A Life On The Edge

Family

I didn't remember in the morning. I just woke up and that was all. Dylan didn't have to work until later tonight so I got the day off of River duty. I woke up and immediately went to the box. I froze when I saw Dylan looking through the envelope my father...Mike left me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I saw you opened It." he mumbled. "These are cute pictures. I'd never seen Keisha pregnant, and she was only ever this happy with my dad."

"Pictures? As in more than one?" I asked confused. 

"Yeah there's three. He said holding them up. I noticed the first one. There was another picture of the two of them. She wasn't as far along as she was in the first one. She was lying on the couch in her underwear. He was sitting next to the couch on the floor leaning his head against hers. It was a cute picture. The third picture was of Mike and...me? It looked way too old to be me but there I was or at least there a little girl was. She had dark hair, skin like me, she was kind of chubby. I...she had crawled up on his chest to give him a kiss. It was adorable to be honest...it couldn't be me. There was no way. The girl looked like she was about three years old, I was still at the orphanage. But if it wasn't me...who was it?

"Riley?"

"Huh?" I was knocked out of my fixation on the pictures and I was angry again. "Put them back. They're not yours."

"Sorry." He mumbled putting them back in the envelope. He handed it back to me with a sad face. I thought about what he said about my mom. How he had never seen her so happy.

"Did you know my mom well?" I asked.

"What? Keisha? I mean not really. I knew her but not as well as Ricky and Eli." My heart ached at their names. "She resented me. I was the child of the love of his life. I was his family, she was his mistress." I nodded understanding. "She glared at me a lot." He chuckled. I nodded and picked up Ryder's box. "Any progress?" he asked.

"He was born in Phoenix as a replacement to his brother who they thought was going to die. I guess when they got Ryder they moved to Helmsdale." I explained.

"Why?" he asked. "What were they hiding from?" I shrugged.

"That's what I want to find out." I said walking into my room. I sat on the bed with Ryder's box and sighed just taking everything out. I was looking through Ryder's early medical records. I frowned, they looked just like mine. Allergies, complications, breathing problems, chronic illness, seizures, acute heart problems, the whole nine yards. I sighed, weird how it's the exact same. Is that normal? Is my illness common? Fuck I don't even know what it is. I just know I'm not supposed to exercise too hard, drink juice, and stay away from flashing lights. What the fuck is that? Maybe Ryder knows the name for it.

I looked over his adoption papers again and ran that name by my head over and over and over. Diana Patterson, who is Diana Patterson? Why is that name so fucking familiar?

"Riwy do you wanna play catch on the beach wit Dywan, Button, and me?"

"No,"

"Please!" he yelled.

"River I'm busy I'm sorry kid." He huffed and stomped out of the room. I rolled my eyes.

"What are you so busy with?" Dylan asked poking his head through the door.

"I'm trying to figure this out." I grumbled. "I have so many questions and no answers."

"Well maybe I can help. I used to help Chris track down rats." He mumbled taking a seat next to me on the bed.

"Do you know someone named Diana Patterson?" I asked. He bit his cheek as he thought it over.

"No, I don't think so. But it sounds familiar." He mumbled.