by Skye, M.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he said and pulled her in for a deep passionate kiss.
The kiss lasted longer than expected. The people watching them in passing thought them to be such a lovely couple. They didn’t release each other until they were interrupted by the annoying sound of Meg’s cell phone.
Breathlessly, she pulled back and fiddled with device to shut it up, but when she looked down and saw a strange number flash across her screen. She scrambled to answer it, with Alex looking on anxiously. She thought it might be Maria calling from where ever she may be.
“Mom,” she said into the phone quickly.
“No darling it’s your grandmother, I thought your mother was with you.” Meg was confused now. Maria had been gone for over a month. She thought for sure she had gone back to Brazil. Where could she be?
“Avo, she left here a month ago. Are you sure she isn’t there with friends?” Meg asked.
“I called you because I’m worried, she usually would have called me by now. This is the time we usually have our book club at Tia Carmen’s. She never misses it without calling,” she explained.
“I haven’t seen her since the night of the party,” Meg said, remembering the disastrous night. “I’m worried, you should call your father and see if he knows anything,” she suggested.
“I will Avo,” Meg said, and ended the call.
Alex took note of her flustered expression and pulled her close to him. “Baby, what’s wrong with Maria?”
“My grandmother said she hasn’t heard from her since she left that night,” she explained.
“Should we be worried? You know it is like her to just run off with friends.”
“I think this time is different Alex, I have to find her,” she said, and turned to head back to the group.
“Wait,” Alex called out as he chased behind her. “Whatever you’re going to go do, I’m coming with you. Just let me grab Allison and tell the others we’re leaving,” he said and grabbed her hand.
She was thoroughly touched by his gesture and just let him lead her to the bonfire. When they rejoined the group, Allison was all tuckered out. She was lying in Gio’s lap wrapped up in a blanket. She looked peaceful with a smile on her face.
“She just passed out after you guys left, I think she was just waiting up to see you two make up,” Gio said teasingly.
“Well let us get her home, we have some business to take care of,” Alex said and lifted Allison out of Gio’s lap. When Meg started to walk away with Alex, everyone at the fire looked on with amused expressions, not knowing the real reason behind the sudden departure.
After securing Allison in the truck, Alex walked around to the passenger side where Meg was standing and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Sweetheart, don’t worry, we will find your mother. Do you think we should have told your sisters that she may be missing?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t want to alarm them yet, not until I find something more concrete,” she replied while still looking ahead.
“Well you just let me know where to start beautiful.”
“First we need to get this sleeping beauty home and then we can make some phone calls,” she said and turned to the truck.
“I’m going to keep her tonight, so we can just go back to our house, I mean my house, and make the calls there… that is if you're comfortable with that,” he said nervously.
“That sounds like a plan, thank you for helping me,” she said and leaned in to place a small peck on his lips.
Alex was pleased with the headway he was making. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he and Meg would share a life together and he couldn’t be happier. After helping her inside the truck, he skipped over to his side and climbed in.
He felt like he was on cloud nine, the only thing that could make this better was finding Maria.
He made up his mind that when they found her, he was going to sit her down and tell her how her disappearing acts were hurting her children more than she could even know. After starting up the truck, he took one look back at Allison and one look at Meg and felt like the luckiest man in the world. He was so consumed with happiness that he missed Bianca’s car parked across from them watching their whole scene in front of the truck.
“So they think I’m going to just let them ride off into the sunset, huh? Well I have news for them, ain’t gonna happen,” she said and laughed wickedly. After watching them drive away, she quickly whipped out her phone to place a call. Once the phone started ringing, she felt her anticipation growing and began to smile inwardly.
“Hello,” the voice said.
“It’s me, I need you to put the plan into action,” she said in a deep cold tone.
“Consider it done,” the voice said and disconnected the call. After placing her cell phone in the passenger’s seat, she started her car up and took off towards Alex’s house. She would be damned if she let her daughter sleep under the same roof as that bitch Meg.
***
Alex spent the whole car ride home stealing looks at Meg. Even though he had known her what seemed like a lifetime, he was still in awe of her. He knew they still had so much to resolve before they could be a real couple again, but he hoped she would stay the night with him. Even if he slept in one of the guest rooms and her in their bed, he just wanted her under the same roof as him.
He didn’t know how to bring it up, so he decided he would just play it by ear once they got inside. As they pulled into the driveway, she couldn’t help it, but a huge smile formed on her face. She was happy to be back at the place she once called home. Alex took notice of the smile on her face and felt more confident about his chances of her staying.
Once the truck stopped, Alex went ahead of them to open the doors, while Meg lifted Allison into her arms to carry her inside. Alex offered to take her in fear that she may be too heavy, but Meg refused, stating that she wanted to be the one to tuck her in.
“How about you just get the laptops and meet me in the den while I get her settled,” Meg offered when they reached the inside of the house.
