“Her husband beat her and her unborn child to death two days before her nineteenth birthday. A year later, my mom conveniently fell down the stairs and broke her neck.”
Law’s hand reaches up and squeezes my shoulder in support.
“You were alone with him,” Dwayne states, hands fisted at his sides.
“For one hundred and fifty-two days before I decided enough was enough. I left and lived on the streets. I found this place and Hank, and the rest is history.”
“So you’re saying we’re all fucked? Those of us with no family, those of us with shitty ones. What’s the damn point?” Carlos curses.
“No,” I snap. “I’m saying stop fucking listening to what they tell you and start listening to this.” I point to my head.
“And this.” I touch my heart.
“Blood doesn’t make you family. Heart does. Look around this room. Look at the person beside you. This is your family. You are all stronger together. Stop crying about what you don’t have and take a look at what you do.”
“Erm, Mal,” Law whispers, but I stop him.
“No. The softly-softie approach won’t work. They need something to fight for, so I’m giving them one.”
“Dwayne, you’re in the same year as Kenzie, right?”
Dwayne looks at Kenzie, the tiny blonde who rarely speaks up and tries to blend in.
“Some footballers think it’s fun to push her around because she stood up to them and told them no. You okay with that?”
Dwayne’s jaw gets hard as he looks at me, then turns back to Kenzie. He walks toward her and stops in front of her. He says nothing, but when she keeps her head down, staring at her feet, he slips a finger under her chin and tilts her head back.
My hand finds Law’s even as I keep my eyes on them, a lump in my throat.
“That true?” Dwayne asks her as we all watch.
She nods, shrinking in on herself.
“I’ll walk you to and from classes from now on. You give me your schedule, and we’ll work it out.”
Her skin flushes and her feet shuffle, but I see her shoulders relax as she unconsciously leans toward him and nods.
“Okay.”
It’s the first word she has spoken in a group setting and damn if that doesn’t make me want to cry.
I squeeze Law’s hand so hard my fingers tingle as others speak up.
“I need help with English. If I fail, I’ll flunk out, and I can’t—” Josh starts, only for Sarah to interrupt.
“I’m good at English, but I work, and every day that I’m not, I watch my kid sister.”
“I could come meet you, at work, that is. Walk you home after. Make sure you get back safe.”
I’m gonna cry. Holy fuck, I’m gonna cry.
“I’ve gotta do something real quick.”
I tug my hand free and head toward the back of the room without anyone noticing me leaving, thankfully.
I hurry out to the picnic table outside and collapse, feeling the monumental shift in what just happened, my mind focusing on two things above all else.
Law and I just made a difference, no matter how small it might be. And off the back of that is the awareness that this place, right here, right now, is exactly where I’m supposed to be.