She’s asking me to lean.
Abrother.
I don’t even know how to wrap my mind around that bomb Damon just dropped.
Lot freezes mid-stride, her oversized tee sliding off one shoulder. Eyes wide. Face scrunched.
“Is this for real? What exactly did he say?”
Her questions swirl into the chaos already ransacking my brain. I drag a hand over my beard and blow out a breath, trying to gather it all in some coherent fashion. “He said his name is Damon. Damon Watts. He’s nineteen. An engineering student at UPenn. Born and raised in Philadelphia. Said some guy called Hayden Watts is his father. Apparently, he’s mine too.”
Lot’s mouth drops open. “Your father?”
“Yeah.” I nod, throat tight. “A man I never knew. Never heard from. Didn’t even have a name. Jasinder wouldn’t talk about him,except to call him a no-good loser who bounced when she told him she was pregnant. Not the same man Damon described. A civil engineer who loves old Motown sounds and chess. Who never missed a single one of Damon’s basketball games. Married twenty-two years. Devoted to his family. Ain’t that some shit?”
“God, Dice.” She shakes her head. “This is crazy. Do you believe him?”
“I didn’t at first.” I stay standing, too wired to sit. “Thought it had Jasinder’s fingerprints all over it. Some con. Fake brother tryna squeeze money outta me. I even accused him. Called it right out. Told him he wasn’t getting a dime. Threatened to call the cops.”
Her brows knit. “And?”
“He stood ten toes down. Insisted he’s who he says he is.”
“Wow.” Lot exhales, echoing my disbelief. “How’d he find out about you?”
“Said he overheard his parents talking about it a month ago. Seems the old man knew about me and didn’t do shit about it.”
Lot flinches. “Does he know Damon called you?”
“He told him not to. Said dredging up the past wasn’t fair to me. Some bullshit like that. But Damon couldn’t let it go. Said he was scared and conflicted, so got himself a burner. Called twice before today and chickened out both times. I knew something was up. Not this, but something.” I pause for breath. “C got one of Lexie’s friends in security to trace the number. Philly. That’s all I had to go on. Until now.”
I rub my fist over the tight spot in my chest. “He sent a picture.” I unlock my phone and turn it to her on the photo of Damon’s face.
Lot leans in. “Shit.”
“I know.” His nose is straighter. Skin is lighter. But we’ve got the same stubborn jawline and that same small gap between the front teeth. It’s like looking into a warped mirror.
“I didn’t want to see it.” My voice cracks. “Didn’t want any of this. But I needed to know. See him real-time. We switched to videoand he saw the resemblance too. Lit up with excitement. But I wasn’t feeling it.”
“That’s understandable, Dice.” She puts a comforting hand on my arm. “If it’s true, he’s had time to process this. You haven’t.”
“I believe him.”
“Okay.” She doesn’t argue the point.
“He wants to meet.”
“And what do you want?”
“Hell, if I know.”
Lot nods. “You don’t have to rush into it. But if you decide to go… Philly’s just two hours away. We could take the train or rent a car.”
I step back and drop my phone on the bed. “There’s nowein this. If I go, I’ll go alone.”
“That’s how you see it?”
“How else am I supposed to see it? I don’t know what I’m walking into. A kid who says he’s my brother. A father who bounced. It’s a whole damn mess.”
