“Fine then; if you won’t tell me what happened then I’ll ask Lamar.”
“He won’t tell you either. He’s trying to protect you as well.”
“Morgan…”
“Stop it, Hayley! You do not need to know what happened!”
I rose up from the bed and went to grab my clothes. He cursed under his breath as he got up as well. He came over to me and grabbed my clothes from me.
“Where are you going?”
“If you’re not going to be straight with me, then I’m leaving. I can’t be with you if you’re not honest with me.”
“It’s to protect you, Hayley!”
“I don’t need your protection! I’m so sick and tired of hearing that from you and Lamar. I’m not a little girl, so don’t give me that shit about protecting me!”
“But it is! Although I don’t regret what I’ve done, there are people who think I should be punished for it and they’re probably still out there. They will do what they can to hurt me just as much as I hurt them.”
I stared at Morgan as he ran his hand through his hair again, making it disheveled. His blue eyes became lost and afraid as he took my hands into his.
“Hales, I can’t lose you. If I do, I will literally lose my fucking mind, and if I know I’m the reason for anything happening to you, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”
“Who said that you would lose me? I love you, Morgan, and I would accept whatever you did. Please, just help me understand what led my brother into blackmailing you?”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t. Please, just know that it’s for your own good that you never knew about it.”
I lowered my head when Morgan lifted up my face. He stared at me and bent down to kiss my neck. His lips trailed down to my collarbone and I moaned. I knew I should try and get some sort of information out of him, but he was touching my spot, which had me at a loss for words.
He began kissing my shoulder and I touched the back of his neck. He came back to my face and kissed me, causing me to gasp. Before I knew it, we were laying back on the bed. I knew I needed to find out what happened with him and Lamar, but right now, I needed to feel close to him and be one with him again.
Morgan
I knew Hayley would start asking about the incident. I knew she would try and find a way for me to slip up and admit what happened, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t tell her what happened and why Lamar used it to keep me away from her.
So much was going through my head as I stared out at the window. Hayley went to get something to eat for us, which I told her I would go with her, but being the stubborn girl she was, she insisted on going by herself.
I checked my watch when the doorbell rang. I gave a curious look, wondering why she would be ringing the doorbell when I gave her a key.
I went to the door and opened it. To my surprise, Lamar was on the other end, giving me a heated look.
“Hey Lamar. What are you doing here?”
He didn’t say anything as he walked inside. I turned to stare at him as I closed the door.
“Is everything okay?”
He turned to stare at me. “Well, I came by to see if everything was okay. Things were kind of tense at Paula’s.”
“It was. How did you know I was here?”
Lamar glanced at me and smiled. “I figured you had to be since you wasn’t at your house.”
I didn’t like how Lamar was staring at me as he went over to the couch and sat down.
“Everything is cool. After I calmed Hayley down, I left and came here.”
“Really, because it looks as if Hayley disappeared at the same time you did. I mean, it wouldn’t be unusual since she got into it with Paula, but what had me thinking was why were the three of you upstairs in the first place; and when Paula made that comment about you, it really had me going.”
“Where are you getting at, Lamar?”
“Are you fucking my sister?”
I stared at Lamar as he nodded. “I started to get suspicious of you two with the looks you were giving each other on campus and the strange encounters you two had when you’re both in the same place at the same time; but what really had me convinced was at dinner when you were finger fucking her underneath the damn table!”
“Lamar…”
“Don’t give me that bullshit that you’re in love with her! You saw her as a conquest and you went after it. Now that you finally did, I’m sure you’ll dump her like all the rest of your women.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. For starters, Hayley and I are…”
“Not together? That’s not what I heard.”
“Listen, if Paula told you…”
“Paula didn’t tell me a damn thing! I heard from yours and Hayley’s own damn mouths!”
He reached into his jeans pocket and threw something at me. I looked at it and saw that it was his phone. I glanced at him with a confused look while he was still giving me a heated one.
“Press play on the video.”
I sighed and did what he asked. I shook my head at what I was seeing.
“You recorded Hayley and I having sex? Are you crazy?!” I exclaimed while throwing the phone on the couch.
“I told you I would do what I needed to protect her. You’re my boy and all but you don’t deserve her.”
“No man deserve her in your eyes. I love Hayley and I’ll do whatever I can to protect her.”
“Don’t give me that. You love to play the field; you’ll eventually get tired of her and move on and I’ll have to be the one to pick up the pieces.”
