by Ana Ashley
I let out a long breath. He loved me. This wasn’t about us, but about him needing to protect Lucy.
“Do you trust Peter?” I asked.
“I do.”
“Then let him do his job. Please, Max, I can’t lose you,” I sobbed, “I can’t…” I shook my head until he put his hands on either side of my face and his lips on mine.
Max’s kiss was reverent. His lips explored mine as he pulled and sucked me into his hot mouth. I pushed forward to get more of him, but since he still had hold of my face, there wasn’t anything I could do but accept it.
“Shh, baby, let me love you,” he said.
I relaxed into his hold and let the world and our fears disappear for a few moments longer.
When he was done, I was drunk with lust, and love, and Max.
“This was never going to happen, was it?” he said almost to himself. “I never stood a chance to succeed at letting you go.”
“I love you so much,” I said.
“I love you, too. Come on, let’s get out there and fight for our girl.”
Max took my hand, so I followed him out of the bathroom.
I bumped into him when he froze.
“Mom, Dad.”
The well-dressed couple in front of us couldn’t have been mistaken for anyone other than Max’s parents. The blond hair and facial features that made Max so beautiful were thanks to his mom, and the piercing dark-brown eyes were his dad’s.
That was where the similarities ended, because unlike Max, there was not an ounce of kindness or goodness in them. I knew it from their actions and could see it in the disgusted manner in which they were looking at us.
I’d only then realized we were holding hands. And they’d seen us come out of the bathroom together.
Fuck.
38
Max
I’d heard plenty of times friends saying that a certain look from their parents could take them right back to when they were five years old and were caught drawing stick figures with their favorite crayons on the living room wall.
I now knew what they meant.
Salvatore and Veronica Moretti had in some ways not aged a day, and in others looked so different from what I remembered as a child.
The courage I’d borrowed from Isaac in the brief moment we’d had in the bathroom seeped right out of me when we faced my parents.
My mom still looked as made up as I remembered even if the layers of makeup had multiplied to hide her true age. Her long, blonde hair I’d always thought looked like fairy hair was pinned up in a complicated do that made her face look too severe. It matched her true nature as much as the expensive-looking clothes she was wearing.
My dad had lost his mustache, but his hair was still as thick and dark as before. He’d put on a few pounds that were well disguised by the striped tailored suit. I wondered where they’d got the money for it all.
Things had been tough growing up and money had been scarce. I’d known from an early age we didn’t have as much money as other kids at school, but my mom never dropped me off looking less than her Sunday best.
The pain I felt at seeing them again was like a knife through my heart, with the look of hatred in their eyes an extra twist for measure.
How had I not seen it all those years ago? The answer was that I’d been a child and loved my parents unconditionally.
I’d thought they’d been great parents because they’d given me the freedom to do whatever I liked as long as I turned up for dinner on time, attended church on Sunday with them, and, more than anything, took part in all the school events. I’d always seen it as a sign that my parents were modern and open-minded. How wrong I’d been.
I saw the surprise in their eyes, too. Not that they weren’t expecting to see me, because if they were here, they knew we would be in the same space. No, their surprise was at seeing me holding another man’s hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
There was one thing I regretted in that moment and that was that they had seen me coming out of the bathroom with Isaac because I was afraid they’d use this against us later.
I didn’t, however, regret holding his hand, so when he tried to let go I held him tighter.
No words were exchanged, but so much was said in that brief moment. There was the “I love you” I was saying to Isaac through my touch, and the “fuck you” I was saying to my parents with my challenge.
I carried on and walked past them, bringing Isaac along with me toward the meeting room. When we closed the door behind us, I knew my legs were going to give in, so I let myself fall all the way down to the carpeted floor. My hands were shaking and my vision was becoming blurry.
“Isaac.” My voice was trapped in my throat.
He held a glass of water up to my mouth, and I took a few sips. It was cool, and it felt good. I breathed in, trying to get my heart to resume its regular beating pattern.
“You did well, Max. I am so proud of you.” Isaac knelt next to me and pulled my head to his chest. He kept praising me, so I focused on his steady voice and let the tears fall.
When I found my breath again, I looked around the room to see that all eyes were on me and Isaac. Micah and Peter looked worried, and Lucy looked terrified.
“I’m okay. I promise. I’m okay.”
“What happened?” Peter said.
“We bumped into my parents.”
“They’re here?” Lucy shrieked and stepped back until she hit the wall and slid down to sit on the floor.
I took a deep breath and got up. Then I went to Lucy and picked her up. I needed to give her some confidence in her big brother. Once again, I looked toward Isaac to steal some of it for myself. He was my guiding light in this moment of darkness when I wasn’t sure I could see the path ahead. He was there.
“Lucy,” I said, wiping the tears from her face with my hands, “I’m sorry for breaking down just now. It’s been a long time since I last saw them, and I wasn’t prepared for it.”
“Did he hit you, too?” she asked.
