Jaxon

Jaxon felt completely drained by the time his uncle and their attorney showed up in Lucy’s hospital room. Brooke and Conner were with them, and Jaxon was grateful to have them there, in his corner. It felt good to have so much support. He didn’t know what he would do without his strange ensemble of family members.

Conner was Jaxon’s one constant, and he couldn’t thank his brother enough for showing up today. Which he apparently owed to Brooke, who had grown on Jaxon tremendously. Her quirky genuine charm was hard to shake.

Jaxon watched Conner put his arm around Brooke and decided he liked the way they fit together. From the way they silently smirked at each other, it was obvious they liked it, too.

Uncle Steven walked over to Jaxon and put a hand on his shoulder. Jaxon reached up and squeezed it. He didn’t know what he’d do without his uncle. The man was a saint. He’d pulled Jaxon’s family out of the ashes and put them back together, never asking for anything in return. Even now, he didn’t scold Jaxon or give him a disapproving look. The first thing he’d done after he heard about the fight at Saint Andrews was to ask Jaxon if he was okay and then how he could help.

Jaxon found himself wondering how his father would have reacted to the same situation. Not nearly as calm, was his guess. Even before the accident Jaxon’s father was nothing like Steven. They were brothers, but just like Jaxon and Conner, they each had their own set of strengths and flaws. And for the first time in over a year, Jaxon found he was glad that it was his uncle at his side today. It was time Jaxon stopped wishing for things that would never be and appreciate the things he had. Steven, Conner and Brooke proved that family came in all different forms.

And then, there was Lucy—an angel made flesh. She completed Jaxon’s new family unit. He still had no idea what he’d done to deserve her, but he was certainly going to try. And that meant by starting to heal himself . . . from the inside out this time.

Today, sitting there in that hospital bed with Lucy tucked against his side, Jaxon realized that she had brought him back to life. He hadn’t even understood how much of his life he’d been wasting until Lucy came along. And that’s why he owed it to her to walk away from the torment that had been killing him the past year.

She was right; he’d been letting his accident trap him. And it had already taken too much from him. He wouldn’t let it take the time he had with Lucy, too. The last year had taught him how quickly things can fall apart, and it made him not want to give up anything good ever again. And this—him and Lucy—this was good. And Jaxon planned on holding on to it for a long, long time.

So even though it was the last thing Jaxon wanted to do, he answered all the attorney’s probing questions about what happened on campus between him and Alex and Lucy. Jaxon hated reliving it, especially with the way Lucy flinched every time Alex’s name was brought up, but Jaxon trudged through it all. The sooner they got this over with, the sooner they could put it behind them and walk away from all the weight that had been dragging them down.

Today was all about ripping off Band-Aids and healing old wounds. And after what Jaxon confessed to Lucy earlier this would be a piece of cake.

Jaxon got through his questioning fairly quickly and then the attorney turned his attention to Lucy, who was still curled against Jaxon’s side in her hospital bed.

“Miss Adams, I have some questions for you. If we could have the room?”

“No,” Lucy said when Jaxon started to get up. “I want you to stay.”

The attorney looked unsure. “The nature of these questions might get personal.”

“I have nothing to hide, and I’d actually feel more comfortable if everyone stayed,” Lucy replied.

The attorney started to object but Jaxon’s uncle spoke up. “Matt, these kids have been through a lot. I know this is an unusual situation, but they’re both minors without parents present. I’d really appreciate it if you could work around their circumstances.”

Matt, the attorney, eventually nodded. It annoyed Jaxon that his uncle would probably be paying Matt a lot more for working around their ‘circumstances’. But when Jaxon looked over at Lucy, her little chin held high as she answered the attorney’s questions, he couldn’t really find much to be upset about.

Jaxon smiled at Lucy, squeezing her hand when the questions got harder to answer. The more he watched her, the more his love for her grew. It still astonished him how much he could feel for her. She was so small but so strong. Jaxon felt beyond lucky to have Lucy by his side. And after telling her his most terrible truths she was still willing to stand by him. That alone was like a breath of fresh air.

Matt cleared his throat. “Well, I think I’ve gotten what I need for now. It’s been a long day. I’ll let you get some rest and be in touch.”

“Wait,” Lucy said. “What about Alex? Is he okay?”

So far, no one had brought up his status. Jaxon felt tension coil in his gut. He stood by actions to protect Lucy from anyone who wanted to hurt her, but now that he’d gotten some distance from his rage, Jaxon felt bad that things had gone as far as they did.

“Mr. Alvez is still in surgery. He has a broken nose, his cheekbone is shattered and his jaw is dislocated, possibly fractured.”

“Shit,” Conner muttered. “Have they charged Jaxon yet?”

“His attorneys haven’t made anything formal yet, but they’re talking aggravated assault.”

“Whoa,” Conner said, pushing off the wall he’d been leaning against. “That’s a felony charge. Jaxon’s a minor.”

“Do you think it’ll stick?” Uncle Steven asked.

