How to Save a Life ✓

XXVIII: In Which She Meets Him Pt. 1

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

The only thing that can be heard in the small restaurant is the scrapes of knifes on the plates as Aphrodite and Noah try to cut into their pancakes. My plate of eggs and bacon remain full as I absentmindedly cut it into smaller pieces. I see a fork enter my plate and take away a piece of bacon. When I look up, Aphrodite gives me a sheepish smile and says sorry with her mouth full.

"You're disgusting." I playfully say as I cringe at the half-chewed food in her mouth.

"What? I'm hungry. A girl's gotta eat."

"It's okay. You can have my food, I'm not hungry anyway." I pass my full plate to her and she takes it without hesitation, only muttering a thank you after she finished swallowing.

"You all right?" Noah asks as he hands me the banana that he ordered but never had the chance to eat.

"I'm fine, I guess I just have some butterflies. Besides, I want to try to avoid throwing up again during our car ride. We still have four hours to go."

When I say that, Didi's face goes pale which I never thought would be possible. She immediately puts her food in Noah's plate and utters, "What have I done?"

Noah sighs but ends up eating three plates worth of food. When we're done, we all pitch in to pay the bill and head to the car.

"I feel like I'm pregnant. Is this what pregnancy feels like?" He questions himself as Noah touches his stomach. I let out a small giggle and Didi shakes her head playfully.

"I wouldn't know, Noah. Maybe search on WebMD if you're really concerned."

We all laugh, making me forget about my nervousness and begin driving.

God, I hope I can make it through these four hours without getting sick.

~*~

"Did we miss the street?" Noah says as he tries to navigate the GPS. We already reached Seattle and now we're confused as shit as we try to find the correct house. They all look the same.

"Yeah, you passed it. Again." Didi groans as she lays her head on the car window. Noah once again makes a left turn to cross the same street that we just passed. A minute later, Noah finds the correct address. Just as we were about to stop, he continues past.

"Noah!" I couldn't help but scream, but I immediately feel bad. The closer that we get, the more nervous I become, and apparently the only way I could release the tension is to scream.

"Sorry, I forgot something." Noah looks tense based on the way he grips the steering wheel. I guess the energy between Didi and I must have taken it's toll on him.

"What did you forget?" Didi says slowly and for a moment I feel like she's going to pounce on him. I would too at the possibility that we would have to go back to San Francisco because he forgot something.

"I need to park." Didi visibly relaxes and I lean into my seat and I try to control my breathing.

One. Two. Three.

It takes ten minutes to find an available spot and when we get out, we find ourselves lost again.

"I think it's this way." Noah points to one street and I sigh.

"Noah, we love you but you are terrible at navigating." Aphrodite responds as she takes his hands and leads in the opposite direction. Soon enough we find the same house and Noah looks away in embarrassment

We all stand in front of the door, waiting to me to do something.

"I don't think I can do this." I say and turn to go back to the car. Noah grips my shoulders and holds me in place.

"I look completely different now, don't even mention the black hair. He's be crazy to think that any nutjob from the street is his daughter. It's been fourteen years."

"Forget about the fourteen years crap and the black hair. I saw the pictures, you look exactly like him. And if he doesn't believe you, get a DNA test." Noah seems completely serious, which is pretty unlike him. He usually takes a more gentle approach, he must be learning from Didi.

"He's right, Kate. You have nothing to lose." Giving me a smile, she pushes me to the door. Taking one more deep breath, I ring the bell and we wait patiently as someone answers the door.

A few seconds later, a hispanic woman answers the door. She's middle aged, around forty, and is holding a mop in one hand. "Can I help you?" She asks as she arches one eyebrow. The woman has an accent although I can't tell from where.

"Do we have the wrong house, Noah?" Didi tells him while still smiling, trying not to move. It would have been funny in a different situation.

"Nope, this is definitely the address." Noah replies back, in the same manner.

"Mami, quien es?" A little girl can be heard running as she asks something in spanish.

"Um, I'm sorry M'am. We have the wrong house."

The little girl approaches her mom and tugs at her yellow dress. A gasp escapes me as I realize who it is.

"Toni?" I question as the woman looks at me in confusion.

"You know Toni?" She unconsciously brings Toni behind her, which causes me to clear the confusion before it get's worse.

"I'm sorry, but does Lucas Sterling live here?"

"Yes, he is my husband. Why?" The woman looks more suspicious as she is now holding the door in one hand.

I force myself to say the words before I start to regret this decision and run back to the car.

"I think he's my father."