Page 36 of Fighting the Odds

Wait. Did Zander actually send me a picture of Sam?

I pull away and take a deep breath. “I just need to check that. It might be about Sam.”

“Of course.” He smiles, releasing his hold on me so I can reach out for my phone on the coffee table.

But it’s not Zander. It’s a number I don’t know.

I open the message and start reading. It’s from Colton. What the fuck? The more I read, the faster my heart beats. I’m not sure what to think. Can I even believe what he’s saying?

Words mean nothing. Action does. At least to me, anyway.

Words have caused nothing but pain for me and are as useless as winter coats in summer.

I get to the last message, and see it’s a video.

Pressing play, her face comes on the screen, and I can’t hold back the tears. They pour down my cheeks and my vision becomes blurry.

“Ci Ci, I miss you so much. I’m so sorry, but I promise I’m not saying anything. I’m not gonna say a word about Aunt Sarah or where you work.” I pause the video, my eyes locked on her tear-stained face. It’s killing me. “The guys said I can send you videos, but we got to keep it a secret. I can do that. Pinky promise.” She holds her pinky up in the air and gives me a huge smile.

I love her so much. She continues to babble, telling me about her day and what she’s doing at the Stevenson’s. She even turns the camera so I can see her room.

My heart clenches. She’s getting more there than I could ever give her.

The video stops, and I quickly hit play again, needing to see her face.

“It’s okay, baby. We’re going to get her back. This is just a minor setback in our future. Can you send her a video back? Will they show it to her?”

“Yeah, I can.” I sniffle, wiping my eyes.

“Then what are you waiting for? I’ll go get us something to eat and you can make her a video. But please reconsider waiting until Monday to go to school. Also, I think either Rico or I should be taking and picking you up. I’m going to talk to him about it, too.”

I look at him, dumbfounded. How did I never notice him before? I mean, I did, but why didn’t I let him get close to me? Instead of dealing with this alone, I could’ve had him by my side.

He kisses me on the forehead, then moves me off his lap onto the cushion beside him. He looks at me with glassy eyes and that’s when I realize my sweet sister affected him, too.

He leaves the room, and I watch his ass as he goes, nearly breaking my neck until he disappears into the kitchen.

Instead of turning on the camera and recording right away, I take a moment to compose myself. Sam doesn’t need to see me in tears. I need to be strong for her.

She needs to have hope that everything is going to be fine.

I’m going to tell her how I’m going back to school. That Mrs. Butler is having me over to dinner. But I want another video from her, so I’m going to ask so many questions about what she’s doing and how she likes living with the Stevensons.

Colton best not be a dick to her either, or he’ll be on my shit list more than he is already. I’m still not convinced I believe anything in his messages. He is friends with Wesley Johnson, after all.

Taking a deep breath, I wipe my cheeks and plaster a smile on my face. It doesn’t quite reach my eyes, but it’s the best I can do. I hit record and talk like she’s sitting in front of me. Except I don’t pause for her to answer. I ramble.

The video is just shy of ten minutes when I hit stop.

As much as I want to cry, I don’t. Opening the thread to Colton’s message, I send the video back to him, ignoring his plea for forgiveness. I don’t know how to respond or if I even can.

Like I said, I need action.

Colton Stevenson has to prove himself to me. Only time will tell if he’s serious.

Chapter 18

Sierra

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