Devastation - Chapter 3
John called Evangeline back once he was in the car. He talked and she listened as he drove as fast as he could to get to her.
When he arrived, there was a parking space near her car. As he was walking toward her, he got a good look at her face through the car window. She looked devastated.
When she finally saw him, she burst into tears all over again. Oh God, what am I going to do? My whole life is a lie. How do I deal with the fact that my Daddy isn’t my real Daddy? I don’t even know who I am.
He rushed to the car and pulled her into his arms.
"Oh baby. Whatever it is, it’ll be okay."
"No, it won’t," she said as she buried her head into John’s shoulder. "I don’t know if things will ever be okay again."
"Baby? What is going on?" he asked, but she leaned further into his embrace. He knew she wasn’t going to talk now. He had to get her to calm down. He picked her up and carried her to his car. When she didn’t protest, he knew it was something extremely serious.
After he had secured her in her seatbelt, he locked her car and drove home. She was whimpering in the seat beside him. He reached out and grabbed her hand and she grasped his as if he were her lifeline.
When he arrived home, he lifted her from the car and took her straight to the master bedroom. He undressed her and put her to bed. He grabbed her chin and waited until she looked him in the eyes.
"You know you’ve got to tell me what’s going on, right?"
She nodded her head.
"I’ll give you tonight, but tomorrow morning, be prepared to spill it."
Her bottom lip trembled as she nodded her head and whispered, "Okay."
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After Dr. Carmichael left the room, Todd and Blair talked about this new revelation.
"Evangeline is my sister."
"Do you think she knows?"
"She can’t. She would have said something. She’s defended me in court multiple times. We’ve talked outside of the law. She’s our friend. She would have told me."
"How do you think she’s going to take it?"
"Not well. She loved her father. I mean, the man who raised her. You said she was upset when you saw her earlier. Do you know why?"
"I told you she said it was because she and John had a fight. I guess it could have been something else."
"Do you think someone in the lab could have mentioned something about her being my sister?"
"I don’t know. I guess anything’s possible."
"Will you give her a call and check to see if she’s alright?"
"Already the protective big brother," Blair said with a smile.
"I guess," Todd replied
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When the phone rang, John was drinking a cup of coffee sitting at the bar. He grabbed the phone. He’d just checked on Van and she had finally cried herself to sleep. That was probably the best thing for her right now. She needed some rest. Tomorrow morning was quick enough to deal with whatever it was she was dealing with.
"Hello?"
"John, hi, this is Blair."
"Hey, Blair. What’s going on?"
"I was just wondering if you found Evangeline."
"Yeah, I did. She’s sleeping right now."
"Is she alright?"
"I’m not sure, but I plan to find out."
"What do you mean?"
"She’s upset about something, but it’ll be fine."
"Okay. Would you tell her that Todd and I called and have her call us back?"
"Sure, is there anything I can do?"
"Todd really needs to talk to her."
"Okay, I’ll have her call you."
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Blair hung up the phone and turned to Todd.
"Evangeline is sleeping. Are you going to call Viki and tell her about this?"
"Not until I talk to Evangeline. Did John say she was alright?" Todd asked with a frown.
"He said she was upset, but he didn’t say what about."
"I hope she’s okay. I don’t want her hurt."
"You are in big brother mode," Blair said with a smile.
Todd smirked back at her.
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John went to bed and pulled Evangeline into his arms. She nestled into him and shifted around until she got comfortable. John smiled and shook his head against the pillow when she finally got settled. He kissed the top of her head where it rested on his chest and closed his eyes.
A few hours later, John awoke to Evangeline tossing against him. It appeared that she was having a nightmare. He pushed her onto her back and leaned over her attempting to wake her without scaring her. He shook her lightly and then she cried out, "Daddy?" as her eyes popped open. It took a second before she focused on John.
"Van? Are you okay?"
"Yes," she said as she shifted her eyes from his.
"Look at me," John said in his cop voice.
She reluctantly looked him in the eye.
"What is going on? I thought it could wait until morning, but obviously it can’t. What happened from the time I left and when I got to you at the hospital?"
Evangeline got up from the bed and started pacing. John could see the wheels turning as she mentally pulled herself together. He didn’t know how long he would have to wait for her to start talking, but he leaned back against the pillows and got comfortable. When she finally started talking, she practically spoke in whispers.
"I found out some news about my past."
"What?"
"I don’t know if I can say it."
"We talked about this earlier. You can tell me anything. If not me, than who?"
"Okay, you’re right and this will impact you."
She took a deep breath and looked at him as tears filled her eyes.
"I found out tonight that Robert Williamson is not my father. Victor Lord is."