“No, sweetie, he didn’t. I thought he was the best dad because he never told me off or cared about what I was doing. Which I have to say was never anything bad. That was why it was a shock when I confessed to them I liked boys and they kicked me out. Seeing them brought back all those memories. But you know what? I’m glad I’ve already seen them because now I’m ready to go out there and fight them with all I have.”
I pulled Lucy into my arms. “You are the most important thing in the world to me, and I will fight as hard as I can. We both will.” I looked at Isaac, who was nodding fiercely and wiping his own tears.
Peter looked at his watch.
“It’s time, guys.” We followed him, leaving Micah behind.
“Is Micah not coming?” Isaac asked.
“He’s the proverbial card up my sleeve,” Peter said.
I’d once had to testify against the abusive husband of a patient I was treating because after he became abusive toward me, the police had the evidence they needed to put the guy behind bars and give the poor woman her life back.
I’d gone into the courtroom with all the confidence of a twenty-year-old young man, and as I saw the victim’s character being torn to shreds, I understood why so many refused to come forward.
This was a different courtroom, but in some ways, the emotions it evoked were all the same. In the back of my mind, I felt like I was the one about to go on trial, even though it wasn’t a trial at all.
Peter guided us through the wooden door that separated us from people in the audience and told us to take a seat at the desk facing the judge’s bench. I held Lucy’s hand and told her to keep focused on me and ignore everyone else.
Moments later, I felt a hand on my back and turned to see Isaac sitting behind me on the other side of the partition. We exchanged a smile and then I noticed that Fernando and Diogo were sitting next to him.
Isaac leaned over. “Let’s show them what a true family really is.”
; The door to the courtroom opened again, and my parents walked in with their lawyer behind them. They walked straight to their desk without sparing a look for Lucy who was doing her best to keep her head down. A shiver ran through her, like she could feel my dad’s presence in the room.
They didn’t want her; they wanted to get back at me. What for was anyone’s guess.
Everyone stood up when the judge came in. Judge Benson was an imposing African-American woman with short hair and a face that said she was all business.
She looked at the paperwork in front of her before speaking to my parents’ lawyer.
“Mr. Lewis, why are we here?”
“Well, Your Honor, as the paperwork states, my client—”
“Mr. Lewis, I can read. I know what the paperwork says. I want you to tell me in your own words.”
The lawyer looked at my parents and went through his notes.
“Mr. Summers,” she said to Peter, “it looks like Mr. Lewis needs a few moments. Why don’t we start with you?”
“Very well, Your Honor. I am representing my client, Max James, who wishes to apply for temporary custody of his sister, Lucia Lopez. We have good reason to believe Lucia has been emotionally and physically abused at the hands of her father, Salvatore Moretti.”
“Mr. Summers, according to my notes, Mr. James didn’t know he had a sister until recently. Is that correct?”
“It is, Your Honor.”
“Would you care to explain why that is?”
“Your Honor, if I may, I believe Mr. James would do a much better job of explaining how he came to meet his sister.”
“Fair enough, Mr. James, if you’d like to carry on,” the judge said.
My hands were shaking, and I squeezed the pen I was holding so hard I thought it would snap. I explained that Lucy had tracked me down and appeared at my doorstep after she’d run away from home.
“Mr. James, it’s commendable of you to take in a runaway teenager, after all there are many places you could send them for help. My notes state you volunteer at such a place. Why not take her to the youth shelter?”
I froze. She was right. How many kids were out there in the same situation and would say anything to get themselves a warm place and some food.
I looked at Lucy, who was staring at me with so much trust it made my heart swell.
“You are right, Your Honor. In any other circumstances, it would have been quite a dangerous thing to do, inviting a strange person into my home. I would like to share something that happened when I was fourteen—”
“I don’t see how that is of any relevance to what we’re doing here today, Your Honor,” the other lawyer said.
“Mr. Lewis, I will decide what is and what isn’t relevant here,” the judge said. “Mr. James, carry on, please.”
I took a deep breath and Isaac whispered, “You can do this,” behind me so only I could hear.
“When I was fourteen, I found myself homeless, Your Honor. I didn’t know what to do, so I went to a place where I knew there would be lots of people around. I thought I’d be safe there. A boy who was only a couple of years older than me and who didn’t know me took me to a safe place. He shared his food with me and helped me. I wish he was here today to see the true impact he had on my life, but sadly, he was all too young when he passed away.
“So yes, most people would have ignored the teenager on their doorstep that was still sporting bruises on her face from being beaten by her father. My father never laid a hand on me, but he may as well have all those years ago.
“When I looked at Lucy, it was like looking at myself. Not to mention she had a photo of my birth certificate that stated my birth name, which I changed seven years ago. She wouldn’t have had access to that information if she wasn’t who she said she was.”
“Mr. Lewis, we have some serious accusations against your client. What do you have to say about that?”
The lawyer was about to speak when my dad interrupted.
