Learning Me

Chapter Thirteen

The wind gently rustled the tree leaves as Courtney walked down the road toward her house. She breathed heavy as she rushed home, anxious to get to her computer. Her mouth was set in a hard line as she thought about all the possibilities stretching before her that day. The plan was to begin using the names she found to see if anything fitting her parents' story came up, and already the wheels were spinning in her mind as to what she'd do if the search revealed something different than what she'd been told.

Partway home, her cell phone rang. Courtney reached into her pocket, pulling the small phone out. She cringed at the name on the screen. What could she want right now?

Courtney pressed the talk button and adopted a casual tone as she answered, "Hi. What's going on?"

"Not much," Lauren answered. "I was hoping we could get together and talk. You've been avoiding me ever since we all met at the drive-in."

"I know. I've just been really busy and there's a lot on my mind right now. Plus, you didn't seem too supportive about what I told you all, so I figured you didn't want to hear about it."

"Courtney, come on. You know that's not true. You're my best friend. I just needed to sleep on it. You did throw a major curve ball at me, after all."

"Think how I feel. At least you know who your parents really are." Courtney couldn't stop the venom from seeping into her words and a part of her felt bad about it. She had to admit, her cousin sounded upset, and she was obviously trying to make things right.

"True, but that doesn't mean you should act like I'm the enemy here. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Courtney's tone softened as she answered, "Actually, I guess you could. I was planning to do this at home by myself, but maybe I can come by and we can do some searching together. Is your roommate going to be there today?"

"She shouldn't be. She's got a ton of classes scheduled today, and then she's going to spend the night at her boyfriend's place so they can go out somewhere in the morning. Why don't you see if you can stay for the night? It'll give us plenty of time to talk and figure things out."

"Okay," Courtney agreed. "Thanks."

"But of course," said Lauren. "What else are cousins for?"

"That's a good question," Courtney teased. "See you in a little bit."

Courtney ended the call with a smile on her face. All the tension in Courtney's body dissipated, knowing that Lauren was open enough to help in the search. She just hoped where it led wouldn't prove to be more than they could handle.

****

As Courtney once again pulled into the crowded lot of her cousin's apartment complex, a mix of excitement and terror built within that made her have to sit quietly to get her emotions under control. Courtney reached into the backseat to collect her overnight bag. She climbed out of the car, slinging the bag over one shoulder.

Once she entered the building, Courtney marched down the hallway to her cousin's apartment. She barely looked at the numbers as she moved, stopping at the door. She knocked, then began playing with the end of her backpack's strap absentmindedly while she waited.

"Come on in! I was starting to wonder what happened to you," said Lauren as she stepped aside to let Courtney in.

"Sorry, it took me a bit to get out of the house. They're even fighting me on coming over here now."

"Oops. Sorry," Lauren apologized. "That's probably my fault. Remember how I said they were acting weird before? Well, I didn't tell you that I asked them about it. They didn't look too happy about that, so I guess they might not be big fans of me right now."