Chapter 12 Gillian #3
“Public place,” Greasy said, clearly delighted with himself. “First Amendment, sweetheart.”
Feeling almost outside of my own body, I stepped closer and reached for his phone, but he lifted it above his head and shoved me away with his free hand. I went down, falling to my knees.
That did it. Alex lost control, lunging toward Greasy and knocking the phone from his hand, then punched him squarely in the face. Greasy, like a cornered bear, came back at him, but Alex was too quick and strong. He tripped Greasy, sending him onto the grass.
Alex held out his hand to help me to my feet, but, before he could, Darren propelled himself toward him, hitting Alex in the jaw. Darren shouted out to Bella, “He never adopted you legally. You can come live with me.”
Bella’s body went rigid. “What?” Her voice cracked on the single word, high and disbelieving. Even from the sideline, I could hear it—thin and shrill, like glass breaking.
“Bella,” Alex said, spinning toward her, his chest heaving. “Don’t listen to him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
But Darren had scented blood. He staggered forward, pointing an accusing finger at Alex. “Ask him yourself. He never made it official. He’s not your father.”
Gasps rippled through the parents in their folding chairs. Delphine clutched my arm again, her nails digging through the fabric. On the field, Annie tugged at Bella’s sleeve, trying to pull her back toward the bench, but Bella seemed rooted to the grass, wide-eyed, frozen.
The crowd had gone completely silent in a collective held breath.
Alex turned fully toward his daughter. His face was flushed, jaw tight, but his eyes shone with something closer to anguish than anger. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Come on. Let’s go home.”
“You don’t have to go with him,” Darren crowed, turning back to his audience with a triumphant flourish. “You’re my daughter.”
“Shut your mouth,” Alex snarled, lunging again.
Two dads from the sidelines leapt up, grabbing Alex’s arms, holding him back before he could land another punch. “Alex, don’t,” one of them said firmly. “Not in front of the kids.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let go of me,” Alex said, twisting from their grasp, and lunging toward Darren once again.
“Alex, please stop,” I said. “Bella’s watching you.”
This seemed to penetrate Alex’s addled mind because he backed away, burying his face in his hands.
“You have no idea what’s coming for you,” I said to Darren, getting close to his face. “You’re going to be very, very sorry you messed with this family. I won’t rest until you’re in jail.”
“Bring it on,” Darren said. He nodded toward Greasy. “Let’s go. We’ve got enough.”
Bella’s knees buckled. Annie caught her around the waist, trying to steady her.
I ran onto the field before anyone could stop me.
Parents called out, some angry, some confused, but I didn’t care.
I reached Bella and Annie, wrapping an arm around Bella’s trembling shoulders.
She stiffened for a second, then sagged into me, her forehead pressing against my collarbone.
“It’s not true,” she whispered. “It can’t be true. ”
I wrapped my hands around her upper arms and looked her in the eyes. “This is all a misunderstanding. Alex is your father. He loves you more than anything in the world. That’s the only truth that matters right now.”
Behind us, Darren shouted, “You’ve been lied to your whole life, Bella. But I’ll tell you the truth. I’m your father, and I’m going to make this right in court.”
The coach’s whistle shrieked again. “That’s enough!” he barked, striding toward Darren. “This is a youth league game, not your circus. Leave now or I’ll call the sheriff myself.”
Darren sneered but backed away.
“Let’s bounce,” Greasy said.
“This isn’t over,” Darren said, before staggering after his friend.
The crowd continued to watch in stunned silence. I caught the coach’s eye and shook my head. “We’re going to take Bella home now.”
“Yeah, okay.” The coach wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Bella, come to practice tomorrow, all right? We’ll start fresh.”
“I’ll think about it,” Bella whispered.
Alex stumbled over and pulled Bella to him. “Listen to me,” he said, his voice ragged. “We couldn’t find him to get him to sign over custody. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to adopt you.”
She stared at him, her lips trembling. “You should have told me. You should have told me the truth.” She jerked away, storming toward the bench where her bag sat.
“Bella—”
But she grabbed her bag, slung it over her shoulder, and bolted past the cluster of stunned parents toward the parking lot. Annie called after her, but she didn’t slow.
Alex appeared to be in shock, his hands hanging uselessly at his sides.
Delphine appeared at my shoulder, pale but steady. “Go after her. Both of you. I’ll get Grace home. Bella needs you.”
I took Alex’s hand, feeling the tremor still running through him. His eyes were locked on the place where Bella had vanished, wild and broken.
“She hates me,” he said. “I’ve lost her.”
“No,” I said, squeezing tight. “She’s hurt. She’s scared. But she doesn’t hate you.”
But in my chest, a knot of fear tightened. Darren was trying to tear apart a family with his lies and manipulation. I was afraid it might have worked.