My cell phone.

In the aftermath of the race and the party that followed, my phone battery had died. Picking up my purse, I reached inside, grabbed my phone and the charger. After plugging it into an outlet nearby I placed my phone down on the dresser and started to walk back towards the bed.

No sooner had I reached it then I heard the sound of my phone vibrate with a new message. I turned and walked back over to pick it up. Jillian had phoned a couple of hours before. I called my voicemail and listen to her message.

Hey, it’s me. Um, so, I was out earlier and when I came home there was a message on the home phone for you. It’s an attorney? From child protective services? Okay so, apparently, a couple of nights ago, Gene got arrested for DUI. According to the lawyer, during the process of booking him on the charge, they discovered that Gene had abandoned Simon. I guess that means that he’s in trouble because of deadbeat dad laws. That’s all I know right now, call me back when you get this message… I’ll be up pretty late. Love you. Hope you’re okay.

I frowned and pulled the phone away from my ear. What kind of trouble would Gene be in exactly? Without wasting another second, I called Jillian. She answered after the second ring.

“What’s all this about Gene?” I began, sitting down on the edge of the mattress.

“Yeah, I don’t really know. That reminds me, I forgot to give you that lawyer’s phone number,” she said, her voice trailing off. “Let me get it. I’ll be right back.”

A few seconds later, she returned and I took down the number.

“Okay, thanks, I’ll call first thing tomorrow.”

“Ava,” Jillian said, “Is everything all right with you?”

Stretching the charger cord to its maximum, I set back down on the edge of the bed.

“Yeah, I’m just really tired.”

“Um, all right. It’s just that Simon and I watched the race on TV today. I would’ve thought you’d be more excited.”

I exhaled and reached up towards my eyes. Rubbing them with the tips of my fingers, I squinted and replied, “I was… I mean, I am. I don’t know… I’m sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I dropped my hand away from my eyes. Blinking away the exhaustion from them, I said, “Not right now. I’m with Dyson. He’s showering. It’s just not a good time.”

“Dyson is showering and you aren’t in there with him? Something must be wrong…”

I smiled. “It’s not like he didn’t try, believe me. I’m just not thinking straight right now. I can’t explain it.”

“It’s okay,” Jillian began, the tone of her voice softening. “The two of you have been through a lot. What you need right now is just some time together, you know? Give things a chance to see how they work out.”

I shrugged, glancing in the direction of the bathroom. Dyson had turned off the water, but I wasn’t sure when.

“Maybe you’re right… I just don’t know right now.”

With that, we said good night to each other and I promised I would let her know what I found out when calling the attorney the next day. After we hung up, I stood from the bed and placed my phone down next to the charger.

Afterward, barely able to stand any longer, I collapsed into the mattress and rested my head on a pillow. I lay there for several minutes, maybe ten. I really couldn’t say. Soon after, I heard the sound of the bathroom door open, followed by Dyson’s footsteps.

They came to a stop at the edge of the bed.

I cracked my eyes open a fraction to see him standing there looking at me.

“Sorry about that,” he began, looking down at me with a damp towel hooked around his waist. “I didn’t wake you? Did I?”

It took every bit of energy I had to keep my eyelids from closing. “No, I hadn’t fallen asleep yet.”

Dyson nodded, turned and disappeared from view once again. While I lay there, I heard him rummaging through his suitcase.

“Who were you talking to?” he asked.

“Jillian,” I muttered, closing my eyes once more. “We got a really strange phone call from child protective services today. She called to tell me about it.”

Through my eyelids, I noticed the room get dark right around the time I heard the sound of Dyson flicking the light switch. A couple of seconds later, my body shifted slightly when he climbed into the bed.

“Nothing serious, I hope?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I have to call them tomorrow.”

I finished speaking and felt his arm curl around my stomach. He leaned in, brushing my hair aside and kissed me on the back of the neck.

“Mmm…” I purred. “You have no idea how good that feels.”

“You can tell me all about it in the morning. Now shut up and go to sleep.”

My body went limp in his embrace.

AVA

I gasped for breath, shooting into a seated position. Snapping my head from left to right, I blinked, not recognizing my surroundings for a few seconds.

“What’s wrong?”

I turned my head, looking down at Dyson. My sudden movement startled him to awareness. I reached up, rubbed my eyes with my fingers and then ran my fingers through my hair, trying to reorient myself.

“It’s nothing,” I replied. “I’m sorry about that.”

I looked at him again and he closed his eyes, dropping his head back down on top of the pillow.

“It’s okay,” he grunted.

Still in my clothes from the night before, I slid off of the bed and looked at the nightstand to check the time. It was just after ten thirty in the morning. Surely the attorney would be in by now, even though they were a couple of hours behind us.

I walked around the end of the bed and reached for my cell phone. Picking it up, I looked at the piece of paper where I’d scribbled the attorney’s number and dialed it. After I navigated through the automated phone system, his extension rang.

After the fourth one, a man answered.

“This is Edward Marshall.”

Unplugging my phone from the charger, I turned and walked in the direction of the hotel room window.

“Yes, um, Mr. Marshall, my name is Ava Walters, and I am the legal guardian for Simon Walters. I was told you have some information for me about his father, Gene Philo.”

“Oh yes,” the attorney replied.

Turning my back towards the window, I glanced in the direction of the bed. Dyson lifted his head.

“Gene?” he began, frowning at me. “What’s he…?”

Before he could say another word, I waved him off, silencing him. Just then, Mr. Marshall spoke once again.

“Let me grab that file,” he began. In the background, I heard the sound of paper being moved around. “And please, you can call me Ed.”

“All right.”

I turned and looked out the window.

Down below, people sat at an outdoor restaurant. For some reason, I became fixated on a family. The mother, father and two little kids – a boy and a girl.

I reached up and slipped my thumbnail between my lips, tapping against my tooth while I waited for the attorney. Just then, Dyson grabbed my waist from behind, startling me out of my trance-like state. I turned and swatted him across the upper arm. Dyson chuckled, leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before walking away in the direction of the bathroom.

Soon after, Ed returned.

“Ms. Walters,” he began. “Do you know Mr. Philo?”

“Yes, I do. He’s my nephew’s biological father. Oh and you can call me Ava, by the way.”

“Oh, all right then, Ava.”

Before he could say anything else, I asked, “I received a message from my roommate last night. Something about a DUI arrest and deadbeat dad laws?”

“Yes, that’s correct. Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

Before long, I realized I’d already begun to pace back and forth.

“Of course.”

Ed cleared his throat. “Yes, well, it seems that during Mr. Philo’s arrest and booking, it was discovered that he owed several years’ worth of unpaid child support.”