Page 58 of Sweeper
“Did you really have to share that?” Daphney glares at me but the smile on her lips is unmistakable. “You’re skating on very thin ice.”
“Speaking of thin ice,” Phoebe interjects. “Remember that time Marisa had to pull you out of your father’s pond? She told us it wasn’t cold enough to go ice skating, and we ignored her. My God, I thought she was going to murder us. Luckily, the pond isn’t very deep, so we weren’t in any real danger but still, the image of you frozen and shaking while Marisa screamed at you lives rent-free in my mind.”
I laugh at the visual. “Who’s Marisa?”
An awkward silence descends as I glance back and forth between Daphney and Phoebe and notice all humor draining from Daphney’s face.
“Just someone we knew,” Daphney replies quickly. She clears her throat and smiles as she redirects her focus to her food. “These eggs are really nice.”
Phoebe smiles softly, and there’s a marked change in her demeanor. I consider asking more questions, but I get the impression we’ve ventured into a subject Daphney would rather not discuss.
My hand moves to my leg when I hear my phone ringing in my pocket. I pull it out to see it’s a foreign number. Smiling apologetically, I excuse myself from the table to step outside for the call.
“Hello, this is Zander Williams,” I state, inhaling the cool air as I stuff my other hand into my pocket.
“Hi, Zander Williams, this is Bernard from Discreet DNA, do you have a moment to talk?”
Chills erupt over my entire body as I freeze in the middle of the sidewalk, not even noticing the people trying to get around me. “Okay,” I answer woodenly, cringing that I said okay instead of telling him now is a bad time.
“I’m afraid that the sample you sent in on the water bottle has come up as inconclusive. This happens sometimes when the sample is tampered with or contaminated in some way. Do you know if it was exposed to any outside elements before you sent it in?”
I wince as I think about how it fell to the floor when the sink decided to explode, and Booker knocked everything off the counter. The lid was still on it, so I thought it would be fine.
“It might have gotten a little wet,” I reply, turning to glance through the window at Daphney and Phoebe. They look so at ease in there, enjoying their breakfast. I’d do anything to trade places with them right now.
“That’s probably the issue then,” Bernard says jovially. “If you could send in a new sample, we can run it again. But I’m afraid there will be another sixty-pound fee.”
I shake my head and snap, “It was hard enough getting the first sample.”
Silence descends for a moment before the man responds, “Well, if that’s the case, you may want to consider getting a paternal sample. Half sibling tests don’t have the same level of accuracy without samples from the shared parent. So, while we could get you results on a new sample of your potential half sibling, the success rate is quite diminished.”
“Jesus Christ,” I reply and run a hand through my hair. “This was a mistake.”
“I apologize for the inconvenience, sir.” He pauses for a moment and then adds, “If you do decide to try again, please note that a hair follicle from your alleged father is your best sample option aside from blood or saliva for conclusive results. Much higher success rate than a water bottle. So, if you can ever get hold of a hair follicle, then we’d be happy to rerun the test for you.”
I roll my eyes and stare up at the sky. “Oh sure, that sounds easy.”
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be of service, sir.”
I hang up and clench my teeth, annoyed as fuck that all those hoops I jumped through were for nothing. How the fuck am I going to get a hair sample from Vaughn Harris? I’d sooner get Daphney Clarke to fall in love with me.
I exhale heavily and crack my neck. This setback better not fuck up my game. I can’t afford to go backward. Not now that I’ve come this far.
Zander
“Oh, balls,” Link yelps as he drops down into the metal basin filled with ice water in the physical therapy room at Tower Park. “Why does Coach Z hate me so much?”
“Because you always look so damn happy during training.” I turn down the speed on my treadmill and take a quick drink out of my water bottle. “He thinks he’s not pushing you hard enough. Try looking miserable like the rest of us.”
Link rests his head on the edge of the tub and contorts his facial features into a moronic expression. “How’s this look?”
I laugh, and at the same moment, Knight walks in, scowls at Link’s face, and walks over to the medicine balls. He lowers himself on top of the biggest one and nods his head toward me. “Where were you all weekend? Feeling sorry for yourself because of the DNA mix-up?”
“No,” I scoff and can’t hide the smile that spreads across my face. “There was no moping.”
Ice clinks against the metal basin as Link turns toward me. “I thought I saw an extra pep in your step at practice today. Did you make good use of my romantic wisdom with Daphney then?”
“Shut up,” I laugh, and an image of Daphney in my bed after brunch on Saturday hits me full force. It was one of those epic sex marathons that leave you feeling hollowed out by the end. Fucking mind boggling. “I had a good weekend, and that’s all you’re getting from me.” I glance toward the door and hold my finger to my lips. “And don’t mention her name. She’s close with the Harris family, and it’s just a casual thing, so I don’t need that fucking things up here.”