“Don’t you think I was that way because I couldn’t be with Hayley? She was the one I wanted but since we made that pact I kept my distance from her.”
“Which didn’t work.”
“I was tired of pretending, Lamar! I love your sister! What is wrong with that?!”
“Just stay away from her.” Lamar said while getting up.
“No, I’m not. I’m going to continue seeing her and being with her. The truth is out now, so it’s nothing you can do about it.”
“Oh really? What if I expose your damn secret and you’ll be going to prison.”
“Go ahead, but I guess you’ll be in a cell with me.”
“I might, but I’ll receive less time if I ask for a plea bargain.”
I glanced at him. “So you’re willing to turn me over because of your stupid jealousy? I swear you act like a fucking ex instead of her brother!”
Lamar came up to me and shoved me. “You want to go there, then let’s go there. I don’t want you around her because she deserves better than some fucking white trash!”
I stared at him. I couldn’t believe he was saying that to me. We were friends since kindergarten. We were like brothers and this is what he thought of me?
“What did you say?”
“You heard me. If you think you’re going to keep being with her, then you have another thing coming.”
I shoved him and he fell backwards onto the couch. “After everything we have been through and this is how you treat me? Because I’m in love with your sister!”
“She won’t be in love with you after what I have to tell her. That you killed your stepfather and burned his body to a crisp. You know what I could do with that information. That would make her stay away from you.”
“Well, I guess you’ll be joining me then, since you helped me burn his body! You know why I had to kill him.”
“I know, but to keep you away from my sister, I will use that against you.”
I sighed. If he wanted to play dirty, then that was fine by me.
“In fact, why don’t I call the police now, so they can arrest you? I can always say that you forced me to do it, so I’ll get off for it.”
“Son of a bitch.”
He gave me an evil smile as he grabbed his phone from the couch. I wasn’t going to let him take me down. I went over to him and knocked the phone out of his hand. He tried to punch me, but I was too quick.
I decked him across his jaw, pulling him down onto the floor. He pushed me off of him and grabbed my neck. I began choking as he threw me down. I released myself from his hold and held him down on the ground. All of a sudden, I snapped and I begin to repeatedly hit him. I couldn’t stop as blood began to fly from his mouth and nose. I was trying to get him to go unconscious, which was fine by me, with the shit he had just said.
I heard the door fly open and the sound of Hayley screaming. I continued going when she tried to take me away from Lamar.
“Morgan, baby, stop!”
I struggled from Hayley’s grasp as she tightly held onto me.
I didn’t even notice Tamara had come in as she went over to Lamar. She began yelling to see if he was conscious. She checked his pulse and sighed.
“His pulse is weak, but he’s still alive. I need to call 911.”
I went over to the door and slid down onto the floor. I watched as Tamara was on
the phone talking to the operator. Hayley came in front of me and stared into my
eyes.
“What happened? What did you do?”
I continued staring at Lamar unconscious on the floor. Is this what our friendship had
come to?
Him belittling me and me nearly killing him? What happened to when everything was simple with us? When we used to play with our toys and shoot hoops and played video games. I guess life happened.
Tamara came over to us and looked at me. “What in the hell happened, Morgan? I
knew things would have been bad, but…”
“I’m sorry. Things got a little heated and I had to defend myself.”
Hayley looked at me and she began to cry. I closed my eyes, knowing that I caused
this. I knew I would do this. The one thing I tried to avoid; I ended up doing and that
was hurt her.
I slowly got up and went to the door. I glanced at Lamar’s body again before heading to the garage.
“Morgan! Morgan, please don’t leave!” Hayley yelled.
I walked in where my motorcycle was parked.
“Morgan!”
I turned and saw Hayley staring at me.
“Stay with your brother, Hayley.”
“I need to be with you.”
“Please, Hayley. Lamar’s right. I’m not any good for you.”
She climbed on the back of the bike and wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Wherever you going to, I want to be there with you.”
“But Lamar…”
“Tamara’s with him. I’ll check on him later, but first, I need to check on you, I know he pushed your buttons and you reacted. But let’s go before the ambulance and the police comes.”
“The police…”
“They were dispatched because it was an assault, Morgan.”
“Did Tamara…”
“She didn’t say that you did it. She said she found him laying on the floor when she arrived.”
I sighed. This made me think about that night, which only made me upset.
“We need to go, Morgan.”
