Guided By The Stars: Book Three

Chapter Five: Reaching Out

If only the man had hung up on him. Told him to get fucked. Denied his existence, or denied him. It would have been easy to write him off if he'd given Elijah a reason.

Instead, he was genuine. Sad. Hopeful. So many things Elijah couldn't ignore or walk away from. The love Daniel shared with his mother all those years ago was clear in his shaky, quiet voice. His mother had never mentioned a love prior to Harrison, but Elijah didn't doubt for a second she'd lived with the regret of leaving him there waiting for him.

With that sort of love, the love he felt for Madeline, he would have given her a life full of joy and kindness. It wouldn't have saved his mother from getting cancer, but it may have given her the will to fight it. And if she'd still lost that battle, she could have died in peace knowing Elijah would be cared for. But that wasn't how she lived, and that wasn't how he died. All because he got a fever at three months old.

His mother wouldn't want him playing the blame game, so he wouldn't, no matter how tempting it was. Like Daniel said, it wasn't all regret. As much as Elijah loathed the man he thought was his father, he never laid a hand on his mom as far as he saw, and if they'd never met, he never would have moved next door to the Martin's, and Daniel never would have had his children.

When Elijah's phone vibrated in his pocket, he glanced into the room where Madeline remained sound asleep, as she had been for the last nine hours. So Elijah went and sat at on the bottom step, took out his phone, and opened the message.

Daniel: I'm sure you need some time to adjust to this, and I respect that, but I'd like to meet you. Whenever you're ready.

Daniel: I can buy you a plane ticket so you can meet my children, if you'd like. I have three.

Daniel: Scratch that. Apparently, I have four.

It wasn't particularly funny, but Elijah laughed anyhow. Hell, maybe he was just that tired, where just about anything was funny. Sleep hadn't so much as tempted him all night, but once he hung up that phone, everything just sort of caught up to him.

Elijah: I can't travel anytime soon. Not for another six months, at least.

Daniel: I can come to you. Just think about it.

Elijah: A part of me wishes you'd been a dick.

Daniel: I'm sorry to disappoint. How about this? If we meet, I'll take away your game console, and ground you.

Elijah laughed again, then went to typing.

Elijah: Not a gamer. Sorry.

Daniel: What are your hobbies?

It was a damn smooth transition, and Elijah couldn't help but admire how well he'd pulled that off. But again, he could just be that tired.

Elijah: I'm a boxer. Hobby, not a career. Painting, sketches... whatever can keep my mind busy, really.

Daniel: So, what is your career?

It surprised Elijah how receptive he was to this. Talking to him, hearing his voice, him having to say some things aloud... it was fucking painful. Though the texts were getting personal, it felt like a less personal approach, which made it easier.

Elijah: I worked at a drug and alcohol rehab clinic until last week. I had to take a leave of absence for personal reasons.

Daniel: A noble profession.

Elijah: I used to be a patient in one. Just a heads up.

He expected his phone to stop buzzing, but it didn't. Daniel didn't miss a beat.