Copyright 2021
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
ISBN: 978-1-09837-231-6 (softcover)
ISBN: 978-1-09837-232-3 (eBook)
Contents
FALLING IN LOVE
VIOLATED
SECRECY
AARON MEETS JACK
THE CONFESSION
LIVING WITH UNCERTAINTY
THE SHOCKING TRUTH
THE CONFRONTATION
STARTING OVER
FALLING IN LOVE
As everyone is eating, CJ asks, “Mom, are you still going to start your college classes this summer?”
“Yeah, I think it’s about time I do.” She replied while avoiding eye contact with Chance, her husband.
Chance took another bite of his breakfast and said he was done, although he really wasn’t finished eating. He quickly lost his appetite since he hated the idea of Nyla going back to college. He wanted her to stay home and take care of the house, kids, and himself.
Chance said his goodbyes to the boys, kissed Nyla and whispered in her ear as he hugged her, “We need to talk.”
Nyla didn’t answer, but smiled so everything appeared to be okay.
After Chance had left and the boys finished their breakfast, Nyla took them to summer camp. On the way, she remembered when her and Chance first met. It was twelve years earlier when she and her family moved to a city where they’d lived before. Since she already had friends there, she spent most of her free time walking around the block with one of her sisters named Debra and best friend, Tangee.
Back then, walking around the block was fun, and almost every female in the hood did it, especially on weekends. The females would put on their little outfits and make sure their hair was styled nicely, just to go outside and walk around. The guys looked forward to the weekend too because most of them were fishing for females to hook up with. Their attention getter was the music that they played, which could be heard booming long before their actual vehicle arrived on the scene. It was nice, almost like a block party and just like most block parties, a fight almost always broke out because some girl found out that she and another girl or two were sharing the same guy. Most times, their guy would be there when the fight started, but by the end of it, he’d be long gone.
One Sunday afternoon, everyone was lounging around the house after returning from church. When Nyla was done eating dinner, she went to her bedroom that she shared with three of her younger sisters.
Debra walked in and said, “I’m bored! Let’s go walking!”
“Dee, I don’t feel like walking.” Nyla responded as she laid lifeless on her and her baby sister’s full-size bed.
“You don’t ever feel like doing anything!” Dee said. “Stop being lazy and let’s go!” She grabbed Nyla by the arm and pulled her out of bed.
Dee was two and a half years younger than Nyla, but always had a bossy way of getting people to do whatever she wanted, whether they wanted to or not. She was a lot more developed than Nyla also, which made her appear to be about the same age if not older. Either way, Nyla had no choice, except to get up. She got dressed and they went outside to walk around the block. Halfway around, the two stopped by Tangee’s house to see if she wanted to join them, and she did.
There were people of all ages outside enjoying the remaining hours of the day. Some of the younger boys rode around on go-carts and bikes while young men drove around in nice cars playing their loud music. Little kids played in yards and along the streets while other groups of girls walked around in their cliques like they did. Everybody appeared to be having a good time.
Nyla, Dee and Tangee walked around the block about three times when Nyla noticed up ahead at a corner house, a little girl about three years old playing with a ball. She said, “That little girl is going to run in the street after that ball and get hit by a car.”
“Yep, she sure is! I don’t think anybody can see her over there neither! Let’s hurry up so we can tell somebody to get her,” suggested Dee.
They walked faster. When they were about two houses away, they heard loud music approaching and knew there were only seconds before a car would turn the corner. So, they started running, just in case. About two seconds later, the little girl bounced the ball and it went rolling towards the street, and like all little kids do at that age, unaware of danger, she ran after it.
By this time, Nyla and the others were yelling for someone to get the little girl. A group of guys that were standing in front of a big SUV parked in front of that same yard saw them, but since they were playing their loud music too, they couldn’t hear what the girls were saying.
Only a house away from the yard where the child was supposed to be in, Nyla yelled as loud as she could, “Get that baby!”
The guys that were already looking puzzled finally noticed the little girl had ran into the street, but it was too late. A car had reached the corner and made a turn in her direction. Nyla waved her hands wildly for the car to stop, but it kept coming. So, she darted across the street in front of the car just in time to grab the little girl out of harm’s way. They both fell to the ground as the car squealed to a stop and people ran to see what had happened.
“My baby! Give me my baby,” cried a lady’s voice!
Nyla held up the baby while she remained on the ground. The lady took her little girl as she thanked Jesus over and over that she was safe, but said nothing to Nyla. The little girl began to cry as she was carried away, not because she was hurt, but because she didn’t understand what had just happened.
“Are you okay?” Dee asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Nyla answered.
“I’m so sorry!” A man voice said. “Let me help you up.” He reached out his hand and Nyla held out hers and tried to stand, but when she did, she screamed and fell back to the ground.
“What’s wrong, Nyla?” Dee asked.
