Jolene’s conversation with her parents about me hadn’t gone anywhere nearly as smooth. Not surprisingly, they’d threatened and criticized and judged without even taking the time to get to know me. As bad as I felt that I was the reason for the current strife between Jolene and her parents, Jolene actually seemed okay with it. I wasn’t sure if her folks would ever come around, but I knew my girl was confident enough to handle it even if they didn’t.
Jolene turned her head so she could look at what I was talking about. I felt her stiffen a little. "It's Xavier and Brooks," she said softly. I turned and followed her gaze to where a pair of men and a little girl were walking through the crowd. Except they weren't really walking through it since the crowd was parting like the Red Sea for them. The trio might as well have been some kind of freak show exhibit for all the courtesy the people around them were showing. Fortunately, the little girl who was with them didn't seem to notice the attention they were getting.
"Assholes," I muttered as I watched the people trail after Xavier and Brooks like sharks following the scent of blood. I had a relatively good view from where we were standing. I knew instantly which man was Xavier, though he looked little like the young man I'd met ten years earlier. His dark hair had been completely shaved off and he had a muscular body that he’d probably been forced to build up in prison so he could protect himself. The way he walked hinted at a man on guard. He kept looking straight ahead, presumably pretending like he didn't hear all the hushed comments that included phrases like, "murdering coward" and "bad news." The man he was with, Brooks, was about the same age but had a softer appearance to him. Unlike Xavier, Brooks struggled to ignore all the negative attention they were receiving.
"Brooks? As in Brooks Cunningham?" I asked in disbelief. I'd heard plenty about Brooks but hadn't ever seen him in person.
"Yeah," Jolene said. She glanced at the people around us and then at me. I understood her silent message. The last thing either of us wanted to do was feed into the gossip by talking about the pair and speculating what they were doing together.
"I'm going to go say hi to him," I said after a moment. I'd been debating whether or not I wanted to try and reach out to Xavier, but suddenly having access to him seemed like a sign of sorts. I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to let the young man know he still had someone in his corner. No matter what crimes he’d been accused and ultimately found guilty of, he'd been just a child, and a tormented one at that.
Jolene put her hand on my arm and nodded. "We'll be here," she said, and then she pulled me down so she could kiss me on the mouth. I'd had a chance to tell Jolene more about my childhood and what it had been like to grow up with an abusive father. She, more than anyone, knew that I related to Xavier more than the average person and that I held a certain amount of guilt for not having been able to help him.
As I walked away, I waved to Cameron as he passed by on his pony. The little boy waved back to me. The grin on his face was priceless.
I followed the small crowd that trailed after Xavier and Brooks. When the men reached a ride and the little girl got in line for it, the crowd finally seemed to disperse a bit. Brooks and Xavier exchanged a few words and then Brooks turned and began walking back toward the fair's entrance. I turned my attention back to Xavier and was about to step forward when I saw how he was watching the departing Brooks. I swore I saw something in Xavier's expression, but if it was there, he quickly masked it and then turned back to watch the little girl as she boarded the ride.
With Brooks gone, people started to give Xavier more space. I waited a few minutes and then approached the man. Even above the noise of the ride, he seemed to hear me coming because he quickly glanced over his shoulder. He was definitely on guard, and it just made my heart ache for him even more to know that he would likely spend the rest of his life looking over his shoulder.
His eyes held mine for a moment, then went wide. He definitely recognized me.
"Hello, Xavier," I said. "I'm Zander Wheeler. We met—"
"I remember," he responded, coolly ignoring my outstretched hand. "What are you doing here?" he asked, his voice full of suspicion. I couldn’t really blame him. I also had no clue how to explain that something about his case had drawn me in and that I'd ended up in Eden because of him.