“It’s hard to say. The Alvez kid is in pretty bad shape.”

“He deserved it,” Brooke said, surprising everyone in the room. She’d been quiet for so long Jaxon had almost forgotten she was still there.

Matt guffawed. “Miss Becker, I know emotions run high at times like this, but beating someone half to death just because they insult the person you’re dating isn’t an appropriate response, and I’d advise you not to go around sharing that opinion.”

Jaxon was beginning to dislike their attorney, and from the way Conner took a protective stance behind Brooke, he wasn’t the only one.

But Brooke didn’t back down. “Alex started the fight today. Jaxon tried to walk away twice. But Alex wouldn’t let it go. Then Alex shoved Lucy to the ground. She hit her head on the concrete. She could’ve had a brain injury. We should be talking about what to charge Alex with. Besides he’s done a hell of a lot worse than just push Lucy around today.”

The hair on the back of Jaxon’s neck rose. “What?” He mustn’t have heard Brooke right, because it sounded like she was insinuated that Alex had messed with his girl before today.

Brooke leveled her clear blue eyes at Lucy. “You need to tell them, Lucy.”

Lucy tensed next to Jaxon and just as swiftly, the blinding rage he thought he’d leashed was back. “If he put his hands on you . . .”

“Jaxon,” Conner warned. “Cool it. We’re trying to keep you out of juvee, remember?”

Jaxon clamped down on his anger and focused on Lucy instead. She was shaking. He wrapped an arm around her. “Lucy, what’s she talking about?”

Lucy

Lucy knew one day it would come to this. She just wasn’t prepared for today to be that day. She was still processing everything that happened, and now she was expected to dredge up a past she barely understood herself.

Jaxon wrapped his arm tightly around her and she leaned into his warmth. God, he was going to lose it when he found out. But Lucy knew Brooke was right; she needed to get this all out in the open, if only to help Jaxon’s case.

Lucy swallowed hard as every eye in the room trained on her. She didn’t know where to start. She couldn’t do this. How did she tell a room full of people that her father abandoned her because he may or may not be a criminal?

But then she felt Jaxon’s nose nuzzle against her ear. He spoke softly, like she was the only person in the room. “Angel, it’s okay. You’re safe. You can tell me anything.”

She looked into the deep pools of his sapphire eyes and saw nothing but love and trust.

He placed a kiss against her temple and she closed her eyes. “Let it all go, Lucy. Then we walk away together, remember?”

She looked up at him, loving him so much in that moment that she could barely breathe. Lucy nodded once and then faced the room. “The threats from Alex started a long time ago.”

“How far back?” Matt asked.

“Right after my father left me in his parents’ custody when he was arrested by the FBI on charges I just found out may have been fraudulent.”

Matt blinked like he wasn’t hearing her right. “I think you’re going to have to start from the beginning.”

So she did. Lucy told them about how her father and Alex’s father had been best friends. How they started a finance business together. How they became successful and wealthy beyond their dreams. They married and had children, who grew up next door to each other. But that’s when the fairytale ended.

Her mother died the day she was born and her father might as well have died that day, too. He couldn’t seem to be around Lucy. Instead, he let the Alvez’s raise her while he threw himself into the business. Then one day the FBI started sniffing around. The word fraud and embezzlement was thrown around.

Lucy clutched Jaxon’s hand as she told their attorney about the many tearful nights of her childhood; her father fighting with Alex’s father, threats being made. How Mrs. Alvez suggested they become Lucy’s guardians until things got sorted out. And how one morning Lucy awoke to federal agents swarming her home and her worst nightmare coming true. Her last remaining parent was taken from her.

She was seven years old when it happened and she hadn’t seen or spoken to her father since he was arrested. She didn’t even know what prison he was being held in. The Alvez’s said it was better she not know, that they were protecting her. But the older she got, the more she felt they were keeping her from him for a reason.

Lucy explained how Alex was happy to hold her situation over her head to get her to do whatever he wanted, including date him for much longer than she would have if she hadn’t felt trapped. She explained how he made her feel like she owed him because of the way his family cared for her. And how he threatened her when they broke up, saying he’d make sure she never saw her father again, alluding to the fact that his father had framed hers.

She also shared that she had suspected something along those lines for a while, but never had any proof. But Alex’s family had gained sole ownership of a very successful business with Lucy’s father out of the way. And all they had to do to get it was essentially buy their son a playmate.

When Lucy finally finished speaking she felt hollow inside. It was almost like she was telling someone else’s story rather than her own. She’d built up a wall to protect her from the harsh reality of what might have caused her father to abandon her. Even now it was hard to accept it was true.

Matt finally stopped scribbling on his notepad and rubbed his forehead. “Is there anyone who can collaborate this?”

“I can,” Brooke said. “I’ve been her roommate for four years. I’ve heard Alex say things to Lucy about her family that never made any sense until now. And then after Lucy broke up with him, he got possessive. He called all the time, wouldn’t leave her alone. He showed up at our apartment one night threatening her about framing her father. I was afraid for our safety. I had to chase him out with a baseball bat.”

