Page 42 of Counting the Stars

“There are no guarantees without a test, of course.” Aly shrugs her shoulders. “Plus, you have a pretty common name, but he’s really good at this stuff. You can always let him have at it for a bit and if you decide later you want to do a DNA test, he could probably help you with that too.”

“It would be kind of nice to meet someone with a connection to my family.” I quickly warm up to the idea. Even if they turn out to be strange, it doesn’t mean I have to meet them. “Do you know I don’t have any pictures of them? Nothing of my parents or sister. All of that went up in flames.”

“None?” Michelle asks. “That’s almost hard to believe. Nothing on social media or your phone?”

“No.” I hang my head in sadness. “My mom wouldn’t let us have any social media accounts—if she caught Mari or me with Facebook or Snapchat, we’d have been grounded for life! And we wouldn’t have disappointed her or Dad. We loved them too much.”

“Yeah, my parents wouldn’t let me or my siblings have any social media accounts.” Michelle frowns. “But that’s because they were worried we’d do something stupid and ruin the family name.”

“I wish my parents had cared.” Aly shrugs. “It’s fascinating how differently the three of us grew up.”

“I had my cell phone with me, but it was only filled with selfies and things that I ate. I was so mad at myself for being so self-centered.”

“Sounds like you were a typical sixteen-year-old.” Aly reaches across the table and grabs my hand. “Please don’t beat yourself up for that.”

“Do you really think Jax might be able to trace my history?” The thought is exciting and scary at the same time.

“It’s very possible.” Aly’s eyes light up as she talks about her husband. “I know he won’t leave any stone unturned. He’s so thorough with everything he does. So very, very thorough.”

“Are you still talking about Gabby’s family?” Michelle chides as I laugh.

“Hmm? Yes. Oh yes.” Aly’s face turns a shade of crimson. “Anyway, I’m sure Jax can help find you some information. Best-case scenario, you find some family members, get some answers, and hopefully some photographs.”

“And the worst-case scenario?”

“You’re stuck with all of us as your family.”

22

Alex

It’s been several days since I rescued Gabby from her nightmare date. I haven’t physically seen her since the morning after everything happened as our schedules have not lined up. True to my word, I told her I’d back off and let her take the reins on whatever is going on between us. Unfortunately, that’s a whole lot of nothing because, with the exception of a handful of texts here and there, we’ve hardly had any communication. I know she needs time to sort out all these new emotions she’s got going on, but I miss her.

“Well, this is depressing.” I push through the doors of our condo’s gym to the sorry sight of Jax lying on a weight bench staring at the ceiling. Across from him, Carter hangs half draped over a stationary bike. “I’m no expert, but I don’t think that’s how exercise equipment works.”

“Leave me alone. I’m tired,” Carter grumbles without looking up. He’s another one I haven’t seen in a few days. His mom caught some sort of virus, so he took time off to help with hisyounger siblings.

“I’m sure you are. What are you even doing here?” I knew he was coming home today, but I figured he’d be resting. His siblings are much younger than him and are full of energy.

“Aly asked me to babysit this asshole.” He points a finger at Jax, who mumbles something inaudible.

“Why would the asshole—I mean Jax—need a babysitter?” I look over at my grumpy friend, who continues to lie forlorn on the weight bench. I haven’t seen much of him either, but that’s nothing unusual.

“Because Aly is working on some sort of project for the university and Mr. McHandsy over here wouldn’t leave her alone to do her job. She texted me and asked if I could keep him busy for bit.”

“I was just trying to give her a back rub!” Jax says exasperatedly.

“It’s never just a back rub.” Carter rolls his eyes.

“Agreed.” I take a seat on the weight bench opposite Jax. I’m glad they’re both here and that no one else is utilizing the gym at this time. I need to get some things off my chest. “I assume you already know what happened with Gabby?”

“About losing her family?” Jax moves to a sitting position. “Aly told me. Man, that’s awful.”

“Michelle filled me in on one of our nightly phone calls.” Carter steps off the bike and takes a seat next to Jax. “I feel terrible that we didn’t know. How has she been doing?”

“I wish I knew. She’s been pretty quiet, and I haven’t seen her because we’ve been on opposite schedules.” I lean over to rest my arms on my knees. “I’m concerned about her.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t be too worried. She probably has a lot going on,” Carter says in his relaxed surfer guy tone. His voice has the ability to put anyone at ease.

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