Page 39 of Walk Off

“She didn’t tell you?” Ruby looked confused.

He shook his head. “All she texted was the time and her address.”

Ruby sighed. “She thought it was better if she wasn't around when you met with Jasmine. She didn’t want to make things any harder on you than they already were.”

An hour ago, he might have agreed with that. Not any longer. He wanted to see her. Craved seeing her, in fact. It physically hurt knowing he was in her home and she wasn’t there. He wanted to talk to her about Jasmine and find out all the little things he’d missed while she’d been growing up. He wanted to know about her birth and how long it had taken, and if she’d been in pain, and who’d been with her. He wanted to know how Jasmine slept as a baby, and when she crawled, and walked, and what her first words were.

He wanted to know it all.

He needed Celia for that, and also to stop his heart from trying to get out of his chest.

There was a loud crash from Jasmine’s room that had both of them running to her door.

What they found was Jasmine laughing under a pile of Legos.

“Jasmine Elinor Mullen, what in the world are you doing?” Ruby asked.

“Dinosaurs invaded the town.” She was giggling nonstop as she waved a plastic T-rex in the air.

At the same time, all the breath had left his body.

Her middle name was Elinor. That was his aunt’s name. The one person who’d loved him. She’d named their daughter after his aunt.

He was going to throw up.

She might not have told him about Jasmine. She might have kept the pregnancy and the baby from him, but she’d named her after the one person he cared deeply about and who cared about him. The hate that he felt for her disappeared, just a little. If his hate was a glass of water, it would only be half full after all the things he’d learned today.

Was he an idiot for letting even a little of his hate go? Should he hold onto it forever?

He had no clue. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to see her again. Saying goodbye to Ruby, he walked out of the apartment and to his rental car. Inside the warmth of the car, he pulled out his phone and texted Celia.

Kyle:

Can we talk?

Celia:

Did everything go okay with Jasmine?

Kyle:

It went great. She's amazing.

Celia:

What do we need to talk about?

Kyle:

A lot. Can you meet me somewhere?

Celia:

That’s a bad idea. You hate me. I think we should keep this all about Jasmine.

Fuck this texting. He hit Call on her name to call her. If she wouldn’t meet him, he at least needed to talk to her. To hear her voice.

After two rings, she picked up. “Hello.”

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