“Wow.”
“Lamar felt this was perfect for him to use against me. He knew I had a thing for
you and he tried everything he could to not have us together, so he told me since he’d
helped me cover up the murder that I had to stay away from you. I couldn’t get
involved with you nor try anything with you. You were off-limits.”
“But that wasn’t his decision to make. And to use something like that against you was
truly terrible. I can’t believe he did that.”
“I went along with it because he could turn me in, but honestly, he could have been
going to prison too for being an accessory to murder, which I mentioned; but he
figured he wasn’t the one who killed him, so he probably could have gotten off.”
“But he helped burn his body; he had as much to do with the murder as you did.”
“Anyway, I agreed to it, knowing how much this had destroyed my mom. She hasn’t
been the same since that night.”
“I can imagine.”
“As for me, I’ve just been going through the motions, wondering if anyone knew
what happened. He had family members and they came by the house and called
wondering if we had seen him. That was when they filed a missing person report on
him, which to this day, they still have never found a body.”
“So why do you think someone may be after you?”
“Because more likely his family knows my mom and I had something to do with his
disappearance. Well, more me than my mom. Craig showed his hatred for me to his
family, so they figured I had some part of him suddenly vanishing. They know
people in high places, so it’s a possibility they have been following me without me
even knowing.
“That’s why I didn’t want to get involved with you, because I knew how much
trouble I would bring in your life. Now I can’t rely on the one person who has helped
me with everything, so now, I’m alone.”
I held his hand and smiled. “No, you’re not.”
“Hales, I don’t want you to go against your family for me.”
“I know, but Lamar was wrong for what happened. Do I condone what you did?
No, but I can understand why you did it. Lamar went too far and he knew what
could happen if something like this occurred.”
“Hales, I don’t want you involved in this. You know too much now.”
“Which I’m glad you were able to confide in me with. Don’t you think if someone is after you that I should be with you?”
Morgan sighed. “I was thinking that.”
“Listen, I know that took a lot out of you and I appreciate that. Just know that it wasn’t your fault with what happened. You had to do what you felt was right for the situation.”
“I know. I understand if you need to see Lamar.”
“I’ll call Tamara and get an update. I’m going to stay with you. Just know that no matter how much you’re trying for me to, I’m not leaving you.”
He leaned over and kissed me, which I gladly returned. I know what Morgan did was wrong, but Lamar was also wrong in the situation. I would have to figure out what was best for everyone later; but right now, I needed to keep a close eye on my man so he wouldn’t have a relapse as to what happened.
“What about your parents? I’m pretty sure they have been trying to call you.”
“I’ll just say I couldn’t get to my phone. Trust me, I’ll make sure and see if he’s okay.”
I looked at Morgan while he stared at the TV. “If you think his family is after you, wouldn’t they had checked one of his properties or even the house to do something?”
“That’s the issue I’m having. After they filed the report, I haven’t heard from them again. They know I’m onto them, that’s why they haven’t made a move. I know eventually they’re waiting on me to slip up; that’s why I need to stay on top of everything so I won’t.”
“I won’t let that happen.” I said as I held his hand. He pulled me to him as he gave a long sigh.
“I love you, Hayley.”
“I love you too, Morgan.”
Now that he told me his secret, it would be a tough road ahead for us, but I think we’re both ready for what we might face.
***
After an hour of lying beside each other, we both fell asleep. Three hours later and I
woke up needing to pee. I slowly got out of Morgan’s embrace and walked towards
the bathroom.
After I finished, I went to the sink to wash my hands. I stared at myself in the
mirror, realizing how horrible I looked. Well, I guess I could give myself a pass after
everything that has happened lately.
I walked back into the room and saw my phone lighting up. I went to it and it was
Tamara.
“Hey.”
“Hey Hales. I just wanted to let you know Lamar is awake now and he’s asking for
you.”
“If it’s about Morgan, I already know, so he doesn’t have to use his scare tactics on
me, because it’s not going to work.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with that, but he wants to press charges on Morgan.
The police are here now taking his statement. They plan on bringing him in for
questioning. So if you two are still in town, you might want to leave.”
I glanced at Morgan who was still asleep. I turned and looked at the window and
sighed.
“Why is he pressing charges?”
