Page 107 of Zone
He approaches the table, and my shoulders stiffen. My teeth slide together, but my older brother’s eyes are on my face.
“C’mon, Knox.” Austin shoves my arm. “You know Eddie’s only looking out for you. He wouldn’t steer you wrong.”
Edward stands at Kimmie’s side, and I can tell he’s trying to make peace.
“Cricket’s an intelligent child,” he says. “When you’d go to practice, she didn’t cry. She knew you were coming back for her every day. She knows that now.”
The fist tightens around my heart, and I nudge Kim’s leg. She rises, letting me out, and I exhale as I stand. Edward is there, and I meet his eyes briefly.
“Right.” I manage to say.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you, Knox.”
My throat is dry and achey. I’ve never been mad at Edward. I’ve never been mad at any of my cousins. They’ve always been my favorite people in the world, and I trust them with my life. Still…
“Hang on!” Gina waddles up to the table, holding Aunt Dylan’s big iPad. “Did y’all see this?”
She turns the device to me, and I see it’s one of those YouTubers who talk about all the sports podcasts from the week before.
“How many times can they cover the same thing?” I grumble.
“It’s easier than trying to listen to all of them,” Gina explains. “But this you want to hear.”
We all wait as she taps theplaytriangle, and then Melody’s voice starts. Her tone is serious, urgent.
“If you would take the time to write a letter, telling the judge to give our boy a chance, we’d be forever grateful to you. He just needs a character witness, or fifty… or a hundred. Let’s show this judge this is not a toxic environment, and we take care of our people. We don’t separate families, and Knox is the kind of dad we want to support, not tear apart…”
My chest swells, and I take the device from my cousin. “What is this?”
“It looks like the Quarterback Princess risked everything to stand up for you.” Gina blinks up at me smiling. “She’s asking all your fans to come out and support you getting your daughter back.”
Reaching up, I scrub my fingers over my eyes once more. My lips part, and I exhale a laugh, doing my best to keep it together. “I need a minute.”
I give the iPad back to Gina and leave them at the table, walking past the little girls playing in the center of the room, and out the side door that leads down to the water.
Taking out my phone, I tap her number. This isn’t a text or call. This is fucking FaceTime.
It only takes a few rings before I see my Melody on the screen looking like the best thing in the world.
Her face looks freshly washed and she’s smiling, so kissable. Her hair is messy on her head with tendrils hanging down, and I want to touch her so badly.
“Gina showed me what you did. You went on your show for me?”
She gives me a sheepish little grin, nodding. “We’ve already got almost three hundred messages of support.” Sheturns her laptop so I can see the number beside the notifications. “Your fans are rallying around you, K-Brad.”
I’m struggling to find the words to tell her how much it means. “You could lose your audience for this.”
“I’m not so sure.” She shrugs. “I give your fans a voice. This judge is going to see how much love you have here and know Cricket belongs with you. Family is the people you choose, not what’s written on a piece of paper.”
“I wish you were here. I’d like to put my arms around you right now and just breathe.”
Her eyes soften, and her smile is so beautiful. “We’ll be together again soon. Don’t give up, okay?”
I walk to the edge of the water, looking out to the horizon. “It’s crazy how fast your life can change. How someone can turn everything you thought you wanted upside down.”
“And all she did was cry, spit baby food in your face, and poop on you.”
Her reply makes me laugh. “What can I say? I love women who abuse me.”
