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The lawyer is undeterred as he encroaches upon Aurelia. “Be that as it may, would you sign something for me?”
Aurelia is taken aback but composes herself quickly. “Uh, well, first, I’m very flattered. And I too love drag shows, so if you ever need couture for your shows, you can message me. But you’re here to take away my friend’s niece, so I can’t do that right now. In fact, I straight up want to kick your nuts so hard they pop up through your teeth and you choke on them.”
“Yeah,” Asher jumps back in. “What my girl Reils said. Go back to your table where your greedy ass clientsaren’tsitting. Because they straight-up suck at life. Think of how you’ll feel if you end up giving a six-year-old little girl to a couple who only care about the money she comes with.”
The lawyer scuttles off, and Asher turns to all of us. “Can you believe that guy? Fashion over football. That’s insanity.”
I snicker. “You set him straight, brother. Thanks for that.” I slap Asher’s shoulder, and then all amusement dies as I go over and greet Tom and my friends take their seats behind us. The court is called to order, and the judge is announced. We all rise, and then he’s taking his seat, and yes, if the glare he’s giving me is anything to go by, he’s fucking pissed, and this time, there is no Octavia to bail me out.
There isn’t even a Layla to hold my hand.
I sit heavily in my chair, which feels like a rock beneath me, as despair and panic slurry around in my stomach.
The judge shuffles some papers around and then he’s addressing me as if I’m a Nazi at Nuremberg. “Dr. Barrows, it has come to my attention that you and Miss Fritz have willingly deceived this court.”
I swallow down a noise, and do my best to appear calm, but I am anything but. I look to Tom and this time he gives me a nod, indicating that I should be the one to address the court.
“Yes, sir, though the blame is entirely on my shoulders and no one else’s. Miss Fritz was simply trying to help me.”
I won’t let Layla take the fall for this. I am the one who asked her to do this. I am the one who put her in an impossible situation, playing on her heart and her past.
“Your Honor, if I may, I’d like to make a motion to—” Mr. Salucci jumps in, only to be silenced by the judge holding up a hand.
“It is not the time to make any motions as we’re here to discuss the sudden change in Katy Barrow’s custody situation.” He turns back to me. “Dr. Barrows, in my years on the bench, I’ve had many people sit before me and lie. But never like this. Never with such a blatant lack of respect for the court and never going to such extremes as to make up a fake engagement. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Slowly I stand, my voice broken and desperate, as I already know I’ve lost.
“Your Honor, in the matter of a few hours, my life was turned upside down. My brother and sister-in-law died, leaving their little girl alone, and me the only one to take care of her. A little girl I held the day she was born. A little girl I was immediately in love with. So much so that I had one of the spare bedrooms in my home turned into her bedroom before she could even walk. I didn’t think twice about keeping Katy with me when they died. It felt right and it felt natural.
“Mr. Salucci’s clients haven’t called to talk to Katy. Not once. Willow and Declan died nearly two months ago now, and they haven’t checked in to see how Katy is doing with the loss of her parents. They don’t care about what she’s been doing in camp or that she wants to be a mermaid or that she still occasionally has night terrors. Simply put, they don’t care about her. They’re not there for her—I am. Katy doesn’t matter to them. Her inheritance does. They want her money and care nothing of her.”
I fall forward, planting my hands on the table, looking over at the judge through my lashes.
“Your Honor, I know you’ve been made to believe everything out of my mouth is a lie, but that’s not how it is. I only care about Katy. Yes, I lied about the engagement. But even though the engagement was a ruse, the love was real, and Layla living with us, she’s been a rock for Katy. I lied so that Katy could have the best possible chance at a happy future becauseI knowI’m the only one who can give her that. When you read over whatever Mrs. Bible wrote in her report and you think about this, please consider that even though what I did was wrong, I did it all for Katy.”
I wipe at my mouth, and take a deep breath only to exhale it slowly.
“I’m not perfect,” I continue. “I’ll never get everything right. But in my gut,in my soul, I know that Katy belongs with me. More importantly, she knows it too. If you don’t believe me, talk to her. Get the facts from her. Don’t discount me simply because it’s the easy thing to do.”
I sit down, and the judge leans back in his seat, still staring at me as if I just intentionally blew up a bus full of nuns. I can already tell he wasn’t moved by my little speech. He views me as a liar. As a man who disrespected his court and his position, and I did. I did exactly that and I have no recourse.
An icy blade of fear stabs into me, flaying me open, and leaving me utterly powerless to stop myself from bleeding out right here. My head falls to my hands, even though I was trying for brave and strong. I know my friends are behind me, but my brother isn’t here, and my parents are off doing their thing and aren’t here, and fucking Layla isn’t even here.
I’m angry with him for not creating a will, and I’m angry with myself for acting rashly in making Layla my fake fiancée, and I’m angry and frustrated at a legal system that would discount me as the best option for Katy after a minor safety issue simply because I’m unattached. It’s provincial and sexist and biased. There are millions of single parents out there doing a damn good job. But because two greedy assholes made themselves look like sad victims, they’re going to win, and I’m going to lose.
I was never a big believer on fair versus unfair.
I’m a doctor, and you see life shit on everyone equally. Rich, poor, ugly, beautiful—it doesn’t matter within the walls of the emergency department.
But this… this is un-fucking-fair, and I want to scream that at the top of my lungs for all to hear. I’m not this Callan. I’m never this Callan. I’m methodical and a problem solver and a healer, but I have no control, and it’s driving me to the edge of my sanity.
The judge clears his throat, and my hands fall to the table. Warily I meet his steady gaze.
“Dr. Barrows, I can see that you’re visibly upset, as I feel you should be. While I hear what you’re saying, and I can see there is genuine remorse for your actions, I don’t see how this court can—”
The doors at the back of the courtroom fly open, and Layla comes rushing in along with… Lenox? Huh? What the hell is going on?
34
