by Alexa Davis
It reminded me that even though I felt like I didn’t know him, actually I did.
“Seems like you’re always doing this, doesn’t it?” Terrance half joked, clearly thinking of the same things I was. “Looking after me, keeping me safe.”
“Shame I wasn’t there to save your life this time.” I didn’t mean it to, but that comment sounded a little accusatory. It felt like I knew something, when I really didn’t. I wasn’t sure if the two incidents were connected, only that they’d both happened.
“It’s always a shame when you’re not there.”
I stood back and examined Terrance’s face, trying my best to ignore that remark. “You look cleaned up,” I smiled thinly at him. “Now you just have to hope things go well at the police station.”
When he didn’t reply, I felt even worse. Would I be the woman whose baby daddy was in jail? What kind of hideous cliché was that? I saw it all the time in here – naïve girls who couldn’t understand why their life wasn’t working out with their dirt bag boyfriends. I just always assumed that I was better than that, smarter.
What an idiot.
“I better get back to the waiting room, where they will be coming for me...”
“You can go and sit in with Braxton if you like while you wait?” If Terrance was about to get locked up, then he at least deserved some time with his friend. Whatever he’d done wrong, he seemed to have a lot of admiration and love for Braxton. “He isn’t doing much, but I’m sure he’ll appreciate you being there.”
“Thank you.” Terrance leaned into me and hugged me for just a split second. “I really do appreciate this, and the cleaning of my face, too. You’re such a lovely person.”
Lovely, naïve, dumb... Any of those words would work right now, but I just wanted to do the right thing. “Come on, let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Terrance
Wednesday
After the hours of intensive police questioning – which to be fair I’d been expecting ever since I called the ambulance to save Braxton’s life – I returned to the hospital to check up on him.
I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to leave the station, actually. I feared the cops would lock me up for what had happened. But luckily, after a while, they believed my story that we’d wandered into the middle of a shoot out by mistake. The guys were seemingly known to them anyway, which helped my case.
It was just lucky that I’d hidden the briefcase in the trunk of my car before anyone arrived. It was tucked away under so much junk that it was unlikely anyone would find it unless they were really looking for it.
“Terrance?” a soft voice called out. “Terrance, are you okay?”
“Nhgh?” I replied, my eyes snapping open. It was instantly obvious from the sheer agony in my neck that I’d fallen to sleep on the very uncomfortable chair by the hospital bed. “What’s going on?”
“I brought you a coffee.” As Morgan’s face came into view, she looked like an angel with the bright, white hospital lights gleaming behind her. It didn’t escape my notice that this wasn’t the first time I’d thought that about her. “How are you feeling this...” she glanced at her watch to check out the time. “Afternoon?”
“Is it afternoon?” I gasped, forcing myself into a proper sitting position. “Have I been asleep that long?” She wasn’t in uniform, which suggested she was in the hospital for a different reason entirely. “What are you doing? Aren’t you exhausted from working all night?”
As I took the plastic cup from her and sipped the liquid down quickly like it was golden, she sat in the chair next to me. “I have been home to sleep, and I just wanted to check up on you. You were in a bit of a state when you arrived this morning, so I’ve been panicked about you ever since.”
“Oh yeah; well, the police station was intense.”
We both sat in silence for a moment, staring at Braxton’s body in front of us. I hated seeing my friend in that way, all hooked up to machines and helpless. I kept thinking that I should tell Emily at some point, too. Braxton’s phone would be around the place somewhere, so I could do it. I just hadn’t worked up the effort to do so just yet.
For some reason, seeing him here all serene, but also without any sign of life in his face, made me want to open up and explain things to Morgan. Up until this point, there had been a lot of her giving, and not much me. Even when I discussed my family with her, I hadn’t done it in an emotional way. This time, I really wanted to reveal a piece of myself to Morgan.
“When my dad died, he did so in a lot of debt,” I began quietly. I wanted to tell Morgan, but not anyone else, since it’d totally contradict the lie I told the cops. “I didn’t know about it, but I guess my brother did. Maybe not at first, but when some loan sharks started coming after him.”
Morgan didn’t even move her eyes from where they lay on Braxton’s body; she simply listened to me without any interruption.
“I don’t know everything, but I can only assume that Mason refused to pay the money, which landed him in trouble.” I sighed deeply, hating the next words that were about to come out of my mouth. “So much trouble that he ended up being killed.”
Morgan’s eyes turned to face me as her whole body went a sickly shade of pale. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as if she didn’t quite know what to say to that one. I couldn’t blame her – I didn’t really know, either. I wasn’t sure that I’d even accepted it really, even after all the years that had passed.
“You know, I blame myself for his death. On the night he was murdered, he asked me to come out with him...to Lights Out, actually. I can’t really remember why I didn’t go, only that I refused.” I let out a weird moaning sound at the memory. “If I’d known anything, if I even thought for a second that he was in any kind of trouble, then I would’ve been with him. I never would have left his side.”
I angrily brushed away the stray tear falling down my cheek. “I just don’t like the thought of him dying in some alleyway all by himself. I could’ve stopped it happening, if only I was there.”
