52. Macie

Chapter fifty-two

Macie

L ifetimes passed as I waited for my parents. I couldn't focus on the TV, my phone, or the constant texts from Lev, Demarius, and Melanie, all wondering if Relic was okay. I paced the house, empty, worried, hopeless. Could Dad do it? Could he somehow save Relic from a life he didn't want? An even better question: would Relic accept the help?

The garage door in the kitchen opened, I raced up the basement stairs, and the first thing I heard was a child's voice talking nonstop. I was scared to take hope at that sweet, sweet sound. I swung into the kitchen and Camila smiled when she saw me. She had a cookie in her mouth, chocolate staining her lips, and she talked as she chewed. "Your mom said I could have one. She said we can bake all the cookies. I'm not sure if she knows how many cookies that is. I can imagine big."

"My mom can imagine big, too." I scanned the kitchen, my heart hammering as Mom and Dad walked in. No Relic though. Where was Relic?

As I was about to ask, he walked through the garage door. Adrenaline coursed through me, and I raced across the room. He dropped the backpack he had in his hand, held his arms out to me, and I jumped into his embrace. I buried my head into the crook of his neck and had to breathe through the sob that caught in my throat. Relic held me close, hugging me so tight I could barely inhale, but I didn't care. He was here, he was safe, and he was with me.

"I love you," I whispered to him.

"I love you, too," he whispered back, and we hugged each other—a silent promise that we never intended to let go again.

***

Dad grilled steaks for dinner, and it was fun to watch Camila try a piece. Turned out she'd never had steak before, and after an appropriate amount of ketchup, she declared she was a fan. Relic had been quiet through dinner, but no one pressed him to talk, not even my dad who surprisingly hadn't even sent him a glare.

After dinner, Relic and I sat on the back patio porch swing, watching as Oliver and Seth played basketball with Camila. Relic filled me in on what happened after he realized the tattoo belonged to Marsh. It was a long story, devastating, and soul-wrenching.

My God, this had been a terrible two days. "Brayden gave Marsh up," I said quietly a few minutes after he finished. "Abby said he was arrested this morning."

Relic was quiet and my insides felt like a garbage dump. "I'm sorry about Marsh."

"Don't be. He betrayed me. A real brother would never do that."

Still, I knew it had to hurt, and I wished I could make him better. "What about Lyra? Doesn't she have custody of you and Camila? Doesn't she have a say in any of this?"

"Camila and I could be missing for two weeks straight, and she wouldn't notice."

I stayed silent as that wasn't exactly an answer.

"I texted her," Relic said with defeat. "Told her that another family was willing to take me and Camila in, but I needed her to sign off on her rights. She told me to fuck off. Zuri then introduced me to Camila's social worker. We had a long conversation. No food and no power has a way of making CPS take notice. As of three hours ago, the two of us officially became wards of the state. Isaiah and Rachel were assigned emergency placement." He rubbed his hands over his face, and his shoulders fell as if he was exhausted. "Lyra loves us, but she never wanted to be a mom to us. I get that. I hated it and tried to make up for it, but I understood her not wanting to be responsible."

The hurt reverberating out of him made my heart stutter. I took his hand, and he linked his fingers with mine. I squeezed his hand. He squeezed back.

"Thank you, Macie," he said.

Confused, I met his eyes. "For what?"

"For not giving up on me. Even when I walked from you. Twice."

"Just returning the favor. You never gave up on me."

He rubbed his thumb over my skin, and I felt his love for me with that caress.

"Did you know Abby was a drug dealer for Ricky?" Relic asked.

I raised an eyebrow, as that had me curious as to what exact conversations Relic had with Dad, Isaiah, and Abby. "I know that, at one time in her life, she sold drugs, but that's not who she is now. I have no idea who Ricky is."

"Ricky was Eric's biggest competition until Eric had him killed. It happened right after Camila was born."

There was hurt in his voice, pain. I had no idea what to say so I remained silent.

"Abby's dad is Mozart. He's a legend on the street. A bogyman of sorts."

"Only thing I know about Abby's dad is that he's in prison and will be until he dies."

Relic studied me. "You really don't know Ricky or Mozart, do you?"

I shook my head. "Is that a problem?"

"No," he said with relief. "It's a good thing."

"How's that?"

"Your dad, Isaiah, and Abby know all those people and you don't."

"Okay?" I said slowly because I wasn't grasping the connection.

Hope shone in his blue eyes. "That means there's a great chance Camila will never know any of that, either. She can grow up safe, fed, and loved, and the same dangers that had me by the throat will never touch her."

"It's going to be better now," I said to him. "For both of us."

He rested his forehead to mine. "You're right, Macie. I do believe you are right."

***

Lev came over and walked Relic and Camila to Isaiah and Rachel's. He spent a few minutes telling us how worked sucked today without us, told us a few stories that made us giggle, and didn't even ask me or Relic a single question about what happened, for which I was extremely grateful. Lev then asked if they were ready to go, Relic agreed, and Camila skipped ahead of them in the field as Lev continued to tell Relic work stories.

Normal. All three of us were grasping at straws for it, and I was happy I had these wonderful people to help drag me through.

As I walked to the back door to my house, music from the garage caught my attention. I walked in and found Dad at his workbench, poring over some of his architect drawings.

"Hey, Dad," I said.

He gave me a genuine smile. "Hey, Mace. I thought you'd head over to Isaiah's with Relic and Camila."

"Lev has this handled. I think it makes him feel better about his own situation, and I have a feeling Relic wants to focus on Camila tonight."

"You doing okay?" he asked.

"I might have nightmares for the rest of my life. Or at least for the next few nights." I wasn't joking. "I may stay up and watch movies all night."

"Want me to stay up with you?"

"Yes," I answered honestly. "I don't want to be alone."

"Then you won't be."

I cocked a hip against his bench. "Thank you for helping Relic."

Dad flipped through the pages of his plans. "I didn't do much. Isaiah and Demarius' parents did most of the talking."

"But I asked you to help, and you did. You put it all into motion. I have a feeling none of it was easy."

Dad put a few tools away into drawers. "Getting involved is never easy, Macie. It's one of the hardest things anyone can do. Getting involved can mean leaving behind what makes you comfortable, and that can change everything. Easy is staying in your lane and doing nothing at all. Enough people did that to me when I was younger, and it nearly ruined my life."

"How many foster families did you have?" I asked.

Dad's eyebrows raised like the question surprised him. "Five."

Never had Dad answered so directly about his life in foster care, but never had I asked such a direct question. Then again, had I ever really asked anything much about his life when he was younger? To me, Dad was this giant who scared the monsters under my bed away, but now I realized…my father was human. He made mistakes, he hurt, he was once young, and I wanted to know more. "Was it scary?"

"Yeah. Especially walking into the home for the first time. Each time was terrifying. I never got used to it. But I also had a lot of anger and hurt. I lost both of my parents and my brothers all in one night, and it seemed like no one cared."

"I care." Even though my caring now made no difference regarding what happened to him in the past.

Dad stood, gave me a one-armed hug, and kissed the side of my head. "So did your mom. She cared when it felt like no one else did. You have her heart, Mace. Never change that."

"What do I inherit from you?"

He gave me a sly grin. "Don't you know? You and me, we're always right."

I laughed and Dad seemed to enjoy the sound.

"I want to know more," I admitted. "About what it was like for you in foster care. I also want to know more about your parents."

"The foster care—I'll work on telling you more, but it's not a place I like to visit. As for my parents, I have some pictures of them I found a few years ago. Do you want to see them?"

"I'd love that."