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I had never met this woman after all. The features I thought were familiar were simply the same as my own. I had a father. Relatives. A family.
I’d always said I didn’t want this. If Ava Corney was reaching out to me now, why couldn’t she have reached out when I was six? Eight? Even sixteen?
But it was easier to reject the idea of blood relations when they were only that—an idea. This was a real person, and she claimed to be my aunt. Did this mean she wanted to be in my life? Was there any possibility that I wanted that, too?
I could hardly breathe as I looked back at the phone.I’d like to talk to you sometime,she’d written.If you’re open to it, there’s a lot that needs to be said. I know this message may come as a shock, but if you’d be open to chatting, here’s my number. Give me a call anytime.
Slowly, shakily, I set the phone in my lap. My mind was spinning. She was right, there was a lot that needed to be said—like where she had been my entire life. I should talk to her at least once, just to curse out for that. Shouldn’t I? Or should I delete the message and forget this had ever happened?
Ava wasn’t the one I was angry at. My father, whoever he happened to be, was the one who had shirked his responsibility to me. Still, Ava had known I existed all this time, had even known who I was. Or had she just found out recently? I could make excuses for her that I couldn’t make for my father—but that didn’t mean I had to talk to her.
I pulled my knees up and let my head sink onto them. Right now, my head was too heavy to hold up. I stayed like that for a while, my mind flittering through different possibilities of the past—and the future.
“You’ve been quiet in here. Did you get the bed done?”
I looked up sharply to find Chelsea in the doorframe. “No, I took a break. Turns out I need a gorgeous assistant to help me.”
“That can be arranged.” She sat next to me and leaned her head on my shoulder, then yawned. “Not right now, though. I’m exhausted.”
What had she been working on, again? Right, her game. “Did you get everything done?”
“I think so. I’m going to the print shop tomorrow, and then I’ll submit it.”
There was no way I could stay over here. I couldn’t pretend to be normal when my world had just turned upside down—and I wasn’t ready to tell her about what had happened, either. “Why don’t you do it tonight?”
“If I did, I wouldn’t be able to spend any time with you, silly.” She caressed my knee. “You came all the way here and I just ignored you.”
“No, it’s okay. You need to get this done ASAP.”
“It can wait.”
“I know you’re going to be thinking about it all night, anyway. And I don’t want to hold you back.” Was it wrong for me to lie like this? I was pretending I wanted what was best for her, when really I was only looking out for myself.
“You’re the best, baby.”
She planted a kiss full on my lips—but instead of feeling the usual warmth, my stomach shriveled into a guilty little ball instead.
I’d tell her everything eventually. Just not quite yet.
22
Chelsea
“It costshowmuch to ship?” I stared at the lady at the post office. “The receiver is within Vermont!”
“Sorry.” She offered a slight shrug. “I don’t make the rules.”
“I know, but… Well… It’s okay.” A few dollars would be nothing if my game was accepted. And considering how hard I’d worked on it, that “if” felt more like a “when.”
I felt good about this game. I hadn’t worked on anything so hard since my college days, and even then, I hadn’t been so passionate about it. I’d racked my mind for ideas and spent hours sorting through them to choose only the best. I’d even researched copyright law to make sure I wasn’t infringing on anybody’s rights.
Tara’s words had gotten to me. Not everyone could make games like this. For what might be the first time, I was actually proud of something I’d created.
As I passed my credit card to the clerk, I allowed myself to indulge in a fantasy. The grunt who opened the package would immediately see the game’s worth and would barge in on the company executives to show them. They’d be angry at him for interrupting their important meeting, but after listening to him rant about it, they’d be curious enough to look at it for themselves.
Within two hours of receiving the package, they’d be banging on my door. Heck, it might even happen tonight.
“All right, now write your address on the line,” the clerk said.
