Glitter in the Air

I awoke with a start, my phone vibrating from my bedside table. I glanced over at the clock, nine AM? Who the hell calls at nine in the morning?!

“Hello?” I murmured groggily into the phone.

“Hello, I’m calling to speak with a Mr. Zachary Baker.” The person on the other end spoke.

“Uh, yeah, this is him.” I yawned.

“Hello Mr. Baker. This is Dr. Mclellans office, we’re calling you to inform you of the results of the DNA test you had here recently.” The woman spoke calmly.

I shot up, grabbing my glasses and sliding them up my nose. “Uhm, okay.” I told the woman, just get it over with! Tell me the kid isn’t mine so I can go back to sleep.

“The test came back positive, but just to be safe we had it checked twice, both came back positive. You’re the childs father.” The woman told me in her informative voice.

What? This is nuts. “Okay, thank you. Have a nice day.” I told her.

“You too.” the woman said before I heard the phone click off. I flopped back on the bed, there was no way I was going to be able to get back to sleep, not after that news.

“Fuuuuck.” I groaned, rolling onto the floor and then standing up. I shuffled over to my dresser and pulled out some jeans and a sleeveless shirt before walking into the bathroom and hopping in the shower.

* * *

After my shower I got out and decided I should get something to eat. I walked downstairs, nearly tripped over ichabod on my way down. I can’t believe I have a kid. Why didn’t I know this? I should’ve known this. I mean, how in the hell do you not know you have a kid?! Jesus I’m stupid.

I thought back to the Doctors office while I fried up some eggs. She looks just like me, from her pale skin and dark hair, all the way to those eyes. They’re identical to my own, but hers were guarded, and so cold, the way she glared up at me. I’d never seen anyone look so cold. I looked over at the table, seeing the manila envelope sitting there. It was Hopes file, It had been sent to me the day they found her birth certificate, I still had yet to open it. I figure I should do it now.

I finished cooking my eggs and poured a mug of coffee before sitting at the table and opening the envelope. I slid out a folder that was sitting inside the envelope and flipped the cover open. Right off the bat I saw she was hospitalized at age six with two broken ribs, her head was cut open and she had a black eye, there was a picture and I couldn’t help but stare. It was apparent even at that age she was mine. Her eyes looked so scared, it made my stomach hurt to think of how she got those injuries. I flipped to the next page, another hospitalization. I flipped to the next, another one. I furrowed my eyebrows and flipped the page again, another hospitalization, and it dawned on me. Someone had been beating my little girl. I started rapidly flipping through the pages, many of them hospitalizations, though when I flipped to a page when she was eight one word stuck out to me. Rape. She showed signs of a rape victim, someone had touched my baby. I could kill whoever it was, I really could.

Whoa wait, little girl? My baby? When did I start thinking like this, I didn’t even know I had a kid up until about an hour ago. I groaned, and continued flipping through the pages, so many hospitalizations, and yet they never did anything until just now? What the hell was that about? As I continued, I could see all the bruises, broken bones, and scars this girl had. The amount of times the files said she’d been raped made me want to puke, all of it made me want to puke.

I opened the folder to the most recent hospitalization, about three weeks ago, it said, she had to get three staples in her head, she had a black eye, a fractured wrist, three broken ribs, and all of her fingernails had been ripped out. Oh, and to top it all off, there were signs of rape.

My eyes watered up at the thought of this girl having to go through all of this shit for the past ten years, all because I wasn’t there. If I had been there then this never would have happened. She never would have had to be subjected to any of this. This is essentially my fault.

I sighed, flipping shut her folder and rubbing my face. I looked over at the clock on my microwave, it was almost half-past ten. That’s a reasonable time to call someone right? I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through my contacts, and stopped at the one I wanted, I pushed the talk button and waited for someone to pick up.

“Hello?” He answered politely.

“Hey man, uh, it’s Zack Baker, you know? Hopes Dad.” I stumbled over my words, I felt like such an idiot.

“Oh yes, Hello Mr. Baker.” I greeted me, sounding pleased I had called. That gave me a little more courage.

“Hey, I was wondering if maybe you and hope would like to meet me for lunch? I was thinking Ruby’s diner if you know where that’s at?” I asked him hopefully

“Of course! We’d love to!” He exclaimed sounding happy. In turn making me feel even better.

“Alright, see you then.” I told him, we both said our goodbyes and I couldn’t help but grin to myself. This is my chance. I can set things right. Or, at least try to.