Lori finally lets go of my shirt with a sad smile. “Mom, I want to go home.”
She nods her head, getting up to hold her hand. Jackson steps in.
“I’ll take you home. Bella will come get me.”
She nods, puts her head down, and walks away, leaving me sitting with Lori’s tears wet on my shirt but that have seeped into my skin.
I put my hands on my knees, looking around at the scene. Thomas starts walking out of the house with Farah’s mother, Maci, high on his heels.
“What do you mean I can’t stay here? This is my house.” She’s yelling and throwing her hands up in the air.
“Ma’am, I’ve told you this before. This is now a crime scene. You have kids that were underage and drinking. Four have been admitted to the hospital and one is in a coma,” Thomas says, keeping his cool.
“Well, where the hell am I supposed to go?” she asks with her hands on her hips now.
We don’t have a chance to hear the answer because Jason, Sandie’s husband, is huffing and puffing walking up to us. “Nice, very nice, Sandie. This will look lovely in court,” he says, smiling.
She looks at him and rolls her eyes.
“I thought you were a negligent mother before. My lawyers are going to have a field day with you in court. Junior has been over at this house how many times, and now it’s busted for drugs!”
I get up to my feet. “It’s not the case, Jason.”
He finally sees me.
“Isn’t this great.” He points at me. “I’m so glad you’re here. Saves me a trip.”
I look at him with confusion on my face. Sandie’s face has gone white, and her hand goes straight to her stomach. I spring into action, rushing to her. “Are you okay?” I ask her, looking around to see if there are any other EMTs on the scene.
Jason laughs out. “This is precious.” He looks over at Sandie. “You haven’t told him yet, have you?”
“Haven’t told me what? What is he talking about?”
Her face doesn’t change, and her hand starts to shake on her stomach.
“Oh, please, let me do it,” Jason says. “She’s fucking with you.”
I look at him, shock filling my body, rage filling my soul, my mouth now dry and no sound coming up. Thomas must have heard because he is now standing next to me and somehow Chris has moved to my other side.
“Don’t feel that bad. She did it to me. Fuck,” he says, chucking “She fucked you for seven years under my nose. And I didn’t suspect a thing.” He looks at Sandie.
“Stop it, Jason, just stop,” she cries out. “Why are you doing this to me?”
His head falls back, he laughs out, and then you see the rage in his eyes. “Doing this to you? Doing this to you? You ruined my fucking life.” He leans in closer to her. “I married you. I fucking loved you. I did everything to make you happy. EVERYTHING,” he roars out the last word. “And what do I get in return? You fuck my best friend. Fuck him under my nose. You probably fucked him in my bed.”
Sandie cries out, “It was a mistake.”
“A mistake,” he yells. “Did your cunt fall on his cock? For over five years?”
I yell out, “What the fuck is going on here?”
“She’s having his baby and she’s trying to pass it off as yours.” He looks at her. “Did you think he wouldn’t find out?” He shakes his head.
“What?” I whisper, my body ready to charge forward, Thomas and Chris holding me back. “You fucking bitch.”
“It’s not what you think,” she says, now trying to reach for me.
“Oh my God, you’re pathetic. I have the proof,” Jason says “I hired a private investigator when she told me she was pregnant so I can go for full custody.” He looks at her, and her lips tremble.
“You can’t take my son from me,” she says in a whisper, tears falling out of her eyes.
“Wake up, Sandie, your games are done. You don’t get to play the wounded part anymore. You fucked my best friend, your best friend’s husband. Who does that? Who?”
She looks at me, tilting her head. “Mick, please, I can explain.”
I shake my head. “You explain it to someone who gives a shit, because I don’t. I feel sorry for that child you’re carrying. Sorry that she is going to have you to look up to. Someone who lies, cheats, steals.” I shake my head. “You were going to ruin my life, without a second thought.”
“Mick.” She reaches out to touch my arm. “I love you.”
I shake my hand away to make sure she doesn’t touch me. “Love.” I laugh at her bitterly. “You don’t know what the fuck love is.”
