Mike furrowed his brow. “Police department? Everything okay?”
I waved my hand in the air. “Yeah, yeah, things are good. Just had to identify the guys from that night. Pick out the car. Answer a few more questions. Shit like that.”
Mike nodded. “How’d that go?”
I shrugged. “I mean, it came and it went. Rae was there to back me up on things. It was nice, having her there for support.”
She tucked her head underneath my chin. “I’ll go with you anytime, anywhere, if you need my support.”
“Thanks, beautiful.”
Aly sighed. “Awww, how cute.”
Mike chuckled. “Now you know how Rae felt a few minutes ago.”
I smiled as Mike pulled her closer, tucking her underneath his arm. I felt them staring at me, and I knew what they really wanted to know. I looked down at Rae, finding her eyes. I saw her shaking her head softly, silently telling me I didn’t have to talk about it if I didn’t want to. And while this isn’t a conversation I wanted to have with many people, this was a conversation I could tolerate with Mike and Aly.
Which was more than I could have ever said for Roy and the gang.
“I mean, I had a talk with a lawyer yes—”
Rae interrupted me. “Seriously. If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to.”
Mike nodded. “That’s true. If it’s too much or something—”
I held my hand up. “You guys. It’s fine. I promise, if I didn’t want to talk about something, I wouldn't. Plain and simple. No matter how you guys felt about the matter.”
Aly grinned. “I have my ways, trust me.”
Mike nodded. “She really does. It’s irritating, but endearing at the same time.”
Aly shrugged. “All I heard was ‘endearing.’”
Rae laughed. “Like the genuine woman she is.”
We all had a laugh at that one before their eyes came back to me again. The laughter died down and the mood turned somber. I knew they wanted to know because they cared. Not because they wanted to exploit a weakness. But that was new to me. People genuinely caring instead of merely wanting to poke fun at some sort of a weakness I had within me.
It took me a second to get my feet underneath me for the story.
“Well, uh, I had an appointment after school yesterday with a lawyer. My stepmom went with me. And Dad. He was… well, he was himself.”
Aly furrowed her brow. “What does that mean?”
Mike’s face fell into stone. “What did he do to you?”
I shrugged. “What doesn’t he do to me? Look, my father’s a hard man. Always has been. And, if I’m being honest, he thinks that part of this whole issue is my fault.”
Aly balked. “He thinks you being pushed over that bridge by a car is somehow your fault?”
I nodded. “That’s how my dad is. I’ve always given him a hard time. Shit like that. So, in his eyes—once he found out about the fight on the football field—immediately I had as much of a hand in this as those other guys did.”
Mike paused. “Football field fight?”
Rae sighed. “Two of the guys that night were from that fight.”
Mike’s lips downturned. “What the fuck?”
Aly gasped. “Michael!”