A Thousand Words | ✓

Chapter Eighteen: A Thousand Steps Forward

Kristy scoffed as several of the girls murmured and called out in agreement. "Oh, yeah, sure. All of you play innocent while I fess up an apology."

Dary jumped to my defense, saying, "You're the one who accused Reece of being a Dean!"

"Who's side are you on?" Kristy's mouth dropped, though a smile was tugging at her lips.

"I'm on Reece's side." Darcy harumphed and buried her head on my shoulder again. "You made him mad at us!"

"Well, I wouldn't say that . . . maybe more insulted than mad." I ruffled Darcy's hair as I put her down on the floor. "By the way, that whole bag Jessica is holding is full of candy. Pretty sure I saw some packets of your favorite candy in there somewhere," I said, winking.

Candy was the trigger word here, and soon the girls were all but running to Jessica with excitement pulsing full force through their little bodies. Jessica, always the doting sister figure, allowed them one piece each and promised more after dinner.

"Oh, hello, Reece. Glad to see they haven't mobbed you," came Sylvia's friendly voice as she appeared from behind me.

"I think they'll mob Jessica for that candy, though," I muttered as the kids explored the bag frantically for their favorite candy. At Sylvia's chuckle, I turned to her in curiosity. "You wouldn't have anything to do with the girls' apology, do you?" I asked her.

"I may have told the girls to keep an open mind about you before they made any harsh judgements. I also may have had a little reassurance talk with Kristy and Jessica. I know you're a better person than Kristy may think." Sylvia squeezed my shoulder and gave me a genuine smile as she said, "And Jessica will open up eventually, just give her some time."

I fisted my hands in my pockets. "If I were to be honest with you, Sylvia, I wouldn't call myself a good guy. I'm not exactly a smart, dedicated student, and I've gotten to a lot of trouble in the past; there's no promises that that'll change anytime soon."

"You're a lot smarter than you think, Reece, if you were to just apply yourself. As for dedicated, I would hope that all your studying with Jessica isn't just to spend time with her. But for the fighting . . ." Sylvia hesitated. "I best not be hearing anything about murder or anything like that."

I laughed. Sure, I beat up Rory and Ed pretty bad, but murder is a line I would never dare to cross. I'd rather not spend time in jail for years and leave loved ones hurt and disappointed because of it. Not like my dad. I wouldn't do that to Rebecca and Mark and Chris. Or Kyle, Charlotte, and Jessica.

"Don't worry, it's not like that," I reassured her. "And another thing," I began, scratching the back of my neck, "I haven't really told my guardians about my volunteering here. I don't know if Jessica told you about my parents, or . . ."

Sylvia's face softened."Oh, yes. Jessica mentioned it once. A friend of your mother is looking after you now, is that correct?"

"Yeah, she, Mark and Chris, her husband and son, have been looking after me since my dad landed himself in jail. They don't really know about Jessica's, uh, background," I answered.