The courthouse feels like a sauna.
I have no idea why. It’s not even April, for God’s sake. But the place is packed to the brim, the vents aren’t working, and my coat clings to me like a secondandthird skin.
I tell myself it’s the nerves, but Mom isn’t faring any better. “Oh, my,” she sighs, fanning herself with a magazine. “Ginny, where’s?—?”
“Here,” Ginny says, handing her a water bottle.
“Thank you, dear.”
Ginny. She isn’t meeting my gaze at all. When she did her grand exit the other day, I was ready to take Eli and excuse myself, too, but Mom stopped me. Apparently, Kallie had let the cat out of the bag about my court date, and my parents insisted on being there for me. I tried my best to tell them it wasn’t necessary, that it was just a preliminary hearing, but they would not budge.
“You’re our daughter,” Dad said, like that explained everything. “Of course we’ll be there.”
Despite all my protests, part of me is glad they’re here. That they’re willing to stand by me even after I didn’t do it for them.
Guilt floods me at the thought. Ginny’s words from that afternoon are sticking in my mind. Because she was right, wasn’t she? I didn’t act like a good daughter. Didn’t even act like a halfway-decent sister.
You were acting like a mother,my conscience whispers.You couldn’t have done anything else.
Yeah. But maybe I could have.
“How ‘bout I take you folks inside?” Kallie says brightly to my family, trying to cut through the gloom with a forced cheer. “Show you all the cool bits of a city courtroom.”
She’s trying to give me space, I know. I love her for that—knowing what I need before I even know it myself.
Mom and Dad catch on quickly. Ginny scoffs, but doesn’t protest.
“See you in there!” Kallie says, then herds everyone neatly away.
Finally, I let out a big breath.
“Smart move,” Nikita whispers once they’re out of reach. “Now, you can stop being rattled by your witch sister.”
I lean against the wall and sigh. “Right. Better to be rattled by my impending doom.”
“Not with the best defense attorney in New York City.” Nikita shrugs. “Or so they tell me. Haven’t actually met the guy. Could be a myth for all I know.”
“That’s a reassuring thought.”
“Hey, the best ones stayoutof the courtroom. Haven’t you ever watched TV? Boom, bam, motion, settlement. Home in time for happy hour.”
“Call me crazy, but I don’t think it’s going to be that simple.”
“Because of Brad?”
Yes.I press my lips tight and keep that answer locked inside me. If there’s one thing Brad’s good at, it’s making everything so complicated you can’t see straight anymore. It worked once, it worked twice, and a quick glance across the hallway tells me he has no reason to believe it won’t work a third time.
He’s standing there, all put together in his perfectly pressed white suit, hair freshly cut and face smooth as a baby’s rosy cheeks. He looks like he’s heading straight to Hollywood after this. Maybe Marvel will let him be their next supervillain.
For a second, our eyes lock.
He flashes two white rows of perfect teeth, mouthing something I can’t quite make out.
That’s a lie. Actually, I can.
See you soon, sweet thing.
I tear my gaze away. Moments later, Nikita is stepping between us, hackles raised. “Forget that douche,” she snaps. “You’re better than him. Any judge worth their salt will see that.”
