Mr. Pickens left us to go find the paperwork while we headed for the exit. Just outside, two familiar faces were standing around, talking. Jack Patterson and his lawyer. The sound of the doors opening and closing got their attention.
Mrs. Atkins shot them a glare before leading me and her husband to a shady spot under the tree. The closer we got to summer, the warmer it got.
"Excuse me." A deep masculine voice said. We all turned to see Jack walking our way.
Mrs. Atkins reacted, taking a step towards him, but by doing so, she was also blocking me. "What is it?"
"I just wanted to come over and introduce myself properly." I heard him say. "I'm Jack Patterson. Uncle to Jeremy."
"And to Jake. You're an uncle to Jake too." Mrs. Atkins stated.
"We can't be too sure just yet." He replied. My heartbeat got loud. "We'll have the DNA tested today so I would like to ask if you could have Jake tested today as well."
"We already plan on doing so." Mrs. Atkins said with some attitude. "I suggest you and your family start working on your apology."
"What?"
She took a step closer to him. They were eye-to-eye; he may have been tall compared to me, but Mrs. Atkins was tall too. The whole Atkins family were known for being tall. "You abandoned Jake. With some terribly sick woman. And then you have the nerve to claim that you aren't related?? There's no free pass here. No matter what, to me, Jeremy is the loser here. Even if they don't share a dad, they share a mom. They're blood. Don't try and feed us some sap story. You two knew what kind of woman she was and that's why you took Jeremy, isn't it?"
I couldn't see the man with Mrs. Atkins in front of me, and there wasn't much to hear because nothing was said.
"That's what I thought." Mrs. Atkins backed away. "You're a sorry excuse for a human. Only God knows what to do with you." She turned on her heel, pulled me to her side and walked me back to the car. "Wayne. Get the papers from George. We'll be in the car."
"Sure, honey." Mr. Atkins could only say to our backs.
Mrs. Atkins didn't let me go until we got to the car. "Sorry about that, Jake. I know he's your uncle but..."
"I'm okay." I looked up at her. "Are you okay?"
She gave me a gentle smile, looking more like herself. "I needed to get that off my chest. I just-thinking back, I." She paused to stop the stuttering. "I just want them to know what you went through. And that they could have made a difference if they chose to do so. Instead they chose to ignore, and it was wrong." She looked a little sad. "Don't you wish things could be different sometimes?"
"Not so much anymore." I told her honestly. Mr. Atkins and I talked about this before. "Overall, I like where I am now. Physically and mentally."
"Oh, Jake." She pulled me into a hug. "I know you hate being touch, surrounded and enclosed, but I just want you to know, and feel, how much you mean to me. To our family. You're one of us now. Alright?"
My eyes stung. I nodded and patted her back with one hand. I was still scared. Still claustrophobic. Still traumatized. But now, I was also loved. Mrs. Atkins cared so much from day one.
"Hey, hey, who is comforting who here?" Mr. Atkins walked up and joined us by the car, waving some papers. We broke apart. "Are you a hugger now, Jake?"
I blushed. "Only sometimes." If the moment calls for it.
"Is that the form?" Mrs. Atkins eyes narrowed at the papers in his hands.
"Yes. It's a half hour drive so I figured we can get lunch first then go." He moved to the driver's side and got in the car; we also got in. "After that's all done, we should be back in time for Jake to go to practice. Maybe just a few minutes late."
They both talked about and decided on a local restaurant for lunch. The conversation stayed on soft topics, with no mentioning of the upcoming blood test or what was to happen afterwards.
After lunch, we made the drive to the facility and walked in with our papers. The receptionist checked us in and then soon led us to a private room down the hall.
A nurse came in and started to check my veins. "Any problems with needles or pain?"
I shook my head.
"Good." She got out her equipment and got to work. "We'll only be taking a couple of vials, but be sure to hydrate afterwards. Have a juice and a banana." She poked me and withdrew the blood. "I personally won't be doing the test, but I can tell you that the results will only take a few days after both samples are sent in."
"So if the other group brings in their sample today, we can have the results before the weekend?" Mrs. Atkins asked.
"Most likely. But if they bring it a day late, you may have to wait until Monday." The nurse told her. "Depends how busy the lab is too so don't pin your hopes on having the results by Friday."
"Alright, thank you." Mrs. Atkins gave a friendly smile.
The nurse finished with me and put a bandaid. "Have a nice day!" She left, leaving the door open for us.
Just like that, we were free to go. My blood was taken and I would have the results soon enough. No later than a week. The gravity of it all started to sink in as we walked out, leaving the building, going back to the car.
"Are you worried, Jake?" Mr. Atkins asked, glancing down at me. "It's okay to be stressed out in a time like this."
"I'm a little scared of what will happen next." I said with complete honesty. "If it's a match, if it's not. If I see Jeremy again, or not."
"What would you like to happen?"
I shrugged. I wasn't so sure myself. "I don't know yet."
"Well, don't worry too much about it." Mrs. Atkins told me. "Just focus on the here and now. Go to practice. Then come home and do your homework." She thought for a minute. "Shouldn't finals be coming up soon? I should check on all of your grades and make sure you prepare."
My lips twitched. What happened to the here and now? "Finals are in the second week of June. Noah and I won't have any problems."
"It's not you two that I'm worried about." She sighed as we loaded back into the car.
"All the boys should be in safe territory." Mr. Atkins reassured her. "They administration has to check their current grades to let them play in the CIF."
"But Dave and Kyle have to focus on college applications this fall." She sighed again. "Those two really tire me out."