“Is everything okay?” Morgan asked. He looked in the direction I was staring and noticed the guy disappeared.
I smiled. “Nothing, baby. Let’s go inside.”
He nodded and waited for me to go in. Yeah, I was being paranoid, but with everything that been happening, I had every right to be.
Morgan
As the hostess was directing everyone to a table, I looked at the door and saw
Hayley’s mom and dad walking in. While Mr. Stevens acknowledged me and went to look for everyone, Mrs. Stevens pulled me aside and smiled.
“How are you, Morgan?”
“I’m good, Mrs. Stevens. Congrats on your pregnancy.”
“Thank you. I’m sure Hayley and Lamar have some choice words about it.”
“They’re shocked but happy for you and Mr. Stevens.”
She put a hand on my shoulder and reached into her purse. She pulled out her phone and handed it to me.
“Your mom told us what happened, Morgan.”
I closed my eyes and sighed. Mrs. Stevens cupped my chin so I could look at her.
“Morgan, what you did took courage, so don’t ever be ashamed of what you done.
You done what you felt was right at the moment.”
“I know, but I put Lamar into my problems.”
“Maybe so, but Lamar was helping you. I’m sure you would have done the same
for him. Anyway, Hayley’s dad and I did not want her to know that your mom talked to us. That’s why this has to be discreet. She knew we were coming here, so she bought this phone for you. She wanted you to call her to let her know you’re okay. She wanted to come with us, but she knew it wasn’t wise to.”
I nodded as Mrs. Stevens gave me a thoughtful look. “Everything will work out,
sweetie, but for now, call your mom, okay.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
She patted my shoulder and went over to join everyone. I sighed and went out to
the door. I went over to my car and sat inside and dialed my mom’s number. She answered after the first ring.
“Morgan.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear from you.”
“The same with you. Very clever that you bought a pre-paid phone.”
“I had to contact you in some way, son.”
“How are things? Are you and Aunt Doris getting along?”
“Of course. It was really great that you asked her to come. We’ve been catching
up on old times. For that, I have to say thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m glad she’s there for you.”
“There is something I have to tell you. Please don’t become alarmed though.”
I sat up in my seat as I stared ahead at the building in front of me. “What is it?”
“Someone came by the house looking for you. When I said you weren’t here, they
tried to come inside when Doris used her shotgun to send them away.”
I smiled. I can’t believe she still had that gun. She carried it everywhere with her.
“You and Hayley need to be careful. I don’t know what Craig’s associates are
capable of and I don’t want anything to happen to the two of you and also Lamar.”
“I know and I’m being careful, Mom. Uncle Rick and Aunt Caroline knows what
happened.”
My mom sighed. “Really?”
I didn’t like the uneasy tone my mom had in her voice. Something was wrong.
“Why do you sound like that, Mom?”
“Morgan, I don’t think that was a good idea to tell them. Well, not Caroline anyway.”
I had a puzzled look as my mom took a deep breath.
“Why not?”
“There’s a lot of things you don’t know about Morgan, and I tried my hardest to shield you from them.”
“Like what? Like me finding out I have a brother.”
“What?”
“I know about my brother, Mom. Why you didn’t you tell me about him?”
“How did you find out about that?”
“He stays in Dallas and owns a bar in town. Hayley was working for him, but she quit shortly after. Now, I heard Uncle Rick’s reasons for not telling me, but what were your reasons for not letting me know I had a brother?”
“It’s complicated, Morgan.”
“What’s complicated? Dad cheated on you and had a child. Although I can’t stand the guy, it would have been nice to know that I had a brother.”
“That’s something I would have to talk to you about later, but just know that it was in your best interest that you didn’t know. Now that you do, there might be even more you will have to deal with.”
“Are you trying to say that he has something to do with Craig?”
“I can’t say right now. Just watch your back with anyone you associate yourself with, including Caroline.”
I continued to stare ahead wondering what my mom meant. Aunt Caroline has been nothing but nice to me, so I don’t understand why she would say that.
“I’ll let you go, son, but please remember what I said. If needed, I’ll send another phone for us to communicate on.”
“Okay. I’ll get rid of this one.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom. Tell Aunt Doris I said hi.”
“Sure. Bye, son.”
I hung up and sighed. I wished my mom would have told me why I shouldn’t trust Aunt Caroline, but regardless, I’ll stay on guard because I definitely can’t slip up now.
Hayley
I glanced out the window of the restaurant, wondering why Morgan went back to his car. It had to be important if he didn’t want us hearing his conversation. I sighed when my phone started to beep. I looked down and saw it was a text from Paula, letting me know that she got a mysterious call from Kyle asking her out. I replied, letting her know I didn’t care and hit send. She replied back, saying she knew what Morgan was doing, but it was cool with her since Kyle was fine as hell. I shook my head and sighed. Maybe Morgan’s plan wasn’t going to work, after all.
