Page 18 of Creed

“Right. Well, my name is Monica Duinski and I’m with Child Protective Services. I represent the city of Stutton. Do you have a moment to talk?”

Child protective services? The fuck?

I pull the phone away, confused as fuck. But then it hits me and I feel the blood drain from my face. She said Stutton. As in, my home town.

I quickly sit up and rush across the backyard to the house and slip in the back door. I pass Riley in the kitchen and he gives me a quizzical look as he pops a handful of m&m’s in his mouth. I shake my head once and he nods, heading back to his room while I jog up the stairs to mine. Once I’m in my room with the door shut and locked I speak.

“Talk about what, exactly?” Please don’t be who I think it is. Fucking please.

“I’m calling on behalf of Miss Collins Weston. Her records have you and an Asher Sutton listed as next of kin?”

Next of…

“What happened? Did you call Asher first?” I question.

“We tried, sir. Over the last twenty-four hours we’ve attempted to reach him several times, but we’ve been unsuccessful in doing so. We need to speak to her next of kin before proceeding with any further actions.”

I run a hand through my sweat slicked hair then grip the back of my neck. “Sorry lady but you’re freaking me the fuck out with your words, here. Collins, is she…” I swallow nervously, feeling sick to my stomach. “Is she okay?”

“She is okay, physically. But we currently have custody of her after her neighbor called the police on her behalf. She came home from a friend’s house and found her mother unresponsive, and her father has yet to be found for questioning.”

“Unresponsive? You mean her mom…died?” I whisper the last words. My voice feeling like gravel.

“Unfortunately yes. I’m so sorry. But right now the nature of my call is in regard to the care of Miss Weston. With her mother now gone and her father at large, she’ll be placed into foster care unless the next of kin is eligible and able to care for her.”

Shit. Her mom was practically a ghost of a person when I still lived in Stutton, but according to Collins, her mom was getting better. What the fuck happened?

I glance out my bedroom window and watch the very adult-rated party rage on in the back. There’s no fucking way I can take care of a kid. Even if that kid is my best friend’s sister. She’s got to be, what, thirteen or fourteen now? We’re about to set off on another tour soon and I know that Collins is out of school for the summer based on the letters she’s written to me in the past, but the crowds we draw during and after the concerts are not what I would want a young teen exposed to.

I haven’t seen her in years, and I miss her and Asher like crazy… but I just don’t think it’s something I could do.

Fuck, though. The thought of her going into foster care, letting some other fucking unknown family care for her? Would they even be worthy of all the goodness in Collins’ heart? Doubtful. But would I be any better with her having to spend time alone on a fucking tour bus? And where the fuck is Asher? I know he and Dani broke up and it messed him up, but you’d think he’d answer to take care of his sister.

That was his whole plan, after all.

“Listen, Miss Duinski,” I pinch the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes shut as I pace the floor in my bedroom. “I am not asking this to sound pompous, but do you know who I am?”

A moment of silence before she answers, “I—no, sir, I can’t say that I do.”

I huff a laugh, “Well, I’m the lead singer in a band, and we’re about to go on tour in a few weeks. Both US and UK.” I sit on the side of the bed, my shoulders slumping and a deep sadness washing over me. “I…Collins is an amazing kid, but I don’t think it would be wise to drag her around while I’m on tour. Being stuck on a tour bus for hours on end almost every day for several months? That’s no fair life for a kid. I-I’m sorry,” my voice cracking and my heart squeezing. “I can’t take her. She’s technically not even my family. She’s my best friend’s little sister”

A beat of silence passes before I realize the mistake I just made and my lungs become devoid of oxygen. “Oh,” Mrs. Duinski speaks again before I can even try to take back my words. “I do apologize for the mix up. We’ll remove you from her list as next of kin. Please understand, Mr. Saint James, that we will not contact you again regarding Collins. We will attempt to contact Asher again before proceeding with arranging foster care for Miss Weston.”

I have nothing left to say after my huge fuckup so I hang up and stare blankly at the wall, feeling sick to my stomach. I wonder if she’s informing Collins of the words I said without thinking. Would she be upset? Angry? She’d have every right to be. She just lost her mom and she has no one there to comfort her or help her through the mourning process and my words just added salt to the wound. Also, where the fuck is Asher and why isn’t he answering?

Why did I have to open my damn mouth?

“Fuck!” I yell as I throw my phone across the room, knowing I’ve just let my family down.

Though going on tour is completely out of my control, letting my family down is exactly what I did. I just lost that contact with her, I haven’t heard from Asher in months, so all I have left is the undeserving hope that forgives me, that she still wants to send her letters and pictures, and that she can stay strong.

Chapter 9

Collins

(AGE 17)

Dear Creed,

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