Chapter 8 #2
Kit ran a hand through his hair. “I thought you would all be home. Alatheia, good to see you.”
Is it? I could never make out exactly how the elders in their family felt about me. Maybe they liked me? Maybe they thought I should go away. Maybe both. Sometimes it seems my life is full of maybes.
“Hi,” Daniel said and smiled at both of us. “Good to see you’re both well.”
Kit leaned against the wall. “You didn’t answer when we asked about the others. Where are they?”
“The twins should be almost home. They had practice tonight,” I said as I carried the bags to the kitchen and set them on the counter. “Barrett has class until eight-forty-five .”
Their oldest father—not a genetic father to any of them—nodded. “Okay. Alatheia, I’ll talk to you for a minute then we can wait for the twins. You can all relay our conversation to Barrett.”
Daniel sat down on the couch, so I considered Barrett’s father. They could practically be twins except Barrett had slightly lighter hair than his father.
“Hold on, Kit. How was school? You’re two days in now, right? How is it going?” He looked between us.
Phoenix hadn’t said a word. Was he going to answer or would I be monologuing with his family?
He sighed. “Fine. I mean, it’s the second day. I’m not failing yet, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I wasn’t.” Dan smiled as though Phoenix didn’t just snap at him. “I’m glad it’s going fine.” He paused. “How about for you, Alatheia?”
I stared at him for a second, considering my response carefully. “Also fine.”
“Good. Did it help? The phone call I made? Did it help with the girl?”
I cleared my throat, since I meant to broach that topic with them. “Yes, but I don’t want you to feel like you need to do things like that for me. I don’t want to be trouble.”
He waved away my protest. “Don’t worry about it. Sometimes it’s the only way to handle bullies—you have to bully them more. It’s not nice but that’s life.”
Kit clapped his hands together. “Okay, listen, I have been looking into you and…”
The door opened and then closed, so he paused as the twins joined us. Julian nearly choked on a sports drink when he saw them.
“Hey,” Jeremy said and set his bag down on a chair by the table. “What’s going on?”
Daniel grinned at them, but even I could see his strain. “We wanted to see you.”
“And talk to Alatheia,” Kit finished.
Julian pulled me to him, sitting us both down on the big lounge chair next to the couch. In a second, he tangled our legs. “About what?”
The air conditioner chose that second to turn on, which added to the chill in the room. Daniel was trying, but Kit wasn’t. My guys, without Barrett as a buffer, were making no effort whatsoever.
Jeremy sat down next to Daniel, Phoenix actually rose to take the other side, which left Kit standing. Maybe he realized it because he looked around quickly then took a seat in a smaller chair.
I cleared my throat. “You were saying? You looked into my family?”
“Right, so there is no record of you being born in Colorado.”
I blinked, a chill icing my bloodstream. Is it the AC or just the feeling like everything is about to explode? “What?”
“You weren’t born in Colorado, hard stop.
Actually, I haven’t been able to find your birth record anywhere.
” He held out his hand. “I don’t think it’s surprising you were worried about your family, since even a simple search proves something is wrong.
We have two options. We can hire a guy I know, more of an ex-spy than an investigator.
Although I’m sure he’ll find answers, he is a bit like using a shotgun in a knife fight. ”
Jeremy shook his head. “So you don’t want to pay for him?”
He shook his head. “I’ll pay for him. When have I ever turned away something because of money? No, I think we have a faster, easier option, a far simpler way to find answers.”
I looked between them all, not sure what he meant. “What is that? My mother told me I was born in Colorado. It isn’t just some lie my aunts and uncles made up, because I know that was what my mom said.”
The volume of my voice increased with every word, panic threading through my tone despite my best efforts. I couldn’t even seem to stop it.
Julian squeezed me. “I’m sure she had a good reason. She loved you. You know that.
Daniel nodded quickly. “If your mom lied, it was for a reason.”
Kit sighed. “Listen, there is no way to get through this other than to go through it. I’m not sure why your mom lied to you, Alatheia. I don’t have enough information to reach any kind of conclusion, but if you want your birth certificate, you may have to go get it.”
Go get it? “How?” My heart raced and I might have actually stopped breathing. My mom lied to me. Is there anyone in my family who didn’t lie to me? She always told me I was born there, where we had been living when my father died. It didn’t make sense for it to have been anywhere else.
“My suggestion is you walk in and take it when she’s not there.” Kit rose. “Get me your birth certificate, and we’ll go from there. I don’t want to take any steps forward without that, just in case.”
Phoenix shook his head. “Just in case of what?”
“Just in case other steps have to be taken. This is bad, you guys get that, right?” He aimed the question at his sons, but my stomach churned in response.
I closed my eyes. His wife called me a charity case. As the days passed, increasingly, we proved that was what I was. I wanted a family. The Lents—at least the ones I knew—wanted me to be part of their family. But how can I be anything when I don't even know who I am?
“Excuse me. Give me a minute, please.” I squirmed until Julian let me out of his embrace then I rushed into the bedroom where I slept.
Barrett’s room, stolen from him for our shared use, despite him saying he didn’t mind.
It was probably true, since Barrett didn’t worry about having a place to belong, about having something that was his.
He knew his place in the world even when things got slippery.
I sank to the floor, rootless and practically nameless.
I only owned clothes Dina had bought me, making them basically charity.
