The Hitting Zone

After everyone was seated, Mr. Atkins took a deep breath and started from the beginning, sounding more clear than before. "Mr. Duncan called me to say the news knows that CPS is looking to get in touch with him. He believes there was a leak. Someone probably sold the info to a news station to make some money."

"Why would they do that?" Dave questioned.

"What does this mean exactly?" Kyle asked.

"Well, for starters, someone probably heard a famous person was involved and wanted to make a quick buck for whatever reason why. Mr. Duncan has assured me that they're looking for the leak and that person will immediately be fired." Mr. Atkins continued. "As for what it means...we can't be too sure just yet."

"Is Jake going to become famous?" Noah asked, frowning.

"No, he's still a minor so the news won't be able to release his name to the public." Mr. Atkins looked me in the eye. "But they'll be rehashing the story of you and your mom."

I gulped. "Soo. My brother will be asked about our mom?"

Mr. Atkins nodded. "This isn't the worst thing that could happen if we try and look at it in a better light. The state was having trouble reaching him in order to confirm his relationship with you. Right now they're trying to find some DNA sample to confirm your relationship with him and your father." He took a deep breath. "Maybe with the reporters asking the questions in public, he'll take the initiative to reach Mr. Duncan."

"This doesn't sound so bad." Noah spoke up and I agreed with him.

Mr. Atkins lips thinned. "Just because the news can't legally publish Jake's name, doesn't mean there aren't other ways. There are blogs, anonymous commenters, and even Jeremy himself can announce Jake's name." He gave me a sad smile. "I can't guarantee your privacy."

"Does this have any effect on us adopting Jake?" Mrs. Atkins spoke up for the first time.

Mr. Atkins shook his head. "Hopefully not. Best case scenario, we confirm his relatives, they agree not to fight for custody, then we go through the courts."

"Yay!" Noah jumped up. "This doesn't sound like bad news to me."

I nodded in agreement and so did the twins. With the news out in the open, I felt a little more free. Jeremy is going to know. He's going to know I made it to safety.

In the end, with Noah's excitement and urging, everyone agreed on The Arcade for dinner and some fun. We didn't know of the storm that was heading our way.

***

Sunday mornings were the most relaxed. No games. No mandatory practices. Mrs. Atkins would have breakfast ready before she and her husband would leave to show some houses to clients.

Sadly, it's not how this Sunday started.

"Jake!" Noah yelled, waking me up.

I turned over to look his way. Seeing that he looked upset and angry, I sat up with urgency. "What is it? What's wrong?"

Noah started to tug at me, getting me to hurry out of bed. "Come look at this! You have to see this!"

I fumbled out of bed and let Noah drag me to his laptop. A video was paused on the familiar face of Jeremy Patterson.

"This is the post-game conference. Some reporter asked about your mom!" Noah hit play.

["Jeremy, have you heard that your estranged mother is in prison?" A reporter asked.

His eyes widened for a second, then relaxed to a neutral expression. "No, we aren't in contact. That's the meaning of estranged. But I can't say I'm surprised."

"So you don't know why she's in prison?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. "I obviously don't. Is this really relevant to the game?"

"She is being brought up on attempted murder charges. Attempted murder on your teenage brother." The reporter ignored the question about the game. His statement caused for camera flashes to go off as everyone wanted a pic of Jeremy's expression.

Jeremy Patterson stood up abruptly. "We're done here."

"Do you really not care about your brother?" The reporter continued to press the topic. "You haven't even asked when this happened. Last year. Have you really not called to check on him?"

Jeremy lifted the microphone and spoke into it. "I feel for the kid that almost died, but he isn't my brother. I don't have a brother. The closest I have to siblings are the cousins I was raised with. My birth mother gave my uncle custody of me right after my father's death." He dropped the mic and walked out of the cameras view.]

Noah hit stop. "What the heck did he mean by that?! He didn't grow up with you so you aren't his brother? How dumb can he be??"

I slumped in the chair. "Maybe we really aren't related." I felt numb.

Noah though, he felt angry. It was evident in his yelling. "That can't be! At the very least, he admitted that your mom is his mom. That means you're half-siblings at the minimum."

"Maybe his estranged mother is some different woman?" I mumbled.

"What!? How could there be that many crazy women in the state? You saw his reaction. He wasn't surprised to hear what your mother had done. Yet, as soon as they mention brother, he gets up and gets mad."

"What's with all the yelling?" Dave asked, walking in without knocking. "Are you trying to wake the whole house?"

Noah pulled Dave by his arm and restarted the video. I had to hear the same words again. 'He isn't my brother.'

Dave sucked in a gulp of air at the end. Noah stopped the video again "What the F?!"

"That's what I'm saying!" Noah yelled, exasperated.

"How can he just write off his brother like that? Even if it's not Jake, if that guy's mom had another boy, that would still be his half-brother." Dave shook his head.

"That's what I'm saying!!" Noah repeated again.

"What is going on in here?" Mr. Atkins asked from the doorway.

Noah pulled his dad over, but this time I stood up as fast as I could.

"Jake?" Mr. Atkins asked.

"I. I don't need to hear it again." And again. Who knows if Noah would repeat this action for everyone in this house.

Dave eyed me. "Yea, let's go have breakfast." He put his arm around my shoulders and walked me out of there. As we slowly walked down the stairs, he gripped me tighter. "He was probably just caught off guard and said something without thinking."

I didn't reply.

"He probably holds some resentment towards your mother too." Dave tried to defend him.

But it was too late. Said something without thinking? Who would lie and immediately deny having any brother or siblings? Holds resentment? Get in line. I spent more years with that woman than he did. And I did it alone without him. Without a dad.

"You heard him." I told Dave. "It ain't me. I'm not his brother. He only has cousins. That's fine. I don't want a brother like him anyways." I answered coldly.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and Dave pulled me into a hug. "You already have four brothers. You don't need another one anyways."

I felt uncomfortable being trapped in someone's arms, but there wasn't any anxiety. It was sadness that filled me. No one related to me, wanted me. Only a random family of strangers. A family that had known me for two months.