Have you ever thought about the odds of ending up with the life you were dealt? Like, what were the odds that, out of the entire world my biological mother would be nine months pregnant with me right at the time a mentally unstable woman would be lurking for a victim to claim her child? Yolanda had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

As I lay in the hospital bed, I thought about the lie I'd been spoon fed. That I was the only living child born to a woman who had suffered several miscarriages. Years went by when I'd wished I'd had a sister, but I had come to terms that it would never happen. I always wondered how my life would have been different if Hillary had lived, God rest her soul. I wonder if Courtney would have treated her real daughter the same way she did me. Courtney had to hide me to protect herself, and she had to remain secretive about me. Maybe that was why she'd never dated. She had to protect herself from suspicion and keep everyone at a distance while spinning a web of lies. If Hillary had lived, I never would have been abducted. Yolanda Baines would be alive. I would have been raised by her and my biological father.

Sherriff Young came back to visit with a short, young woman with a widow's peak in her hairline. She shook my hand. "Nice to meet you Deja. I'm Candice. I'll be your social worker." She had a friendly smile; not at all what I would have expected. Candice and Sherriff Young sat in the chairs in my hospital room. "So," she took a deep breath, "How are you doing?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to open up to them about my tragic life. Nobody would understand my complicated feelings. Before I knew I was abducted I had fantasized about finding my father, but I didn't want it to be like this. My life with Courtney was predictable, and I was used to my home and my friends. She was crazy, but she was dependable. I didn't know what to expect with her completely torn from my life.

"Your friend, Lan, her parents have registered and offered to provide you with a temporary home until we figure out where you'll live permanently." She pulled her hair behind her ear.

That made me worry. Where would I be placed after staying with Lan temporarily? I didn't want to leave her or Davianté, the only two people left that I cared about.

Sheriff Young cleared his throat. "We're waiting on DNA test results to eliminate any doubt that Chris DeVries is your father."

I shook my head. "Who is he?"

"He was engaged to Yolanda Baines. He would have been the father of her baby. Your boss, Eleanor, gave me a cup you drank out of at work. I hope you aren't angry I sent it in for testing without you knowing. I was worried your mother would take you and disappear if she caught wind of what I was doing."

I nodded. "That was probably smart."

"I'm glad you agree." He smiled. "We'll have the DNA results in a few days. You see, over sixteen years ago I was a new deputy, and the first officer to arrive to the scene after Yolanda's death. It was the most devastating case in almost all of my career. A dead teen with her baby cut from the womb. We knew it had to be someone with medical knowledge because of the way it was cut clean, the way a doctor does in a C-section, but we didn't have any suspects. I never suspected it was someone that lived so close to the theater, let alone my next door neighbor." He pulled his chin. "Chris was so shaken, I vogued to resolve the case and bring the murderer to justice. It's taken sixteen years, but finally I can keep my promise."

A comforting feeling wrapped around me like a blanket. I knew in my gut what the DNA results were going to be. All this time I was missing and didn't know it. "How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"I came in to touch base with Eleanor about Yolanda's murder hoping she could shed new light on the case. She mentioned she had a new employee that resembled Yolanda," Sheriff Young said, "and was using a social security that belonged to a dead person. I decided it couldn't hurt to contact Chris and see if he was willing to submit his DNA to rule out the possibility of finding his daughter. You listed your birth date as October fifteenth, but if you are Yolanda's daughter your real birthday is November fifteenth."

"Why would my mo—Courtney lie about my birthday?"

"Courtney was smart. She knew if your birthday was recorded the night of Yolanda's murder it would raise suspicion."

All of these years I had been celebrating my birthday fifteen days late. It was like learning the color blue was red, and red was yellow. Nothing could surprise me now. "When can I meet my dad?"

"Even though we expect the test to show that Chris is your biological father we need to wait for the results before we help you reunite. It would be heartbreaking to let you meet and then deliver news you aren't related."

"Right," I agreed. It was strange to think my dad was out there living a life without me. me all this time. I wondered if he thought about me, while I hadn't the faintest clue who he was.

Sheriff Young and Candice said they would be back in contact with me and Lan and her parents were there to pick me up as I was discharged from the hospital. Their familiar faces were comforting.

At Lan's house we lounged on her beanbag chairs in her room listening to the radio while massaging each other's feet.

"You know, you were right about everything," I said. "About her mental health, about her using me as a replacement spouse... You're going to make a great shrink."

"I know," she said, "but let's forget about it. I'm already sad you might be moving in with your new dad. You've always been like a sister to me."

"But the good news is once I get my birth certificate, I'll be able to get my driver's license and visit you." I was going to be recognized as a legitimate citizen of the United States. The only thing was—my name would be changing once my DNA test proved I was Chris and Yolanda's daughter, which seemed so weird. I had always been Deja Gardner, and I had no idea what my new first name would be, which was strange when I thought about it.

