Page 46 of It's Going to Be a Chrome Christmas
Once she was alone again, Trixie picked up her phone. She called the prison to check on AJ. He was still sedated and wasn’t coherent enough to speak on the phone, so she spoke with his doctor. She asked about having him transferred to a real hospital but was informed his injuries were not “life threatening enough” to warrant that. Trixie was not happy with that answer. Did they want him at death’s door before they were willing to transfer him? She asked the doctor to have AJ call her as soon as he was awake enough to do so.
Next, she called Lee. As expected, she got his voicemail. She left a recording with what she knew of AJ’s condition. She didn’t expect him to call her back. Lee never did in regard to AJ. Wherever he was and whatever he was doing always seemed to be more important to Lee than their incarcerated brother.
Addy picked up on the second ring. Trixie had honestly been hoping she wouldn’t. It was difficult to talk to AJ’s ex without feeling a mixture of pity, hatred, and guilt. Addy was clearly upset and asked to be kept apprised of AJ’s condition. Trixie told her she would text her. It was cowardly, but easierthan calling Addy back. Trixie didn’t know how to talk to Addy anymore. Their once close friendship had been destroyed the day AJ was arrested. The only reason Trixie had even called Addy was because, if their positions were reversed, Trixie knew Addy would have called her.
Finally, she called the Wynns. She didn’t know if either or both would be home this time of day, but she had to at least say she tried. Peggy picked up. Trixie told Peggy everything, from the doctor’s phone call to her reaction and how Cayden had cared for her all the way through to the call she’d just had with Addy. Peggy was understanding and kind, though she scolded Trixie for not being nicer to Addy. Peggy had always had a soft spot for Addy, long before AJ’s arrest.
Trixie turned down Peggy’s offer to come for a visit. As upset as she was, Trixie didn’t think she could handle the maternal attention.
Trixie then texted Jeff to come up to her apartment, with the promise that she wasn’t contagious. When Jeff arrived, she explained that she wasn’t sick, and Cayden had lied to protect her from having to explain the situation to her staff. Jeff, who’d been around for as much of AJ’s childhood as he had Trixie’s, found the news very disturbing. He too requested to be kept informed of AJ’s progress.
A little after five, Cayden came back up to her apartment. He’d ordered dinner for her from an Italian mom-and-pop diner down the street that Jeff had gone out to pick up. He asked her to at least eat half. She promised him she would try.
Watching him leave, even with the promise that he’d call her later that night, she felt an uncomfortable pressure in her chest. She decided to take a bath to see if she could soothe it. When that didn’t work, Trixie walked down to her personal restoration projects. She hadn’t spent much time with her babies sinceCayden had come into her life. Unfortunately, even these exotics couldn’t cure what ailed her.
Though it was after dark, Trixie grabbed her car keys and left the shop.
Cayden was relieved to find Mrs. Wynn alone in the kitchen. Not wanting to startle her, he gave her a small greeting as he approached the counter and started to chop the veggies on the cutting board. He’d been trying to help her out more in the kitchen, wanting to keep his take-out bills down when he no longer lived under her roof.
“Will you tell me about AJ?”
Mrs. Wynn stopped kneading the bread dough under her hands. “What has Trixie told you about him?”
“Not much,” he said honestly. “I don’t think she will. She says it’ll bring up bad memories for me.”
Mrs. Wynn scowled at that. “More like for her.”
Cayden stopped chopping. “What do you mean?”
“AJ is Trixie’s youngest older brother. They are four years apart, so she was closer to him than she was to Marco or Lee. Lee was deployed for most of Trix’s childhood and Marco… Well, not to speak ill of the dead, but let’s say Marco had other priorities than his baby sister.” Mrs. Wynn shook her head, “Wasn’t right, what happened to AJ.” She made a gesture out of the kitchen doorway. “I take in a lot of boys here. I try to help them. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I resigned myself years ago that I cannot be responsible for their mistakes. But AJ?” She sighed. “I don’t think that boy ever learned that lesson.”
Veggies forgotten, Cayden asked, “What happened?”
