Page 105 of Retribution

I let out a hearty breath and rub my hands over my face.

“Fucker.” I grit, irritated that she’s got me so worked up because she decided to be late on today of all days.

“What time do you call this?” I scream from across the street, passers-by looking at me in shock from my furious tone.

They cross over and Britney’s face is confused at why I’m so angry.

“I told you we would be back for one, that was thirty minutes ago!” I bellow, almost falling to my knees in relief.

“Sorry, sorry. We stopped by the animal shelter on the way back to look at all of the puppies, I must have lost track of time,” She cringes.

I sigh.

“It’s fine, as long as you’re here now.” Indie smiles and takes Willow’s bag from her arm.

“Come on, let’s get going. It’s a big day.” I usher the girls and turn back to Britney, staring at me with wide eyes.

“Brit… Thank you. I just wanted you to know that… I’m sorry.” I say quietly as the girls get into the car.

“Oh, don’t be sorry, I was the one that was late!” She waves me off.

I gently touch her arm.

“No, I mean… I’m sorry for outing you. I didn’t realize that it was something serious going on. I should never have said anything. It wasn’t my place,” I confess, genuine sorrow in my eyes.

She looks at me, really looks at me.

“It’s fine, it’s in the past” her voice is clipped and she turns away towards her building.

I exhale harshly.

Well, it was worth a shot, I’ve done all I can for now to try and mend our broken relationship. Probably marrying her best friend after her sister died was complimentary to her resentment towards me.

Understandable, really.

I enter the driver side of the car and Willow is busy admiring the gift we got her from Mexico.

“You couldn’t wait for me, huh?” I tease.

“Sorry, she seen the gift bag in the trunk when I popped her bag in there.” Indie winces, her eyes floating back to watch Willow stare in admiration of the box.

I pull away from the sidewalk and head towards home so we can all prepare ourselves to look presentable.

***

We walk into the courtroom, all three of us holding hands. I glance around and see Allie’s parents on one side of the room. We take a seat on the opposite side of the room, their eyes following us in disgust.

They can stare at us all they like, it doesn’t change the fact that Willow is happy, exactly where she is, where she belongs.

She offers a small wave to her grandparents and their faces change dramatically, waving back with huge smiles plastered on their faces. Rolling my eyes, I adjust my suit before taking a seat.

Willow is dressed in a lemon floaty dress; her hair is braided into Dutch plaits and her finger nails are still manicured. Indie decided to opt for a pantsuit to look professional, it’s a nude color with wide legs, a white button up and a nude blazer over the top. She also put on a pair of brown colored aviators, now placed on top of her head whilst her hair is swooped into a ponytail. She looks incredible, I could really get on board with seeing her dressed like this more often. It’s the opposite of her usual bubbly dresses, something about it makes her look delicious enough to eat.

Later.

We sit patiently waiting and the lawyers and their people begin to file in.

Harrison walks past us and nods his head at me, reassuring me ‘he’s got this’.

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