Enjoy!
Luke stared at Jenaline and then at Amy as the two women stared back at him. Neither women expected the man to pop out of nowhere and state that he was (possibly) the father of Momo Hinamori. Both women scrutinized him, taking in basic information about him: tall, dark hair, slight accent, and light hazel-brown eyes.
Amy considered him to be very handsome but, being professional and loyal to her job, ignored his appearance and thought about the different questions she soon would ask him.
"I guess you two are as shocked as I am." he said, staring from Amy to Jenaline.
"So, she went to you and that's how you found out about her?" Jenaline asked, afraid that this man wasn't her real father and was only stating that he was just to mess with the poor girl.
"She called my job before; I'm positive that it's her. And she visited me, wanting to talk to me."
"How do you know that Momo's your daughter?" Ami asked.
"I read an article about her, her mother, and the man she supposedly killed and there was also information about her not having a father. I recognized her last name: Hinamori and her mother was a stripper. I dated a stripper years ago and her name, I'm positive, was Asia Hinamori, the same woman that was murdered not too long ago."
"I see. But how do you know that she lives here?"
"Tow sources: I saw a picture of this house on the newspaper and her and some white-haired boy, her boyfriend I'm assuming, visited my work place. But they immediately left and one of the security guards wrote down the car plate's number. I have connections."
"I see." Jenaline said. "I'm glad you came and did not run away from your child. There are irresponsible men in this world who would."
Luke laughed, nodding.
"So you never knew that Momo was your daughter? Her mother never told you?" Ami asked him, her cop senses going up.
Luke shook his head. "No, Asia never told me that she was pregnant. She just called off our relationship and walked away. I tried speaking to her…but she wouldn't allow it."
Another heavy awkward silence fell between them until Luke cleared his throat. "Where is she?"
"Visiting a friend at the hospital. She should be back soon. Are you going to wait for her?"
"Yes, I will. I know she wants to talk to me but is afraid, so this time, I'll do the talking and meeting."
Jenaline smiled. "In that case, more coffee?"
Momo needed a punching bag, badly. She has never felt so irritated in her life before, and she wanted to punch something. For years, she ignored the insults and teasing from others. But now, she couldn't keep it inside. She cursed herself for being weak and not punching Toushiro when he called her a whore's daughter. He didn't know how hard it was for a mother to do something she truly didn't want to do just to keep a roof over her child's head.
But she couldn't let others' comments get to her. Wiping her tears away, she opened the door to Jenaline's house and froze.
Luke turned his head and smiled at her. "Hey there."
Her stare jumped from him to Ami and Jenaline, who were smiling at her. "You have a visitor." Jenaline said, indicating Luke with the tilt of her head. "Why didn't you tell me before that you were seeking your father? I could've helped you."
Momo didn't reply as she stared at Luke, wondering how he find out where she lived and why he was visiting now.
"Momo, don't be afraid." Ami said, standing up and grabbing her hand. "He's just here to see you and talk to you. And he also wants to find out whether you're his daughter or not."
But Momo didn't respond. She let the officer drag her across the room and sit her next to her father - if DNA proves so, of course.
Luke smiled, his eyes and teeth sparkling as he grabbed her hand and spoke. "Hello, Momo."
A brief silence took place, though it seemed as if it lasted for more than an hour to the nervous teenager. Ami glanced at Jenaline before clearing her throat. "Maybe we should give them some privacy. We'll be in the kitchen."
Momo didn't want them to leave, but understood that the situation was between her and the man sitting next to her. She stared at the floor, uncertain of what to say. But on the bright side, at least he was not scorning her for "stalking" him.
"I know I seem like some kind of scrooge, but I'm not. I just frown a lot when I'm stressed, but I'm a nice guy…I think."
Momo cracked a smile, similar to the one Luke had.
"You remind me so much of your mother." he stated. "So many years have passed by since I've last seen her. I think about her and what we had every time I see you. She was an amazing woman."
"And mother." Momo added. "She did an amazing job raising me, despite what she had to do in order to put food on the table."
Luke frowned. "I know, but I wished she told about you. I would've helped her and been there for you."
Even though Momo loved her mother, she couldn't help but be angry at her for not telling her and Luke about each other.
