Second Chance [Four/Tobias]

Eighteen

ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

Few days later, I was at the office. I had two days left before I officially resign.

"Hey, Avyanna, you got a call from the reception," A friend tells me.

"Me?" I ask.

"Yeah," She nods.

"Did they say who?" I ask.

"Nope," She shakes her head.

"Thanks," I nod and go to the reception.

"Ah, there you are," The receptionist hands me the phone.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hello, Sorry to call like this." It was Rence.

"Rence! Hey," I smile.

"Hey, I'm really sorry for calling you. I didn't have your number so I had to call your office. When will you be done?" He asks.

"In an hour? Why?" I ask.

"Someone wants to meet you, Avyanna. They called me after the whole article thing. I didn't ask them much but they said it's about your parents," He says and my heart sinks.

"My...my what?" I ask.

"Your parents." He repeats.

"Sure...sure." I suddenly can't catch my breath. "I'll... I'll meet them."

"It's just one girl. At the TPC at 6?" He asks.

"Sure...yeah. Yeah," I nod.
--

ᴀᴠʏᴀɴɴᴀ

After that horrific conversation, I stop at TPC.

I wait at a table and in a moment Rence comes in with a woman.

"I'll give you some space," He nods.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Does it matter?" She answers. She is a small woman with long hair that is loose with a cap on her head.

"I think it does," I reply, folding my arms. I'm not happy with how she showed up all of a sudden and thinks her identity doesn't matter.

"Kelly. Kelly Ross." She leans back in her chair and takes her cap off. "You don't know me. I know you."

"And how is that?" I ask.

She sighs. "Look, Avyanna..." She says, with much emphasis on my name. I wonder how she knows.

"Yes?" I raise my eyebrow.

"Your father and I are neighbours. I heard he has a daughter—he tells me about her. When I saw you in the papers with the same last name, I just wanted to know," She says.

"Does 'my father' have a name?" I ask.

"Matthew Gill," She looks at me. "Ring a bell?"

My heart sinks and my stomach twists into an uncomfortable knot.

"Hello?" She taps on the table to get my attention again.

"Sorry. Where...where is he?" I ask.

"Is he your father or not?" She asks.

I try hard not to stammer. "Yes. Yes, he is."

"Well, then, he's not in this city. A little away in another city." She says. "I would think as a daughter you would go searching for your father."

"I don't have to explain it to you... Kelly," I look away.

"Damn right, you don't have to," She smirks.

"Can you take me there?" I ask.

"Sure. Now?" She stands up.

"Yeah, wait here, I'll get a bag."

Back at the house, Tobias wasn't back yet. So I throw in a change of clothes and grab my car keys.

I return to TPC and Kelly jumps in the car.

"We go to a place called Itasca." She grins as she gets in.

"How long?" I ask as I set the GPS.

"Around one hour, usually," She says, looking out of the window. I wonder how she came here in the first place. And why.

"Why did you come looking for me?" I ask.

"Is that really necessary?" She sighs.

"Yeah," I press my lips together.

"Well, Matthew is a great fella. I thought why not," She says, smiling to herself.

"That's nice," I sigh.

Take any random person. If they haven't seen their parents for a decade and don't know if they're dead or not, they are bound to search.

And then, there's me. I wonder why I never searched for them.

It gives a sick feeling in my stomach. Don't I care about my parents? I do. Then why haven't I gone searching for them before?

Was I too engrossed in my life that I've forgotten about who I should be caring for?

I shake the thoughts out before they take control of me.

I don't ask anything about Kelly because then, she'll ask about me and I don't want to talk about me.

A hour of driving later, we reach Itasca. It's a beautiful city, but aren't all?

"Okay, let me tell you the directions from here," She says and guides me through streets and lanes.

"There," She points to a building that I suspect is older than me.

"You live there?" I ask, trying to hide my urge to say the truth about how old the building looks.

"Yeah, is there a problem?" She hops out.

"Nothing," I park the car.

This is it. Meeting my parents after a decade.

I can't state how I feel. It's a rush and a mix of emotions.

"What are you sitting here for?" I ask, as I see her waiting in the lobby.

"You think I want to barge in on your reunion? Please," She laughs.

I smile gratefully. "Thank you, Kelly,"

She clears her throat, "It's alright... I guess."

"It's the fourth floor, by the way," She says as I walk to the lift. "Number 409."

"Gotcha."
--