“Modern day Romeo and Juliet. Poor Latino boy falls in love with the rich white businessman’s daughter.” Mrs. Wynn turned her attention back to the dough. “Addy Wilson’s her name. They were star-crossed lovers from day one. No matter what her parents did to keep them separated, they always found a way to be together. AJ never gave up on her. After they graduated high school—mind you, it was different schools because her parents transferred her out when their relationship was discovered—she was sent to college across the country. AJ followed her. Her parents even got a restraining order against him. It was hopeless.”
Mrs. Wynn let out a long sigh. “It will be eight years this Christmas. They were going to leave, run away together. AJ had saved up every penny he had and bought her a ring. She was going to drop out of college, leave everything behind just to be with him. I guess she wanted one last Christmas with her parents. Who could blame the girl? Parents are supposed to be supportive and kind. But her parents were… Well, they were strict to say the least. AJ was not of their social class, race, or standards. They saw him as a lowlife Latino punk who was going nowhere with his life and would drag their high-class daughter down with him.
“Anyway, it was Christmas Day. Addy left her parents’ house to meet up with AJ. I don’t recall now what excuse she said she gave them to get away that night. Regardless, her father followed her and found them together. Her father, he was drunk. Really, really drunk. He attacked Addy, started punching and strangling her. Of course, AJ came to her defense. They scuffled and her father hit his head.” She winced. “He died on the way to the hospital.”
Bile rose in his throat. “Why wasn’t it ruled self-defense?”
“Because no one believed the Latino boy who already had a restraining order against the man’s daughter. Because no one,not even AJ, could deny he was in violation of the restraining order. Witnesses came forward saying they heard AJ threatening her father’s life. Also, Addy was too hurt to come to his defense right away. No matter how many times AJ and Addy claimed that she was there of her own freewill, the jury still believed he’d kidnapped her, and her father had come to her defense. Made him out to be a local hero.
“Mrs. Wilson pulled in every favor she could to have AJ locked up on every charge she could get away with, and then she had the key thrown away. She tried for the death penalty too, but thankfully that failed. Every time Addy tried to appeal his case, Mrs. Wilson would do something to shut it down. She did a lot press conferences, gained so much public sympathy… There was even a march to demand justice for the brutal death of her beloved husband.”
She hung her head as she said, “I’m ashamed to say that after fighting so hard for him, I stopped. My heart couldn’t take it anymore. Bad circumstances and rotten luck landed that boy where he is. No amount of love is going to break those bars keeping him inside. Addy and Trixie, well, they view his situation differently. Addy blames herself, her upbringing, and her parents. She even put herself through law school so she could try to find a way to legally get him out. But Trixie? She blames herself. She knew of their plans. She knew they were planning on eloping and she didn’t try to stop them. She wassixteenat the time. She only saw their situation through a clouded teenager’s lovesick eyes. Trixie feels she should have done something to try to stop them.”
Cayden closed his eyes, hanging his head as he crossed his arms over his chest. Of course, Trixie blamed herself. “So he’s doing life for a crime he didn’t commit?”
“Oh, he committed it. There’s no doubt that he killed Mr. Wilson, but it was self-defense. That man was trying to kill hisown daughter!” Mrs. Wynn wiped her hands on her apron. “I don’t think Zyn or Bobby got over what happened to AJ. In my opinion, Zyn gave up his fight with cancer too soon. I think the man was just too heartbroken to go on.” She shook her head. “Rotten situation all around, but it was the first domino in a series of tragic events in Trixie’s life. First her brother is arrested and sentenced to life in prison, then her father is diagnosed with lung cancer and dies, thenshefinds her grandfather dead in his sleep, and then her other brother is murdered in cold blood for testifying against a gangbanger.” Mrs. Wynn scoffed, “Just rotten luck, I suppose.”
A lot of rotten luck. If what Mrs. Wynn believed was true, AJ should have never been convicted. The restraining order certainly complicated the situation, but the fatherhadbeen trying to kill his daughter.
“What happened to Addy?”
“Moved out of state, I think. Works at a law firm. I don’t know the entire story, mind, but I do know that AJ forbade her from coming back to visit him and told her to move on with her life.” She gave a half-heart shrug. “Like I said, modern-day Romeo and Juliet.”
Cayden completely agreed. “Does Trixie visit him?”