He came back into the restaurant and sat down beside me. I looked at him, knowing something was wrong.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
“I can’t talk about it right now.”
I nodded and looked ahead at my parents, who were talking about the baby. I tried to join in on the conversation, but I knew something was wrong. My phone started to beep again. It better not be Paula again. Instead, it was Kyle, asking me if I could come by the club to discuss an important matter with me. I’m sure it was the plan Morgan blackmailed him into doing.
After an hour of trying to be social, I looked over at Morgan, who was barely touching the shrimp alfredo that I ordered for him. That was his favorite dish, so I knew something was up if he wasn’t eating.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
He nodded as we both excused ourselves and went outside. I stood by the door while he stared at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“I talked to my mom earlier. Your parents know what happened, and your mom passed me a phone for me to use to call my mom.”
“Really? Wow. So why do you look so sad?”
“It’s something my mom said that has me curious. She mentioned something about my aunt, Caroline.”
“What about her?”
“That I shouldn’t trust her.”
“What?”
Morgan sighed as he looked at the road ahead. “I don’t know what to think anymore. Now, I should be looking over my shoulder at my aunt and possibly my uncle.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, Morgan.”
“What if it’s true?”
I put my arms around him as he sighed. Suddenly, I was starting to feel faint as I held onto him a little longer. I noticed this occurred at the same time for the past few days. I just thought it was because of my period starting, but honestly, I haven’t seen that in almost a month. Since Morgan and I been
in Dallas, we haven’t been using protection, so there could be a possibility that I could be joining my mom with wearing maternity clothes soon.
Couldn’t be.
Morgan pulled away from me with a worried glance. “Are you okay? You don’t look too good.”
“I’m fine. I probably just need more rest. With everything that’s been happening, I haven’t been sleeping lately.”
“Maybe you should go back to the house then. No one should bother you since Uncle Rick and Aunt Caroline went to Houston to pick up the motorcycle and Will is who knows where.”
I smiled. “I’m fine, Morgan. Besides, I can’t leave my parents. This might be the last time I’ll see them for a while.”
“I think they’ll understand if you’re not feeling well.”
As soon as I was about to walk, I had to steady myself as I held onto Morgan. I realized then I probably should go back.
“I’m taking you back to the house.”
“No, I think I’ll go by myself. You stay and keep my parents company before they leave.”
“Hales…”
“I’ll be fine. In fact, to make you feel better, I’ll take Tam with me.”
“Why not me?”
“I don’t want you to be taking care of me. Besides, it’s a woman’s thing so Tamara would know what to do.”
“At least take Steve and Carl back with you.”
“Baby, I’ll be fine. Just relax and spend some more time with everyone.”
I gave him a quick kiss and smiled.
“Okay, but if you need anything, just call me.”
“I will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I smiled, and we went inside the restaurant. After telling my parents I was leaving, my parents said they were going to do the same since they wanted to leave before the sun set. My mom held onto me, giving me a tight hug.
“Take care of yourself, okay.”
“I will, Mom. You do the same since you have a little one in there.” I said as I touched her stomach.
“I promise.”
I hugged my dad and the two headed out of the restaurant.
“Are you still heading to the house?” Morgan asked.
I nodded. “Yes, baby, I am. Tamara, did you want to come with me?” I asked. At first, she looked confused, but once I gave her a pleading look, she nodded.
“Sure.”
“I guess we’ll find something to do for a little while, but I will be checking up on you.”
“Of course you will.”
“What’s wrong?” Lamar asked while giving me a concerned look.
“Everything is fine, Lamar. I just felt a little dizzy earlier.”
“Which I still say you should let me come back with you.”
“Morgan, Tamara is coming with me, so I won’t be alone. You and Lamar go do some guy stuff, okay.”
“Fine. I’ll get an update in an hour.”
I smiled as he kissed me.
Lamar gave Tamara the key to the rental and gave her a kiss as well. “Are Steve and Carl going back with you two?”
“We’re just going to the house. Nothing will happen to us there. You probably would need them more than us.”
“Please, we can take care of ourselves,” Lamar said.
“We’ll be fine. Now go.”
The two shook their heads, and they walked out of the restaurant before us. Once they were out of earshot, I tugged onto Tamara as she gave a surprised look.
“What are you doing?”
“We need to go to the nearest drugstore.”
“Why? What is going on Hayley? And we probably did need to have Carl and Steve with us.”
“So they can tell Morgan or Lamar?”
“Tell them what?”
“I think I’m pregnant, Tamara.”
She put her hands over her mouth.
“Don’t look so shock.”
“Why do you think that? Have you two been using protection?”
“Not since we been in Dallas. Well, maybe once or twice, but there were times when we slipped up. I haven’t had my period in almost a month.”
“It could be stress too.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think so this time.”
Tamara sighed. “Okay, let’s go.”