I started up the bike and Hayley held me tighter. I drove out of the garage and into the dark night.
Hayley
I lay my head on Morgan’s back as he drove. He’d been driving for nearly an hour now and I didn’t have a clue to where he was going. I looked at the road ahead and sighed. How in the hell did I get into this mess? One minute, I was happy and in love; now, I was scared because I didn’t know what this would mean for the two of us. I should have been with my brother to see if he was okay, but I couldn’t. I knew he pushed Morgan to the brink. I knew Lamar would do this, that’s why I wanted things to be kept a secret. If I find out that Paula had something to do with this, I would definitely beat her ass for sure.
Morgan turned into a motel parking lot and turned off the bike. He got off and helped me off. While he went to talk to the clerk, I stood outside and took in the view around me. I sighed, wondering if this is where he would spend the rest of his time or would he up and go back to school or out of the state. So much was probably going through his mind right now, that’s why I had to be with him so he would rationally think about his choices.
He came up to me and smiled. “If you need a change of clothes or a toothbrush, I could always go to the store that we saw on our way here.”
“I’m okay for now.”
He nodded and he took my hand to go to our room. He used the key card to grant access and we walked in. It was a typical motel room, with the tacky looking couch at the front entrance. A desk was in the corner with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. The bed looked okay, but the comforter had seen better days. I sighed as I went over to sit down.
“Are you hungry? I know you were going out for food, but…”
“I lost my appetite, but thanks.”
He sat down beside me and looked straight into my eyes.
“I think I owe you an explanation now.”
“It would be nice.”
“Lamar came by the house clearly pissed about us. He confronted me about it, saying I didn’t deserve to be with you.”
“But how did he know? Did Paula say something?”
“No. He recorded us having sex, Hales.”
I stared at the wall, clearly pissed at what he’d done. Maybe it’s good he’s already in the hospital, because I probably would have put him there myself.
“Wow, that’s an invasion of privacy. How was he able to record us?”
“I don’t know; all I know it was on his phone. Anyway, he belittled me, calling me white trash and that’s when I snapped.”
“I’m so sorry, Morgan.”
“That wasn’t the only reason, though. He was going to turn me into the police for what I’d done. I had to stop him, so I started hitting him. He was choking me, so I had to defend myself. Other than that, I wouldn’t had done what I did.”
“Are you ready to tell me what happened?”
He took a deep breath and grabbed my hand. I put it up to his cheek as he held onto it.
“That day when I was 16, it was my mom’s birthday, and she had set-up this great evening with Craig since she wanted him to help celebrate it. She had asked me to help set-up everything, which I didn’t want to do, but I figured it was her birthday, I didn’t want any issues to occur.
“Once everything was done, he came home, saw everything and completely flipped. He told her he was tired and wasn’t going to do anything with her. He told her to go into the kitchen and fix his dinner and the smile on his face would be her birthday present. While that made my mom cry, it pissed me off; with all the shit he had put her through, she was in love with him, and that set me off.
“I confronted him, telling him it was her birthday and to at least try and do something for her. He said was doing enough by giving us a roof over our heads and food to eat. He went on to say he didn’t have to do a damn thing for me since I wasn’t his. That was when my mom got upset. She went after him, telling him how could he be so cruel to me. Like he cared if he was. He didn’t like me just like I didn’t like him.”
“He continued on, saying how much of a slut my mom was and that she probably lied about my dad dying because she probably didn’t know who he was with all the whoring around she was doing. When he said that, something inside of me snapped and I went off on him. Before I knew it, the two of us were arguing when I saw his gun. I knew he had one because in his own words he had to protect himself from anyone and everyone. We fought for a bit until I was able to get his gun. I pointed it at him, telling him to get his shit and leave. After he tried to come after me, I shot him point blank in the chest.”
“Oh Morgan.”
“That wasn’t the end of it. After I shot him, I didn’t know what to do. I was scared because I had just killed someone, even if he did deserve it. My mom was in a panic, so she wasn’t able to help me, so I called Lamar to help. He came over and we tried to figure out a way to get rid of him so it wouldn’t trac
e back to me. Lamar was the one who thought of burning his body.”
“So there wouldn’t be any evidence.” I whispered.
“I didn’t want to do it at first, but I had to. Even though it was self-defense, I still would have been arrested and charged, so I had to do it. Lamar and I rolled up his body in a rug, carried him to an open field near the park and we burned his body.”
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