Lucy felt Jaxon growl next to her. She put a soothing hand on his arm. She knew he was probably imagining pummeling Alex some more, but she considered it progress that he gently pulled her closer instead, pressing another kiss to her temple.

Jaxon’s voice was low in her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this?”

Lucy gave him a weak smile. “I was trying to avoid you beating Alex to death.”

Jaxon exhaled into her hair. “Lucy, I never want you to be afraid to come to me with anything.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, it was just . . .”

“Shhh.” Jaxon pulled her closer, gently stroking her hair, careful to avoid her stitches. “Lucy, I love you. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what. So tell me your worst. You can’t scare me away. Not when we both have the same scars.”

Lucy buried her face into Jaxon’s chest and let the tears come. She’d been holding them back for so long. She was trying to be strong—for him, for herself, for her family and Brooke. But hearing Jaxon say that he wasn’t going anywhere, that he loved her no matter how damaged she was . . . it was what she’d always wanted and what she never dared to hope for.

Jaxon

Matt asked a few more follow up questions after Lucy had cried herself out. Jaxon was glad to see the attorney was wrapping things up. All he wanted to do was kiss his girl until he could see the brightness in her eyes again.

Matt stacked his notepad and folder neatly in his briefcase before turning to Brooke. “Are you willing to go on record with this, Miss Becker?”

Brooke nodded. “Absolutely.”

“What about you, Miss Adams?”

Lucy looked up with determination in her eyes. She slipped her hand into Jaxon’s and squeezed, then she nodded her head once. “Yes. I’ll go on record.”

“Good,” Matt said. “Then I think we may have a case. Let me put some things together and I’ll get back to you. If what you said is true, I think the Alvez family will be too busy cleaning up this mess to worry about trumped up charges on Jaxon.”

Uncle Steven walked out with their attorney. When they were gone, Conner slung his arm over Brooke’s shoulders. “So a baseball bat, huh?”

Brooke laughed. “If you ask me what I was wearing I’m gonna slug you.”

“Awe come on. I bet you looked hot as hell with a bat on your shoulder, cupcake,” Conner teased.

Jaxon shook his head at them as he suppressed a grin. He’d never seen such a perfectly odd couple. Brooke looked like Luna Lovegood raided Rainbow Brite’s closet, while Conner looked like the cop from Terminator, but with better hair. Seeing them side-by-side was almost comical. But somehow, they worked.

Brooke brought out the gentler side of Conner, while he eased her wariness.

Jaxon knew Brooke’s steely exterior was just a front. Since getting to know her, he realized she was as soft as a marshmallow on the inside. She needed protecting just as much as Lucy did. Jaxon knew Conner would guard Brooke’s gooey gumdrop heart better than anyone else. He also knew Conner was way past ‘having fun’.

Jaxon noticed the way his brother looked at Brooke. He’d never seen Conner look at a girl that way—with awe, admiration and infatuation.

It was the way Jaxon looked at Lucy—like there were no other girl in the world.

That’s how Jaxon knew Conner was in it for real this time.

Brooke pinched Conner’s arm affectionately and ducked out from beneath it to check on Lucy, and Jaxon took the opportunity to talk to his brother.

“How’s she’s holding up?” Conner asked when Jaxon sidled up to him.

Jaxon knew he meant Lucy. “She’s stronger than she looks.”

Conner smiled. “Told ya. Smalls is a fighter.”

“And what about Brooke?” Jaxon asked arching an eyebrow.

“That one?” Conner groaned. “I don’t have a word for her yet.”

“Wild?” Jaxon offered.

“I am pretty wild about her,” Conner admitted.

“I like you two together.” Jaxon added. “It’s good seeing you happy.”

“You too, baby bro,” Conner said draping his arm over Jaxon’s shoulders. They each took a quiet moment to study their girls—grateful they’d made it through the harrowing day. Conner pulled away first. “Now go take care of your girl and stay outta trouble.”

“Glad to,” Jaxon said, fist bumping his brother before returning to Lucy’s side.

Brooke stopped Jaxon on his way to Lucy and gave him an awkward hug. “Thanks for having my girl’s back,” she whispered.

Jaxon grinned. “Always.”

“See you at home?” Brooke asked.

Jaxon smiled. Home. He liked the sound of that. “Yeah.”

As he sat down on the bed pulling Lucy to his side, Jaxon realized Brooke was right; home had shifted for him. It wasn’t so much a place with a roof and walls, but a feeling—one he only had when Lucy was in his arms.

Jaxon kicked his shoes off and slid into the wide hospital bed with Lucy. She curled up against him and was snoring in her adorable kitten-like way in no time. Jaxon shut his eyes too.

All and all, today could’ve gone much worse. He had his girl in his arms and a world of possibility at his feet. Their future was still uncertain at the moment, but one thing was for sure, Jaxon could face anything as long as he had Lucy by his side.