Page 32 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

My stomach tightens. “I didn’t do anything.”

“Three arrests. Underage drinking, and caught twice with heroin. Twice, Alec. Do you even consider the possibility of what will happen to you if you keep this up? What Callie will have to see?”

Here we go. The same conversation she throws at me every single time.

“I’m telling you, Jules. It was not mine. I was set up.” I raise my voice in defense, feeling like that’s the only way I can get through to her thick skull.

I’m so tired of looking like the bad guy.

Jules shakes her head. “If you don’t get your shit together, Alec, I won’t be there next time.”

My stomach churns, but it doesn’t stop me from spitting fire. “Then don’t be. I can handle myself.”

With a huff of a laugh, she flicks her blinker on and pulls down our road and into the driveway. I get out of the car, slam the door, and stride into the house without another word.

Nothing I say will matter.

It never does.

Hours go by before I need to head downstairs and grab something to eat. Dread slams into my gut; the last thing I want is to be remotely close to my aunt. She’ll only point out all of the bad things that have happened to me instead of praising me for the good.

And I don’t deserve that. Not after everything I’ve done… like taking care of Callie when she was waking up from night terrors every night so Jules could sleep and making sure Callie was dropped off at daycare on time.

Jules’ soft whispers have me stopping at the top of the stairs. “He is not safe here, not with Callie. Something needs to be done before it’s too late,” she hisses.

***

“Alec…”

I shake my head to push the memory out and give Summer a soft smile.

Her eyebrows furrow. “You OK?”

“Yeah. Yeah. Just talking about everything is…”

“Hard,” she cuts me off, frowning. “I know the feeling.”

“It’s hard to imagine how life could have been.”

Her lips press together, and she looks down at her hands resting on her lap. “So, why do you have to sneak around to see your sister?”

“My aunt filed a restraining order after my last arrest. Claimed I was too dangerous to be around Callie. She refused to give me a chance to prove to her that everything that happened wasn’t my fault.”

She stares blankly at me. “What about Terry?”

The corner of my mouth tilts up a little. “Terry was a really good friend of the family. She saw a lot of potential in me growing up. She’s been conflicted with my aunt and the restraining order and believes that my ‘mistakes’ won’t reflect my future self. Terry hates broken families because she came from one. So, she started sneaking me inside after my aunt left for work. As the years went on, my time with Callie has been cut shorter and shorter because I was almost caught a few times. And, well, if I’m caught, Terry will get in trouble too.”

“With Callie being so young, she hasn’t told your aunt that you’ve been coming by?”

I sigh. “Callie is a smart girl. Never would I brainwash her to lie to my aunt. If she does tell her, then it is what it is. But surprisingly she hasn’t. Terry often tells me that Callie misses me and wishes I could come home.”

I feel a pinch in my heart, and I give Summer a sad smile.

Summer frowns and looks at me. The sincerity in those beautiful hazel eyes flips a switch inside of me. This is the first time I’ve spoken about my past out loud.

“I’m really sorry you had to go through all of that. It’s unfair.” She shifts in her seat to face me, leaning her back against the door. “Did you try to fight it? Maybe prove your innocence?”

I laugh sarcastically, but I didn’t mean to. “Of course, I tried, but come on, who would believe someone who was found with heroin on them?”

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