, catching her and picking her up like none of the scene had happened.

He glared at you over her shoulder, still angry but quieter now, the kind of anger he’d keep until you were alone. “Get in the car,” he said, voice low and sharp. “We’re going home.”