Page 45 of Mistaken Prejudice

“Don’t worry about it. That’s what money is for. To fix the broken.” Christian peeled his stare away from Miles and looked at me with curiosity. Chills ran through me as his icy gaze examined me. I looked away, breaking our eye contact, and rested my hand behind Miles, trying to shake off the cold with his warmth.

“Well then, I’m afraid I must go now.” Christian pressed his palms together before kissing Elliot on the cheek. “I will see you soon, and I’ll make my secretary set up a meeting.” He pointed toward Daniel before he waved us goodbye and went back to the house.

“Oh, what a shame they couldn’t stay longer.” Elliot pouted his lips as they sat back down.

“Not at all,” Miles declared with a frown on his face that made Elliot raise his eyebrows at him.

“Mon lapin?” His words came out as a question.

“What?” Miles turned his head to face his dads. “I never wanted Shay-Lee or Christian here in the first place.”

Good to know I’m not the only one who found him unwelcome.

“He is your friend—” Elliot started saying but Miles interrupted him.

“Who was unwelcome in a lunch that was meant for Andrei, my boyfriend. Not only that you joined, but you ignored Andrei while you treated Shay-Lee like an honored guest.” He rested his hand on the table and—hold on, did he just refer to me as his boyfriend? My heart rate increased and heat spread through my body as I fought the goofiest smile ever from coating my face. We hadn’t used titles yet, but we both made it very clear that we were serious about whatever this was. It was way too soon, but I would lie if I said I didn’t like being called his boyfriend.

“You are exaggerating, Miles.” Daniel’s deep voice jolted me back to the table. “We weren’t ignoring Andrei.” Despite his words, Daniel still refrained from looking at me, and kept his gaze on his son.

“Right, you were only interrogating him.” Once again, he defended me like a good lawyer and realization hit me. This whole afternoon felt like a lingering trial because I put myself in the defendant’s chair. I did what I always told my guys not to do. I allowed my past to influence my present by making me feel ashamed, embarrassed, and small. The only one who could make you feel small and unworthy was yourself, and I was over it.

“It’s all right Miles.” I rested my palm on his shoulder while giving him a soft smile. “Your parents have every right to be concerned.”

“They don’t.” He started protecting me when I cut through his words.

“They do.” I locked my eyes with him for another moment before breaking contact and turned to face his curious dads. “I’m sure you have many concerns regarding me, or should I say my background. I would have them too, if I were to be in your shoes.” I stopped for a second before continuing, “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but I’d appreciate it if you allowed me to tell you my story.” With my eyes set on them, I waited for their reaction.

“Please do.” Elliot spoke first, and while Daniel remained silent, his eyes told me he was ready to hear me out. Knowing it would also be the first time for Miles to hear the whole story, I prepared myself for the worst.

“So”—I rested my hands in front of me and took a deep breath—“growing up, it was always my mom and me. She was an immigrant arriving in a new country without money, language, or family to support her. She struggled all her life and having me made it worse for her. I believe there were times she tried, but eventually, she gave up on me and herself for the sake of drugs and booze. We kept moving around between cities with each new boyfriend she had.” I rubbed my hands together as words kept spilling out of my mouth. “They, her boyfriends, were mostly harmless junkies. Some were better than others, but they were all the same. I spent my days watching her waste her life on drugs until he came. Caleb.” The mention of his name brought it all back. His coal eyes that were so black they left no place for his soul. The gold teeth that flashed through his wicked smile. The way he shouted my name whenever he wanted to beat me up, and the drugs. So many drugs. “He was an abusive jerk who was also my mom’s dealer, therefore no matter what he did to us, she allowed it. All for the sake of her next high.”

The only people I ever shared my full story with were Chief and the guys; even with them, it took me time to open up. But here I was, right in front of Miles and his folks, showing them my deepest wounds.

“I endured it all until one night. It started like all of their fights until he pulled out a gun.” The hair on the back of my neck stood up as I recalled the sound of the gunshot, echoing through the rotten corridors of our filthy apartment. “He was about to kill her, and I knew I would be next, so I did what I had to do to keep us both alive.” I was never a violent person until that moment when I held the wooden bat. I couldn’t recall the exact feeling, but I remembered acting on a survival instinct at that moment. I raised my head to meet their empathetic looks. It didn’t escape me that Elliot’s eyes were glossy while Daniel avoided looking me straight in the eyes.

“I’m not a violent person.” My voice was strong and confident. “I prefer the voice of reason, but at the time, I had no other option. He was stronger, bigger, and meaner, so I acted on pure instinct. The police arrived at the scene, and the next thing I knew, I was up against a jury. I was thirteen years old and clueless about the legal system. The attorney assigned to me by the state didn’t care about me. I was just another case for him, and I was sent for one year in a juvenile detention center.”

Silence surrounded us as my story sank in. Miles’s hand rested on my thigh, which made me feel at ease despite how much I had just shared.

“If he had a gun, how come the court ruled against you?” Daniel’s voice was raspier than before.

“Because my mom testified against me.”

It was Elliot’s gasp, followed by a sob, that made me pause.

“Papa, let him finish.” Miles offered him his napkin while a deep frown covered his face. I wasn’t bothered by Elliot’s reaction. By now, I understood he was an emotional human with the soul of an angel.

“She took the stand against you? Her son?” Daniel continued questioning with a voice that lacked emotions. I didn’t hold it against him because I knew that, at the moment, he had his attorney hat on. He wore it not because he thought little of me but because of how much he thought of his son.

“Yes.” I continued to explain, “As I said, he was her dealer, and she always cared about her drugs more than she did about me. So when the time came, she lied to the court to keep her dealer out of jail and protect her direct line to the drugs.” I remembered how my body shook in the polyester suit they had lent me as I listened to my own mother tell lies about me to the court. I can’t control him. She said, I never could, even though I’ve tried. She sobbed her crocodile tears into her handkerchief. He always had such a violent nature. More than once, he made me fear for my life. Her words still pained me to this day. I felt betrayed and alone more than anything. I am afraid there is nothing I can do to save him, and I hope the legal system will succeed where I failed as a mother, she declared in front of the court, and it was enough for them. No one had ever hurt me the way she did. No one could or ever will.

“My poor boy.” Elliot’s sobs snapped me out of my painful memories, and I looked up at him.

“It’s okay, I’ve learned to put it behind me,” I assured him and myself.

“And then you met Chief, right?” It was Miles who asked in a weak voice.

“Yeah.”