Ellison
My hands are cold. Freezing. Yet, clammy. Drix is following me through the house. It’s empty as it typically is after a long trip. Mom and Dad prefer to have downtime. A few moments alone after they’ve had to be perfect for such a long stretch.
When we first walked in, I heard Mom moving about upstairs, and I stayed as quiet as I could so she wouldn’t poke her head out to greet me. I don’t need her disappointing stare. I don’t need her blocking my path to Dad. This is between me, him and Drix.
Outside Dad’s office, I suck in a deep breath, but there’s no calming the waves of nausea crashing in my stomach. As soon as one wave fades, another one crests. But this is the right thing to do. Dad will see this. He’ll be mad at my lies, but he’ll eventually forgive me because that’s who my father is at the core of his being—he’s love.
I knock on the door, Dad gives affirmation to enter, and Drix places his hand on my neck. I briefly close my eyes with the touch of reassurance. Then his hand is gone, and I walk in. Dad smiles. It’s big and it’s wide and it tells me how much he missed me. “There you are. I told your mom you wouldn’t be gone long. Where do you want to go to dinner? Your choice. Maybe even a movie if there’s anything out you want to see...”
But his smile fades, slips right off his face as if someone had used an eraser. Drix has entered, and I keep walking because if I don’t, I might lose my nerve. I sit at one of the chairs across from Dad, perched at the edge, because that’s where I feel like I’m teetering.
“Hey, Dad.”
Dad keeps his eyes purely on Drix as Drix stands behind the other empty chair.
“What can I do for you, Hendrix? Not sure if you knew, but my wife and I just returned from a long trip. Typically I wouldn’t take impromptu meetings, but I know you wouldn’t have stopped by if it wasn’t important.”
“It is, sir. I found out some information, and I came straight here from a job site to see you.”
Concern for Drix worries Dad’s forehead, and it gives me hope. This is my father—the man who cares. “Elle, thank you for letting Hendrix in. Do you mind giving us a few minutes?”
Here comes the part where I throw myself off the ledge. “Actually, I’m involved in this.”
Dad’s eyes snap to me, and it’s hard to not shrink. “What do you mean?”
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, then readjust my glasses. I should have rehearsed this for about a year because I don’t know how to lead off. Should I start with how I’ve been seeing Drix behind their back since May? How I’ve fallen in love with him and him with me? Should I tell him how I was at Drix’s house and a friend of his told me Drix didn’t do the crime? Do I tell him I snuck into this office, went through his private files and removed proof that Drix is innocent?
I raise my chin. I’m in free fall and prepare myself for impact with the ground. “Drix didn’t rob the convenience store.” I remove the picture from my pocket, unfold it and lay it on Dad’s desk. “This is a screen shot from the surveillance video, and the person who robbed the store had a tattoo. Drix doesn’t have any tattoos.”
My father stares at the photo, and his frozen expression is terrifying. “You pled guilty.”
I glance at Drix out of the corner of my eye, and I admire how cool, calm and collected he seems sitting in the chair opposite of me. “Yes, sir, I did. But I pled guilty because we couldn’t afford a lawyer, and they were threatening to charge me as an adult if I didn’t accept. My brother and I decided I couldn’t take the risk of me going to adult prison. We felt the evidence was stacked against me, but that picture proves I didn’t commit the crime, and if you allow me to explain, I can tell you who did do it.”
“Where did you get this picture?”
Drix goes to answer, and if I know him, it’s to cover for me, but Henry is wrong. The truth is important. “I found it.” No sense stopping now. “When I was searching through Hendrix’s binder here in your office. Someone told me he didn’t do it so I searched for answers.”
His eyes flicker between us, and I can tell he’s doing the math in his head. He’s figuring out I haven’t stayed away from Drix and that Drix hasn’t stayed away from me. It’s time to own my choices. “Just so you know everything, Drix and I are together.”
A tick of Dad’s jaw. “Together?”
“Dating, sir,” Drix answers before I can. “We see each other after the events and have seen each other a few times outside of the events, as well. I apologize that we’ve done it behind your back. I promise, anything going forward, will be with your permission.”
Now he doesn’t have to go that far.
The cords of muscles in Dad’s neck protrude, and my heart picks up speed. I hold on to the arms of the chair for support.
“I need you to leave, Elle. Go to your room and don’t come out until I tell you.”
“Dad—”
“Go,” he snaps, and the anger that blares from him in my direction makes me feel as if the two of us are strangers.
I dare to look over at Drix, and he subtly inclines his head for me to go. I do, feeling like I’m abandoning him. My father starts yelling before I even have a chance to close the door.