Lamar lived in an apartment complex made up of four beige boxes, housing four units each. In the middle was a small strip of grass where a group of kids gawked at us, abandoning their game of tag. It freaked me out until I remembered how we were dressed.

I checked my phone for the correct apartment number. More missed calls cluttered my lock screen. My mom, Indy, even Andre. I had to tell them something before my mom put out an Amber Alert. Maybe I just wanted another reason to stall meeting the sperm donor. I sent a message to Indy, letting her know I'd be back soon, then turned my phone off.

We found apartment six. The door was opened, but the screen was shut. Music blared, competing with the soap opera on tv for dominance. There was an older woman on the couch and a man upset about someone drinking the last of his juice. The music stopped and a younger woman started yelling at the man because apparently he didn't pay for the juice. For a moment, I just watched them like a movie.

"Who are you?" I whipped around to find a boy no older than nine. His head tilted back as he peered up at us, arms crossed.

Who was I? "Um...I'm looking for Lamar Kenwood."

The boy stared at us a moment, then yelled, "Unc!" before running back to his friends.

My chest seized. I'd kind of hoped we had the wrong address or that it was a scam. But when the man who was complaining about juice opened the screen door, I recognized the face. He looked exactly as he did in the picture Indy showed me, only with tattoos covering most of his skin and a thick beard.

He laughed. "What the hell Ashanti and Nelly doing here? It's a little early for Halloween."

I should say something. Why couldn't I say anything?

Romeo cleared his throat, breaking the silence that was stretching between us. "Are you Lamar Kenwood?"

Lamar's eyes passed between the two of us. "Who's asking?"

Even though I couldn't pull my eyes off of Lamar, I knew Romeo was looking at me, waiting for me to take over. Lamar turned to me too, his brows furrowed. Then his face went slack. The sudden change in expression made me flinch.

"You're, uh..." He squinted, trying to conjure up a name like magic. "Daya."

The bar had to have been in hell if the man who helped conceived me knowing my name was enough to make me smile. I caught myself before I actually did. "Yeah, I am."

He smiled big enough for the both of us and widened the door to let us in. The house was louder inside. The tv, the kids screaming in one of the back rooms, the young woman yelling at them to stop fighting before she got her belt.

"That's my auntie Charlene." He pointed to the woman on the couch, too into her stories to give more than a wave over her shoulder.

A little boy ran from the back, followed by an older girl, who yelled at him to give her the phone back.

"Da'jon and Genesis," Lamar said. "Your cousins." The two kids didn't care about introductions as they ran outside, still yelling at each other.

The house was more chaotic than I was used to outside of major holidays, when I visited family. Lamar cleared some chairs for us to sit. Toys, packs of braiding hair, and school work books cluttered the table. I shoved my hands between my knees to keep from straightening up. Romeo sat next to me. Unlike me, he hadn't fully relaxed his guard.

"You look just like your moms," Lamar said, taking the chair across from us and draping his arm across the back of the chair next to him. "She know you're here?"

"No," I answered truthfully. "It was a last-minute trip."

"Is this your boyfriend?"

My eyes darted to Romeo. He didn't look as thrown off by the question as I felt. He was like a wall. Why was he being so weird?

"No. We're just friends." Saying that out loud reminded me of last night. The confession that came at the wrong time. I shook it off and changed the subject. I was there for a reason. "I saw the email you sent my mom. And since we were looking for you--"

"We?"

"Well, it was Indy mostly." At his blank stare, I added. "Indigo. Brandy's daughter."

Recognition finally sparked across his face. "Right, Brandy." He scratched his chin. "And you all know each other?"

I nodded. "Indy and I met when were seven and my mom and Brandy became friends."

He smiled at that, leaning his forearms on the table. "That's cool you got to grow up together."

The smile that had been building since he recognized me on the porch came to the surface. He asked more questions about Indy and my mom and school. I learned a lot about him as well. He also couldn't handle spicy foods. And he went to Valle Vista high. Coach Wolff was his P.E. teacher too, and Lamar was constantly in trouble with him.

He even told me how he met my mom. They met at a mutual friend's birthday party. At the club. My mom, the woman who got excited about cups and vacuums, in a club, dancing and drinking? I couldn't picture it. I'd never heard the story before because I never thought to ask.

Before that day, I never thought I'd have a conversation with Lamar. But he didn't seem completely terrible. If you looked past the part about him leaving his kids behind. Just as I was about to ask him about it, he stood. "I think we have pictures."

Old pictures of my mom? I had to see those. He disappeared down the hall. I turned to Romeo, who'd been quiet since we been there. His face was pinched.

"What?" I asked him.

He glanced at the woman on the couch, absently flipping through channels now that the soap operas were over. Romeo shook his head. Lamar came back before I could get an answer out of him.

Lamar had a photo album that was hanging on by a thread. Most of the pictures were just thrown in between the pages. He flipped through the book before landing on a page full of pictures of people at an amusement park.