She took my hand gently in hers and comforted me without words. There wasn’t really anything she could say, anyway. If she tried to tell me that wasn’t the case, I only would’ve argued. If she agreed with me that I held some responsibility, then I probably would’ve lost it completely.
“Anyway, because I didn’t know what had happened at that point, and the police didn’t seem to care too much, I hired a private investigator. He found out about the debt and the loan sharks, the murder, too. Nothing conclusive enough for me to take it to the police, but just enough so I knew.”
“So, I take it the men came after you last night to claim back what your father owed?” Morgan was perceptive, but she’d probably seen everything working in a hospital.
“Well, actually, they first came after me on the night we first met. It’s just been getting worse since then. But... Well, they won’t be troubling me anymore.”
Morgan didn’t ask what I meant by that. It was one of those things that really didn’t need to be qualified.
“Throughout all the grief, all the heartache, all the trouble I’ve ever had in my life, Braxton has been there.” I sighed deeply, wishing more than anything that I could trade places with him. My dad’s debt wasn’t my problem, but it certainly wasn’t his, either. He didn’t deserve any of it. “He’s always been my best friend, as well as my bodyguard, and now... Well, now this...”
“What do the police know? About what happened last night?” Morgan asked me, even more quietly than I was speaking.
“Erm...” I didn’t know whether or not to tell her, until it hit me how much I could trust her. I knew she wouldn’t do anything to betray me, she just wasn’t that type. “That Braxton and I were caught in the crossfire of a gang shoot out. Why?”
“Because you haven’t been home to change since Braxton arrived, and you really need to. I don’t mean to be rude, but you stink. I can stay here with Braxton until you get back, and, you k
now...fill him in if needs be.”
I wanted to refuse because I’d already left once, but Morgan was right. Plus, to pop home and shower would only take me an hour or so anyway. I could do that easily. “Yeah, okay thank you.” I smiled serenely as I stood up. “I really appreciate it. I’ll be back before you know it, okay? I know you must be tired, too.”
“I don’t mind.” She waved her hand dismissively at me. “Just go. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
As I walked away, it hit me hard just how important Morgan was becoming to me. I had known that I liked her more than anyone before, but it was as if she’d become ingrained into me now. I wasn’t sure that I could let her go, even if I really had to.
Maybe I was falling in love, maybe I was already there... I wasn’t too sure.
***
I tossed the briefcase onto my bed, hating the contents of it and what it had done. Any amount of money, even seven hundred million, couldn’t compare to the life of my best friend. Knowing that Braxton was there in the hospital only because of me hurt me badly. The problem was gone now, the assholes were all dead, but his life hung in the balance, too.
I should’ve left him at home.
As I heard the light tapping at the door, my heart kicked into overdrive, and I instantly kicked the briefcase full of money under my bed. I thought I was done with the cops, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe they’d found some sort of evidence that my dad’s debt was involved in this, and I was about to get in shit. Sure, I hadn’t done anything to hurt anyone, but I was certain Braxton had. There was no way I wanted him to get better, just to land himself in hot water.
“Who’s there?” I called out cautiously, wondering if I needed the baseball bat again.
“Emily.”
I let out a deep sigh. “Oh right, coming.” I waited until I looked a bit more like a normal person, rather than a paranoid mess, and I swung open the door. “Please come in.” She shimmied through the door looking very scared. “I’m sorry. I know I should’ve called you right away, it was all just a mess.”
“What? What’s going on? Where’s Braxton? Is he hurt?”
I cringed as I had to say the next part. “He’s in the hospital, we... We got in the way of a gang shooting last night and a stray bullet hit him.” I decided to stick to the lie with Emily. If Braxton wanted to tell her later on, he could just explain why I felt the need to keep the truth to myself.
“Oh my God, is he okay?” Her eyes filled up with tears, making me feel even guiltier. Braxton had a woman who adored him, and he was in the hospital because of my mess. I vowed to myself that I would never let that happen again.
“He’s stable, but in critical condition...”
“Oh my God.” She started pacing my apartment, shock tearing through her body. “I only came up here on the off chance that you might know something. I didn’t think... I didn’t actually think... I mean, I knew it was weird that he hadn’t answered any of my calls, but...”
“I’m going back there in a minute,” I did my best to reassure her. “I’ll look after him for you.” I needed to stop her in her tracks, before she got into a full-blown panic.
“No, please, let me go. At least for a little bit. You... You look like you could use some rest, anyway.” Her eyes were too wet for me to disagree with her. “Just give me an hour or so with him today. Please?”
“Yeah, sure. I’m not trying to keep you away. I just want to do whatever I can to help, you know?”
Emily stared at me for a moment, and we both nodded in a second of understanding. We shared a bond, even if we didn’t really know one another – a love for the same man. Now he was in danger, and between us we’d have to fix it. However hard it was.
“Here, let me give you my number,” I told her. “Then we can keep in touch about the whole thing.”
“Yeah.” She handed her phone to me, her expression stony and serious. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Then I never have to be out of the loop again.”
As soon as she left, I wandered into my bedroom and flopped onto the sheets, my body shutting down without me even thinking about it...