“He felt he was attacked, which I’m sure he did something to provoke Morgan.”
“He did. He told me everything.”
“I knew it.”
“Why are you helping Morgan? I mean, I’m glad you are, but he put your boyfriend
in the hospital.”
“Just like you’re helping him. He put your brother in the hospital, so you should be
more upset, but we both know that Lamar is a hot head and eventually, something
was going to happen.”
“That’s so true.”
“But please, just go ahead and go. And honestly, I wouldn’t recommend for Morgan
to go back to school, because they will try there too.”
I sighed. Morgan only had one more semester of college left. Lamar would rather for
him to lose everything to heal his bruised ego? Jackass!
“If you want, I could come by wherever you are to bring some clothes for the both
of you.”
I glanced around wondering if that was a ploy to know where we were. I wasn’t
going to give her any information.
“That’s okay, Tam; we’re straight.”
“You sure; I…”
“That’s okay, Tam. And tell Lamar nice try.” I said and hung up.
Now, I’m going to have to change my number.
I went to the bed and lay beside Morgan. He woke up and stared at me.
“What’s wrong?”
“Tamara called saying Lamar is going to press charges on you.”
“What? That’s bullshit and he knows it.”
“She told me to warn you so you could leave town. She was even willing to bring us our clothes, but I think she really was trying to figure out where we were.”
“Damn. I’m really sorry, Hales.”
“Stop apologizing. You didn’t do anything wrong. We just have to figure out a way to skip town without anyone knowing.”
“That’s fine, but you’re not going.”
I gave him a surprised look while he got up. “What?”
“Hayley, you’re not the one who needs to run; I do since I’m about to have an arrest warrant. I can’t have you following me to places when I don’t even know where I’m heading.”
“But wouldn’
t you need me with you if I’m a potential target now?”
“Maybe, but you have your parents here. And even though I want to hit your brother again for this shit, you know he would protect you to the end.”
“I don’t want his protection, especially with what he’s doing.”
“Well, you might have to now.”
“Morgan…”
“Hales, please, I need you to stay here. I don’t want to worry about you if you’re with me. I could be putting you in even more danger.”
I glanced at him as he gave me a huge hug.
“We were just starting our relationship and now you want to end it?”
“You know I don’t, but I love you too much for anything to happen to you.”
I wanted to argue, but he was right. It probably was best if I did stayed.
He picked up his keys and jacket. He walked over to me and grabbed my waist and
smiled.
“Besides, I’m sure once everything is under control that we’ll be together. When that
time comes, we wouldn’t have to hide our relationship.”
“That will be nice.”
He gave me a passionate kiss that left me breathless. He pulled away as he pulled out
his wallet. He handed me four $20 bills.
“That should cover a cab back.”
“Thanks, I guess.”
He leaned into me again and gave me another kiss. He slowly touched my hair and
smiled.
“I’m going to miss of all this with you. Your hair, your lips. You were always
something I looked forward to each and every day. You kept me going because even
when everyone else doubted me, you never did. For that, I have to say thank you.
Thank you for being you and the time that you have graced my life. Just know that I
love you and once all of this blows over, I will come back to you. I have to so we
can live the life we both deserve.”
I looked away from him as he cupped my chin. “Please, don’t do this. This is hard
for me too.”
“Morgan, I’m willing to go with you. My brother is being an ass and honestly, there’s
nothing left for me here. I can always finish school online so that wouldn’t be an
issue.”
“That’s not the issue with me. I need you to be protected and I can’t do that if I’m
on the road because of your damn brother.”
“Well, I suggest you find a way, because I’m not staying. I understand you want to
protect me, but if you love me like you say you do, then you would support me on
my decision. I’m not letting you be out there alone. I’m going to be with you every
step of the way. I’m going to be there and ride with you, so you’re not getting rid of
me that easily.”
Morgan looked at me and laughed. “You were always a stubborn woman, but that’s one of the reasons why I love you.”
“So, what do you say? Am I coming with you?”
“Okay.”
“I knew I could change your mind.”
“I bet. I should put you over my knee and spank you for being so bad.”
“That wouldn’t be a punishment.”
“You little freak. I love that about you too.”
I smiled as I put my arms around him. “We’ll in this together. I’m going to ride with you until the wheels fall off, so don’t expect me to go anywhere.”
