She keeps talking, fingers combing through my hair. “I’ve spent a lot of years wishing I’d done things differently,” she admits. “That I’d moved us away when your daddy died. That I’d gotten you boys out of this town, and out from under those people’s eyes. But I was so lost when he passed. And then the harder things got, the harder it was to think past just surviving.”
I sit up enough to look at her. “I don’t blame you,” I say fiercely. “All of this is on me. I threw the punch. I knew it was stupid, and I did it anyway.”
“I can only imagine how bad it must have been if you finally flew off the handle,” she says, giving me way too much credit. “How bad is it?”
“As of right now, I’m suspended indefinitely. But it’s likely that the Jamison’s will push for expulsion. I’ll be lucky if there aren’t criminal charges.” The word tastes like ash. “Either way, I’ll probably lose my scholarship, and it won’t matter anyway.”
Her hand curls around my shoulder, squeezing the muscle there. “We’ll deal with that if or when it comes to it,” she says. “One thing at a time. Finish your sandwich and call your brother, see if he can come back and pick us up. I’d like to go, too, now that you’re up. We’ll figure out the rest after the holiday.”
I nod, my throat tight.
“Can I borrow your phone?” I ask in a voice too small for my size and age. “I don’t want to turn mine on yet.”
“Of course, baby,” she says immediately, sliding her phone across the table.
The phone rings a few times before Davis picks up. I hear sirens and immediately stiffen.
“Mom, don’t panic,” is the first thing he says, which of course makes me want to do exactly that.
My heart stops. “What?”
Mom’s eyes go wide. She mouths,What is it?
I slap the phone on speaker and set it between us. “Davis, where are you? What’s happening.” I demand.
There’s muffled noise on the other end. Davis’s voice shifts, like he’s talking to someone else. “I wasn’t trespassing, officer,” he says, calm but firm. “All I did was knock on the door and ask to speak to Mr. and Mrs. Jamison. They didn’t even ask me to leave or anything. They just called the police.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe. He went to the Jamisons’ house? What was he thinking?
“Are you being arrested?” Mom asks, outraged.
Davis sighs. “I don’t think so? I don’t know. I haven’t done anything to warrant getting arrested, but there’s an officer here that needs to ask me some questions. I’ll call you back.”
“Let me talk to him,” Mom insists.
There’s some shuffling, and then an unfamiliar voice comes on the line. “Ma’am, this is Officer Grant with Colson Creek PD?—”
“My son is not a criminal, nor is he dangerous or anything else those awful people surely accused him of,” Mom cuts in, her voice shaking but strong. “He is in recovery. He is trying to live his life right. If he knocked on that door, it was to talk, not to cause trouble. Please tell me you are not arresting him for asking for a conversation.”
“No, ma’am,” the officer says quickly. “We’re not arresting him. We just got a call about a disturbance, and we’re required to respond and make sure everyone is safe. Mr. Miller is cooperating. We just have a few questions to clear everything up.”
Mom takes a deep breath, and Davis comes back on the line. “I’m fine, Mom,” he says nonchalantly, like this is all a mild inconvenience instead of a nightmare.
“I’m sure you are. It’ll take me five minutes to walk there. Please don’t leave until I get there. I’d very much like to talk to Officer Grant some more.”
She hangs up before he can argue, grabs her purse and jacket from the hook by the back door, and slips her feet into her sneakers.
“Give me two seconds to get some pants,” I tell her, moving towards my room.
“It’d be better if you stay,” she says. “Lord knows if they see you there, they’ll cause a fuss about that, too. I just want to make sure your brother is handling things alright.”
“What if?—”
“Stay. Here.” There’s no room for argument in her tone. “Get dressed and be ready for us to pick you up so we can head to the meeting.”
I’m used to being strong. To sucking it up. To taking hits and laughing them off. Right now I feel like a kid again, small and scared and full of anxiety overall all the things that could go wrong.
I nod my agreement even though I don’t like it. She’s out the door and power-walking down the driveway in moments.