"How long did it take you to find out about me?"
"Not as long as I thought it would. I asked mom's employer about you since you two met in the club."
Luke smiled, brushing her hair lightly with the back of his hand. "I'm still surprised about everything. I've been a father for sixteen years and never knew. I need to catch up since I missed your first word, first walking, birthday parties-"
"I never had a birthday party."
Luke cocked an eyebrow. "Why didn't you? No Sweet Sixteen's-"
"I didn't have any friends when I was younger. Well, I had one…but then her parents found about my mom…."
"And they stopped the friendship. I'm sorry. You should've had a better childhood."
"I don't regret it. I saw how people treated my mother, and it was unfair to her. She worked everyday just to provide me with everything I needed. People always made fun of her, and I always defended her."
The man grabbed her thin arm and pulled her against him, embracing her for the first time. Momo froze, unsure of what to do. She wanted to hug the man back, but chills crawled her body as she mentally fought with her actions.
Luke pulled away, chuckling. "I can tell by your expression that you don't get hugged very often." Momo shook her head and her companion resumed speaking. "My mother always told me the importance of hugging someone when they need it. Your mother died not too long ago and I know you need as many hugs as possible. You're too young to be dealing with the crap you're dealing with now."
"I've gotten used to it."
"It's killing you emotionally. And then it'll effect you physically." He grabbed her small hand and smiled. "But don't worry, because I'll be here this time."
"But…what if you're not my father?"
"Let's not worry about that now. Instead, let's start talking about ourselves."
Sensing Momo's shyness over that, Luke decided to start off the conversation by telling her more about himself and what he does. He described to her his childhood life, the schools he went to, his great and awful experiences, and etc…
For five minutes, Luke told everything to her, including the time when he first met her mother. Momo thought of his normal life. He lived with his parents until he was 24, the same year he graduated from college with a Master's degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. From there, along with his friend, he began working as an assistant engineering in the same building he volunteered throughout his high school and college years and from there, slowly climbed up to the position he now occupies.
Momo was quickly inspired to do the same thing, even though she wasn't sure yet where to begin. She became so thoughtful with the man's life that she didn't realize that Toushiro was home.
"Hello," Luke said, immediately recognizing the teenage boy and wondering whether he was Momo's friend or boyfriend.
Toushiro nodded and then glanced at Momo, who refused to meet his stare and instead had her head down.
Jenaline walked in to the living room and gave Toushiro a kiss on the cheek. "You're finally home! You probably saw him already, but this is Luke Pierczar. Luke, do you want to stay for dinner?"
The man got up and gave her a sad smile. "I would love to, but I have to meet with someone now. I'll stay for dinner at another time." Turning to Momo, he said. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with a pat on her head and several goodbyes, he left.
A few minutes later, Jenaline went back to the kitchen and Amy went back to the police station. An uncomfortable atmosphere soon rose between the teens, and not wanting to deal with him again, Momo went up stairs.
Four minutes before the bell rang, and as the teacher continued talking about her experiences in college and how she had to be tutored in college for Calculus, Momo stared at the small piece of paper with the words "I'm sorry" written on them. Toushiro must have left it between the time she went to bed and before she woke up. She hated feeling angry, but couldn't help it.
Johnny's mother had called Jenaline and told her that Johnny had been in a coma for the whole night but woke up fifteen minutes after seven. Momo wanted to see her friend, see for herself that he was still breathing, but going to the hospital wasn't easy. Her only way of transportation was Toushiro, but right now, things weren't bright between them.
The bell finally ring and swiftly, the students walked out of the classroom. As she walked to her locker, she felt the majority of the students staring at her. Some of these students had been questioned by detectives concerning Johnny's attack, and although a few didn't mind, the majority were angry at the fact that they were labeled as 'suspects'. Only Johnny knew who his attacker was, but right now, he was too weak to speak.
Sunlight kissed her face as she stepped out of the building and walked down the steps. People still stared at her, whispering among themselves about Johnny and it annoyed her that instead of minding their business, they were spreading rumors about him.
A car peeping at her broke her train of thoughts, and turning around, she saw Luke waving at her while standing beside a shining Mercedes Bentz car. The other students stopped staring at her and instead stared at the gorgeous four-wheel vehicle, which stood out among Hondas and Toyotas that some of the students' parents and teachers drove.
