“I’ve got this,” he agrees with a nod. He gets to his feet and walks toward the judge.
“No need to be nervous, Theo. I just want what’s best for you.”
“All due respect, your honor, the last time a judge tried to do what’s best for me, I was beaten black and blue.”
The judge looks sad but nods. “I understand, Theo, and I’m truly sorry for what you went through. Can I ask you how you feel about Mr. and Mrs. Washington?”
Mr. and Mrs. Washington. I still get a thrill when I hear myself getting called that. I hope it never gets old.
Theo takes a deep breath and holds his head high. “The first time I met Delphi, I pulled a gun on her,” he admits to the gasps of the room. I silently curse, wishing he hadn’t said that, especially considering which damn gun it was.
“I’d been hurt real bad. I knew the next time Josh got me, he was going to kill me. I’d told my teachers what had happened and reported it to CPS. I’d even spoken to a cop who came to school and talked to me with the guidance counselor, and nothing changed. I stopped trusting adults after that.
“I was hiding out in the apartment above her shop while it was empty, and she turned up. I wasn’t expecting anyone, and I panicked. I thought she’d call the cops, and they’d take me back. I thought she was just another adult who didn’t give a sh…damn about me.”
“What did she do?”
“She proved me wrong. Somehow talked me into putting the gun down and hugged me. I can’t even remember a time before that I was hugged.”
And cue the damn tears again.
“She changed my life in that moment and in every moment that followed. She gave me Kruger, someone who showed me what it was to be a real man, a protector and not a predator. She gave me a family filled with people who would walk into a burning building just to pull me out of it. She never gave up onme, and she never gave in when the system failed me. She was always there, and there wasn’t a moment that went by where I doubted that for a second.”
I turn my face into Kruger’s chest and let him hug me as I sob quietly.
“I was just trailer park trash when she came along. I was born into nothing, and I’d die as a nobody. I’d never achieve anything because life taught me there was no point reaching for the stars when someone was always ready to stomp on you. She taught me to reach, anyway. She showed me that we are not defined by the actions of others, and nobody gets to determine my worth but me.”
The judge looks at me, and I swear I see a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “She sounds like a great woman.”
“She is. She’s the best, and she makes me want to be the best version of myself too. Same with Kruger. We’re better men because of her.”
“Here, here,” Kruger calls out, earning a glare from the judge that’s ruined by the twitch of his lips.
“I’m smart, your honor. Really smart. I know things other kids my age don’t because I like to read, and for a long time it was my only escape. It was the same reason why I worked hard at school. But everything got messed up because my attendance was rubbish, thanks to having chunks of time off to recover from beatings. Teachers thought I wasn’t applying myself because I didn’t hand in my homework. They didn’t know that Josh had destroyed it, and I didn’t tell them because I figured they wouldn’t believe me. They told me I was acting stupid, and I heard a lot about how dumb I was at home. Eventually, I started to believe it. But Delphi never did. I’m not dumb, your honor, but I didn’t know I was smart until she told me.”
“Jesus Christ, this kid is killing me,” Probe hisses from behind us.
“Do you wish to be adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Washington? Adoption isn’t like fostering. It’s permanent. Mr. and Mrs. Washington would become your mom and dad.”
“They’re already my mom and dad, your honor. I’m just waiting for the rest of you to recognize that too.”
Forty minutes later, we walk out of court in a daze with the request for adoption granted. I look from Theo to Kruger. “We did it. He’s ours.”
“Well, duh,” Theo teases, making Kruger laugh as I yank Theo in for a hug.
When a cell phone rings, I pull back and look over to see who has forgotten to turn theirs off. Ambros is staring at the screen of his phone, his face pale.
“Kruger.”
“I see him. I’ll be right back.”
“What’s going on?” Theo asks.
“I don’t know.” But I’ve got a bad feeling I actually do.
Five minutes later, Ambros tears off toward his bike, Havoc and Dice hurrying after him, as Kruger comes back over.
“His sister has slipped into a coma. They’ve told him he should come say his goodbyes.”
