Half of Chapter 11

“Who was that?” Blake asked, holding the door open for Seth.
Sasha looked a little shaken. “I don’t know.”
Jenn walked into the room and saw everyone a little freaked out. “Uh…is everyone okay?” her eyes met Seth’s.
One of his eyebrows dipped. “Yeah, some strange guy just came and verbally assaulted your mom,” he said, shaking his head. “No big deal.”
Blake gripped Seth’s shoulder. “Uh…Saush, what’s for dinner?” he asked, quickly changing the subject.
Seth tensed and held Jenn’s gaze. “Who was that?” Jenn asked Sasha.
Sasha looked at Seth uneasily. “Um…it was someone who said he worked for Seth’s dad.”
Seth frowned. “Wait, where does he work?”
“He didn’t say.”
Blake rocked back and forth on his feet. “Can…can we discuss this over dinner? I’m bushed.”
They all looked at him. His blue eyes were wide and scared. “Okay,” Sasha said. “I made some lasagna and it’s in the oven. It’s not quite ready,” she looked at Blake. “Can I talk to you in private?”
Seth and Jenn exchanged glances. “Sure,” Blake said.
The kids were left in the living room alone as Jenn’s parents walked down the hallway towards the family room.
Seth shifted his feet. “I thought he was dead,” he said, sounding disappointed, going over to the stairs to put his new clothes in ‘his room’.
Jenn followed. “Why did you think that?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Well, for one, he left seven years ago and didn’t come back,” he said, stopping at the top of the stairs and waiting for Jenn. “Two, he never sent us letters or anything. We never heard from him.”
Jenn stopped and stood by him at the top.
Seth was a good four inches taller than her, and her eyes were about level to his chin. Jenn looked up at his dark face and he peered down at her through a few strands of his black hair.
“When’s your birthday?” she asked suddenly, eyes questioning.
His chin moved back a half inch in surprise. “What?”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “When is your birthday?”
One of his eyebrows dipped. “November eleventh,” he said. “Uh…yours?”
“January fifteenth,” her brow furrowed and she was silent for a minute. “What year?” she asked.
“Ninety-three,” he said. “Why?”
She wrinkled her nose. “You’re older than me.”
Seth laughed, his face breaking it’s normal impassive state. “Of all the things you could worry about, it’s me being older,” he chuckled.
Jenn rolled her eyes. “How old were you when your dad left?” she continued.
He stopped laughing and just looked at her. “Six.”
“Huh,” Jenn concluded.
She didn’t say any more about the subject. Seth held his bag a little higher. “I’ve got to go put these away,” he started walking towards his room, Jenn following.
“So,” she persisted, “that would give your dad plenty of time to…I dunno…like, start things over, you know? Like maybe you have half siblings in Britain, or something, and your dad mentioned you, and they decided they wanted to meet you.”
They got to his door and he turned the handle and stopped. “What are you getting at?” he asked, a little irritated.
She shrugged. “I dunno, I thought that maybe you have a better life outside all of this. Like, maybe you really do have somewhere to go. Maybe your dad wants you back.”
Seth opened the door and walked to ‘his’ dresser. “I don’t think so. I mean, you don’t just show up after seven years and demand custody of your kid that you don’t really know.”
Jenn sat on his bed and fingered his guitar. “Maybe you do.”
He frowned and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall. “Are you trying to get rid of me or something?” he questioned.
She looked up and smiled at him. “No,” she said, “I'm just giving you hope.”
Seth scowled. “Hope?”
“Yeah. Someone obviously wants you, and I think you should try and find them.”