Page 37 of After Midnight

Jolie stood up and gestured toward the door. “Success in this industry is thirty percent talent and seventy percent luck, and it appears you have both. Don’t question it, just ride the wave,but know that you’re about to work your butt off. This euphoria you’re feeling only lasts a moment, so enjoy it because then it’s gritty, tough, thankless work. Take it from me, not everyone is cut out for it.” I walked out the door, and she followed behind me. “I’ll text you tomorrow with the details of your flight and accommodations.”

I walked numbly out of the club and immediately texted my parents, telling them I was being called to Chicago to perform on the main Third County stage.

My next text was to Dominic.

Me:Hey, I just got news that I’m flying to Chicago this week for a huge gig. Wanna come meet my parents and celebrate with us?

Within a few moments, my phone pinged.

Dominic:Can’t, got the girls tonight.

Me:Perfect, bring them with you.

Dominic:Thanks, but not this time.

It’s not like I was surprised by his answer. Dominic’s walls had definitely gone back up. I hated to admit that the rejection stung, though. This back-and-forth with him sucked. Every time we had another start, something interrupted us, putting us back at square one. Even just being a friend would prove challenging at this rate.

It seemed like the days sped by, and before I knew it, it was time to fly to Chicago.

Before leaving, I decided to at least try to get some closure on this thing with Dominic. Or maybe just make myself feel better about losing my chance with him.

Me:Hey,I’m leaving for Chicago tomorrow. Not sure when I’ll be back but I wanted to say bye.

I waited for a reply, but it didn’t come. I went to bed that night feeling oddly empty and sad. I wasn’t ready to admit defeat with Dominic but it felt a lot like the decision was being taken out ofmy hands. I was rushing toward my gate at the airport when my phone pinged.

Dominic:I wish you all the luck, Dillon. You deserve to be happy.

As goodbyes go, this one felt underwhelming, but there wasn’t much I could do but accept it. Well, there wasn’t much I could do yet. I still wasn’t ready to give up on Dominic. I mean, it probably went to show how blockheaded I was, but I’d decided I would do what I could to give us a chance. At least long enough that we could get to know each other.

What I did know about Dominic, I liked, and I could sense he liked me too. I didn’t want us to be victims of circumstance, be it the current shitshow with his family, or my career opportunities. Life never stopped moving, we’d always have things to deal with, but Dominic deserved to be happy just as much as me. So why not be happy together?

Chapter fifteen

Dominic

Between my college courses, working weekends at the club, and managing all the stuff around the girls, I barely had time to say hi to Miss Rita, much less talk to her about her being Ashton’s sister. After Dillon texted his big news, I should’ve loaded the girls into the car and gone to meet his family, but damn if my crappy reasoning didn’t get in the way.The girls need stability, I’d argued internally.Margarette could hear of it and use it against me and Dillon.The list of excuses that led me to make the bad choice of not going went on and on.

As it turned out, if we’d gone, I would’ve at least had something positive to focus on and remember before the world caved in around us.

The week after Dillon left for Chicago, the girls got home just as the Division of Child Welfare showed up to shatter my world.

“There has been an allegation of abuse against you,” I was told before the girls were packed up and whisked away. It all happened so fast, I didn’t have the chance to say a word. As I stood there alone in the house, questions I should have asked ran through my mind.

Eventually, I came to my senses and managed to reach Mr. Langdon. “What the hell?” I asked angrily. “Can’t we do something about this? It’s clearly a ploy by Margarette to soil my name and bias the court.”

“I have no doubt about that, son, but I can’t do anything,” Mr. Langdon replied sadly. “As unfair as it is, my hands are tied.”What?Was that it? Didn’t he have any legal maneuvers to try or something?

Of course, I knew that once Child Welfare got involved, it was out of everyone’s hands. The fact they removed the girls was an indicator that my efforts to win them back would be thwarted, even after I proved the allegation false. The allegation itself would bias the court against me with a certain level of guilt. That was it then, the damage already done. I couldn’t fight this and I was never going to be part of the girls’ lives again. Despair and anger dueled for dominance inside me but both resulted in the same outcome. Tears.

The family court hearing to determine if there was enough evidence to push the case forward was scheduled for Friday, and when Mr. Langdon and I showed up, Margarette and her attorney were there as well.

Margarette testified in court that Olivia had told her I’d hit her repeatedly with a hairbrush while fixing her hair.

I tensed as a cold sweat broke out all over my body, and my hands shook with anger. I was about to call the woman a liar when Mr. Langdon put his hand over mine. He leaned over and said, “Be calm. If you react, you’ll make it worse.” Well, that was easier said than done. How the hell was I supposed to remain calm in the face of Margarette’s barefaced lies?

My attorney stood up then and announced this was Margarette’s way of manipulating the system to get what she wanted out of this court and especially with regard to the ongoing lawsuit.

The judge appeared unmoved by his argument. “We’ll reconvene to hear testimony,” she said before banging her gavel.

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