“Court?” I ask, knowing I’m talking in syllables and not full sentences.
“Yeah… okay, let me start from the beginning.” Dad squeezes my shoulder and sits down next to Mom, both of them observing me. “Harmony has been going to the hospital to cuddle babies.” I nod, knowing this already because he told me a few weeks back. “There’s this one baby, and fuck, A. We’re attached to him but they’re trying to put him in foster care... we can’t have him go in the system.” Tears burn the back of my eyes. “He was addicted to the drugs his mom was taking when she was pregnant. He’s already had a rough life and he’s only a few months old. We want to fight for him to be our son.”
I make a noise in the back of my throat, not able to get full words out as images of Avery lying in the cot across the road six years ago flash in my mind. She was so helpless, only a baby who never knew her life was going to end that night. She’d be a little older than Izzie now, and the thought crushes me. What would she look like? Sound like? Act like?
“Nate’s got us an emergency court date tomorrow, but we don’t know how long we’ll be there for.” I’m silent a beat before he begs, “Please, A.”
I tell Tris, “One second,” before speaking to Dad. “Did you book the flights yet?”
“Was gonna book them now, sweetheart.”
“Who’s that?” Tris asks, his voice a little deeper.
“It’s my dad,” I answer Tris while pulling my laptop from beside the sofa.
“What’s going on?” Dad asks.
“I need to go back tonight or early in the morning.”
“I can’t get out there until tomorrow night at the earliest, I always have the early shift on Mondays.” I nod, knowing that means he’ll get off about three.
“See what time the flights are,” I tell Dad, logging into my computer and turning it to face him.
Stepping a couple of feet away, I talk to Tris again. “Dad’s just looking at flights now.”
“I can book them,” Tris says, the sound of keys tapping in the background.
“No.” I’m shaking my head even though he can’t see me. “I’ve got it cove—”
“There’s a flight at six in the morning, it’ll get you there for about eight thirty,” Dad announces. “I can get one at five and will be there about seven thirty.” He looks at me, his eyes flashing with concern. “Will you be okay for that long on your own until I get there?”
My gut instinct is screaming at me I won’t, but the frantic tone of Tris’s voice tells me I have to do this. He needs me and I can’t let him down.
“Book them,” I say to Dad.
“Are you sure?” he asks.
I nod and talk down the cell again. “I’ll be there.”
“Thanks, A.”
“You’re welcome.” I take a breath again, straightening my back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I end the call and walk over to Dad, sitting on the arm of the sofa. His chocolate-brown eyes focus on me, apprehension shining bright as his hand covers mine, squeezing softly.
Smiling in reassurance, I watch as he books the tickets.
“I don’t know about this,” Dad warns when I stand up to start packing.
“It’ll be fine,” I say, walking out of the living room.
It will be—I hope—after all, what can happen in the thirteen hours I’ll be there without him?
The muscles in my legs ache and my lungs burn as I push myself to run faster around the lake. To forget about Amelia not answering the door to us, I threw myself into helping Tris and Harm with finding Frankie.
I finally found him last night and it’s just a case of appealing in front of a judge to ask for permission for them to visit him while we get the ball rolling on their adoption, or at least that’s what Kayla—a lawyer from my firm—has told me.
I spent the morning making calls for a favor to get us an emergency appeal in front of a judge. It’s set up for tomorrow so I’m hoping Tris figures out his childcare situation.