"What are you doing here?"
"Picking you up from school." He grabbed her bag and placed it on the backseat. Then, he opened the passenger door for her.
Momo sat on the leather seat and the smell of clean car hit her. Luke closed the door and went to the other side, and as he turned on the ignition, Momo turned her head and saw the other students still staring.
Instead of taking her home, Luke drove her to his work place. The place where she first saw him. As he walked in to the building, he introduced her to his colleagues. Momo said her casual 'hello' to everyone and followed Luke to the elevator.
Luke's office was spacious, a desk sitting in the middle of the room, a small couch sitting against the wall and a plasma TV hanging on the wall across the couch.
"I like to watch ESPN when there's nothing to do here." he told her.
His laptop sat on the middle of his messy desk, opened but the screen dark. Seeing the laptop reminded her of her crashed laptop and the picture that had been sent to her. Her English teacher spoke about research papers today, and Momo knew that she couldn't do her research paper with her computer dead.
"I spoke to my doctor today about a DNA test," Luke said, "And he doesn't mind giving us one. I told him to give it to us as soon as possible, and the best day he told me was three days from now at noon. Is that day OK with you?"
Momo nodded, glad to know that as soon as the test arrived, the sooner she and Luke would know if they were related or not. Luke sat behind his desk and turned his computer on, quickly emailing his doctor.
"Hey, we got the reports back for that new design you wanted." a man said as he opened the door and walked over to Luke.
Momo sat on the couch and stared at the unfamiliar person as he continued speaking with Luke.
Anthony, Luke's friend who was best at dealing with chemicals, gave him a yellow folder with ten sheets of paper inside. As Luke browsed through them, Anthony turned around and smiled at her.
"Hello. You must be Momo."
Luke looked up and smiled. "Yes, that's her."
"Nice to meet you. My name's Anthony." he said.
Momo nodded and stared down at her nails as Luke and his coworker finished speaking.
"I'm going to order some pizza for us." he said, reaching his cell phone and dialing.
Momo went back to staring at her nails and thought about Johnny. She had her suspicions about certain people in her school who, although in some Bible Club, detested Johnny for being gay. And it wasn't fair that the police hadn't interviewed these students just because they had a "moral code".
"How's your friend doing?"
"Not so good. He went into coma for about six or seven hours, but woke up this morning."
"Do the police have a clue of the person who did this?"
"No. They spoke with almost everybody in the school and I'm positive that someone from the school did it but…."
"But everyone denies knowing anything. That's how society works in our world. How's school for you going? I know you also have problems in your school."
It had been in the newspaper; how most of the student body called her names just because her mother was a stripper.
"I'm doing OK."
"Any big projects coming up?"
"I have a research paper to do on religion and what people think about it now that many out there have declared that they don't believe."
"Interesting. If you need any help looking for information, tell me."
"Thanks."
"Is your computer good enough for this paper, or would you like me to upgrade it so it can be better for you?"
Momo looked up and decided whether she should tell him about her computer. She had forgotten that he was engineer, and that he could fix her computer if she asked him to.
"My laptop….crashed. I'm going to the library to do the paper."
"Nonsense," he said, placing his feet on his desk. "When I take you home, give me your laptop and by tomorrow, I'll have it set for you. In the meantime, pizza arrived."
Hello everybody! Whoa, MR finally updates :D I blame my life. It's so busy but I'm on vacation now :D Anyway, I recently learned that someone else was hacked by someone on FFN & her stories were deleted and etc...and now is the time for everybody reading to post an awareness on their profiles (doesn't have to be a story, just 1 or 2 sentences) about someone/people hacking FFN authors. Please, if you have your email address visible on your profile so users can contact your msn, yahoo, or whatever, please take that out now and make a new email address and forget about the old one. Once these hackers know about the email address you use for FFN, you have a chance of getting hacked and right now, it seems as if the FFN staff is doing nothing so we have to do something ourselves. So, please take off your email address & let people contact you through private messaging and avoid forums! Forums start fights b/c you're dealing w/ people who can't accept anybody else's opinions about anything. And take care. Don't post your email address in ANY of your stories or on your profile. Thank you :D
So, review?