Page 95 of My Turn

“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded. His brows were drawn so tightly that they’d merged into one long caterpillar.

“I need to see Alicia.”

“The fuck you do. Get out of here.”

I shoved on his chest with one hand, making him stumble backward. Stepping inside, I glanced around. There were some broken picture frames on the floor and a half-empty bottle of vodka on the coffee table.

“That’s assault,” he bellowed.

Rolling my eyes, I continued further into the house. “Who’s gonna believe the man who’s drunk at home with a scared nine-year-old?”

“She’s not afraid of me. You don’t know what you’re talking about. Get out of my house before I call the cops.”

I scoffed. “Do it. That’s one less call I have to make.”

“You have no right to be here. When my lawyer finds out-”

“Alicia,” I called. “Where you at, kid?”

I continued down the hall, then stopped at her closed door. Mike’s footsteps thundered behind me. I turned around and grabbed both of his biceps, throwing him against the wall.

“Touch me or her and I will fucking bury you. Don’t make this harder on yourself.”

When I released him, he looked like he wanted to rip my throat out with his teeth, but he didn’t move. Satisfied, I slowly opened Alicia’s door. There was a sharp intake of breath and the covers on the bed moved, concealing her further.

“Alicia, it’s me. You might not recognize me right now, but do you remember my voice?”

She moved the blanket and poked her head out. Her eyes widened, fear taking over her expression.

“Dad?”

Shit. I didn’t think about that part.

“No,” I said softly, coming closer to the bed. When she flinched back, I dropped into a crouch a few feet away to make myself smaller. “I’m Jayce. You know what twins are, right?”

She nodded. “You have the same face.”

“I told you I’m not a stranger. You trusted me before. Can you trust me now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Listen to me, Alicia. Out of everybody in the world, I knew your dad the best. I know how much he’d be willing to do to make sure you’re safe.”

“He wasn’t here. He didn’t want me.”

My shoulders slumped. “He wasn’t here, but he did want you. Sometimes, being afraid makes us do stupid things and those things we do out of fear don’t always reflect who we are. Your dad messed up and I think he was afraid to own up to that. Maybe he was afraid to be your dad too. Do you get what I’m saying?”

“I think so.”

“I know my parents told you why we’ve never met you. None of us can make up for lost time, but believe me when I say that it doesn’t matter whether I’ve known you for years or days. You’re my family and I protect my family. I’ll protect you.”

There were tears in her eyes. I didn’t know if it was from her fear or my words. It didn’t matter. All I knew was that it awoke something familiar in me, the same feeling that made me want to protect all of the people I cared about, and Alicia just made it to the top of that list.

She flung the blanket off and rushed toward me. When she wrapped her arms around my neck, I straightened, holding her as I walked toward the door.

“What are you doing?” Mike roared.

“Do you want to go with me, Alicia?”

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