Broken Pieces

Untitled Episode 12

I have been at my cabin for the last 3 days. I let Oscar know I had arrived safely. I emailed my COO and CEO of my company that I would be out for personal reasons when I got here. For the last 3 days, I have had so many panic attacks. I cannot wrap my head around what Mr. Night said to me. How can these people just believe I will go through with this? There has to be a way to get out of this. I heard a knock on my door. I grabbed my gun from under the side table by the door. I look through the window, it’s too dark to see who is standing outside. I c**k my gun; I open the door. Reiley don’t shoot, it’s me Ava. What the hell Ava, how did you find my cabin? Oscar was a hard man to convince to find you, plus you forget I’m a PI and can find anyone I want. I have given you enough time not to answer any calls. You can’t just disappear and worry everyone that loves you. Why are you hiding out in this cabin out in the middle of nowhere? When did you get a gun, do you even know how to use that dam thing?

Yes Ava, I do know how to use it. This is my safe place away from the world. That is why I’m here in my cabin, so I can think about everything that I found out in the last few days. I found out my birth mother had 3 children that she still had custody of till she died a year ago. Now they are in a foster home, waiting for placement families. I don’t even know the ages of them yet. Then on top of that, Mr. Night showed up at my house needing to talk. We ended up going to dinner. I ran out for dinner after he told me that if the DNA test proved, I was Mrs. Masino’s granddaughter, then I am to be his wife. That they promised the father on his deathbed to love and protect his lost child. That I would be taking over everything he owned. That is why I’m here freaking out, praying they have the wrong person. Trying to figure out if there is a way to get out of all this.

Ava hugs me, it will be OK Reiley. You have to face everything one day at a time. I understand that there is a lot being thrown at you all at once. But you can’t hide away from it and expect it all to go away. I was worried about you, that is why I hunted you down. Your parents are freaking out that you haven’t spoken to them in 3 days. Hell, even Eva is worried because you disappeared for personal reasons with an email. Eva is our best friend; she knew something was up. I’m here to help, but first you need to take the DNA test. So, you can go from there and handle what comes after we get the results. We will contact the caseworker for information on your half sibling. Now, go get your s**t it’s time to head home. I need to go over everything I found out about Mr. Night. Thank you, Ava, you are the best sister from another mother a girl could ask for. I put my gun in the safe and locked up the cabin. Time to head back to handle everything. I know I shouldn’t have run from everything.

Landing back in New York, we walked out of the airport. Oscar is waiting for us. I have so many missed calls and texts. I will have to go through them when I get home. Unlocking my door, I walked into my house and sat on the couch. I looked up Mrs. Masino’s number to call her. Ava is sitting next to me. She is going to stay the night with me. I put the phone on the speaker, and it rings 3 times. Hello, it is this Mrs. Masino: Good evening, this is Reiley. "I wanted to call you to schedule the DNA testing. "I would like to get the test done as soon as we can. "I can call the doctor in the morning to get you in for testing tomorrow," said Mrs. Masino. That would be perfect. I will call you around 9 am tomorrow for information about taking the test. Thank you have a good evening; I hung up the phone. The easy part is done now. I’m going to take a shower and go to bed Ava. Sounds good Reiley, I’m going to do the same. Good night, Ava.

Mrs. Masino called me around 8:30 am to give me all the information about the doctor’s office. Ava made us breakfast. I’m so ready for this test to be over. I’m so nervous about the results. We got ready to leave to go to the appointment at 10am. Ava and I get to the doctor’s office at 9:45 am, so I can fill out the paperwork before the appointment. I’m turning in the paperwork to the receptionist, when Mrs. Masino walks into the doctor’s office. Hello Reiley, how are you this morning? I hope you are not upset that I’m here. I wanted to show you support and, after the appointment, I would love to take you to lunch. That would be nice Mrs. Masino I said. Miss Black calls the nurse. I stood up and followed the nurse to the room. Miss Black, we are going to draw blood for DNA testing, and it will take 5 to 7 business days for the results to come back. We will contact you with the results, by calling you and sending an email as well. OK, thank you, I say, the nurse takes my blood and sends me on my way. Ava, are you ready to leave? "Yes, that did take a long time, said Ava. I know quick and easy blood drawn and out.

We meet Mrs. Masino at a restaurant, the waitress takes to her table. We sit down and order our drinks, looking at the menu. Reiley, I’m happy that we are sitting down together for lunch," said Mrs. Masion. Thank you for inviting us to lunch. I know I can be a difficult person to deal with. I want to apologize for behaving like a brat, with everything being thrown at me. I exploded. I’m having a hard time with the fact that I may have a father I didn’t know of, with his family showing up looking for me and some crazy man believing I would be his wife. O dear, I see why you decided to leave for a few days to regain your bearings," said Mrs. Masino. Reiley honestly, after we get the test results we can go from there; no need to stress out about anything if it’s not necessary. "I would like to get to know you in either direction this goes. "I have looked up your company, you do wonderful work, and please call me, Rose said Mrs. Masino. Rose, thank you. I love my job doing design. I’m in the works of adding event planning to my company as well. So, I would offer a one-stop place for all types of design for clients. We continued to chat about all kinds of things for 3 hours. Ava and I said goodbye. We walked out to my car.

Oscar dropped Ava off at her PI office. I’m on my way to my office to get some work done for the rest of the day. Walking out of the elevator, Mandy greets me with a smile. Miss Reiley, how are you doing today? Good afternoon, Mandy, I hope you are having an easy day so far. It is always an easy day working here. Is there anything you need? No Mandy, I’m just going to work in my office, catch up on the days I missed. Opening my office door, I see flower with a card on my desk. Mandy when these get delivered, Monday said Mandy. I close my office door and walk to sit at my desk. I reach for the card to see who sent me flowers.

Card read:

Feisty

Dinner didn’t go as planned.

Would love to take you out on a date.

Yours

LN

Wow, did this man really ask me on a date with flowers? I put the card on my desk, just going to ignore it for now.

A knock on my door gets my attention. I haven’t been watching the time. Reiley. Good to see you in the office. Eva and I took care of everything while you were out. Oliver, that is wonderful. I’m just working on the new design that came in. I see that Reiley, you have been in your office for the last few hours. Sorry Oliver, I didn’t tell you I was here and got straight to work. I lost track of time. It is okay, I know the way you get when you are working. I just wanted to stop by on my way out to check in on you. I’m good Oliver. Thank you for checking in on me. Have a great evening. I will see you tomorrow morning. I am getting back into designing new projects. The office is quiet since everyone went home a few hours ago. My stomach starts to growl, setting back in my chair, I pull out my phone to order dinner. So happy Chinese food is on its way, time to hit print and go to the restroom.