Page 122 of Ramshackle
I force myself forward before I can change my mind. “Excuse me,” I call out at the curtain. “Can I come in?”
“Please do,” he replies, and I slip the curtain to the side enough for me to step into the semi-private area and let it fall closed behind me.
For a second, I wonder if Cassandra led me to the wrong bed because I look nothing like the man sitting up in bed. His hair is black, and the lines in his face are sharp and angular. The five o’clock shadow peppers his jawline and around his mouth. But when his eyes find mine, it’s like looking in the mirror. They’re the same ocean blue, the same thick and dark lashes.
“Hi.”
He smiles politely. There’s no recognition in his gaze when he sees me. “Hello.” Like he’s greeting a stranger.
“I’m Raegan.”
“Are you my next nurse?”
“No, I’m…your daughter,” I finish lamely. There’s no good way to announce that, right? Seems better to just rip the Band-Aid off.
His smile falters. “I’m sorry, but I don’t have a daughter.”
“Did you know a Merina Laivins?”
Charles blinks several times, then peers cautiously at me. “Yes. A long time ago.”
“She was my mother. And she listed your name on my birth certificate as my father,” I explain.
“I…have a daughter?” He stares at me with disbelief, and I shift uncomfortably.
“I mean…that’s what the paper says. If you and Merina didn’t have a relationship, then—”
“We did. I just didn’t consider that she might’ve gotten pregnant. We were separated soon after.”
I nod, wishing I had a wall or counter orsomethingto lean or sit on. “Well, I just wanted you to know that I exist. I’m…here.”
He looks me over, his eyes assessing as he takes me in again with new perspective. “You look like her. Like Merina,” he observes with a fresh smile. “She was quite the fighter. You have that same look in your eye, even if they’re colored like mine.”
Hearing about her eases some of my nerves, and I smile, curling some hair behind my ear. “Oh, yeah?”
“I’ll bet you’re giving Gifted Enterprise hell, just as she did at the end.”
My eyebrows draw together. “You know what happened to her?”
Charles sighs and nods. “Word got around about what happened, and I overheard it. But they never mentioned a child at the time. Only that she took out around two dozen agents.”
“Will you tell me more about her some time?”
“Of course, though I’m sorry to admit that it may not be as much as you’d like. We were a bit of a whirlwind romance in a short period of time together.”
“That’s okay. It’s still more than what I know.”
“Now that I know I have a daughter, I’d love to learn everything I can about you. Are you staying here, wherever that is?” He casts his gaze above us and the fluorescent lighting. “I haven’t seen anything yet outside of these curtains. Maybe you could give me a tour.”
“I’m the last person to ask for a tour,” I say with a light laugh to avoid answering all his questions. He may be my father, butthat doesn’t grant him immediate trust from me. “I’ll come find you once you’ve finished settling in and we can talk some more.”
Something flickers in his eyes, and I wonder if he’s disappointed that I’m not jumping at the idea of spending more time with him right away. Or maybe I’m overthinking things because this already has been a bit much for me. He knows I exist, and I now know he’s my father. But now? What do I want to do with that?
“Of course,” he finally responds with a small, reassuring smile. “Thank you for coming to see me and telling me about you. You’re already an adult and seem to be doing just fine on your own, but now that I know I have a daughter, I’m hoping we can get to know one another. I wasn’t there for you when you grew up, but maybe I can be there for you now in whatever way you want.”
My chest tightens at his words. At the easy way he’s already accepted me.
Rather than chance my voice, I give him a firm nod and a terse, “Sure.” I part the curtains and slip out. My face crashes into someone who catches me when I bounce back.