And with that, I walk away in a daze, looking for my keys in my pocket.
Thomas grabs my shoulder. “Keys are in the car. But how about I drive you home, yeah?”
I don’t say anything else. I get into the passenger side. The sound of the baby’s heartbeat playing in my head, the picture of her is the only thing I see when I close my eyes. I get home, crawl into bed, and mourn a child I loved more than anything, a child that isn’t even mine!
Chapter Thirty-Four
Marissa
I get in the backseat with Lori while Jackson drives us home. With my hand around her shoulder and her head on my shoulder, she sobs the whole way.
When I got to the house, I was already a sobbing mess. My hand shaking in fear, my heart beating so fast I thought it would beat out of my chest. Then to see her on the grass with Mick holding her I knew, I just knew she would be all right.
By the time we make it home, she has fallen asleep. When I move to shake her awake, Jackson stops me and instead picks her up and brings her in, walking her to the couch and putting her down. She doesn’t stir. “Do you think I should take her to the hospital?” I ask him, worried that she hasn’t woken up.
“No, I think her adrenaline finally quit and she knocked out.” He takes his phone out, sending messages out.
I sit by her head on the couch, lifting it up and placing it in my lap, while pushing her hair away from her face. “I swear I thought I was going to die if I didn’t see her once we got there. The minute she called and I answered I fucking knew.” I shake my head, the tears coming again.
I hear a knock at the door and look over at Jackson.
“That must be Bella. I texted her when we left.” He opens the door and grabs her in his arms. He picks her up while he buries his face in her neck. She whispers in his ear while holding him. He kisses her on the lips. Their moment is private, but you can’t help but be drawn into watching.
He places her down on her feet, and she walks toward us, falling on her knees beside the couch. “How is she?”
“She’s okay, I think. Shaken up, but other than that okay,” I say to her while she puts her hand on my knee and squeezes me, reassuring me.
“How are you?” she then asks.
“Me, I’m a fucking mess,” I tell her. “The only thing that kept running through my head was her smile when she left tonight. The kiss on the top of the head that she gave me when she called me short stuff.” I lower my eyes to watch her chest move. I look back up to see tears falling down Bella’s face as well. From one mother to another she knows that feeling.
Jackson comes over. “Babe, I hate to rush you, but I’ve got to go back to the scene.” He squats down near her.
She nods her head. “Okay.” She looks at me. “If you need anything, and I mean anything, please,” she says, and I finish her sentence.
“I’ll call you.”
She gets up and places a kiss on Lori’s forehead.
Jackson’s voice breaks the moment. “Come lock up, Marissa.”
I gently move her head from my lap to go over and lock the door. I make my way to the back door, checking it just in case. Once I see it has been locked I open the freezer, taking the vodka out, pouring myself a shot. The cold liquid burns as it runs down my throat. Putting the shot glass in the sink, I close off the lights, going into the living room to see that Lori is awake. Her phone i
s clutched in her hand as she types away.
“You okay?” I ask, sitting down next to her feet.
“Yeah. Kind of. I don’t know.” She shrugs her shoulders. “I’m sorry I called Mick first, Mom,” she says, wiping a tear away. “I just knew he would come and save me. And he did, Mom. He came in that house like the hulk.” She smiles. “When I opened the door I thought he would be green.” We both laugh at the picture that is in our minds.
Her phone vibrates on top of her. “It’s Trevor. He’s sorry he let me down,” she says. “But he did ask me to come with him, but I was having fun talking to girls for once, so I said no. I should have gone.” The what-ifs play in her mind. “Can I sleep in your bed tonight?”
“Sleepover party?” It’s something we do when we put our pjs on and watch Netflix all night while eating junk food.
She smiles big. “Sleepover party!” She fist pumps in the air.
We spend the night watching ‘chick flicks’ while eating chips, ice cream, Oreos, and frozen pizza. The last time I look at the clock, it’s four a.m. when sleep finally claims me.
