Sister Mother

Chapter 21

Addie

"I call Kevin McKenna, cousin of the defendant and Harvard Medical student to the stands." said Mr. Grant.

Kevin rose from his seat behind me and walked over to the witness stand. He wore an old walnut colored suit. It fit him like a glove, unlike the adult-sized cardigan that I bought myself the previous day. Mr. Grant said my look during the first hearing was too childlike and that I had to do a better job impressing the judge. I took a risk and shopped in the women's section. My cardigan was oversized and overpriced. The tags were irritatingly tucked behind my neck because I was so returning it.

Kevin was sworn in and Mr. Grant began asking him questions.

"Mr. McKenna, what was your initial reaction when you learned that your eldest cousin was left in charge of your two younger cousins?"

I winced remembering that terrible night when I told given the big news. He responded by tripping over his feet and staring at me with an open mouth for almost four minutes.

"I was surprised," Kevin reflected. "It had been a terrible two months for us all. Each of us, my father, cousins and I were all dealing with things differently. My aunt and uncle already had very poor prognoses. I was not expecting Addie to be Gabe and Beatrice's guardian any more than Addie was."

"How did the defendant react to the news?"

I nearly choked on my tongue. That was not a fun night, nor was I proud of it. All I remembered was telling Kevin the news and him taking me out to blow off some steam. I had my first tequila shot, and then my second and third. All three were deposited in Kevin's backseat. In between me crying and screaming at how cruel and unfair the world was, Kevin told me that I had to grow up, suck it up and be a mom 'cause that's probably the last thing Mom and Dad asked me to do.

That was the first and last night I ever got drunk.

"Addie took the news as well as anyone in her position would," Kevin answered. "One minute she was in her twenties, graduating from college and planning to go to medical school. The next minute her parents were on life support, and she was being asked to take on more responsibility than she ever has, at a time where it was hard to get out of bed in the morning."

I looked gratefully at Kevin. His bluntness might save Beatrice.

"Can you describe some of the changes that she made in her life in order to care for her family?" Mr. Grant asked.

"She dropped out of medical school." Kevin met my eyes from across the courtroom. "Which means I get an extra year to become a doctor before she's even close, not that I needed it."

I slammed my elbows against the table, gritting my teeth as I glared at my dickhead cousin.

"Order in the courtroom," Judge Forehead declared.

I will grow a dick just so that you can suck on it, Your Honor!

"Mr. McKenna," said Mr. Grant as Kevin tossed his head back enough to make some of his blonde curls fall behind his hollow skull. "Continue please."

"In all fairness, dropping out of medical school needs to be talked about more. Addie's been itching to go for almost fourteen years. She dropped out the same day she and my dad found out about the custody papers. She doesn't get enough credit for that."

"He's right," Uncle Jason whispered from behind me.

I shrugged, still not over Kevin's previous comment.

"She also postponed a major hip surgery—"

And here we go. The Hell-Bringers are going to have a field day with that.