“My leg…oh my foot…it hurts!” Nyla cried as she reached towards her foot, but wouldn’t dare touch it. At that point, she and everybody that stood and watched, noticed that her right sneaker was knocked off. It was obvious that she was hit by the moving car and hadn’t noticed until she tried to stand. Nyla was in so much pain that she passed out.
Dee screamed, “Somebody, help my sister! Call for an ambulance!”
The same young man that tried to help her up, checked Nyla’s pulse. Then, he picked her up and put her in the back seat of his car. “Go home and tell your parents what happened. No need to call for an ambulance. I’m taking her to the hospital...hurry!”
Dee and Tangee ran home to tell her parents what had happened.
Meanwhile, on the way to the hospital, Nyla opened her eyes and almost immediately started crying again. The pain was too excruciating to bear. When they reached the hospital, the young man carried her inside and shortly after, she was out again.
A few hours later, Nyla was awakened by a somewhat familiar voice. She slowly turned in the direction of it, and as her blurred vision regained its focus, it was the voice of the man that tried to help her up after the accident. He was talking on his cell phone until he saw that she was awake. He hung up and began to apologize over and over for hitting her and for not paying attention to the road where children were playing.
Nyla looked down at her leg and saw that it was all wrapped up. “It’s okay and I’m okay. I’m just glad I was there.” She paused and then asked. “She was okay, right...the little girl? I can’t quite remember how things turned out.”
“Yes, the little girl is fine. Her mom came by to see you a little while ago.” He pointed at a flower a
rrangement set aside her hospital bed with a balloon attached to it that read Thank You. He walked over to the flowers and took a small envelope from it and handed it to Nyla. She pulled out a little note that read,
I apologize for not acknowledging you for what you did at the time of the accident. I was so disturbed by how close my baby was to death, I couldn’t think straight. I am and always will be grateful to you for saving her. If there is anything you ever need, please don’t hesitate to let me know. My phone number is 411-121-1973.
Much love,
Tabby and Ashley Martin
Nyla smiled in appreciation for the note. “Have you seen my parents?”
“Yes. They’re right outside finishing up paperwork.”
“Is Dee here?”
The man looked clueless and asked, “Who’s Dee?”
“My sister.”
“Oh, I’m not sure, but I didn’t see anyone else with them.”
Nyla noticed the sadness in his eyes and regret by his body language. She asked, “How long have you been here?”
“Since I brought you here.” He answered. “I couldn’t leave until I talked to you and knew that you’d be okay.”
She smiled, “I think I’ll be fine.”
Nyla’s parents entered the room.
“How are you feeling?” Her mom asked with a sign of worry written all over her face. Her dad never showed his worry, but Nyla knew something was wrong and would soon find out what it was.
“I feel okay.” Nyla answered.
Then her dad said, “Nyla baby, you’re going to have to undergo surgery on your leg and foot. Your hip was thrown off, your knee is messed up, and several of the bones in your foot look shattered. The impact of the car did a number on you. After the surgery, you will have to go through a lot of therapy to regain full use of your leg. Now, that’s the bad news.”
“Okay, what’s the good news?” Nyla asked.
“The good news is that you will indeed be able to walk like normal again. It’s just going to take a lot of time and effort from you. Let’s just thank God that it wasn’t anything worse.” He went on and on.
Nyla thought, there her daddy was preaching again. She couldn’t blame him as she thought about how things really could have been much worse. Besides that, being a preacher’s kid, this type of talk from him had become normal many years ago.
Nyla looked back over at the guy that hit her and saw that he was almost in tears. He said, “I really am sorry about all of this. I don’t know any of you, but I can tell that you all are some really good people. Nyla, I hope that you can forgive me for what I’ve done to you, and if you don’t mind, may I call you later to see if there’s anything I can do to help?”
Nyla nodded. “Yeah, I don’t mind…and I forgive you.”
He dropped his head and said, “Thank you,” then turned to exit the room.
“Your name?” Nyla asked.
“Huh?” He responded.
“I don’t know your name.”
“Oh...it’s Chance. I left my number there on the table next to your flowers. Please call me if you need me for anything.”
Nyla nodded. “Okay.”
He left.
About a month later, Nyla was on crutches and back in school. She wasn’t supposed to return for a few more weeks, but she enjoyed school so much that she convinced her doctor to allow her to return a little early.
One day while sitting in her third period class. Nyla was called to the front office. As she approached the office, she saw her dad waiting. She assumed that something was wrong because her parents didn’t make a habit of showing up at their kids’ school unexpectedly for anything else.
“Hey,” said her dad as he stood up. “I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to take you to therapy today. I have to go see one of the church members who’s very sick and it’s not looking too good.”
This type of emergency wasn’t out of the ordinary for him. Her dad would drop anything and everything to take care of God’s business.
“Daddy, you know I understand, but you didn’t have to come all the way here to tell me that. You could’ve called and they would’ve given me the message.” Looking into his eyes as she spoke, she noticed that he had an up-to-something look on his face. “What is it, Daddy?”