The sound of buzzing wakes us both up the next day. I groan out loud. “What time is it?”
She doesn’t move from her position, the buzzing noise clearly not bothering her. Looking at my phone, I see that it’s almost three p.m. “Holy shit, we slept eleven hours.” I get up to go pee. She just mumbles something. The buzzing still continues “Lori, get the phone,” I yell from the bathroom, looking over my shoulder while I wash my hands.
She blindly reaches out, grabbing it, and bringing it to her ear. “Lo,” she grumbles.
I don’t know who is on the other line. I just hear her say, “Sleeping later.” And she hangs up.
I laugh at her, throwing my pillow at her head. “Get up or else you won’t be able to sleep tonight.” I head downstairs to get some coffee. I open the blinds in the kitchen, looking outside at the sunny day. My phone rings from somewhere upstairs. I hear Lori answer it and then five minutes later she runs downstairs. “Mom, can we go to Bella’s for dinner? Please, Mom, please.” She runs into the kitchen, pleading.
I grab the phone from her and chat with Bella, who won’t take no for an answer.
We make plans for us to go over at around six and to not bring anything as she was up early baking with Lilah. Lori and I both shower and slowly get ready to go.
Driving over there, she sticks her ear buds in and starts a texting marathon. The sun is starting to set. When we arrive, we barely make it inside before Brenda, their neighbor, runs over to Lori, grabbing her face and kissing her cheeks while Lilah hugs her leg.
“I so worried you get lost again, Looorrii,” she says, looking up at her.
Lori bends down and picks her up, her legs wrapping around her waist. “I promise to not get lost again, okay, Lilah?” She kisses her nose. She puts her down, and Bella hugs her next. “We were so, so worried about you.”
“I’m okay,” she says to everyone.
Jackson comes into the room, hugging her as well and whispering in her ear.
We have never had a family, never had anyone who generally cared for us, and now, now there are people who love my daughter like they have known her her whole life. The feeling brings tears to my eyes.
Bella grabs my hand, dragging me into the kitchen. “I’ve been chilling wine,” she says as she pours us both glasses of wine.
She motions us to go outside and sit down before the sun sets. We sit down and Jackson comes outside. I look behind him, wondering if Lori is coming.
“They are watching Frozen. Don’t ask,” he says while he sits down, grabbing Bella’s hand and kissing it.
“Did you speak with Mick?” he asks, and I shake my head no. He looks at Bella, who says, “You need to tell her.” Those four words make my heart stop.
“What happened? Is he okay?” I say, sitting up in the chair. “Did he get hurt?” I look at both of them, my eyes traveling back and forth. Regret fills me.
“He’s fine,” Bella says, leaning forward to grab my hand.
“Well, he isn’t fine, but he will be,” Jackson says while I look at him. “Sandie lied. It isn’t his baby.”
My hand goes to my mouth to stop the gasp from coming out. “What do you mean?” I ask, confused. How can she lie about a baby? “She’s pregnant. I saw yesterday.”
“Oh, she’s with child all right, just not his child,” he says while picking up Bella’s glass of wine and taking a sip. “She was playing him.”
My heart breaks for him, knowing how much he loved that baby even if he didn’t know it. It’s his nature to love with all that he has. “Where is he?” I ask, not sure why.
“Probably at home, drunk on his ass. That’s where I would be.”
I stand up and before I even realize it, my feet are working before my head. I turn to look at them. “Lori, can you—” I stop speaking when Bella raises her hand.
“We got her, don’t worry. She can even sleep over.”
I nod, walking inside in a trance. I stop when I see Lori twirling Lilah in her arms to “Let It Go.”
She sees me and stops. “Mom?”
“I have to go see Mick.”
She smiles at me, nodding.
“I don’t know what time I will be back,” I tell her.
“Lilah, can I sleep over?” She looks at Lilah, who raises her hands in the air.
“Yeah, sleep over. But you can’t go in Momma’s bed because Ackson is there and he sleep in his undies.” She leans in and whispers, “Is pribate.”