She put an arm around me while I sighed. This was something Morgan and I didn’t need right now. If I am, we will have to find a way to end this soon so we can protect our child.
***
Once we left the drugstore near the house, we headed back. I suddenly became nervous as I folded my hands together. What if I was pregnant? I was only a college junior who was on the run with my boyfriend. I wasn’t expecting to have a child without a job and not being married. I wanted my son or daughter to have a good life and not be caught up in his or her parents’ mess.
Tamara looked over at me and smiled. “Everything will be okay, Hales.”
“I hope so.”
We approached the driveway, and I slowly got out of the car. Maybe if I stalled long enough, I wouldn’t have to worry about taking it, but I knew I needed an answer soon.
I opened the door and saw Paula sitting on the couch. I had a surprised look, wondering why she was in the house.
“How in the hell did you get in here?”
“Don’t worry about that. Did you really think Morgan’s plan was going to work on me?”
“I thought it would have since you love anything with a dick.”
Paula laughed. “Whatever, just know that I decided to reveal my information to my reliable source. They were very happy to know what you have done.”
“What the hell is going on?” Tamara asked.
Paula smiled. “You’ll find out soon. Come on out cuz.”
We looked toward the bathroom as the door opened. Shantel walked out, giving a devious smile as she approached us.
“I should have known,” Tamara mumbled.
“Why, because of the resemblance?” Paula asked.
“If you’re referring to you two looking like skanks, then yes, that’s what I was thinking.”
“You know I never liked you and your damn mouth. Bourgie ass,” Shantel said.
“I’d rather be bourgie than a whore.”
Shantel tried to go to Tamara, but I stopped her.
“Stop! I want to know what the hell is going on. What are you trying to prove, Paula?”
“As if you didn’t know. You have always been the one everyone wanted. The one all the damn guys flocked to, even though you couldn’t be with them. You tried your hardest to be with someone, and now you finally have him. You never for a second even looked at what was in front of you with me.”
I was shocked by what Paula just said. Now, this was really starting to become a little twisted.
“What?”
“I had a crush on you, Hales. I thought things wouldn’t work out with Morgan. That’s why I tried my hardest to get him to be with me so you would see that he’s no good for you. That way you could be with me.”
“This is unbelievable,” Tamara said as she sat down.
“I would have protected you, but since Morgan went out of his way to get rid of me, I had no choice but to turn you in. I figured you didn’t want me, so Morgan shouldn’t either.”
“Paula, we’ve been friends since elementary! I never knew you felt that way about me; but I have to say, I don’t feel that way about you. I’m in love with Morgan. Even if I wasn’t with him, I don’t like females in that way.”
Paula smiled. “Fine if you feel that way,” she said as she pulled out a gun.
Tamara and I gave Paula a crazed look as we stepped away from her.
“What are you doing, Paula?!” Shantel exclaimed.
She pointed the gun at my chest and smiled. “I love you Hales. I always have and if I can’t be with you, then neither can Morgan.”
“Put the gun down, Paula!” Tamara yelled.
“No, Hayley’s mind has been made up, so I have
to do this,” she said. She was about to pull the trigger when another shot was fired, hitting Paula in the chest. She looked down at her shirt and saw blood going through her white blouse. Tamara and I turned around and to our surprise saw Will standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand. He walked into the house and watched as Paula fell to the ground. He shook his head and sighed.
“Damn, she was annoying,” he said.
He glanced at us and smiled. “I guess I came at the right time.”
“I guess you did,” I agreed. I looked at my former best friend, laying on the floor in front of us, dead. A shiver went through me at the sight. I couldn’t believe this was happening. Although we weren’t on speaking terms, I would have never wished death on her. This would kill her parents knowing that their only child was gone.
“Is everyone okay?”
“Yeah, thank you, Will,” I said, surprised that even came out of my mouth.
Shantel stared at Paula’s lifeless body and then at Will.
“Why did you do that? You didn’t have to kill her!”
“I had to do it! She was holding everyone up at gunpoint!”
Shantel went to her cousin and tried to revive her, but we all knew she couldn’t. She was already gone.
“Shantel, Paula is dead,” I said.
“Shut up, you bitch! She’s dead because of you.”
“Don’t do this! No one knew Paula had feelings for Hayley. I’m pretty sure you did though. Why did you never mentioned you two were related?” Tamara asked.
“Because it was no one’s concern, that’s why!”
Will began to walk around the room, while waving the gun in his hand. For some reason, I don’t think what he just did was to protect the three of us. Something else was going on.
“You could have prevented this if you would have opened your damn mouth!” Tamara yelled.
“Shut up!” Will screamed.
We all looked at him as he pointed the gun at me.
“Will, what are you doing?”
“You know, you two talk too damn much, especially you, Tamara.”
“Will, put the gun down. If there’s something you need to talk about with me, then you can,” I said.
Something Just Ain't Right Part 2 Page 12