“Chance agreed to take you.”
“Who?” She tried to remember, and just when her daddy was about to refresh her memory, Chance walked around the corner in their direction. For a few seconds, Nyla forgot about her still fragile leg and awkwardly tried to stand like normal. One of her crutches fell from under her arm to the floor and she followed it. Thankfully, Chance was there to break her fall. He held her up while her dad picked up her crutch and put it back under her arm. The whole time, she couldn’t take her eyes off Chance. It was at that moment when she realized how handsome he was. He had smooth dark skin, a perfectly shaped nose, a clean haircut, light brown eyes, and juicy lips. To top it all off, he had strong arms, a warm embrace and smelled good. For a few seconds, he’d taken her to a place she’d never been before.
“Are you alright?” Chance asked.
Snapping back to reality and regaining her balance, she answered, “Yeah. So, my daddy asked you to take me to therapy for him, huh?”
Chance nodded. “Yeah.”
“I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything because you don’t. My leg will heal in time and I’ll be back to normal soon.” She went on.
“Hold on a minute!” He interrupted. “I know you don’t think I owe you anything or should even be here, but I feel like I do! I hurt you a little while ago. If it weren’t for you, I would probably be in jail or prison right now because that baby could have been killed. No doubt, I can’t take back what happened, but I do owe it to you to help you feel as comfortable as possible until you are back to normal. Now, I have bugged your parents every day since all this began, checking to see how you are doing. They have been nice enough to fill me in on your progress, and I thank them for that. This is the first time that I’ve asked if there was anything I can do to help, and they finally said yes. So, please let me help you? It’s only a ride.”
Nyla’s dad didn’t say a word. He just stood there with a slight grin on his face. He didn’t talk much when he wasn’t being talked to anyway, except for when he was preaching. He looked at Nyla and waited to see what her response would be. When Nyla finally gave in to let Chance take her to therapy, her dad left. Chance left too and was excited that he was finally given an opportunity to help Nyla.
Throughout the remainder of school, Nyla daydreamed. She couldn’t get the office visit out of her head as she thought about the strong arms that helped her back to her feet. She became anxious, knowing that Chance would be returning soon to pick her up. She couldn’t wait to see him, but was nervous at the same time. What if I trip and fall again? She thought. Maybe I should pretend to fall just so he could catch me and hold me in his arms again? She smiled at her thoughts.
School finally dismissed and as someone held the door for Nyla to walk outside, she and Chance locked eyes as he was the first person she saw. He walked over to meet her and immediately took her backpack to make it easier for her to get into his car. He smiled as he opened the car door for her, helped her in, and then closed the door behind her.
Wow! He has dimples too. This has to be the most handsome guy in the world! She thought.
Chance took Nyla to therapy and their conversation slowly grew into a more comfortable one. After therapy, they both were hungry, so they decided to stop by a small, Mexican restaurant to get a bite to eat. While eating, they talked and got even more acquainted. The slight pain that Nyla had started to feel from therapy was forgotten. Wrapped up in their conversation, time slipped by and the sun started to set. When they finally noticed the darkness outside, Chance hurried and took Nyla home. That was the beginning of their relationship.
“Mom?” Nyla’s middle son, Ronald, called as he reached over and shook her for her attenti
on. “What are you thinking about because you’re smiling?”
“I was thinking about when me and your dad first met.” She answered. “Was I really smiling?”
“Yes!” CJ interceded.
They all laughed as Nyla pulled up to summer camp to let them out.
On her drive back home, Nyla remembered when she finished high school, she went straight to college. Chance was already in his third year of law school. He always talked about becoming a successful lawyer and when he did, he was going to marry her and move her to a nice gated community away from the hood she grew up in...and that’s exactly what he did.
After finishing law school, Chance became very successful. He asked Nyla to marry him and they moved into a beautiful home in a nice gated community about an hour away from her parents. He often reminded her verbally and through random gifts of how much he loved her. He also told her that she didn’t have to work if she didn’t want to, because it was his job to take care of her and their family.
Over the years, Chance was an excellent provider. He made it his priority to do absolutely everything for Nyla and their family. She was taken care of so well that she needed for nothing and simply did not have to work. She appreciated everything he did for them, but she still had a desire to finish school. Not only was that something she always wanted to do, but it was also what he promised she could do when he was done. However, a year after they got married, she put college on hold to give birth to CJ. Two years later, she was pregnant again with Ronald, and then Anthony. After their third son, she convinced Chance to use protection or she’d have to take birth control.
Years passed and every now and then, Nyla would bring up the subject of returning to school, but Chance would always convince her that it still wasn’t a good time. After living the life of a housewife for so long, she almost grew comfortable and often felt like there was no real need to return to college. However, when all three of their boys had reached school-age, she grew bored at home and the desire returned. She felt like the perfect time had finally come.
The Good Neighbor Page 1