“You’ve got a deal, only if you let me rustle up some dinner for us,” he said, while watching her walk up the stairs.
“That would be great.”
Meg walked into the room Alex had fixed up for Allison’s stays and was in awe. He had the room decorated like a fairy princess wonderland. She knew he had been working with Gio to make her room special for her, but she had no idea they had completed it. It was perfect for her, Gio had captured her personality.
The walls were splashed in pink and purple with pixie dust accent with a hand-painted picture of Allison in a puffy dress wearing a tiara. All of this surrounded a pink hand-finished canopy bed with the letter A painted on it. It was stunning.
Before laying her down, Meg fiddled through the drawers to find her some pajamas and quickly dressed her. Once she had her dressed, she pulled back the covers and laid her underneath them. She placed a kiss on her forehead before turning off the light and leaving the room.
Alex was almost done with the small feast he had prepared for him and Meg. It consisted of a roast and potatoes his cook had put together before going home today. He had also pulled a bottle of wine and was retrieving the glasses when his doorbell rang.
He was in such a hurry to the door that he didn’t bother to drop the bottle before answering. When he swung the door open to his dismay, he found Bianca standing on his steps with a sneaky grin on her face. Without hiding his disappointment, he looked at her.
“What do you want now? Allison is sleeping and I’m busy,” he said, before she could even get a word in.
Bianca knew that if she wanted her plan of seduction to work she needed to lay it on thick. “I came to see you, I was in the mood and I was hoping you would be too,” she replied and ran her hand down his chest.
Before she could go any further, he stepped back and pushed her hand away. “Are you high or just plain crazy? You know I haven’t touched you since t
he night we conceived Allison, I want nothing to do with you in that way.”
Meg was making her way down the stairs when she heard the commotion coming from the front door. She started to just head to the den and take a seat, but her protective instincts kicked in when she heard Alex’s voice become rather harsh. When she reached the door, she found Alex fighting Bianca off and trying to push her out of the door, and before she knew it, she was rushing towards her in a blaze of fury.
Everything she held in about the ordeal was coming to the surface. As she pushed Alex aside, she tackled Bianca to the ground and smacked her jaw with a fierce left hook. Alex was so startled the wine bottle he was holding on to fell and shattered on the floor in the foyer.
After the first hit, things just went berserk. Meg found herself on top of Bianca punching her repetitively. Alex struggled to break them apart. After picking Meg up and pushing her inside the house, he succeeded. Before retreating inside the house, he assessed Bianca’s condition. He wasn’t worried about her, but he did want to make sure she could drive off his property.
After concluding Bianca was fine, he turned to walk inside. “Alex wait,” she called out breathlessly.
He didn’t feel like getting into this with her again. He wished she would just get the hint and disappear. “What Bianca? Just what the hell do you want?” he asked harshly.
“You're just going to leave me like this?” “Bianca, I told you to leave, and you didn’t listen. How many times do I have to tell you Meg is the woman in my life? Other than Allison, there is no one more important. You need to move on,” he said, trying to get through to her.
“I will never accept this. You are not going to replace me with her. I will kill her first,” she snarled.
“I’m not replacing you, you never had me,” he said and slammed the door in her face. His words hit her hard. She was so angry, she stormed off and jumped in her car. She was more determined than ever that if she couldn’t have him, she would be damn sure Meg wouldn’t either.
Alex locked the door behind him and leaned up against it once he was inside. He was sure that Meg was inside gathering her stuff getting ready to walk out of his life forever. When he walked inside, he was stunned to see her sitting on the couch staring at the screen of the laptop. He wanted to say something, but the words were lost to him. He was blinking his eyes rapidly to make sure they weren’t deceiving him.
Sure enough, she was sitting calmly, looking at the laptop quietly. When she saw him approaching, she looked up and smiled sweetly. For a second, he became frightened, fearing that she might be lowering his expectations to pounce on him like she did Bianca. Nervously, he joined her on the couch and she grabbed his hand and gave him a gentle squeeze.
She didn’t say anything. She just gave him one of her dazzling smiles and went back to her search on the computer. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. How could she have just beat Bianca so savagely and be sitting here like nothing happened?
He placed his hand on hers and moved the computer from her lap and made her face him. “Talk to me sweetheart, what are you feeling right now?” he asked with dread in his voice.
“I feel fine Alex, I just want to start our search,” she said, and reached for the computer.
“Wait, I need you to know that what just happened…”
“I saw you pushing her out, I believe you didn’t do anything. Her presence irritated me, but I shouldn’t have hit her. I apologize.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I’m just glad you believe me,” he said and wrapped his arms around her. His embrace felt great, and all she could do was melt into his arms.
She allowed herself to feel comfort and cursed herself for what was she was thinking. She wanted to be near him and could no longer deny the burning need for him. “Alex, would you mind if I stayed tonight?”