He turned me around so my back was facing the bed.
“Well, I think I know a place we can go, but you sure you don’t want to take anything with you?”
“I can, but I’ll have to sneak on campus in case Lamar have anyone looking for you.”
“Actually, let’s not. We can just start over. There’s somewhere I need to go first before we head out.”
“Okay.”
He stroked my hair and gave me a serious look. “I really hope I’m making a good decision. I don’t want to ruin your life over this.”
“You won’t. Everything will blow over later.”
“Let’s hope. We better go.”
“Where are we going?”
“My uncle’s. He stays in Dallas, though.”
“You’re going to ride your bike all the way to Dallas?”
“Probably won’t, but I do want to take it with me. We’ll figure that out once we get on the road. But there is one thing I need you to do.”
“What’s that?”
“Call your mom. She needs to know what happened as well as where you’re going. She doesn’t need to be worried about you too.”
“I’ll call her if you do the same for yours.”
“I will, once we’re on the road. Now, we need to make that stop before we head to Dallas.”
I nodded and followed Morgan out of the room. This was going to be interesting, but
at least we were still together.
Morgan
After leaving the motel, we headed to the stop I needed to make, which was the bank. I had to ask the owner to open it up for me so I could go into my safe deposit box. No owner would graciously open up the bank after hours for any customer; no, the owner was a friend of my dad’s and he was the only one who knew about the safe deposit box.
“So, what brings you by, Morgan?” James asked while opening up the safe.
“I need to head out of town unexpectedly and needed some of my belongings.”
“Oh, okay. Well you know I would do anything for you since you’re Randy’s son. How’s your mom doing?”
“She’s fine.”
James nodded and took out the box. “Take your time; I’ll just be outside.”
“Okay. Thanks, James.”
He nodded and went out to the hall.
Hayley glanced at me while I went through my belongings. From my passport to over $20,000 in cash, I took out everything, figuring it was all we needed for our destination.
“This was your dad’s box?”
“Yeah. He left it for me after he died. I used it every now and then to keep things hidden. I might also take his car instead of riding the bike.”
“What are you going to do about that?”
“I might have to leave it behind, but I’ll see if my uncle can come and get it. I’m sure he would love to see it anyway since him and my dad fought over it when they were younger.”
“I’m sure there’s more to the story.”
“Of course, which I’ll tell you another day. Right now, we have to leave.”
Once I grabbed the keys to my dad’s Mustang, I thanked James again before heading to the parking lot. Hayley and I got into the car and I smiled. I couldn’t believe I still remember the car. Besides his bike, this car was his pride and joy. That’s why I never drove it, because I wanted to keep it the way he remembered it.
“You ready to see how our lives are going to be?”
Hayley took my hand and smiled. “Yeah.”
I smiled and turned on the ignition. I backed out of the parking spot and headed back on the road. Wherever it lead us to, I was just glad Hayley was with me. Even though I should had told her to stay, I couldn’t do it. The selfish part of me wanted her with me, so I would have to do everything within me to keep her safe.
I glanced through my side mirror and saw a car parked near the far end of the lot. I noticed that car had not moved since we’ve been here. Honestly, there shouldn’t been anyone else here since the bank was closed. Now that I had been driving for about a block now, the car was close behind, trying to figure out where I was going.
I wasn’t sure if the car was actually following me. It could just be someone going the same way as me. If they were, I wasn’t sure if it was someone from Craig’s family or someone Lamar hired, but whoever it was, I knew the time would come when I would finally have to face what I had done. I knew I couldn’t continue living my life knowing what I had done. I wasn’t going to be obvious
to Hayley because that would make her nervous, so I made a left turn to lose the car.
The car was still close behind, going into the same lanes as me as I cut off someone in front of me. I looked through my rearview mirror, trying to see if it was someone I knew; but it was a random stranger.
Hayley glanced behind her as I quickly turned her around.
“Don’t look back, he’ll know.”
She gave a nervous look out of the corner of her eye as I sped up. I cut off another car in front of me as I went on the freeway.
This is not how I wanted her to live her life. I didn’t want her to be on guard running because of my actions. Hell, we haven’t even left the city yet and someone already chasing us; but we knew it would happen.
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