“Okay, someone tell me what the fuck happened,” Dragon ordered, crossing his arms over his chest. At that moment, he didn’t look like the boys’ grandpa. He was every inch the president of the motorcycle club that our families belonged to.
Like someone had suddenly hit the play button, Curtis, Draco, and Charlie all started speaking at once. Charlie was defensive, her voice higher pitched than normal and her hands gesturing wildly. Curtis sounded angry; his voice was a little louder than the others. Draco, though, was almost monosyllabic. He didn’t rise from his seat, he barely looked up. His voice was the one I focused on, as he detailed how he’d beat up Travis and gotten caught by the coach.
None of them, not a single one, mentioned the photos of me.
“You dragged us over here because you got in a fight?” Grease asked in disbelief. “Hell, Tommy did that shit once a month his entire high school career.”
“It wasn’t a fight,” Draco said, finally raising his head to look at the group crowded into the living room. Charlie and Curtis finally fell silent. “I beat the shit out of him. He didn’t get in a single swing.”
“So the kid’s a pussy,” Grease said with a shrug.
“I also hit him with a baseball bat,” Draco said, no emotion in his voice.
Grease’s mouth twitched, but he didn’t reply.
“So, we need to call the lawyer,” Dragon said. He nodded to Casper who then let go of his daughter and stepped out of the room. “You stand by it?” Dragon asked Draco.
“Yeah,” Draco said firmly.
“Alright,” Dragon said.
“No,” Trix argued, her voice loud with disbelief. “No, not alright. What the hell were you thinking?”
Draco didn’t respond.
“Do you think that rules just don’t apply to you because you’re going to patch in eventually?” she asked. “You’re not a member yet. You’re a fucking kid! Your only responsibility is to stay out of trouble long enough to reach adulthood.”
“Baby,” Cam said, reaching for her.
“No,” Trix said, shaking her head. “I want to know what he was thinking. I want to know how he thought he could get away with this.”
“He had it comin’,” Draco replied through his teeth.
“He had it coming?” Trix repeated, her voice so low it was almost guttural. “Do you even hear yourself?”
Charlie and Curtis both started back up again, their voices joining in on the back and forth.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t listen to Draco downplay the whole thing, or Trix yell at him, or Charlie and Curtis pushing their own version of the events that were close to the truth, but not quite. The events of the last few hours were getting distorted, turning Draco into some out of control teenager that was stupid enough to get himself into really big trouble.
“It’s my fault,” I said, raising my voice above the noise. “It’s my fault, okay?”
The room went completely silent.
“Jesus,” Trix said, looking at me and then at her son. “I should have fucking known.”
“Kara,” Draco barked, jerking his head once from side to side.
I snapped my mouth shut, but the words I wanted to say felt like the air inside a balloon, the pressure growing every second that I didn’t speak.
“Cops are here,” Grease announced easily. “You want me to let them in?”
Trix looked at Cam and something passed between them, a sort of silent communication that none of the rest of us understood.
“We’ll meet them outside,” Trix answered.
Draco stood as his dad moved toward him. As they hugged, Cam said something quietly in his ear. Then, with a kiss on the side of Draco’s head, Cam was on the move toward the front door. He and Dragon walked outside, closing the door behind them.
Trix went to Draco.
“Let’s give ’em a minute,” my dad said, pulling me toward the kitchen.
Everything had felt kind of foggy and surreal until that moment, the whole day had been like a nightmare, but as the Aces moved into the kitchen to give Trix and Draco a minute alone, it all came into sharp focus. They weren’t going outside. They weren’t showing a united front to the police at the door. It was like they’d already given in to the inevitable.
“You’re going to let them arrest him?” I asked, pulling away from my dad. “What the fuck?”
“Quiet,” my dad ordered.
“This is bullshit.” I looked at Charlie, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes.
“You’re all just going to let them take him?” I asked, panic making my voice shrill.
“Enough, Kara,” Casper ordered.
“Fuck you,” I spat. The words weren’t fully out of my mouth before my dad’s hand came down on the back of my neck, squeezing in warning.
I jerked, trying to pull away, but it was no use.
Just then, Cam came back into the house. “They wanna talk to you,” he said to Draco. “You’re a minor, so I’ll be there with ya. Say nothin’ until the lawyer shows up, you hear me?”
I couldn’t see Draco from my place in the kitchen, but he must have answered somehow, because Cam nodded.
Pulling a trick I’d learned before I could even walk, I let my body fall like a limp noodle just far enough so that my dad lost his grip on me. I was practically running toward the living room before he knew what I was doing.
“I’ll tell them what happened,” I told Draco, jerking to a stop a few feet from them. “You have your phone, right? I’ll just tell them what happened and it’ll be fine.”
I was panicking. This couldn’t be happening.
“You’ll keep your mouth shut,” Draco said softly. He squeezed his mom’s shoulder and came to me. “You stay out of this completely.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s not fair.”
Draco’s hands came up to my cheeks and gently wiped away the tears I hadn’t even realized were falling.
“Since when did you start believin’ life is fair?” he joked gently. His hands came to rest on my cheeks as he looked at me. Leaning close, he held my gaze. “I’d do it again,” he whispered, so quiet there was barely any sound. “For you, I’d do it a hundred times.”
“Idiot,” I whispered back.
He moved, then, jerking me against his chest in a tight hug. “I’ll have a hearing tomorrow,” he said, his cheek resting against the top of my head. “I’ll be out on bail before you even notice I’m gone.”
“We could just say you’re not here,” I argued, making him chuckle.
“And have them get a warrant?” he asked, giving me a squeeze. “Not gonna happen.”
He started to pull away but I refused to let go, my nails digging into the back of his shirt. If I just closed my eyes and held on for dear life, maybe I could change it. Maybe I could slow time down or stop it somehow.
“Curt,” Draco said. I don’t know what passed between them, but suddenly, there was an arm around my waist, pulling me away.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Draco said, reaching up to run his thumb down my cheek as he took a step backward. He looked up at Curtis. “Hold her.”