No one spoke. It was like time stood still.
"Hey! Was someone at the door.." Kyle came down the stairs and noticed the standoff we were having in the foyer. "What's happening right now?"
That snapped Mr. and Mrs. Atkins out of it and put them into action.
"I'll bring some snacks out." Mrs. Atkins said. "Why don't you all take Mr. Cameron to the table? We can talk this out." She glanced at her husband. "I'll also make a call to Mr. Duncan."
Mr. Atkins nodded and led us back to the freshly cleaned table. Everyone took their normal seats with the exception of Mr. Cameron. Mr. Atkins offered him his chair, and then went to get the spare. He squeezed in between me and Mr. Cameron.
"How did you find out…?" Noah asked, looking guilty. I thought about his anonymous post. "Do a lot of people know?"
"They don't." Mr. Cameron shook his head. "I put it together on my own. But that's a problem too. If I could solve it, so can a few others who know of your situation, Jake."
"My situation..?" I questioned, unsure of what he meant.
"Staying with a foster family. Playing baseball. Has trauma." Mr. Cameron lips thinned. "There's a leak in the foster system."
The twins and Zeke looked at Noah. There was a leak in the house too.
"Hey! I only said something about doing a DNA test and just scolded the man." Noah huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Settle down." Mr. Atkins scolded him, then looked back to Mr. Cameron. "We know of the leak in the system. That's how this story got to Jeremy to begin with. Technically it should all be under wraps with Jake being a minor."
"Wayne, they're digging. All the news stations." Mr. Cameron said with concern. "I was one of them. I heard about it. The only thing sealed is Jake's name, but that's not very safe either since he shares the same last name as his mother." He took a deep breath and brought out a small notepad, revealing some notes. "First, I started with the incident. If someone is accused of murder, it's bound to make the news. Of some sort. Even if they don't attach Jeremy's name to it. All I had to look up was 'teen almost murdered by mom'."
I shivered.
Mr. Atkins put his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close. "I'll have to ask you to keep some of the details to yourself."
Mr. Cameron nodded, looking at me with sympathy. He knew. He read what my mother had done. I cringed away. "From there, the pieces fell into place. I had a woman who…who committed a crime, that happens to have the same last name of a star high schooler that I know of. It's not a super common last name so it just kind of connected…"
"We should change Jake's last name." Noah declared.
"Yea!" Kyle nodded in agreement.
"Why haven't we done that yet?" Dave asked his dad. "We're still adopting him, aren't we?"
"Of course we are." Mrs. Atkins walked in from the kitchen, bringing a plate of cookies and a few water bottles. She set them out for everyone to help themselves before sitting down on her end seat. "It just takes time."
"You guys are adopting Jake?" Mr. Cameron asked.
"Yes." Mrs. Atkins didn't hesitate, smiling my way, making me feel lighter. "We started the process last month before we found out about his deceased father. Now, we're waiting on paternity results. After we confirm his father's death, we can adopt him with only a few hurdles to jump."
"Extended family." Mr. Cameron nodded. "Well, from what I hear, you'll be good on that end too."
Wow. With this, I realized that everyone would know how my brother and uncle didn't want me. A pang hit me in my chest, almost taking my breath away. How painful. Eventually, everyone's going to know who my brother is. They're going to know that I wasn't wanted at all. From the very beginning.
"Good riddance." Noah huffed, reaching for a cookie. "Who would want a selfish family like them anyways?"
That's right. I didn't want them either. I nodded.
"So, is that all you came here to say?" Dave glared. "Are you hoping for an inside scoop?"
"David." Mr. Atkins warned. "It's already nice of him to warn us that this is coming. Once it get out, it'll take some time to die down. I'm sure there'll be a few reporters with questions for Jake."
"I don't have to talk to them, do I?" I asked, looking up at him.
"No, of course not." He patted my head. "With this heads up, we can make a few calls to have something planned for when it blows. All you have to worry about is school and baseball."
"Speaking of baseball." Mr. Cameron cleared his throat. He took a small piece of paper off his notepad and slid it towards Zeke. "Your first opponent. Thursday night, neutral site, against Northwood High."
"Are they home or visitor?" Zeke asked, picking up the paper with the name.
"Home. They have a better record."
"We only have one loss." Kyle frowned.
"And they don't have one at all. Undefeated." Mr. Cameron looked at me. "How's your arm?"
I lifted my arm and set it on the table to show off my stitches. "I have to wait and see."
Mrs. Atkins nodded and continued. "We have to check with the concerning parties on how they feel about playing with stitches. At worst, he could play the next game after they get taken out."
Mr. Cameron sighed. "I'll hope for the best for you all."
"That sounds ominous." Zeke narrowed his eyes at him.
"Look up Northwood." He shook his head. "Good pitching team. No offense to you guys, but you rely too much on yourself and Jake. Earlier today you had a run and a RBI, Jake had 2 RBI's and a run scored too. Involvement on five of the six runs scored."
"I'll do more." Noah flexed, grinning. "Today's win was my effort after all. I'll do even better on Thursday."
The twins rolled their eyes simultaneously.
"I'll hold you to it." Zeke told him.
Noah dropped the cocky act. "Okay, dont take blind promises at face value. We'll be counting on you, Zeke."
Mrs. Atkins shook her head as the boys started to talk back and forth. "Alright, time for bed. Mr. Cameron has shared plenty of information with us today. What do you all say?"
"Thanks."
"Thank you."
"Try not to spill the beans to any other reporters."
"Noah James!" Mrs. Atkins scolded him for saying something out of line.
"No, no, it's fine. I understand." He stood up. "Thanks for allowing me in your home to explain." He gave a sad smile. "I'm sure it'll come out tomorrow. I'm not the only reporter that was at today's game. Others will start digging and connecting the dots."
"We'll make ample preparations." Mr. Atkins stood up as well, and reached out to shake his hand. "I'll walk you out. Thanks for making the drive over."
"It's not a problem. You and Zeke really helped me enough by letting me announce his decision. Invite me on draft day to make it even." He laughed as they both moved towards the door.
"What now, Mom?" Noah asked, munching on his fourth cookie. Me and the twins reached for our second. Zeke had more self control than the rest of us.
"Now?" She smiled. "Now we go to bed. Get some rest. The world doesn't stop for drama. And missing school because of lack of sleep, isn't a valid excuse. Get moving."
He groaned.
