Underestimated Too

by Jettie Woodruff

  ‘I’m doing very well, Drew? How are you? I heard you’ve been living in France with your little girlfriend.’

  Snickering, I corrected her. ‘She’s my wife, and yes, we’ve been doing some traveling.’

  ‘Is she here?’

  ‘No, she stayed back. She’s taking some classes and didn’t want to leave right now. I’m only here for a couple days.’

  ‘Me too.’

  ‘You’re not living around here?’

  ‘No, we’ve been in Chicago for a few months now. I’m just home for my dad’s birthday.’

  Turning her hand in mine, I brushed the back of her ring finger. ‘No ring?’

  She smiled a weak smile. I knew Kyle Bentley pretty well, she’d be lucky if he ever gave her a ring.

  ‘Why do you care? You married someone else.’

  ‘I did, but she’s not here. Come over tonight,’ I asked Skyler.”

  “Great, let’s talk about fucking Skyler again,” I angrily spoke up.

  “Morgan, just listen, okay,” Drew coaxed.

  Pouting, I crossed my arms and dropped to the back of the sofa.

  Drew continued, “She asked, ‘Over where? To the mansion?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s where I’m staying,’ I informed her.”

  Chapter 25

  “That evening should have never happened. I was sure after that night, I was finished with Skyler and would never spend time with her again. I showered after pouring her a glass of wine. When I came out and she wasn’t there, I took the moment to check a few numbers in my office. Of course I did my daily routine and flipped the camera to Morgan’s empty room. I looked at that empty bedroom and bathroom so many times since she disappeared.

  Rage instantly flooded me when I saw Skyler standing in front of Morgan’s closet. I didn’t want her in there. Taking the steps two at a time, I burst in.

  ‘What are you doing in here?’

  ‘She has beautiful things. This was supposed to be mine, Drew. Remember?’

  ‘I don’t want you in here.’

  ‘You’re in love with her. I can tell,’ she accused.

  “Come on.’ I wanted Skyler out of that room.

  ‘Did you make love to her in this bed, Drew?’ Skyler asked in some sort of soft wicked tone, circling me.”

  Great, details…

  “I sort of explained to Skyler, ‘We didn’t really make love.’

  ‘Do you want to make love to me?’

  I wasn’t sure I did anymore. I didn’t want Skyler and wondered if I’d ever wanted Skyler. ‘Not here,’ I countered.

  ‘Why not, Drew?’ she asked, unbuttoning her shirt. ‘Too many emotional feelings for you in here.’

  ‘What, Skyler? You need to be fucked? Is that what you need?’ I asked, shoving her back to Morgan’s bed. Helping her with the rest of her buttons, I jerked it apart, sending the last three buttons across the room. Something was transpiring in me that I needed to get a hold of. I couldn’t. I was taking the last year and half of my life out on Skyler.

  ‘Drew—’

  ‘What, Skyler? Isn’t this what you wanted? You came here to get fucked, right?’ I asked, squeezing her nipple, roughly between my fingers.

  I actually laughed when she slapped me right across the face. Storming from the room, I didn’t even turn towards her. I let her walk out of my life for the last time. It’s the weirdest thing ever,” Drew said, contemplating and turning to me bewildered. “I loved sex. I could have been fucking Skyler right that second, but for whatever reason, I didn’t care about that. I blamed Morgan and wanted nothing more than to make her pay, pay for the last year and a half, pay for the hell she was putting me through with Callaway, and pay for stressing me out about not ending up with one penny after all I’d been through with this family.

  Callaway was never ending. He never stopped. He unceasingly called, badgering me about where Morgan was, demanding to talk to her, and threatening to disinherit me if I didn’t produce his granddaughter. I spent my time mostly in New York, working, drinking, and more working. Callaway Jewels was doing better, possessed more stores than ever thought, and was making more money than it ever had. I did that. I did it all and would lose it completely if I didn’t figure out what to do about Morgan soon.”

  “You would have had money, Drew,” I argued. He worked for Callaway Jewels since he was a boy. He had to have money put away.

  “I did, but not the kind of money I was used to, not the kind of money that would let me live the way we live,” Drew explained.