I hear Bella laugh and Jackson groan.
I nod to both of them while I walk out and make my way over to him, hoping he will still want me, but knowing I have to try.
I pull up to the curb turning off the car, looking at the house that is pitch-black, not a light in sight.
My hands still clutch the steering wheel. I lean my head down, wondering if this is the right thing to do.
My heart is telling me one thing, but my head is telling me something else. This time I’m going with my gut.
I step out, making my way to the front door. The wooden heeled sandals make clacking sounds in the quiet of the night.
The minute I get to the door right before I’m about to knock, I notice that it isn’t closed all the way.
I knock softly, hoping maybe he is sleeping and I came here for nothing.
But the minute my hand touches the door it opens more. I take that as a sign from above.
“Hello, Mick, you home?” I peek my head in the door, listening to see if the television is on.
I tiptoe more into the house, looking into the living room. The television is off and the place looks the same as it did last time. The only thing different is the frame that is sitting next to the television.
It’s a picture of the three of us taken when we were out for ice cream. The smiles on all our faces are lit up even brighter than the sun in the background. I’m on top of Mick and Lori is on top of me. He joked and called it a chain reaction, which is what made us burst out laughing.
I can’t believe he had it framed. Turning my head, I hear something coming from the kitchen.
When I enter the kitchen the man I’ve been dreaming of, chasing after, and trying to forget about is sitting on a chair, looking at pictures in front of him. The bottle of whiskey right next to him is almost empty, the shot glass tipped over.
“Hey,” I whisper while I lean into the doorframe, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
He looks up at me, his eyes dazed, the white pink and bloodshot.
“You’re here?” he asks, and I’m not sure he knows that it’s me.
“I thought you might need a friend.”
He lets out a little laugh. “Is that right? You look like you were out on a date.” He looks me up and down.
He isn’t wrong, yet he isn’t right. I was out, but not on a date. At least not the way he thinks. I was having dinner with Bella when I got the news. Although from the s
hort jean skirt and flowery tank top, you would think I was actually on a date.
“I was out with Bella,” I tell him just to make sure he knows.
The picture in his hand slides through his fingers, showing me it’s an ultrasound picture.
“Jackson told me.” I don’t think I have to say anything else after that.
“So you know?” he asks, looking at me.
I nod my head, letting him know.
“She fucking lied to me, to you, to us. She fucking tried to play God with my life.” He picks up the glass, filling it with a shot of whiskey and then downing it. “She fucked with me for the last seven years.” He laughs, looking at his hands. “Seven years of promising me things and letting me down. I finally fucking move on, finally fucking let my heart feel what a normal heart should feel, and she comes in here and rips it away.”
He pours another shot, hissing while he swallows. “She’s a bitch.”
I walk to him, watching him turn in his chair, opening his legs for me to walk into.
I’m not sure what we are doing here, but I know I need liquid encouragement to take this next step and hope he doesn’t send me away. Taking the glass from his hand, I pour a shot for myself, downing it. The liquid burns right from my throat to my stomach.
He rubs his hands on my back thighs, up and down. Goose bumps fill my body. “Tell me I’m not dreaming.” He looks up at me.
I put my hands into his hair while his hands grab my hips. “If you’re dreaming, it means I’m dreaming.” One of my hands falls from his hair to the side of his face where my finger traces his cheekbone. “You’re in my dreams always.”
He pushes me away from him so he can close his legs and have me sit on him. My skirt rides way up, my chest rising and falling with every beat of my heart. I haven’t been with anyone but him, and it’s like my body knows it’s home.
His hands cup my face, the thumbs rubbing my cheeks. “You’re everywhere. You’re in my dreams, in my thoughts, when I shower, when I eat, when I breathe.”
My forehead lands on his, a tear coming out of his eye. “I prayed for the first time in my life for you to come back to me.”
Pieces Of Heaven: Pieces Of Heaven (Heaven & Hell Book 2) Page 19