"Don't ever confuse being hurt with being weak."
Cody broke.
For six weeks, he had controlled everything.
The fear.
The pain.
The humiliation.
The anger.
Now it came out all at once.
He sobbed against Jackson's chest.
Not quietly.
Not discreetly.
Like a kid who had finally reached a place where he did not have to pretend.
Jackson held him.
He did not look embarrassed.
He did not tell Cody to toughen up.
He simply stood in the middle of Oak Creek High's courtyard with one arm around his little brother while hundreds of people watched.
Brian turned away slightly to give them the illusion of privacy.
Several students lowered their phones.
The moment no longer felt like entertainment.
Five minutes later, a patrol car entered the parking lot.
Cody stiffened immediately.
Jackson noticed.
"Easy."
"You called them?"
"No."
Wallace probably had.
Two officers exited.
One was Oak Creek's school resource officer, Daniel Reyes.
The other was Patrol Sergeant Allison Grant.
Jackson watched them approach.
Reyes recognized him.
"Brick."
"Reyes."
Brian looked between them.
"You know each other?"
Reyes gave a tired smile.
"Professionally."
Jackson said, "He arrested me once."
"Twice."
"Second one didn't stick."
"Because you ran."
"I had somewhere to be."
Despite everything, Cody laughed weakly.
Reyes heard it.
His expression softened.
Then he saw the way Cody was standing.
"What happened?"
Brian explained.
Reyes stopped smiling.
Sergeant Grant asked Cody if he felt safe making a statement.
Cody looked at Jackson.
Jackson did not answer for him.
"Your call."
Cody hesitated.
"If I do, will they know everything I say?"
Grant answered honestly.
"They'll eventually know the allegations against them. I can't promise they won't."
Cody looked afraid.
"But we can document the injuries today," she continued. "We can preserve evidence. We can speak to witnesses. If there is camera footage, we can request it before it's overwritten."
Jackson looked at Cody.
"This is how you win without throwing punches."
Cody studied his brother.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
Grant smiled gently.
"Okay."
She called for a juvenile-services investigator.
Reyes went inside to ensure Trent and Weston remained separated before statements were taken.
Wallace objected.
Reyes reminded him that once an alleged felony assault had been reported, the matter no longer belonged solely to the school.
Thirty minutes later, William Harris arrived.
He did not come in a limousine.
He drove himself.
The silver Mercedes stopped crooked across two visitor spaces.
Bill Harris climbed out without closing the driver's door.
He was fifty-one.
Tall.
Gray at the temples.
Expensive suit with the tie already loosened.
He walked directly toward Jackson.
Brian wondered whether another confrontation was coming.
Bill stopped six feet away.
His eyes moved to Cody.
The bruised teenager was sitting on a bench while Sergeant Grant finished taking photographs of the visible injuries.
Bill's expression changed.
For the first time, everything he had heard became physical.
Real.
He looked at Jackson.
"That's your brother?"
"Yeah."
Bill approached Cody carefully.
Jackson watched but did not stop him.
Bill crouched several feet away.
"Cody."
The boy looked at him.
"I'm Trent's father."
Cody said nothing.
Bill struggled for words.
"I didn't know."
Cody's answer was quiet.
"Okay."
Bill swallowed.
"That doesn't make it better."
"No."
"I am sorry."
Cody looked toward the school.