  I didn’t care about that. I would be happier living on the beach without the Vegas heat, the too big for us mansion, the fancy clothes and the snooty people we were forced to associate with. I could have very easily walked away.

  Drew picked up where he left off, “I knew I was living on borrowed time. There was no way for me to win. If he died, I got nothing. Morgan had to be there to claim her inheritance. If I didn’t produce her soon, he would make sure I had nothing to do with Callaway Jewels or the Callaway fortune. I was in and out of Vegas at least three or four times a month. I flew in, took care of business and got the hell out of there, always trying to stay a step ahead of Callaway.

  ‘Hello,’ I answered with a sigh. Talking to Callaway became a chore. I would have rather gone to the dentist than hear his voice.

  ‘You will have Morgan at the mansion this weekend for the Prescott reunion,’ Callaway guaranteed.

  ‘Yes, we’re flying home tomorrow,’ I lied.

  ‘I’ve heard that for twenty two months now. I want my granddaughter home tomorrow.’

  ‘She’ll be there,’ I assured him. I had no clue what the hell I was going to say, but I knew I’d held him off all I could. I couldn’t keep going on like I was. I didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, worked seven days a week, and worried—a lot.

  I flew home, dreading what had to be done. Maybe I wouldn’t tell him the whole truth. Maybe I’d make up some bullshit about Morgan having an affair, leaving me for another man. That could work. I’d go in there with tears, devastated that my wife left me. It was fucking genius, get the old bastard to feel sorry for me for once. PERFECT! It would work. It had to. He wouldn’t toss me out to the streets when I was so upset over the sudden departure of my wife. Would he?

  ‘Maybe I should give him a little heads up,’ Derik suggested, sitting across from me in my office. ‘You know, tell him how upset you are.’

  ‘Nah, he’d know something was up. You never go over there. Besides, I need you to head to the airport and pick up Mr. Wetly. I need this deal more than I need you going to battle for me.’ Wetly was my very first major sale. I sold him a two hundred thousand dollar necklace for his tenth anniversary. I can’t imagine what he’s going to spend on her for his twentieth.

  ‘Shouldn’t you be the one to pick him up?’

  ‘No, you’re my assistant. He’s aware of how busy I am. I’ll meet you at the restaurant with him at seven. Get him settled into the hotel and make sure he has everything he needs. I’ll see you around seven. I’m going over to Callaway’s, pour my heart out to him, and hope like hell he has an ounce of empathy in that wrinkled up body of his,’ I explained to Derik, standing and showing him out.

  ‘Let me know how it goes.’

  ‘I will. Have Marta bring me in a cup of coffee on your way out.’

  Flipping on my computer, I brought up Morgan’s empty room, wondering how long I was going to keep doing that. She wasn’t there. She wasn’t coming back, and I should probably clean out her room. I needed to put it behind me and move on, one way or another I had to figure out life after Morgan. Enough was enough, and I wasn’t getting any younger.

  Contemplating my life while I drove over to Callaway’s estate, I thought about what I’d do. It wasn’t like I was broke. I did get paid. I had some money put back. Maybe I’d move to New York, buy a jewelry store, and start from scratch. I could handle having one store versus twenty. I’m sure my life would be a lot less stressful. Find
me a nice city girl and maybe forget about the Callaways altogether,” Drew described, clicking his jaw. “I felt much better about my life, where I was going, and my future as I drove the long stretch of desert, leading to the Callaway estate. I’d let the Callaway fortune dictate my life long enough. Whatever happened, happened, and I would be okay either way. Hopefully Callaway went in the direction I was aiming; feeling sorry for me and deciding to keep me on. If he didn’t, so be it. I wasn’t agonizing over it for one more second.

  ‘Yeah,’ I answered Derik through my car phone.

  ‘Dude! I’m following Morgan!’ Derik practically screamed.”

  Oh, my god. He’s talking about the day I wrecked.

  “Feeling my heart pick up a few extra beats, I asked, ‘What do you mean, you’re following Morgan?’ No way. He couldn’t be following Morgan. There was no way she was in Vegas the whole time.

