Page 21 of Infinite as They Come
She hung up and I held the phone to my ear for what felt like an hour. There was too much happening at once. His mom coming back into his life and that boy being his brother, and it didn’t feel fair in the slightest that Sawyer had to deal with all of it. I sat there quietly as Sawyer finally came out of the shower, hair wet as he got changed. He joined me on the bed, his fingers dancing along one of mine that was gripping the bed tight.
“Hey,” he said. “You okay?”
My eyes just barely met his. “I just… I just talked to your mom on the phone.”
His brows raised. “That’s a crazy sentence to hear.”
“I’m sorry. I just saw the number and picked up and…”
“No.” He gave his head a shake. “It’s okay. What’d she say?”
“She wants to meet you. She wants to talk. It sounded like she missed you a lot…”
Lips pressed together, he gave me a stiff nod. “Oh.”
“She sent over her address if you want to see her…”
He gave me another nod that looked just as forced. “Right.”
“Also…” I fidgeted a little in my spot on the bed. “There’s something else I have to tell you…”
He let out a long breath of air. “Christ, now what?”
“I don’t know how to tell you this, but… Do you remember that boy we met the other day? The one in the park?”
His eyes darted to the side for a second as his brows pulled together, finally looking back at me. “That kid with the glasses?”
“Spencer.” I nodded. “Yeah. That’s how your mom got your number. From him.”
“From that kid? What? How?”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t and I didn’t even knowhowto, and it was like I could see the dots connecting in his head as he sat there and looked at me. He sat up straighter, body too stiff and rigid as I waited for the words to sink in.
“That’s her son then?” he asked lowly.
“Yes, and… I guess…”
“He’s my brother.”
“Yeah.”
His hand found his face, fingers scrubbing up and down. “Fuck, of course he is.”
“I’m so sorry, Sawyer.”
“I mean, I knew she had a new family,” he said lowly. “That’s old news, but fuck, I didn’t ever think I’d bump into one of them. Into my brother. God, I have a fucking brother. Jesus Christ.”
“Whatever move you make next is the right one. If you want to speak to her. You don’t have to speak to her, Sawyer, but… it really did sound like she missed you.”
He pushed his hand through his hair, turning to face me. “You talked to her. Like, actually talked to her?”
I nodded. “I did. Yeah.”
“Did she… Did she sound okay? Like… did shesound happy?”
The question almost suffocated me. Of course he’d ask that. My Sawyer was all heart, all protection. Despite all the longing, the missed birthdays, the cold nights without her wondering where she was, he still cared. Still worried about her, for her.
“She sounded kinda worried,” I said. “I think she’s scared you might not want her back in your life. That you might not feel… good about her.”