“Your Honor, that man who is no longer my son decided long ago to put a black mark on our reputable family. Where I come from, family and community are everything and he,” my dad said, pointing at me, “decided his lifestyle was more important than his family. Now he wants to take my daughter away from her home to teach her how to live a life of sin.”
I hadn’t had any doubt that my so-called lifestyle would be brought up by my parents in an attempt to make me look bad, but looking at the judge, who had been so far fairly devoid of emotion, gave me some hope.
“Mr. Moretti, in my courtroom, we do not discriminate based on background, gender, or sexual orientation amongst a long list of other things. A person’s orientation has no bearing on their ability to do a job well or to raise a child, or indeed, to anything they want to do. I will ignore what you have just said so we can move on, but trust me, if I hear another word from you on this…” she left her threat hanging before she carried on.
“Mr. Lewis, considering the claims against your client that he has neglected and abused his daughter, I want to know why is it your client wants to fight his son for custody of Miss. Lopez?”
That was the million-dollar question I wanted the answer to. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear it from the proverbial horse’s mouth because Peter asked the judge if he could bring in Micah as a witness.
“Mr. Summers, you are aware this isn’t a trial.”
“I am, Your Honor. Deputy Chief Micah Nowac has additional information that may shed light on Mr. and Mrs. Moretti’s intentions.”
I hadn’t even noticed Micah coming into the courtroom, but he was standing at the back making his way forward. He came to stand between Peter and Mr. Lewis before addressing the judge.
“Your Honor. Last night I was informed that Mr. James had been accused of kidnapping Miss. Lopez. I had never met Mr. James before, but when I saw the file, I recognized some names on it.
“Thirteen years ago when I was a rookie officer, I met this beautiful woman who had a gorgeous baby girl. I met her in hospital when I was asked to take her statement because she’d come in covered in bruises and with a broken arm.
“I didn’t get much from her, and she decided not to press charges. Over the next few years, I saw her on and off. She’d be on her way to work or going to the park with her little girl. Those bruises were always there.
“It wasn’t until a few years later that we started a relationship. I knew she hadn’t left her girl’s father, but I hoped she could see that I could love her in a way she deserved.
“Sadly, Valeria Lopez died of cancer. My point is, Your Honor. I’ve known Salvatore Moretti to be an abuser for a long time, and I couldn’t convince Valeria to press charges against him or leave him for good. But today I can serve as a witness that he is not fit to be a parent. In fact, the only reason I believe he wants custody of Lucy is to get his hands on the trust fund her mom set up for her to receive when she goes to college.”
There was a collective gasp from the few people in the audience. I looked at my mom who was sitting quietly behind my dad. Her heavy makeup couldn’t disguise her reddening face, and my dad looked like he could murder Micah.
“Mr. Summers, did your client know about this trust fund?” the judge asked.
“No, Your Honor. As stated earlier, Mr. James only met Miss. Lopez just over a week ago. And Miss. Lopez doesn’t know about the trust fund. This information came to light when I contacted Deputy Chief Nowac to clarify the accusations against Mr. James last night. Mr. James has been in unofficial police custody since and hasn’t been in contact with anyone. This can be verified.
“It is also disclosed in the application for custody that Mr. James does not require any financial support for himself or Miss. Lopez.”
“I think I’ve heard enough to make a decision, and I have a phone call to make to convince my daughter to host this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. Counselors, if you haven’t got anything else to add, I am granting Mr. Max James full custody of Lucia Lopez until she is o
f age.
“Mr. Moretti you will be required to pay monthly child support to Mr. James until Miss. Lopez receives her trust fund.
“Mr. James, if you do not need the money, I suggest donating it to a good cause to support homeless teenagers. I’m sure you can think of a charity or two.”
39
Isaac
There was a hint of a smile on the judge’s face as she got up and left the room.
Max sat back on his chair in shock. Lucy, who’d remained silent and solid throughout the whole thing, jumped from her seat and into Max’s arms.
I was too slow to warn Max his mom was on her way over to us while his dad very angrily talked at his lawyer.
“Massimiliano.”
Her voice was soft and unsure. Max turned to face her but didn’t let go of Lucy.
I was ready to intervene if the woman dared to speak anything out of turn. Veronica and Salvatore Moretti had done enough damage to Max and Lucy’s lives, and I’d be damned if they would have the chance to do any more.
“I… I didn’t know.” She looked over at her husband who was still arguing with the lawyer.
“Spare the half-meant apology, Veronica,” Max spat.
She took a step back like she’d been slapped.
“You’re right,” Max said, “you didn’t know he had another woman until he brought his other child home, and you didn’t know he used to beat them so he wouldn’t turn his hand on you or me. But you know what? You knew that child was innocent, and you still chose to ignore her existence like she was nothing but a stain on your carefully pressed clothes.”
He stood up and was now towering over her.
“Did your motherly instincts kick back in when you realized there was a payout at the end of it? How very Christian of you. I’m sure Father Thomas and all your church friends would be really proud of you.”