As Emily disappears inside, the screen door closes with a soft click, the hinge working smoothly. A simple fix, unlike the more complicated repairs happening inside me.
I turn to look out over the yard, the morning sun warming my face. Birds continue their conversations in the trees, oblivious to the shift occurring inside me. The idea that Leif, of all people, would see what happened and choose to act on my behalf without being asked is a foreign concept, almost too big to process.
I run my thumb over the phone in my hand, Detective Merrin’s words echoing in my thoughts.
Someone saw me fall, and instead of walking away or recording another viral moment of humiliation, they offered a hand up.
I’m not sure I know what to do with that yet, but it’s comforting all the same.
Afternoon sun streams through the kitchen windows, warming the tools spread across the counter. I sort through wrenches and screwdrivers, returning each to its proper place in Emily’s toolbox.
My statement to Detective Merrin lingers in my mind. We had needed to wait until Monday morning to go down to the station, and retelling that night’s events left a phantom copper tang on my tongue. But it’s done now, the words given, the truth on record.
My phone rings, vibrating on the granite countertop. Grady’s name flashes on the screen. He had reached out after he heard about the attack, and we’ve kept in contact.
I wipe my hands on a rag before answering and putting him on speaker. “Hey, Grady, what’s up?”
“Are you sitting down?” The question crackles through the connection with restrained excitement.
“I’m standing.” I close the toolbox. “Why?”
“Might want to change that.” I can practicallyhearhis grin through the speaker. “I’ve got news.”
I pull out a kitchen stool, my body tensing in anticipation. “About the guys they arrested?”
“Better.” Papers rustle in the background. “Turns out those idiots are the same ones who posted the first video. When they got picked up, their phones still had the raw footage—the part they cut out. It shows the two other Alphas harassing the Omega before you stepped in, and then bolting the second port security showed up. The DA’s charging the three with aggravated assault, harassment, and obstruction for falsifying evidence. They’re facing jail time and restitution fines.”
He pauses, letting it sink in before adding, “And the best part? The department is releasing a public statement clearing your name. The truth’s finally out there, man. My article about the whole fiasco will be up in an hour.”
I lower myself onto the dining chair, my legs unsteady. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious. It’s over, Jared. That video from the docks, the rumors, all of it.” His voice softens. “You’re clear.”
Heat builds behind my eyes, and I blink, staring up at the ceiling. Vindicated. I know the rumors won’t just vanish, that there will still be people who give me the side eye and whisper, but the majority will go back to their lives and leave me alone.
“You still there?” Grady asks.
“Yeah.” A faint tremble runs through my hands. “I’m processing.”
“Process faster. Kyle wants to take a vacation next month, and they’ll need someone to drive the water taxi.”
The thought sends a nervous flutter through me, but pushing ahead is the only way through. And with my name officially cleared, it finally feels possible.
“Tell my cousin I’ll be there.”
Through the window, I can see Emily on the porch, phone pressed to her ear. Her silver hair catches the sunlight as she paces, one hand gesturing as she talks. From this distance, I can’t hear her words, but I recognize the focused set of her chin and the way she nods along with whatever the caller is saying.
“That’s not all,” Grady adds conspiratorially. “The Wilcox brothers, who harassed the omega on the boat, are being charged with attempted assault and fleeing the scene of a crime.”
A laugh bubbles up, unexpected and freeing. “The Wilcox brothers? The guys who almost got me run out of town are named Wilcox?”
“Yeah. Todd and James Wilcox. Why?”
“Nothing.” I shake my head as I laugh. “It’s a stupid name.”
Even more stupid that we hadn’t known it until now. The policy of checking passenger IDs changed after the incident on the water taxi highlighted a flaw in the system. But it was too late to help my situation. Without a last name, or any urgency on the dock security’s side to find the real culprits when they already had me, the two Alphas who had started everything had gotten off scot-free.
On the porch, Emily finishes her call and slips the phone into her back pocket. She leans against the railing, face tilted toward the afternoon sun, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.