Chapter Forty-One

John smiled at Amelia, noticing that she was reading the same book she'd been reading since he'd met her. "You really like that story, huh?" He sat next to her, looking at the worn pages and the pictures printed on them.

She shrugged, turning the page. "I'm too old for the others and this one has a cat in it."

John nodded, remembering the little book store he'd come across on his walk the other day. "You wanna go for a walk?" He asked, having an idea of what she needed for the court day.

She looked up at him, nodding furiously. "Can we go to the park?" She asked.

"Sure, but we gotta get you some stuff to play with before we go to the courthouse." He chuckled, praying that new toys would keep her attention away from him getting grilled on the stand. "It'll be really boring."

She nodded, running to grab her shoes and her favorite coat that was just like John's denim one. "What's court?" She asked, watching as he pulled on his broken-down boots. "Is it scary?"

John chuckled, pulling his sunglasses from his shirt pocket. "Only if you did something wrong." He opened the door, taking her little hand in his wishing that he didn't have the bandages and splints on his hand so that he could hold it better. "They always ask too many questions though."

She looked up at him, wiping her runny nose on her sleeve. "Can't you just tell them to stop?"

John shook his head, forcing his limp to be better as he noticed a black car a few blocks away. "No. Only Uncle Tom can ask them to stop."

"Do you ever make things up so you don't get in trouble?" She asked, jumping over a crack in the concrete. "I do that sometimes when Mommy gets mad at me."

John pulled her to a stop, leaning down to look her in the eye. "Amelia, if there is one place you never lie, it's in court." He raised his dark brows, trying to show that he was serious about what he was saying. "There are three places to never ever lie. Those places are, church, in front of someone you love, and in court." He lifted her chin as she dropped her gaze. "I'm not mad that you lied to your mom, I just want you to know that you can get in really, really big trouble if you don't tell the truth in front of the judge."

She let a tear slide from her face, wrapping her little arms around his neck in a tight hug. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

John forced his panic down at the contact against his throat, knowing that she could never know about him being choked to unconsciousness by his father. "I won't. And if I do, I'll only be gone for a little while."

She looked up at him, fear showing in her eyes. "Where will they take you?" She asked.

John sighed, knowing that he would be in Juvie and not full-blown prison. "They'd take me to a place called Juvie, it's a house for kids that got in big trouble and it's like a giant timeout." He pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "But they're not going to take me away, because I didn't do anything wrong and we're going to tell the truth when we're there. Right?"

She nodded, wiping her nose on the collar of his flannel. "I don't want them to take you away."

He nodded, taking her hand as they began walking again. "I don't either, Squirt."

John pushed the door to the book store open, listening as the bell above the door rang. He smirked, letting go of her hand as she ran to the kids' section and started picking out tons of books and toys. "Only get the ones that your mother will approve of." He chuckled, picking up one of the self-help books about addictions. "And don't break anything."

"She's adorable." Smiled a young woman, watching Amelia with her stack of books and toys. "Is she yours?"

He gave a nervous laugh, shaking his head. "I'm seventeen. She's my little sister."

The woman nodded, watching as Amelia picked up another toy and book. "You must have different fathers then?" She noticed the difference between their skin tones and their hair.

John nodded. "I'm adopted." He smiled, picking up a few coloring books and colored pencils along with some playing cards and a new notebook.

She pointed to the growing pile that Amelia was accumulating. "She's going to have quite the bill over there."

John shrugged, picking up the toys and moving them into a basket with the books. "She's worth it." He looked up as Amelia grabbed a giant dictionary, plucking it from her hands and putting it back on the shelf. "Oh no, we're sticking to books smaller than you and that can fit in a backpack without tipping you over backwards."

Amelia pouted, picking up another stuffed animal. "Can we get this then?"

John looked at the stack, adding up the prices in his head and adding what he knew tax would be from paying attention to what he'd payed for other things in the state. "Okay, but that's all, I'm not the richest person in the universe here."

He lifted the basket up, walking over to the counter to pay. "Please tell me it's less than a thousand dollars." He joked, feeling Amelia tug on his belt loop, nearly pulling his too-big pants down. "What are you doing?" He asked, looking down at the kid. "You're gonna pants me if you're not careful."

She pointed to the black car that had been in their neighborhood when they'd started walking. "Is that those mean people that took us?"

John squinted at the people in the car, paying the cashier the fifty dollars he had in his wallet, before pulling out the two silver dollars and the rest of the change in his pockets. "Ignore them." He stated, taking the huge bag from the woman behind the counter. "Thanks." He smiled, making Amelia hang on to his wallet chain so he could keep an eye on her while they walked.

He kept his body ready to jump in front of Amelia if he needed too, ready to protect the child at all costs even if that meant his life. "Stay close."

She nodded, pressing her shoulder into his hip as they walked. "Why do your bones stick out sometimes?"

John chucked nervously running the fingers of his hand in the sling over his thin boney chest. "I'm just really skinny."

She nodded, seeming to accept this answer. "You used to be fatter." She stated, poking his completely flat stomach. "But your tummies still hard."

He laughed, bumping her with his hip as they walked. "That's because I work out all the time to stay looking nice for Sweets." He still didn't understand why Claire stuck with him, with how scrawny he was he was amazed that anyone would want to be around him. "I want her to think I'm cute."

"You are cute." She smiled, remembering hearing the girls talking about the boys in the middle of the night. "Claire said you're hot, and that she can't wait until you have babies." She tilted her head, looking up at the man at her side. "Where do babies come from?" She asked, puzzled as to why Claire needed John to make a baby when the babies grew in the mommy's tummy. "Does she get the baby after you get married and kiss?"

John's face flushed, knowing that he couldn't talk to her about sex yet. "Ask your mother." He stated, adjusting the bag on his fingers so that it didn't dig in to the skin and pull at his stitched-up hand. "I think that she can tell you better than I can."

She nodded, skipping along beside her knight as he walked her back to the house. "Okay!"

John heaved a sigh of relief, happy that he'd dodged that bullet.