Page 7 of Tested

I take a second to decide how to frame what I want to say. When we first met, Connor gave me a Reader’s Digest version of his history: an upbringing in the country, an estranged mother, a young boy who found himself in the big, wicked city. But when the three of us moved in here, he’d shut down David’s teasing by confessing to an unexpected supernatural background. “I’ve never met anyone else who claimed to be Tuatha Dé Danann. What did you mean when you told us that?”

“I’m not surprised you haven’t met any others. There aren’t many of us, and we tend to live in less populated places.”

David leans forward, so eager I can tell he’s been curious about this too. “Is that why you’re from Montana?”

“Yeah. We lived up in the hills on like ten acres, with a couple other Tuatha families.”

“LA must have freaked you out.” I can see the gears turning in David’s head, so I poke at the most obvious inconsistency. “I mean, it’s not a rural, isolated place.”

Connor laughs, but it’s as if a wall has gone up. His eyes are guarded and his smile is gone. “I’m only half Tuatha.”

“And what’s the other half?” David asks.

After a long pause, Connor answers. “Don’t know,” he says. “I could be the product of a virgin birth, for all the info Mom gave me about my father.”

He says it lightly, like he’s trying for a joke, but something –shame?– undercuts the humor. Puts a stop to my questions, too. David doesn’t say anything. He just gets up and goes to Connor, pulling him out of his seat and into a hug.

There’s nothing wrong with never knowing your father, but Connor’s said so little about his background that this revelation feels bigger than it might otherwise. I take a step toward them, my arms open. The sun has set completely, and the big windows are filled with city lights and the glossy darkness of the Pacific Ocean.

“Group hug.” David whispers the words. The two of them come close and I wrap my arms around them. Connor’s smokey scent brings me comfort, while David’s tight little body gives me heat. I close my eyes and bask in my senses.

Yeah, getting Connor to trust us with his story is going to take as much work as getting me to trust Connor. Hell, this whole relationship is going to take work, but I do believe it’s worth it.