Free 15 Minutes: A YA Time Travel Thriller (Rewind Series) by Jill Cooper Page B

could buy, but it seems he doesn't. My blood turns to ice as I realize
his situation is all my fault.
    Mr.
Grayson escorts me into a room where I am asked to fill out and sign several
forms. After a while, I get a visitor pass and attach it to my sweater. The
lawyer and the guards exchange head nods, and Grayson signs his name. He rests
his hand gently on my shoulder.
    “You
sure you’re ready for this? If you’re having second thoughts …”
    I
shake my head. “I’m ready.” I take a deep breath to steady myself. The door in
front of me buzzes, and it’s opened by a police officer with a neck thicker
than my waist. Apprehensive, I will my legs into the small room. Once I do, the
door latches behind me.
    There
are three chairs to choose from in front of a glass wall separating me from the
prisoners. I take the third seat as instructed and wait for Dad to come in. My
hands shake so bad that even squeezing them doesn’t quell them. The echo of a
door snapping open and the grating of metal legs against the concrete floor
draws my attention. I look up into the face of my father, weathered and older
than the one I remember. His wavy brown hair is peppered with grey, and his
face is covered by a thick beard, which I don’t like. It’s not my dad’s face.
This is not the man I know and love.
    “Sugar
bear?” he whispers, and the disbelief in his eyes cracks my soul. He might not
look the same, he might be wafer thin, but his voice brings all my emotions
rushing to the surface.
    “Dad,”
I choke out, putting my hand to the glass.
    He
places his fingers against mine, and I know he wants to touch me. I want to
touch and hug him too. I’m so sorry for the mess I caused.
    “I
can’t believe it. Fred sent me the message.” He shakes his head, his lips push
together to keep the tears from falling. My dad never let me see him cry, but
this man is different—broken of spirit. “I didn’t think you’d come. You said to
stop sending you cards. That I was no longer your father—”
    The
pain forces my eyes shut. “I said that.” My voice is so hushed I hope he can
hear me. “I kept the last birthday card you sent me in my school locker.”
    His
smile lights up his face as if I had given him the top prize. “Oh Lara, I’m
glad. So glad.” It seems he’s seeing me for the first time, his eyes studying
all aspects of me. “You’re beautiful. You look like your mom.” He chews on a
finger. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what it’s like to have a grown
daughter. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s
not your fault. I just wanted to see you.” He nods in a slow, controlled way.
    I
feel my presence is making him anxious, that he wants me to go away again. Why
does everything have to be so hard? Can’t it go back to how it used to be?
    “I’m
not allowed to ask about your mom, but I hope she’s well. You guys still happy
with what’s his name?”
    My
mind flashes to Jax’s smiling face while we sit
across from each other over a Monopoly board. I nod to Dad, wiping goo from my
nose. “Sure. Never better, I guess. I have a younger sister, a brother.”
    Dad
nods. “I heard about that a few years ago. Your Mom told me.”
    Bells
go off in my head. “Mom comes to see you?”
    Dad
runs a hand through his hair. “No, nothing like that. Sometimes she would send
a letter through her attorney. Nothing personal, and nothing from her. Just
news.”
    He
means threats. They’ve threatened him to stop trying to get in touch with us.
We’ve moved on. There is nothing left for him with his old family.
    “So,
how’s school?” Dad asks with a laugh.
    I
try to smile. “Pretty good. I get good grades, have friends. Home life is okay.
Mom works a lot.” I twist my lip, chewing the inside of my cheek. I know the questions
I need to ask, but I don’t want to blurt them out.
    He
avoids my references to home life. “You have a boyfriend?”
    “Did.
I dumped him yesterday. He was a creep. After only one thing, like