I didn't know which one was my mom until Lamar pointed her out. She had blond micro-braids that hung just past her shoulders, and bold lip liner, and she was smiling so wide you could see her wisdom teeth.

There were a lot more photos of her throughout the book. Some where she was in background looking at Lamar like he was the brightest star in the galaxy. I used my phone to take pictures of them. There were so many missed texts from Indy.

"You two look happy," I said, picking up a picture of my mom and him sitting under a tree, laughing.

"We were," he mused, gazing at the picture himself when I sat it back down. "I fucked up bad when I left her."

That was almost exactly what Romeo said to me last night. I wondered if he was being honest. If it was possible for someone to realize their mistake and start acting right over night? Like flipping a light switch.

I wondered if Romeo meant it when he said it.

"All the time I had in lock up had me thinking about my past mistakes," he continued. "Leaving your moms was my biggest. That's why I sent the email. I wanted a chance to make it right. My situation isn't the best right now. I mean, I'm sleeping on the couch and living out of a trash bag."

Romeo shifted in his seat, his knee knocking against mine under the table. When it happened again, I turned to him.

"We should go." He said, tapping the chunky silver watch Bell gave him to complete his look.

Lamar slit his eyes at Romeo. "I'm having a conversation with my daughter."

Romeo didn't take his eyes off of me. He wanted to leave, and even though I was mad at him for his late night confession, I trusted his judgment. Even if I didn't see the problem he did.

"Daya," Lamar said, bringing my attention back to him. "I know I wasn't there when you were growing up. But I want to change that. I can get a job closer to you. Maybe even an apartment. I just need a little time. You can tell your moms that and maybe we can work something out."

He looked desperate, almost begging. Something shifted when he said that. It was like I had blinders on and they were ripped off, showing me the full picture. The blankets and pillows folded on the couch, the trash bag of clothes. The random email didn't seem so random. He needed a place to stay.

Lamar didn't care about my mom, or Indy, or making amends. He didn't care about me. He was trying to get out of this house where everything was loud and messy and people drank all his juice.

I stood so fast the chair nearly fell over. "Let's go," I said to Romeo.

Lamar followed us out the door. "Hold on. What the hell just happened? We were talking?"

"And now we're not," I said over my shoulder.

"Can you at least tell your moms to reply to my email?"

I turned on him. "Why?"

He looked surprised by my question. "I told you why."

"No, I mean, why did you leave? Why did you wait seventeen years to reach out? Why, after you left my mom to raise a child alone, do you think you can come back like nothing happened?" I was aware I was yelling. I could feel all the eyes peeking around curtains or openly staring from their porches and balconies.

Lamar noticed them too, his gaze flicking around the complex, taking stock of everyone witnessing the moment.

I folded my arms across my chest, lowering my voice. "If you really are still in love with my mom, then prove it. But if you're trying to use her, stay away. Please."

He took one more look around the complex before turning and stalking back into the house.

Watching him walk away, I couldn't tell if I was relieved or disappointed. Romeo grasped my hand in his, tugging me away from prying eyes. His touch was the only thing keeping me together until we got in the car.

Hot tears pooled in my eyes as we headed back to Bell's. I felt stupid for allowing myself to get my hopes up. For letting him distract me with old photos and fake interest in my life. For letting myself start to imagine what life would be like with him in it.

When my sobs slowed down to nothing but hiccups and sniffles, Romeo said, "I hope the couch he's sleeping on gets bed bugs."

It was so unexpected, I snorted.

"Also, he looks like a Wal-Mart brand Anthony Mackie."

I was full on laughing then. "That's what Indy said."

At the thought of my sister, I remembered all the ignored notifications on my phone. My mom was probably losing her mind, wondering where I was. Hopefully Indy could keep her together until I got back.

It was almost one when we got off the freeway near Bell's house, but Romeo made a left instead of a right.

"This isn't the way to your mom's place," I pointed out.

"I'm cashing in my favor," he said, shooting me a boyish grin.

"Your what?"

"It snowed, remember?" Right.

The freak storm.

The blackout.

The dancing.

The waking up wrapped around Romeo like a blanket.

I shook the memories away. "I thought you were gonna ask me to do your laundry or something."

He looked at me sidelong. "Trust Miss Bleach with my clothes again? No thanks."

"I thought it fabric softener!"

"I think you wanted to ruin my favorite shirt."

"It was a hideous shirt," I told him. "The universe wanted me to ruin it. That's why the bleach was in my reach."

He shook his head, biting back a smile. "Anyways, we're going to the scavenger hunt."

"No." I wanted to go home and get started on my punishment. "I'm probably going to be grounded until I'm thirty if I'm not home soon."

"You snuck out in the middle of the night and have been ignoring your mom's calls all day," he said. "What difference will a couple more hours make? Besides, this is probably the last time either of will have fun for a very long time."

He made excellent points. Also, I felt like crap. Going straight home, where my mother was waiting to chew me out, wasn't all that appealing. Romeo was right.

What difference would a few more hours make?