For a second he thought had heard her wrong, but the look in her eyes left no room for confusion. Realizing she was serious lifted his mood. He tried to gather his thoughts quickly because didn’t want to turn her off by being too eager.
“I would love it if you stayed, I will get my room ready. I’ll give you my bed.”
When he stood to walk towards the stairs, she pulled him back down. “No you don’t understand, I want you to stay with me in the bed holding me until I fall asleep. I just don’t think I can sleep alone tonight.”
“If that’s what you need, then I’ll give it to you. Now let’s start. We need to find your mother,” he said and picked the laptop back up.
“You are wonderful Alexander Hanover,” she said and gave him an adoring smile.
“And you Megan Cardoza are the love of my life. I would do anything for you,” he said and leaned in to kiss her.
He didn’t know what tonight would bring, but he was content that he was going to be sleeping with his angel in his arms finally. If he had anything to do with it, he would make sure she never went back. He had every intention of making her feel safe and loved.
He had to be sure he wasn’t dreaming this up because it was just perfect, but he felt her in his arms and knew it was real. Everything was finally back on track, nothing could stop them. Nothing would come between them again. He was feeling on top of the world and he wanted to keep things that way, no matter what happened next.
Chapter 9
Lives in Shambles
“Sean would you please hurry?” Maddie asked in a tone filled with irritation.
She was growing increasingly tired of his attitude as of late. It seemed like the past month had been a battle with them on opposing sides. He was angry and downright argumentative with her suddenly, and she wanted to know why. In the five years they had been dating, they had never had a rough patch this severe. She was fearing it may be the beginning of the end.
While she sat thinking, he came out of the room and plopped down on the couch with a beer in his hand. “I thought you were coming over to the house with me. They are all waiting on us to check on this lead,” she said with anger in her tone.
“I’m not going, you go alone. I’ll be here when you get back,” he replied, and focused on the TV.
If she could have shoved her foot down his throat, she would have. Here she was trying to find out what happened to her mother and he acted like he could care less. This was not the man she had spent the last several years with. It was like he was replaced by a bad impostor. How was she supposed to be with a man that didn’t even care enough to help in her time of need?
“You know, I’m not sure what your problem is, but if I have to do this alone then I might as well be alone,” she said and stormed into the bedroom.
Here she was with another one of her temper tantrums, he thought. Just what he needed after a long day of work.
After sitting on the couch for a few minutes waiting for her to appear back in front of him, it surprised him when she didn’t. At that point, he got off the couch and went searching for her. “Maddie, come out here please, you know I don’t want to leave you alone in all this. I just don’t know what help I would be. Your mother wasn’t fond of me, and I wouldn’t want another scene when you find her,” he tried to explain.
When he looked at her, he saw that her facial expression hasn’t changed at all. He knew her temper better than anyone, and he was waiting on her to blow. “This isn’t about my mother and you know it. You have been in this shitty mood for some time now and I demand to know why. Are you seeing someone else?” she asked with her hands on her hips.
He heard her say something, but he couldn’t believe what she was asking. Before he could get a hold of himself, he blew up as well. “How dare you ask me that? I’ve been with you for five years and you question me like this? Don’t I give you everything you ever wanted? Don’t I make love to you every night?” he asked in an irate tone. His little blow up only made her sink to the bed without even bothering to justify him with a response.
He knew he was wrong to speak to her so harshly when she was obviously going through
something, but he couldn’t help it. Her insinuations were driving him crazy. He had to admit, his rage had nothing to do with her. It was more about him.
He had been having some issues with his family and wasn’t handling them well. The sad look in her eyes made him feel like the biggest ass in the world. She was the only person always there for him, and he was treating her like dirt.
He wanted so badly to take her in his arms and tell her everything that was on his mind, but he knew that would be a huge mistake. She would never understand and wouldn’t expect her to. All he could do was reassure her that she was the only woman in his life and hope that she believed him.
“Hey,” he said, while taking a seat next to her. “Will you look at me? I know I’ve been hell to deal with lately with the stress from my mom, but that is going to change. You know you’re the only woman for me don’t you?” he asked, and ran his finger across her chin.
She studied his face for a minute and then placed her hand on his knee. “I know you have a lot going on, but you can’t keep shutting me out.”
“I know, I just didn’t want to stress you out with this while you are about Maria.”
“I can understand that you don’t want to worry me, but you are my boyfriend, you have to communicate with me.”
After their conversation, Maddie felt better about the state of their relationship. Now that she had that cleared up, she could focus on finding her mother. They had all become increasingly worried.
It had been a month and one week since anyone talked to Maria. They were all in hysteria. At first they just thought it was like before, but when her cell phone started going straight to voicemail the week before, they knew something was up.
Maria always kept her phone on; even when she was asleep it was on vibrate. She and Melia had only found out about her being missing three days prior. She was livid with Meg for withholding information, but she understood that she didn’t want to worry them. Whatever the case was now, they had to find her. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye just yet.