Chapter 7 — Four Items on the Table

The next evening he showed up at my apartment with Mom. I’d already arranged for Kobe to spend the evening with my friend Rachel; I wouldn’t let him witness another confrontation.

In my dining room, four things waited on the table. My laptop, showing the footage. The academy payment records. The tuition history. And Kobe’s bent paper crown.

Mom noticed it right away. “What is that?”

“Kobe’s.” She stepped closer. The shoe print still cut across the glitter. “You kept it?”

“The park kept it for me.”

Gage ignored the crown. “I need you to retract the complaint.”