  ‘I’m following her. I was just getting ready to walk into the airport when I saw her. She took off running and sped away. She’s two cars in front of me.’

  ‘You’re sure its Morgan?’

  ‘One hundred percent sure.’

  ‘Where are you? Don’t let her out of your sight.’

  ‘I’m following her up Connector. She’s just shot across Tropicana to Paradise.’

  ‘Stay on her. I’m heading your way,’ I shouted excitedly, shifting to a lower gear and spinning my sports car around on the road. My heart was racing to an unhealthy beat as my mind flooded with adrenaline.

  ‘Fuck!’ Derik yelled.”

  I gasped. Hearing it played out in Drew’s mind dramatized it like reading a mystery.

  “I immediately demanded, ‘What?’

  ‘She just missed getting hit head on. She’s flying in and out of traffic, heading towards the strip.’

  ‘What the hell is she going there for?’

  ‘She’s just trying to get away, stay ahead of me. She’s darting in and out of every street she can.’

  ‘Derik?’

  ‘DERIK!!!!’ I screamed to the silenced phone. The line was dead quiet. I had no idea where to go. Turning down 1st street, I took a shortcut down an alley, constantly dialing Derik back. I was going to fucking kill him. Ten minutes later I was in the crazy downtown traffic, having no clue where to go while Derik wouldn’t answer his phone.

  ‘What the fuck, you ass!’ I answered my ringing phone.

  ‘Drew,’ Derik spoke with a new tone. He wasn’t speaking in the excited tone anymore. Something was wrong.

  ‘What? If you tell me she got away, I’m going to fucking slice your throat.’

  ‘She didn’t get away. She wrecked.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘Her car drove right under the front of a bus. It’s bad, Drew.’

  ‘She’s dead?’ I asked, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me.

  ‘I don’t know. The bus driver got the fire out with an extinguisher, but I heard the paramedics call for the jaws of life.’

  ‘Where the fuck are you?’ I knew I was close. I could hear sirens.

  ‘North end of the boulevard, just south of East Lake.’

  ‘I’m almost there.’ I hung up. This was what I wanted all along. I always wanted Morgan to die. Morgan dying would solve all my problems. Callaway couldn’t blame me. I wasn’t even with her. This was what I wanted. Why the hell did I feel like I’d just lost a vital organ?”

  I wanted to interrupt. I was the vital organ. Drew was talking about me.

  “The only thing showing in the little red Honda was maybe two feet of the trunk,” Drew continued, staring blankly out the window, ignoring me. “There was no way she survived. I slammed on the breaks, shut the car off, and ran down the middle of the stopped traffic. I ignored the call from the police officer, telling me to stay in my car.

  Running right up to the rubbish, I was held back by two more cops. ‘That’s my wife!’ I screamed, trying to get to her. Why was I so adamant about getting to her? I didn’t care. Or so I kept telling myself.

  ‘You can’t go any closer. Let the paramedics do their job.’

  I watched as the car was cut in two, knowing for sure she was dead when I saw the blood. There was so much blood. Nobody could survive that. The two police officers asked me a million questions that I didn’t know the answer to.

  I hadn’t seen her in almost two years. I couldn’t answer anything. Luckily, they took it as I was too shook up to comply. I really couldn’t answer the questions. Why did she have a rental car? Was she just visiting? She wouldn’t come back there to visit. She wasn’t that stupid. I had just as many questions that I wanted answers to.

  Morgan was in surgery for nine straight hours. I still had my doubts that she’d pull through, and if she did she couldn’t be right. There was no way. I saw the car. I saw the blood, and I wasn’t extremely hopeful that she’d even pull through surgery.” Drew paused and swallowed heavily. “I should have let you go. I shouldn’t have told Derik to chase you,” Drew said with a shaky voice. He was really shook up by all this.

  “I’m glad you didn’t let me go,” I smiled. “Finish, Drew,” I beckoned, wanting to hear now.

  “Callaway accused me, ‘You should have been with her.’ He was waiting right beside me for some news.

  ‘I tried to get her to come with me. She wanted to wait until today. She wanted me to go ahead. I never would have let her had I thought something like this would happen.’