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Morgan
Wednesday
“Oh, hey, you,” I cooed as Braxton’s eyes finally flickered open. “How are you doing?” I expected this to happen, I could tell from his stats that his body was waking up from the medically-induced coma, which was why I hadn’t left his side yet. “You just missed your girlfriend; she was here a while back.”
“Huh?” he mumbled a little incoherently. “What? Where am I?” He was confused...they always were.
“You’re in the hospital.” I took his hand in mine and leaned over the hospital bed enough so that he could hear me clearly. “You were out with Terrance, and you ended up getting shot.” Better not get into too many details just yet, false or otherwise. Braxton only needed the bare bones until his own memories started to come back around. “Now, do you need anything? Are you in pain? Would you like a drink?”
“T... Terrance,” he stammered, only caring about his best friend. “Terrance, is he okay?”
“He’s absolutely fine,” I reassured him with the brightest smile I could muster. “He came in with you, not as a patient, but as your support. However, I sent him home for a sleep and to get changed.”
Admittedly, I was a little worried inside that he hadn’t yet come back, even if he had told me that the problem was done now, but I couldn’t let that show. “I’m sure he’ll be back very soon. He’s going to be disappointed that he wasn’t here to see you wake up, I can assure you of that!”
“He’ll be here.” Braxton tried to nod his head, but the drugs were making him sluggish. Still, they were preventing him from being in agony, so there was nothing I could do about that. “Okay.”
“You know,” I leaned in and lowered my voice to a whisper. “Terrance is very grateful for what you did. I know he feels guilty for you getting hurt; he showed today how much he loves you. I know that doesn’t compensate much for that pain you’re in, but I hope it helps a little bit.”
It was at that moment a flicker of recognition lit up behind Braxton’s eyes. “M... Morgan,” he stammered. “You’re her. Terrance’s girl.”
Hearing myself described in such a way by his best friend made me feel all kinds of special inside – even if things were very confusing and I had no idea how I felt, or how he felt about me. It brought a smile to my face regardless of all of it. “Yes, I suppose so.”
“He really likes you. R...really likes you. I’ve never seen Terrance this way over a woman before.” There was something so genuine in Braxton’s eyes that it was hard not to get sucked in. I believed him, even if it terrified me to do so. “He talks about you all the time. And...and I can see it in his eyes.”
“Shh, don’t you worry about talking too much.” I shut him down, even if I wanted to hear more, just because it looked like it was causing him pain to talk. It didn’t work. It seemed he wanted to get all of this off of his chest.
“I know it doesn’t always seem like it, especially at the moment with what he’s been going through, but Terrance... Terrance is a good guy. He’s been through a lot, he’s suffered a lot of pain which is why...” He winced and tried to sit up before recognizing that wasn’t such a great idea. “Which is why he usually has walls up around him. But something about you has changed that. I guess I never had a chance alone to tell you that, so now I really want to.”
My eyes welled up. I felt emotion ball up thickly in my throat. All my fears were dissipated by the power of Braxton’s words. Clearly, Terrance’s odd behavior could all be put down to what he’d been going through with these terrible men. It was just my overactive imagination jumping to conclusions.
“I’m pregnant.”
Selfishly, considering what this poor man stuck in the hospital bed was going through, my problem spilled past my lips without even thinking about it. I wasn’t even really thinking about my baby, not consciously anyway, it
just sort of...came out. Still, with Braxton’s wide eyes looking at me, I figured I had to finish my story now.
“I’m pregnant, and Terrance is the father. He doesn’t know yet. I haven’t worked up the courage to tell him, but I am.” I fixed my eyes on the ground for a second. “I guess I’m scared of how he’ll react, you know?”
A hushed silence filled the room while Braxton set about digesting this. I cursed myself for spilling this out at the worst possible time, but unfortunately, it was far too late to take it back now.
“You know Terrance really is a good man, don’t you?” Braxton’s voice was measured, like he was doing his best to get every word out in the calmest way possible. “If you told him what you just told me, then he will be there for you. I meant what... What I said, he likes you a lot. He will do the right thing by you.”
“But what if he runs?”
“He won’t run, I can assure you of that. I wouldn’t be friends with the sort of man who could run at such wonderful news. You’re working yourself up over nothing.” He took in a few deep and ragged breaths, reminding me of why I should be guilty. “So, don’t you worry. You tell him – he will want to know.”
If Braxton hadn’t been strapped down to the bed, I would’ve reached over and hugged him at that moment. He probably didn’t realize it, but his words had just set me free from the mental prison I’d trapped myself in. If Braxton assured me that Terrance would stick by me no matter what, then I could tell him. I would tell him, and everything would be okay.
“Thank you, Braxton. You’re an angel,” I smiled and patted his shoulder. “Now, before I go and get the doctor to check up on you, I just want to talk to you about the gang shooting you stumbled across.” I winked, but he continued to stare at me with furrowed eyebrows like he didn’t totally get it.
“Terrance went to the police station and told them all about how you to accidently got in the way of a shoot out. I’m sure the cops will be in at some point to speak to you about it, too.” Finally, the light switched on in his expression. “So, if there’s anything you want to discuss with me, please let me know.”