Dyson frowned at me, confusion stretched across his brow.
“Sure,” he said. “Whatever you want. Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “It’s better than okay. It’s incredible.”
I reached up, hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Caressing the spot with my fingers I touched his face briefly before turning away and looking at the hood of his car once again.
Kneeling next to it, I extended my hand towards the lettering spelling out my sister’s name. I couldn’t explain it, but in that moment I felt closer to her spirit in the aftermath of a car race than I did visiting her gravesite. I touched the letters with my fingers, dragging the tips along the raised markings. I said a silent prayer to her memory. Although we were different people, we were the same family, and I loved her and missed her very much.
“Bella,” I began, draping my palm across most of her name. “I don’t know whether you can hear me or not. But, I want you to know that Simon—he’s a wonderful boy. He’s bright and caring, and I love him more than anything in this world. I want you to know that I’ll always do whatever I can to protect him and give him the life that I think you would have wanted for him.”
Another surge of emotion pulsed through me. I glanced up in Dyson’s direction. He’d been talking to reporters, but when I looked up at him, he stopped.
“What is it?” he asked. “Is everything all right?”
I nodded. “Yes, everything is fine.”
I looked away from him and back towards the letters spelling out my sister’s name.
“Someday, Bella, all of us will be together again,” I began, swallowing hard and trying to keep my emotions at bay for a few seconds longer. “But until that time comes, I want you to know that I will always love you and that your son will always be proud to have you as his mother.”
With that, I moved my fingers towards my lips, kissing them. I stood, reaching towards her name one last time and pressing my hand against it. Afterward, I turned and looked towards Dyson.
Smiling at me, he said, “Are you ready? Everyone’s waiting for you.”
I nodded at him and smiled in return.
“Yes, more than ever.”
AVA
Dyson had a room in the hotel where the team held their after party. It was close to midnight by the time we made our way to it.
By then, I was completely exhausted and hardly able to keep my eyes open. We entered the room, and I immediately headed towards the king-sized bed in the center, flopping my body backward on top of it. Dyson followed behind me, walking through the door and laughing after seeing me spread out on top of the bed.
“Too much excitement for you today, Ava?”
I rolled my head to one side and glanced up at him, just in time to see him peeling off his T-shirt.
“I’m going to grab a quick shower,” he began, tossing his shirt aside. “Care to join me?”
“Only if you want to hold me up the entire time.”
He chuckled and turned away from me, stripping off his clothes while walking towards the bathroom.
“Get some rest, sleeping beauty.”
He vanished from sight, closing the bathroom door behind him. A few seconds later I heard the sound of the water hiss from the showerhead. I rolled my head once again, staring straight up towards the ceiling.
Not only was I physically drained, but the mental pressure I’d been under finally started to wear me down as well. With the sound of the shower running in the background, I began to wonder what, if any, future I had with Dyson.
He’d been kind and sweet to me, but also less so at other times.
Deep down, that wasn’t the kind of relationship I wanted. Who would? Worse yet, I still couldn’t stop thinking about the various insults and threats Anastasia and Svetlana made to me. And the truth was, I really had no promises from Dyson that I’d be any different from them in three months, six months, or a year.
What if that came to pass? Immediately, I thought of Simon. He was already so fond of Dyson. If I continued seeing him and things didn’t work out, having Simon hurt in that situation would be worse than any pain I might feel breaking up with Dyson.
I missed having my sister in my life. At the same time, I wondered how much different Simon’s life would’ve been. Even though I tried my best and loved him like my own, the fact was he wasn’t my son.
Maybe my exhaustion got the better of me because I began to feel overwhelmed all of a sudden. In spite of the day being so wonderful, I still had no idea what tomorrow would bring. I propped myself up on my elbows and shook my head. Dyson was still in the shower. Sitting up, I scooted to the edge of the bed and stood.
My cell phone.
In the aftermath of the race and the party that followed, my phone battery had died. Picking up my purse, I reached inside, grabbed my phone and the charger. After plugging it into an outlet nearby I placed my phone down on the dresser and started to walk back towards the bed.
No sooner had I reached it then I heard the sound of my phone vibrate with a new message. I turned and walked back over to pick it up. Jillian had phoned a couple of hours before. I called my voicemail and listen to her message.
Hey, it’s me. Um, so, I was out earlier and when I came home there was a message on the home phone for you. It’s an attorney? From child protective services? Okay so, apparently, a couple of nights ago, Gene got arrested for DUI. According to the lawyer, during the process of booking him on the charge, they discovered that Gene had abandoned Simon. I guess that means that he’s in trouble because of deadbeat dad laws. That’s all I know right now, call me back when you get this message… I’ll be up pretty late. Love you. Hope you’re okay.
I frowned and pulled the phone away from my ear. What kind of trouble would Gene be in exactly? Without wasting another second, I called Jillian. She answered after the second ring.
“What’s all this about Gene?” I began, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.
“Yeah, I don’t really know. That reminds me, I forgot to give you that lawyer’s phone number,” she said, her voice trailing off. “Let me get it. I’ll be right back.”
A few seconds later, she returned and I took down the number.
“Okay, thanks, I’ll call first thing tomorrow.”
“Ava,” Jillian said, “Is everything all right with you?”
Stretching the charger cord to its maximum, I set back down on the edge of the bed.
“Yeah, I’m just really tired.”
“Um, all right. It’s just that Simon and I watched the race on TV today. I would’ve thought you’d be more excited.”
I exhaled and reached up towards my eyes. Rubbing them with the tips of my fingers, I squinted and replied, “I was… I mean, I am. I don’t know… I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
I dropped my hand away from my eyes. Blinking away the exhaustion from them, I said, “Not right now. I’m with Dyson. He’s showering. It’s just not a good time.”
“Dyson is showering and you aren’t in there with him? Something must be wrong…”
I smiled. “It’s not like he didn’t try, believe me. I’m just not thinking straight right now. I can’t explain it.”
“It’s okay,” Jillian began, the tone of her voice softening. “The two of you have been through a lot. What you need right now is just some time together, you know? Give things a chance to see how they work out.”
I shrugged, glancing in the direction of the bathroom. Dyson had turned off the water, but I wasn’t sure when.
“Maybe you’re right… I just don’t know right now.”
With that, we said good night to each other and I promised I would let her know what I found out when calling the attorney the next day. After we hung up, I stood from the bed and placed my phone down next to the charger.
Afterward, barely able to stand any longer, I collapsed into the mattress and rested my head on a pillow. I lay there for several minutes, maybe ten. I really couldn’t say. Soon after, I heard the sound of the bathroom door open, followed by Dyson’s footsteps.