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“I know. Thank God, Remi is in Tennessee.” I voiced my thoughts out loud.
After I hung up the phone, my first instinct was to place another call, this time to Remi. She was the first and last person I wanted to talk to when something was bothering me. And, I wanted to warn her, even if the sperm donor didn’t know where she was, I wanted her to be safe.
I pushed the empty food container to the side and sat back on the couch to finish off my beer. I hesitated because it had been so long, and what if she was with Alan. My stomach tightened, as I took out my phone and brought her name up from my “favorites” list, still unsure if I wanted to Facetime or call. She was first on the list.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I clicked the video icon and waited for the call to connect. I glanced at the clock. It was 8 PM my time, so for Remi it would be 9. I knew if she was with Alan she wouldn’t pick up. I groaned and pulled at the front of my white T-shirt. My chest felt tight, and it wasn’t because my bio pop had made a random appearance, but it was a good excuse to finally call her.
“Hey,” she said as her face appeared on my screen. She looked tired and her hair was falling out of a high ponytail. “Long time, no talk.” Her voice was a bit stilted, and I could sense she was uncomfortable.
“Yeah. I’ve been thinking about calling but after the way we left it, I wasn’t sure you’d want to hear from me,” I admitted. It probably wasn’t the best way to start this conversation but for the first time in my life I felt nervous to call her.
“For a while, I didn’t. It made it easier to…” She stopped. She was sheepish.
“Yeah.” I took in her face, still so beautiful, even in her tiredness. My eyes drank in the image on my phone. “How have you been?”
“I’m okay, Dylan. How are you?”
I nodded slightly and swallowed. “I’m okay, too. I hear you’re back with Alan.” I could have kicked myself for blurting it out, but damn it, I wanted to hear it from her own mouth.
“Leave it to my family to keep my secrets.” She pushed some of the hair that had fallen free of the elastic band behind her ear.
“We didn’t have any secrets, Remi.” My tone was solemn. Now that I had her on the phone, it was hard to keep things impersonal.
“That was then. I don’t expect you to tell me everything, anymore.” Her voice was getting thick and the last thing I wanted to do was make her sad.
“I wanted to tell you this, though. The sperm donor showed up at my door tonight.”
Remi gasped in surprise, her demeanor changing instantly. “What? I thought he was in jail forever!”
I nodded. “Me, too, but I ended up staring at the little fucker through the peep hole in my apartment.”
“You didn’t let him in, did you?”
“What?” I asked incredulously. “Hell, no, but he got into my building somehow.”
“That’s scary, Dylan! Why don’t you go stay with my dad?”
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open in shock. “Really? That’s what my dad said, too. What is with everyone?”
Remi looked worried. I could tell she was sitting in the corner of her old couch, and she lifted a heavy textbook off her lap and plopped it next to her. Her image jiggled around on my phone until she was finished. “We worry about you. Seriously, you should! He’s dangerous.”
“Do you think your daddy could protect me better than I could protect myself?” I scoffed.
“No, but I remember what happened before.”
“Yeah, but were both little kids, then.”
“Look, be cavalier about it if you want, but guys in jail have nothing to do but pump iron.”
I rolled my eyes dismissively. “You’ve been watching too many crime dramas,” I said. “Besides, he’s old and short.” He wasn’t really that old, but if it made her feel better, then she could believe it.
“I don’t have time to watch anything. I’m busy with school and I volunteer every hour I can.”
“Yeah, you look tired. Are you taking care of yourself? You look like you’ve lost weight.”
“How can you tell? You can’t see my body from this angle.”
I stopped and nodded, studying her face. “I can see it in your face and neck. You’re thin.” Suddenly, I didn’t care about my bio dad’s appearance. I was totally focused on Remi.