Otherwise? Old, ratty sneakers tucked in the closet, my computer, the things I used to create the Poor Relation, Dina’s notebooks, and some toiletries.
That was it. There were my school uniforms, but the guys paid for them.
I didn’t have anything, not even a birthplace to call my own.
No way would my guys leave me alone for very long, so I sniffled and rubbed at my nose. Jeremy was probably already pacing. I went into the bathroom and locked the door, since they respected my privacy there. None of us bothered anyone in the bathroom.
I turned on the water to cover the noise then I sank to the floor to cry into my knees. Big, gasping, senseless sobs racked my body despite me knowing tears fixed nothing. Not when everything was broken.
Why did it hit me so hard? So I wasn’t from Colorado, big deal. I was from somewhere, we only had to figure out where. Despite the logic, my sense of self felt shattered.
To their credit, it was a good long time before I heard the gentle tap at the door. I wasn’t surprised it was Jeremy knocking.
“Princess,” he said then knocked again. “Let me in, okay?”
I wiped my eyes. Since I’d cried so hard, I probably needed water. Wasn’t it just being self-indulgent? I needed to pull myself together, and my legs were wobbly, but I managed to get up to open the door.
Jeremy took one look at me then tugged me into a tight hug. “We’re going to get answers. Tonight.”
Tonight? I sniffled on a choked sob slash laugh. “What are we going to do? I promise you, we can’t just walk in and demand my birth certificate. They’ll refuse. Even Dina won’t be able to get it.”
“There is an event tonight. Granny confirmed your aunt plans to attend. I don’t know about your uncle, but Daniel doesn’t think they actually live together. Rumor has it he sleeps at his office.”
Did he? I never realized it, but it made sense.
“Are you saying we should go steal it?”
Phoenix leaned against the doorway, his smile whiplash fast. “It’s not stealing.
It’s your birth certificate, but yeah, we are getting it.
Afterward, I can open a bank account for you, too.
If we have it, they can’t get you a passport to ship you out of the country, either.
Sure, they could order another copy, but we’ll have one, too.
We’ll put a tracker on your name, so I can see if they’ve done anything we don’t want. ”
I loved it when Phoenix concentrated on a problem. Right then, he looked like he did on his skateboard—focused and ready.
“I took your wallet. I’ll find your birth certificate and anything else they might be hiding about you.”
Julian called to us from the living room, “Come on. Let’s figure out dinner.”
I stepped out of Jeremy’s arms back into the living room to find the fathers gone, the apartment just ours again. “Why would she lie to me? Never mind. I’ll go make dinner. I bought groceries to cook, so let me do it.”
“You’re cooking?” Julian asked then tilted his head.
“I’m trying, at least. I have homework, too. You guys, I don’t know if we should break into her apartment like that. There is a PI trailing me. We saw him today.” I shook my head. “I’m rambling. I’m sorry.”
“More like train of thought.” Jeremy clapped his hands together, just like Kit. I never noticed him having the trait before, as if it were inherited, something he got from the man who was technically his uncle. “That’s okay. What are we cooking?”
We? “You want to cook with me?”
“Yes.”
I took the chicken out of the bag, hoping it wasn’t too warmed. “It’s been on the counter since I got home.”
“Is that okay?” Jeremy asked Julian who shrugged. “Should we look online?”
“Let’s go out to eat. You can cook tomorrow.
” Phoenix said as he took the chicken from me and threw it out.
That is so incredibly wasteful. I bit my lip, hating the waste.
“We need to go eat and get this done before Barrett gets home. If he gets home, then we won’t do it.
You know it and I do, too. No way will Barrett go along with it, even if it was Kit’s idea. ”
I couldn’t argue his point, but it made it all seem way riskier. “Then we shouldn’t go?”
“No, we should.” Julian said as he followed Phoenix toward the door. “It’s a good idea. Come on. Afterward, you can do your homework. We’ll go to eat, get this done, then get home. Easy peasy, no problem. Don’t forget your apartment key. We’ll go now.”
They all waited for me, and I gnawed my lip for a moment, weighing my options. Should I do it? Yes.
I wasn’t born in Colorado. I needed to know where I came from, and the information was strangely essential.
“Get a car to pick us up at the backdoor. The PI doesn’t need to see anything we don’t want him to see. He won’t even know you left the building.”
I hoped it would be that easy. Is anything?
With my stomach stuffed with salad, I stood outside of the building with trepidation.
“Hi,” Julian smiled at the doorman. “She’s grabbing some stuff and then we’re going to see my granny.”
The doorman smiled at him, chatting about the Yankees.
Julian bantered back with him while my stomach churned.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t even notice our silence past Julian’s charm.
The doormen of our building—their building—were tougher.
Less easy to distract with conversation.
For the moment, the fact was helpful but Dina lived there.
I didn’t like the thought of her at risk.
The wind blew against me, and I shuddered, a chill icing my spine.
I still wore my school uniform, as did Phoenix.
If we got arrested, we would be on the news in our Pullman gear.
I could picture the news reports—the school would be horrified.
Collins can tell everyone how we’re failures and didn’t belong there.
I stepped inside then headed for the elevator as Julian laughed again.
“Leave him.” Jeremy said and took my elbow. “He can stay here, giving us a distraction.”
I followed behind him because I didn’t know what else to do.