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“Stacey! What are you doing?” I question my sister-in-law as she comes at the podium like a freight train loaded with ammunition.
“I’m doing the right thing,” she growls. “For once in my life, I’m doing the right thing.” She elbows me out of the way, her hand clasping the microphone.
Alana’s eyes are saucers. “Stacey! Stop!”
“We should talk about this—” I try to say, reaching for her arm.
We have lawyers involved. I’m not sure how they’d feel about Stacey impulsively taking center stage and spilling her guts out in front of the whole town. But from the look on her face, I can tell that she’s determined to do things her way.
I reach for her again and she forcefully jerks her elbow out of my grasp. “Yeah, let’s talk about it, Davis. Let’s talk about what’sreallygoing on here.”
Stacey takes the floor and she pours out her version of what went down on the night in question. She takes all the blame, rightfully painting her older sister as the martyr in this whole mess.
“I was going down a really dark path,” Stacey tells the crowd, her eyes shining with tears. “And the sacrifice my sister made for me that night is what saved me and made me turn my life around. Because she loves me and she wanted a better life for me. Alana, I love you. You are the most selfless person I know.” Stacey grabs a Alana’s hand. “Thank you for always looking out for Louis, Jordan and me. But it’s time I take responsibility for myself. And it’s time someone look out foryou.” She steps away from the microphone, hurrying past the crowd and the reporters shoving cameras in her face.
The crowd turns back to the podium, going crazy with the confusion rising all around. I try to focus on the questions the reporters are hurling at me, doing my best to answer them without saying anything that will make the situation worse.
“Yes, Stacey was a minor when all this occurred.”
“Yes, our legal team is currently looking into whether the statute of limitations applies in this instance.”
“Yes, Stacey has turned her life around. She’s now a loving mother and an upstanding member of the community. She would very much like to move on with her life once the air has been cleared.”
I turn to Alana, giving her a small smile. “No one takes poverty among young families more seriously than we do. We’ve been so intimately affected by this issue.”
That’s the part I hope the listeners focus on more. This isn’t just about me. It’s about our town and the changes it needs.
I spend the rest of the press conference pledging to provide support for struggling young families in the community. Then, I speak about the rest of my mayoral campaign platform.
“The first line of business will be installing a much needed traffic light on Main. Did you know that eighty-six percent of the accidents on this street have been caused by vehicles failing to stop at this intersection,” I point toward the street now, watching a car zip by at the confusing four-way stop. “Then once that’s settled, we’re going to work on getting the rest of the damn road signs fixed. And it’s about time we get cameras and other security measures implemented in our parks to keep our children safe.”
Cheering, hooting, and clapping erupts from the small crowd that’s gathered out on the sidewalk in front of us.
A small hand clasps mine, squeezing gently. I bring her hand to my mouth, kissing it. Alana smiles at me.
I answer a few more questions from the news station crew that showed up today, before Candace steps up to the mic and calls the conference to a close. I sincerely thank her for her help, and let her stay behind to finish things up.
As Alana and I walk off the front steps, in the opposite direction of the crowd, she loops her arm through my elbow. “You didn’t have to do all this for me…”
I kiss the top of her head. “I’d do any-fucking-thing for you, Princess. And you know what? I don’t care about the rumors swirling in the air. We’re gonna win anyway.”
40
ALANA
“Can I have this one? Oh! And these, too? These are cute.” Emma gushes, picking things out of my ‘donate’ pile until her arms are overflowing.
“Take it all,please, and save me a trip to the thrift store,” I answer with a laugh.
“If you’d hurry up and grow a few inches, maybe I could finally steal your clothes, too,” Meghan grumbles, lugging another storage bin out of my walk-in closet.
I smile to myself because the scene currently unfolding in my bedroom makes me think back to when I was helping Meghan sort through her own closet exactly one year ago.
Nadia, Emma and Ziggy are crowded into my room too. It’s all hands on deck as we’re hastily trying to clear out some space in the closets and drawers so that Davis can move his stuff back in. It may be spur of the moment, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. And having the girls’ help means my man can back home even quicker.
From all the way up here, I can hear Sparkle giggling in the living room where Grammy and Nicky are keeping her out of the boxes and out from under everyone’s feet. Today would typically be family dinner at Grammy’s house. But those plans got pushed aside so everyone can help with the move.
Davis and I have full support from his family and that absolutely fills me with relief and peace. For a while, I’d been so worried that they’d shun me for bringing disgrace to the Westbrook name. But they embrace me just as warmly as they did before all the drama that tore Davis and I apart. I’m convinced that this is what true acceptance is. Despite my mistakes and my fuck-ups, they still embrace me as one of their own. That’s all I ever wanted from my own family growing up. And now, I have it.