  ‘Why are they speculating that she was running? Who would she be running from?’

  ‘I have no idea,’ I lied, running my fingers through my hair.

  Callaway stayed right there until the doctor came out looking exhausted. He explained that they managed to stop the bleeding in her brain, but the swelling was rapid. He didn’t know her prognosis. It was too soon to tell.

  ‘The next twenty four hours are going to be tricky,’ the doctor explained. ‘We’ll see what we’re dealing with tomorrow. I wish I could give you more, but I can’t. We just don’t know yet,’ he apologetically clarified.

  ‘Can I see her?’ I asked.

  ‘They’re transporting her to ICU. Someone will let you know when you can see her.’

  I wasn’t sure how I’d react when I saw her. Waiting alone after Derik took Callaway and left, I was sure time had stopped. I sat there for another hour, waiting to see my wife for the first time in almost two years. Would I feel sorrow, anger, remorse? I really didn’t know how I felt, not until I was finally shown to her room.

  The room smelled so clean, ozone lurked in the sanitized air. Beeping noises filled the room, and she was wired to every imaginable medical equipment you could think of. She didn’t even look like Morgan. Beside the fact that she had a tube down her throat and her chest rose and fell in unison with the sound of the machine breathing for her, she looked dead. Her head was bandaged all the way around and her eyes were swollen shut.

  ‘There’s probably going to be significant swelling, it’s part of the healing process,’ the nurse explained. I didn’t respond. Walking closer to Morgan, I couldn’t speak. I wasn’t sure how I felt. It was a mixture of emotions, but one that I did pick up on was anger. I was pissed off at her. She shouldn’t have been there, laying there like that. She should have been with me all along. She wouldn’t be in that predicament had she been with me, where she belonged. What the hell was I saying? I should be happy she was there. I should be praying for her death and jumping for joy at the thought of burying her next to her father. She probably wouldn’t even make it through the night.

  I never left her that night. For whatever reason, I didn’t want her to leave this earth alone. She’d always been alone. I felt the need to stay with her, make sure if she did go, she wasn’t alone. Did I play the concerned husband, holding her hand, kissing her, telling her how much I loved her? No, I didn’t do that. That emotion was never really a part of me. I don’t think I was born with an empathy trait.” Drew paused, lost in his own head.

 
I couldn’t help it. I wiped the falling tear, escaping from my right eye with the back of my hand. Drew was staying with me, afraid I’d leave my life alone. It was the most beautifully saddest thing I’d ever heard.

  “I sat in the reclining vinyl seat in the corner. The nurses demanded time and time again that I needed to leave. Intensive care didn’t really allow twenty-four hours visitors. I didn’t care. I wasn’t leaving.”

  Sniff

  “I sat quietly in the dark room, contemplating my life. Hours passed while I listened to the sounds of medical equipment, having an eerie feeling with death lingering in the air. If Morgan died, I could pursue my life with Skyler. I was sure she’d be right there if she found out that Morgan passed.

  How would Morgan’s life have been, had Michael cared enough about her to help her, take her or maybe even pay some child support so she wasn’t forced to live the way she’d lived? How could any man leave his child to be raised like that? I didn’t get it. For the first time, I wondered what Michael’s life was like growing up. Was he abused by someone too? Was that why he chose to abuse me?

  I did more soul searching that night than I ever had in my life, contemplating things I refused to think about, my mother for one. Why did she allow Michael to treat her the way he had? What would she have done had she found out what he was doing to me? I snickered and shook my head. She wouldn’t have done anything. I remember being thirteen and begging her not to make me go out of town with him for the weekend. I hinted every way I could about being afraid of being alone with him. She scolded me, telling me to never ever speak of such a thing again. That wasn’t even anything too sexual. He’d just come to my bed in our hotel and fondle me. I always fell asleep on my stomach, hoping he’d leave me alone. He didn’t.

  I thought about how it made me feel to see my mother broken and bruised because of him. I did those things to Morgan because of him. I did unthinkable things, broke her, bruised her, and worst of all, I put her here, struggling for her life.”

  “Let’s wrap it up till next week,” Deidra softly spoke.