Quentin set his bag down without taking anything out of it and walked around in front of the couch. Moving an empty whiskey bottle aside, he sat down on the coffee table and folded his fingers in his lap, staring at me intently.
“Tell us,” he said.
I nodded and took a deep breath before spilling everything that happened a few days before.
“You guys know how I’ve felt about Kelly and what a big deal it was when she showed back up,” I started.
All three of them nodded.
“We were there the night you first met her, then again when you ran into her again. We’ve seen the puppy dog looks,” Quentin told me.
“It’s more than just puppy dog,” Colby pointed out, defending me from a further ribbing by my big brother. I knew Quentin didn’t mean any harm and was just trying to be an older brother making things less miserable for me, but it also felt good to have my best friend step in to block him for me. “You should hear how he’s been talking about her. There’s something real there.”
“It’s true,” I confirmed. “At least, I thought there was something real. After meeting her on my birthday three years ago, I never really stopped thinking about her. I mean, I’ve been with other girls and dated around, so it’s not like I’ve just been sitting up in a tower and pining for her while I wrote melodramatic poetry or anything.”
“What about that piece of paper you keep in your pocket when you race?” Nick asked.
“What piece of paper?” Colby asked.
“He has this folded piece of paper he always puts in his pocket before the race. Then he puts it in his wallet when he gets done. I’ve always assumed it was a poem or love letter or something. That sort of fits in with your whole persona,” he said.
“Yeah, it kind of does,” Colby confirmed.
“It’s actually from Kelly. It’s the note she wrote me the night we met. Well, I guess the morning after we met. It’s what she left on my pillow when she went back to Canada. I’ve kept it with me since then.”
“Why would you keep something like that?” Nick asked.
“For some reason I didn’t throw it away when I found it. I forgot I shoved it in my pocket until after the race that night, and I won. It kind of became a good-luck charm. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to throw it away since. Then when Kelly showed up again, I realized it was because I still have feelings for her. I told her that just a few days ago.”
“He’s been bringing her coffee and stuff,” Quentin told Nick.
“I didn’t want to push anything too fast or make her feel like I just wanted a fling with her. When she texted me, I thought it was because she finally decided she wanted to talk about our relationship. The whole point of taking things really slow and just showing her I cared about her was so she didn’t feel pressured or awkward. I thought there could be something real between us. But then I got to her house, and she just blurted out that she has a little girl and that she’s mine. Just like that. Then when I went to Mom and Dad’s house and got pictures and stuff to bring to her, she got all pissy with me because I said I wanted a DNA test. Like it was so normal for a woman to go through a pregnancy and raise a child for over two years before telling the baby’s father.”
“I’m glad you did that,” Colby said. “This isn’t the time to play nice guy.”
I didn’t realize how much of my anger had been shoved into the back of my mind until going over the whole sordid tale brought it back with even greater ferocity. By the time I was finished talking, I was furious again and I chugged the juice, then shoved most of the sandwich into my mouth. Colby waited until I swallowed down the turkey and cheese before handing me another bottled health concoction.
“Can you even believe that?” I asked. “What kind of woman does something like that?”
Quentin cleared his throat, and I turned my attention back to him.
“Before Merry and I got our shit together, she got pregnant, found out, then didn’t tell me. So, I sort of understand.” I snorted at him, and he gave me a glare. “I said sort of understand. Obviously, this is different. Either way, we’re here and we’re going to stick around as long as you need us to. So yell, get angry, cry if you need to. We’ve got you,” he said.
Right then, I felt so lucky. No matter what I was going through, I had these amazing people in my life, and they were willing to see me through whatever I was facing. They stayed all day, ordered me a huge assortment of greasy, unhealthy food from a variety of restaurants, and watched stupid TV with me. By the time they got me in the shower and tucked me into bed that night, I thought I might have finally chased away the anger.
28 Kelly
It was almost surreal coming home from submitting Willa’s DNA sample to the lab for the test. As much as I’d thought about this situation before, I never really let my mind drift to the mechanics and details of it. It was strange to say the least to fill out the paperwork and hear that Darren had already submitted his sample, so they were ready to go through with the test. Kira was waiting for me when I got home. She’d offered to go along with us, but I felt like it was something I needed to do on my own. I didn’t want to. What I
