The following is a collaboration between
@Crossfire and myself.
âWell, maybe not
all day,â she replied, her eyes falling on the envelope as sheâd suddenly remembered she had to read the DNA results sooner or later. Amyâs mood changed in an instant, and she tapped Graysonâs hand so she could sit up in bed, the covers falling to her lap. âI guess I might as well just rip the band-aid off, right?â she motioned towards the envelope before looking back at Grayson.
âYeah, best ta get it over with. Here, Iâll get it, gotta hop up for a sec anyway.â
Grayson pulled the covers off himself and crawled out over Amy, the floor was cold on his bare feet, he could see why she didnât want to get up. He picked up the envelope and laid it in her waiting hands, then grabbed out a pair of socks from the drawer and quickly pulled on his pants from last night and a plain white shirt.
âGonna run to the Menâs, back in jusâ a min Ames.â
Amy gave him a âyouâre leaving me
now?â look as Grayson walked out, but she took a deep breath and realized that he was giving her space. It was obvious she couldnât put it off any longer. Amy pulled open the edge of the envelope before she hooked her finger to open it up the rest of the way. She sighed, then unfolded the results page.
It was a positive DNA match.
A quivering hand covered her mouth. She suppressed the urge to cry, her breaths growing a bit irregular.
Donât freak out, donât freak out. She was related, but you donât remember meeting her before. She was practically a stranger...After a few moments, Amy managed to calm herself down a bit. She simply stared off into space absent-mindedly, her thoughts taking her to her childhood.
Grayson groaned as the harsh fluorescent light of the bathroom hit his eyes. His headache intensified as he shuffled in and leaned over the sink for a minute. He splashed some cold water up into his face and cupped his hands under the flow to get a bit of water into his dry mouth and sore, parched throat. He felt a little better after that and returned to the room to find Amy, blank faced and deep in thought.
âAmes, ya ok love?â he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on her shoulder. The results paper sat on Amyâs lap, he didnât read the whole thing, but the words âpositive matchâ jumped out at him.
âWhatever ya need lass, Iâm here.â
âIt just seems thatâŚâ she bit her bottom lip, trying not to cry, âeveryone from my family seems to die, you know? Itâs frustrating, like, I canât catch a breakâŚâ
She looked at him, her watery eyes turning a bit red. But despite getting extremely close, she didnât cry, not that time. âIâm sorry, itâs just sometimes I donât know how to take bad news. But...what do you say we go get something to eat?â she asked, wiping her eyes as she did her best to try to smile.
âI know the feeling Amy, felt it a few times, caused it more. Hell, I contributed to yer pain, anâ though it was to save yeh, thereâs not a day goes by that I donât regret havinâ to kill âim. But, you listen here, Iâm not goinâ anywhere, yer stuck wiâ me âtil the end of the world. That, or until ya get sick of me.â
He caught her eye and grinned jokingly as he took his hand off her shoulder. It dropped to her lap, and he gave her leg a reassuring pat before standing up.
âAye, letâs go. Bad news gets a lil easier to digest on a full belly.â