Little Green Stars

Chapter 23-Daddy (I Mean Sister) Issues

Well, not only did Jin overhear Maeve giving me condoms, but he overheard that I have serious daddy issues—like literally. As Maeve leaves my room, I prepare for the awkwardness to begin.

"So..." Jin begins, flopping back down on the bean bag.

"Ya..." My eyes linger to the bottom of my bed. I can't see the condoms, but just knowing they're under my bed keeps my face red.

"So, that was...interesting," Jin says, coyly.

"Shut up," I say, collapsing my head in my hands, trying not to laugh.

"I mean, I'm always up for an extra science experience..."

Wow.

"But in all seriousness," Jin changes the subject quickly, seemingly nervous, "that whole thing with your dad is crazy."

"I know, right?"

"You've never asked about him before?"

"Honestly, I don't think so. It was never a burning desire for me to find out about him. Do you think he might be important?"

"I mean, he definitely could be. It's just weird that your Mom wouldn't tell Maeve about him."

"No, the weird part is that Maeve and me—even though we're seventeen years apart—have the same freaking dad."

"It can't be a coincidence. You know that, right?"

"Agreed. But does it have to do with Red Lady?"

Jin looks lost in thought as he pulls out his notebook to write something down. "Hey, what were you going to tell me earlier?

"What?"

"About what you found in Maeve's office."

"Oh shit!" I say, jumping up to reach my hand under my mattress. "This..." I say, handing Jin a folded up document.

"A DNA test isn't the only thing Maeve has sent to a lab," I say as Jin's eyes scan it.

"What's this?"

"I wasn't sure when I looked at it earlier, but after what Maeve said, it makes sense. It looks like a lab or a genealogy report. Read this," I say, flipping to an attached letter.

"Ms. Sharock, Diagnostic Laboratories could confirm the absence presence of any abnormal genetic sequencing in the sample you sent in. The sample appears to be normal with no markers for any cancers, as well as no genetic deletions or duplications in any region of Chromosome 22..." Jin's words drop off once the words become too hard to understand."She was testing to see if there's something wrong with you?"

"YES!"

"But why?"

"Maybe she knows more than she says, maybe that's why she's so paranoid and on top of whatever I'm doing."

"From what I overheard, it kind of seems like she cares about you."

"Meave only cares about herself, trust me," I emphasize. "She always has an ulterior motive."

"You sure she just wasn't making sure you didn't have whatever your mom did?"

"That's what I thought, but look at the date," I tap the top of the paper.

"September 4, 2019," Jin says, looking up at me. "So?"

"That's just a couple weeks after Rina got here," I try to lead Jin along to the point I'm getting at. "Probably a couple of weeks after an offer came in on the house..."