“Take all the time you need.”
“Shouldn’t we get a paternity test before telling Noah? My sister lied about a lot of things. She might’ve lied about this.”
“Yeah, I suppose we should, but considering she never approached me for child support, I’m not sure why she’d lie. What would’ve been in it for her?”
Aria shrugs. Neither of us have the answer.
“Let’s get it done.” But the results aren’t going to change anything. I’m certain of it. Noah is my son. I feel it as well as see it.
I’m the type of guy who makes a decision and sticks with it until the bitter end. I’ve made this decision. Aria and I will live together with Noah. I’ll convince her because it’s all about Noah for both of us. He needs Aria, but he needs me too. Rather than drag all three of us through a custody battle, this solution seems reasonable.
I do have an ulterior motive. I’m drawn to Aria, and I want to explore this thing between us. Perhaps my suggestion seems hasty, but I see a simple logic in it. We try it, and if it doesn’t work out, we negotiate something different.
Easy as hell.
I hope.
Chapter 27
Says It All
~~Aria~~
Have I lost my fucking mind?
Drakos’s surprising proposal does have merit once I got over the initial shock. Yet I can’t believe I’m actually considering moving in with him. Seems like less than a month ago we were mortal enemies.
We haven’t told Noah yet that Drakos is his father. We have to cross that bridge first.
Drakos did a home paternity test, and we should have the results any day, but he insists there won’t be any surprises. I have to agree. Noah is his son. It’d be hard to imagine that he isn’t.
The Icehawks lost one home game to Dallas and won the other, tying the series at two each in the best of seven. They’re currently in the air flying back to Dallas for game five. Over the past several days, Noah and I have spent the majority of our time with Drakos. My nephew is becoming more and more attached. I’m wary that he might get his heart broken, but I’m probably being a little overprotective.
My phone rings and caller ID shows a Vegas area code. I answer on the second ring.
“Aria?”
“Yes, this is she.” There’s a pounding in my ears that almost drowns out her words.
“This is Sarah from the Clark County Clerk’s records office.”
“Oh, good, I’ve been waiting for your call.” That’s an understatement. I’ve been dreading it because either way it won’t be good news. Either my sister lied about Drakos or he lied. Neither option is going to be good news.
“I’ve scoured every possible database and paper document I can locate. I can’t find any records to indicate your nephew’s father relinquished his parental rights.”
I’m sick to my stomach, yet I’m relieved. I hate my sister’s fabrications, but she’s no longer here. Drakos is. So far, he’s been honest with me. I haven’t caught him in a lie, which is heartening to know.
Now to get definitive results from the paternity test. I don’t have to wait long. They’re in the mailbox. I rip open the envelope and find the answer I already knew to be true. Drakos is Noah’s father.
I text Drakos to give him the good news. He’ll get the info when the plane lands or sooner if he’s logged in. He usually sleeps on the plane or plays poker and may not be on his phone.
I sit down and stare at the wall. I’m mentally drained by everything that’s gone on in the past few weeks. Finding out that your perfect, beloved sister wasn’t so perfect after all is traumatic to say the least. It’s difficult for me to reconcile the fabrications and lies she spun once she graduated from high school. It’s as if her entire adult life was one huge lie after another. I don’t understand why she insisted Drakos didn’t want to be a father, then goaded me into attacking him. Was it just another lie in a string of lies that serve whatever purpose she had at the time?
Anna set me up and used me as a pawn to go after him, but it’s pointless to be mad at a person who’s no longer present to explain themselves. Knowing that she was raising a child and had a drinking problem, I fear Noah may have seen things a child should never see. I haven’t found a way to approach Anna’s vices, nor do I know if I should.
There’s another letter in the mail that catches my attention. I open it and read the short, terse paragraph with a growing dread. My landlord is doubling my rent as of next month. I can barely make this month’s rent. The world is conspiring to force me to move in with Drakos. Would it be so bad?
Regardless of all the upheaval in my life, I put everything aside and work on my investigations for Gone Missing, which is the only income I currently have.