I don't think I could answer to another name after being used to the one I had, but at least I would be issued a birth certificate and my biological parent would be picking my name, the way it should have been. What if it was something dreadful? Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin named their daughter Apple. Frank Zappa named his kids Moon Unit, Dweezil, and Diva Thin Muffin. Hopefully whatever he had chosen was something that fit me. My last name would be DeVries which I thought had a nice sound.

"So, I've been thinking," I said, pulling my phone out and scrolling through the internet. "After we're out of high school we should get an apartment."

She brightened. "Totally! No bed time. We'll have mochi for dinner."

"No rules. We can take a road trip across the country at a moment's notice." I opened my Maps app. "Where should we move?"

She had a dreamy look in her eyes. "Somewhere near the beach. Less winter, more summer."

I nodded. "I'm game. We can start applying to colleges next summer."

She pulled her feet off my lap. "What about Davianté?"

"We can invite him and your dream boy, Alex."

I knew it wasn't likely all of us would up and decide to go to college together, but we could dream. With everything that had gone wrong in my life things could only get better.

"I already know how I want to decorate our bathroom." She raised her hands like she could imagine the room. "Smokey grey walls with coral-colored towels."

"If you get to decorate the bathroom I get to do the kitchen."

"Mmm... deal."

"Ok, chicken, pig, and cow theme it is."

She laughed but didn't argue and added, "And we're going to have disco lights in the living room."

I gave a fist pump. "Ugh, yaaas. Disco lights. And we won't have doors anywhere, we'll hang beads that we can push aside and walk through." I never wanted locked doors in my house after living with Courtney. Only one deadbolt on the front door. I would finally live the way I always wanted.

***

Later that afternoon Lan drove me to the store and I picked up a flowering plant, then she dropped me off outside of Wendell's house. I inhaled the cold winter air as I built the courage to say what I had rehearsed in the bathroom at Lan's house. I let myself in through the gate in his fence and knocked on his front door.

He appeared in the window, and his face lit up. He opened the door. "Deja, is everything okay?"

Erm, if finding out you were being raised by a kidnapper, and then your boyfriend was shot meant you were still okay. "I'm fine."

"Come inside, it's cold." He held the door open.

I stepped in, not wanting to go into detail about Courtney. "I'm just taking life day by day." There was an awkward silence which I assumed was because he had heard on the news that I was the child taken from the Dollar Cinema, but thankfully he spared me by not probing me with questions. "I brought this for you," I said, handing him the plant.

"Thank you. These are beautiful. How is Davianté?" His eyes filled with concern. "I saw him being taken on the Flight for Life."

I took off my coat, and Wendell hung it over the back of a chair at his dining room table. "He's recovering. I'm going to see him after this."

"I'm glad to hear it. He's a nice kid. Always puts my paper on the step." He put his hands in his pockets.

I flashed my teeth at him nervously. "There is something I need to tell you." After finding out about my identity I realized how important closure was when someone or something is missing, and even though it was unpleasant to tell Wendell what happened to Olivander, I knew it was the right thing to do. "My mom—," it occurred to me he might think I was referring to my biological mom, "Err, Courtney—hit Olivander with the car awhile back. Accidentally."

His eyes clouded with sadness. "Oh."

"I'm sorry." I swallowed, feeling my throat pull tight.

"I thought something might have happened to him, but I'm glad it's not a mystery anymore." He looked at a poster on his table of his beloved cat. "He was ornery."

"He was," I confirmed.

Wendell and I sat at his dining room table, ate pie, and talked about memories of me growing up. My childhood had flashed by, and soon I would be starting the next chapter.

***

My life was in a whirlwind of not knowing where I would be a day, a week, or a year from now, but one thing for certain was I longed to have Davianté in my future.

Davianté laid on the couch with a pillow as I sat on the floor beside him. His chest was wrapped in bandages and when he moved he winced. I stroked his shoulder and planted a kiss on his forehead. I had bottled up my feelings for him, but now they were exploding like a shaken soda. I watched his chest rise and fall like a miracle after his near death. His brown skin was smooth and warm to my fingertips.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like a semi rolled over this side of my body," he circled his palm over the left side of his chest, "and it's still sitting there."

I stuck my lip out like it was a zipper pull. "I'm still horrified this happened to you."

"I'm fine." He sheltered his eyes from the brightness of the ceiling light. "You were living with a kidnapper who murdered your biological mom. I'm glad I put an end to it."

My heart melted at his selflessness. "But not by risking your life. You're lucky the paramedics came when they did."

He rolled his head closer to me. "I have no regrets. You were my human shield."

"Ugh," I remembered the blood soaking my shirt. "It was awful."

His eyes traced over my hair and down my face. "I'd do it again," he said. The low tones of his voice stirred desire in me. He brushed his fingers around the side of my neck, and our lips touched.

Our fingers brushed each other's faces and I heard a light moan escape his parted lips as my lips traveled down his cheek to his neck where I gently tugged at his skin with my mouth. I cupped my hand around the other side and indulged myself in his scent, and his skin was soft like the outside of a ripened apricot.

For the first time I wasn't worried about being beaten for being in a relationship. Freedom and making my own choices was the best gift I could have gotten.