“Why not just get a search warrant in the first place?”
“We thought of that, but if we do that and they don’t find anything, Pat and Brittany will be on alert that we’re looking. If they do have the stuff, they’ll either destroy it or move it.”
“Okay. Fair point.”
“We’re skirting the system. I understand that. Donny is very careful about his ethics, but we both feel that this has to be done.”
“What if the guy gets caught?”
“According to Donny, this guy never gets caught.”
“Okay. I guess I have to take your word for it.”
“Not mine. Donny’s.”
Still, my stomach feels like it’s got a Ping-Pong ball ricocheting inside it. This will mean one more person knows about the photos. And only Callie is protected from publication. I’m not.
“You there, Ror?”
“Yeah.”
“Are we still on for tonight?”
Tonight. When we destroy what we have. “Did you ask Donny about that? About maybe getting fingerprints?”
“I did, actually. He agrees. It’s better to just destroy it. At least the stuff of me.”
“You want to keep mine? Get fingerprints?”
“Well, we can’t keep the thumb drive because it has both of us on it. But the individual photos…”
I sigh. I’m getting sold out. Just because I was a few days older than eighteen at the time. It’s perfectly legal for Pat Lamone or anyone else to possess naked photos of me.
What is wrong with this world?
“It’s an arbitrary line,” Callie says. “I got lucky. I was underage. You weren’t.”
Again, I’m feeling self-absorbed and selfish. “You hardly got lucky, Callie. I agree with you in theory. We should have the photos of me checked out for fingerprints.”
“We won’t. We’ll destroy it all like we already decided. I know you have a lot on your mind, especially now. Want to talk about anything else?”
I rub my forehead. “You already know everything. Plus, there’s stuff going on with the Steel family. It’s just… I never expected life to get so crazy.”
“I know. Neither did I.”
“If we can get Pat and Brittany taken care of,” I say, “we can help Donny. We can help Brock.”
I want to. I want to help Brock.
“I know. Their problems are much bigger than ours.”
“Are they?”
“They are.”
I take her at her word. She knows what’s going on with the Steels, and I don’t.
Which makes me feel even worse.
“You know me, Callie. You know I’m not a selfish person.”
“Of course you’re not.”
“So I need to stop thinking about my own problems. Yeah, I may have gotten pregnant. And yeah, I may have photos of my eighteen-year-old-self splattered across social media.”
“First of all,” she says, “a baby is something you want. So if that’s the case, everything will work out. Second, you’re beautiful, Rory. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Except my spread-eagled pose.”
“Which you were unconscious for. Your eyes are closed. The truth will come out. I promise you. Besides, we don’t even know if he has any more pictures. And if he does, whether he’s going to splatter them anywhere.”
I nod. True enough.
“So tonight,” Callie says, “meet me in the parking lot at the courthouse.”
No sooner do I end the call than my phone buzzes once more—a number I don’t recognize.
“Hello,” I say.
“Rory? Rory Pike?” The woman’s voice sounds vaguely familiar.
“Yes, this is Rory.”
“This is Davey—Davida Haines—from Western Slope Family Planning.”
Hmm. Strange that she’s calling me. I didn’t leave the sperm bank under optimal circumstances.
“How can I help you?” I ask.
“I’ve been thinking about you since you left the clinic. I want to apologize.”
“For what? I should be apologizing to you for walking out in a huff the way I did. It was immature, and I’m sorry.”
“I appreciate that,” she says, “but I was hard on you as well.”
“It’s okay, Davey. What you said rang a big bell, which is why I left the way I did. I didn’t want to hear it, but you’re right. I haven’t given this as much thought as I should.”
Not that it matters at this point. I touch my abdomen absently. If Baby Steel is coming, I have to be ready.
“I’m glad there are no hard feelings,” she says.
“Not at all.”
A pause. Then, “Would you like to have dinner with me sometime?”
Yes, she’s bisexual. My radar never fails. Another time? I’d be all over her offer. In fact, it would serve Brock Steel right if I went out with Davey.
“You still there?” Davey asks.
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
“That I’m flattered,” I say.
“Good. Then you’re interested?”
“I am. Except…”
“Except what?”
“I’m kind of seeing someone else right now. It’s not serious.”
Even though I want it to be. Last night, I considered the drunken phone call from Brock a sign—a sign that I shouldn’t go off with Dragon. Is it still a sign? I’m wildly attracted to both Dragon and Davey, but the idea of being with anyone other than Brock seems so…wrong.