“You okay?” he asked, turning to kiss the top of my head.
“I’m in shock,” I breathed. “I knew Evan was up to something, but Kennedy never told me exactly what it was.”
“Kennedy needed surprise on her side, and now I see why. It was way more effective in real time and watching genuine reactions.”
“I guess so,” I agreed as we headed inside the room and took the same seats as before, all of us seemingly suffering from the aftereffects of what had just happened. For a full minute, we sat there, just looking at each other, trying to process what we’d just witnessed.
Then Atlas started to laugh.
The noise was so unexpected, so unpredictable, that at first, it didn’t even register as laughter. My brother’s shoulders jerked, and he made a strangled, honking sound as he folded his arms over the table and buried his face in his hands.
Donovan was next.
What started as a soft chuckle morphed into a booming laugh, and his hand smacked the table as he lost his shit.
Kennedy snickered at first, then quickly caved, wheezing and hiccupping until she was wiping away tears. “Did you see her pull his... his hair?” she pushed out between giggles. “She had more in her hand than he had left on his head.”
“I was more impressed with her getting him to the floor and slapping the snot out of him,” Donovan guffawed. “I thought he was gonna piss his pants.”
Atlas choked out a hoot. “Four fuckin’ security guards,” he chortled. “It took four fuckin’ security guards to drag her off him. And she almost kicked their asses too.”
My lips twitched because, as horrifying as it was, and as much as my kids were no doubt scarred for life, Evan had got what was coming to him, and he got it in a way where he would never live it down. “Well,” I said, my shoulders lifting in a nonchalant shrug. “We’d better start saving, O’Shea. The kids are definitely gonna need therapy after that shit show.”
Donovan’s grin was beautiful, and for a second, my breath caught in my throat. Then, I felt everything lift: the stress, the fatigue, and the deep worry that had eaten through my skin, leaving nothing more than raw nerves.
For the first time in months, I knew how it felt to be me again.
Maybe it wouldn’t last—in reality, it probably wouldn’t—but just for a minute, I was going to allow myself to feel the light.
Evan’s case was in the toilet. Rachel, the bitch, wouldn’t be around my kids anymore. And my ex would think twice next time he thought he could screw with my life just to prove a point.
I’d take it as a win.
—————
The courtroom wasquiet when we filed back in, probably due to the fact that Evan, his parents, and his lawyer weren’t there.
We sat back down in our seats, looking around and at each other, our expressions full of curiosity as to what the hell was happening.
Five minutes had passed by the time Evan came slinking in with just his lawyer. He had a Band-Aid covering his cuts and the mother of all bruises forming under his left eye. His suit, although designer, was crumpled, and one of his shoes was scuffed so badly that the leather was completely worn off the toe. He didn’t look at me or even the kids. He just slid into his seat, his shields up, and his expression shuttered.
Right then, I realized that this was the version of Evan I hated most of all. He always closed down when he didn’t get his own way. Maybe that was why I reacted so badly when Donovan did the same.
Subconsciously, it reminded me of how Evan used to be and how out of my depth it made me feel. It took me back to a time and to a man that I would rather have forgotten.
Gabby kept looking over at her dad, trying to make eye contact, so she could show him some support and make him feel less alone, no doubt.
Evan just stared straight ahead, unblinking.
DJ didn’t spare his dad a single glance, and that was okay too. After the whole photograph thing and the way their dad had used them to try and throw me under the bus, I couldn’t blame my boy for drawing a line in the sand. It was like I’d already told myself a million times, I was done making excuses for my ex.
The door at the back of the room opened, and Judge Merrick swept into the room. His face was set in an expression that exuded thunder, probably due to the Jerry Springer episode that occurred in his courtroom a half hour before.
The man took his seat and scowled down at his notes, not wasting any time before he cut out in a tone edged with steel, “Let’s proceed.”
Evan’s lawyer opened his mouth to say something, but the judge held up a hand to stop him. His eyes rested on my ex-husband, and leaning forward, he rasped, “I’ve seen a lot ofthings in this courtroom, but this morning set a new bar for complete absurdity. I’m going to say this now because you need to hear it.Yourchildrendeservebetter.”
Evan’s expression hardened, and he leaned back in his chair, acting like he couldn’t give the first fuck about anyone’s opinion.
