Trigger's Light - Carol Dawn Page 0,30
was a drunk. I was an angry drunk. I was also trying to change things before she died. I was taking AA meetings every week and anger management. I brought paperwork from both of those.”
He hands the paperwork to an officer who takes it to the judge.
I’m shocked. I never thought he would actually admit to abusing my sister. I should feel relieved at the admission. But I’m not.
I’m angry. I’m so angry that it’s taking everything in me not to run to him and punch every part of his body until he’s black and blue all over.
“Interesting turn of events,” the judge says. “Since we’re being truthful, I’ll ask you this. Do you abuse your son?”
“No, your honor. I haven’t had a single drink since Ade died. I have a friend who helps me out with Brendon when I need a little break. But I’ve never harmed him in any way.”
“What do you want, Mr. Michaels?” she asks.
“Well, I want to do better for my son,” Marco says. “I want him to grow up knowing who his mother was. But I don’t ever want him to see the side of me that I was before.”
“What about Miss. Blankenship? She’s fighting for custody of Brendon. What say you about that?”
“Honestly, she’s been trying to get ahold me to see him,” Marco says. “But I just wasn’t ready for anyone to see me struggle. I wanted her to think that Brendon was being taken care of to the best of my abilities. And he is. But I’m finding it really difficult to stay clean on nights when Brendon just won’t sleep. The stress is making it extremely hard to stay away from the bottle.”
The judge doesn’t say anything for a long while.
Finally, she speaks.
“Before I make my final decision, I have one more question, Mr. Michaels. Do you want custody of Brendon?”
I look over at Marco only to see him looking back at me. He looks different. Not physically. Well, he looks tired, but it’s something different. Something deeper. He gives me a small smile before turning back to the judge.
“I want to see my son grow up,” he says. “I want him to know who his mother was. I want a second chance at being a decent man to someone I love. Because I did love her, your honor. On my soul, I did. I just made stupid choices,” he pauses. “To answer your question, I want to be part of my son’s life, but at this stage in my life, I don’t think I’m the right person to be taking care of him.”
Wow!
“Okay,” the judge says before looking at me. “Miss. Blankenship, that was an unexpected turn of events, huh?”
“You’re telling me, your honor.”
“Alright, here’s what’s going to happen. Miss. Blankenship, I’m going to award you temporary custody of Brendon for the next year. You will allow Mr. Michaels supervised visits every other weekend and on holidays. Mr. Michaels.”
“Yes, your honor?”
“In order for you to have those supervised visits, I expect you to continue those AA meetings, plus weekly drug tests. In one year, we’ll revisit this hearing for permanent full custody of Brendon. You are to bring the child to Miss. Blankenship first thing tomorrow morning. That’ll be all. Thank you, and have a nice day.”
The judge slams her gavel, stands and walks away.
Oh my god. Did that just happen?
I feel Mason at my back as Marco approaches me.
“I’ve thought about this a lot this past week,” Marco tells me. “I’m just not in the right place to take care of him.”
“That’s understandable,” I say.
“I can have him at your place around nine tomorrow morning. Will that be ok?”
I nod my head. I can’t believe this is happening.
“What happened to your face?” he asks.
“I was mugged,” I say. “I parked too far away from my work building, and someone attacked me one night as I was heading to my car.”
“Are you okay?” he asks, sounding concerned.
“Yea.”
“I’m Marco,” he says, holding his hand out and looking behind me.
“Oh, this is M…”
“Trigger,” Mason interrupts. “Thea’s man.”
“So, you’ll be taking care of my son, too?” Marco asks.
“Sure will,” Mason says without hesitation.
Marco looks Mason up and down.
“You drink, Trigger? Do drugs?”
“I have the occasional drink,” he admits. “But, not usually enough to get drunk.”
“Plus, when he does get drunk, he just gets friendly. Which is creepy as fuck coming from him,” Ink says.
I can’t help but giggle.
“That’s Ink,” I tell Marco.
“I think what you’re doing is a hard fucking thing,” Bear