“Sweetie, as soon as you and Arissa started bringing two growing athletic boys into this house regularly, I started buying more food.”
I shift my gaze to Damian. “You’re still growing? Could’ve fooled me.”
“Funny, Sara,” he says wryly.
I smirk, then leave to call Jason from my room.
The phone rings once. “Hello?” he answers.
“Were you carrying the phone around with you?”
He pauses. “Yes. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah.” But we’re going to have to talk about his incessant worrying. “Do you and your parents want to come over for dinner?”
“Hang on.” Crackling comes through the receiver while he covers and uncovers the phone. “It’ll be just me. Dad’s a bit tired and he wants to be there tomorrow. Mom works third shift tonight. I’m on my way.”
Hunter tells me he can’t make it when I call him and congratulates me on the adoption news.
Jason arrives fifteen minutes later and we go to my room for privacy.
I rest my back against my pillow and headboard. Jason sits on the edge of my bed facing me, unease creasing his face.
“They’re talking to a lawyer tomorrow about my mother and Victoria. They’re also going to talk to the lawyer about adopting me,” I tell him.
He smiles wide at the last bit of news. “That’s great!”
“You can’t call me Parker anymore.”
“I’ll always call you Parker.”
I slip my hand in his before changing the subject. “Stop worrying about me. Your worry should be focused on your dad, not something that will stress you out more.”
“Your mother threatened you today and you’re telling me how to keep it together,” he says, wonder filling his voice.
He’s not getting my point, so I try again. “You can’t keep putting everyone else first or you’ll break. Imagine how your parents would feel if that happened.”
“Or you.”
“J, I depend on you, but I’m not dependent upon you. Your parents needs you to help take care of your dad. I just need you to keep loving me without all the worry.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Mother scowls at me from the defendant’s table with her brows pinched so close together her eyes look crossed.
“Sara, would you please tell the jury what happened out in the hallway yesterday when the lunch recess started,” Len directs.
I recount the attack in detail. My eyes dart to her at the sound of a snap. Half a pencil is caught in her crushing grip and the other half lays on the legal pad in front of her. Her eyes narrow at me.
Edgar places a hand over her stranglehold. Her icy glare continues despite the cue from him.
“Thank you, Sara,” Len says. “No further questions.”
Edgar waves his hand. “No questions, Your Honor.”
I step down and walk to the spectator area. Mother’s evil eye bores into me until she’s unable to continue without turning her head. I take a seat between Jason and Hunter.
Len calls Rose next. She recounts discussions with Mother in which she tried to convince Mother to let me sleep over, go out with them somewhere, the sex talk, and allowing me to date Jason. She also goes into detail about the conversation with my parents the day the Jerichos intervened when Father was beating me.
“How has Sara fared in your home?”
“She’s flourished. She’s more confident and stands up for herself when she feels people are trying to make light of the abuse she endured. She’s been a wonderful addition to our family and she’s an inspiration with how she’s managing everything going on.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Jericho.” He turns around and nods to Edgar.
Edgar pushes himself to his feet and steps to the stand. “Mrs. Jericho, why did you take such a personal interest in a neighborhood girl whom you barely knew after moving in?”
“She was the most polite girl I had ever met, yet there was something about her I couldn’t pinpoint. She was jumpy over little things. We learned from her therapist that it was Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from all the years of abuse. And my daughter adored her. Sara was the first person Arissa made friends with and they’ve been best friends ever since.”
“When Sara and Arissa asked you about sex, why didn’t you direct Sara to talk to her parents?”
“She said she had just tried to talk to Tibby and Tibby refused to talk to her about it. Sara was confused because she was starting to realize she liked a boy at school. I let Tibby know after I talked to the girls.”