Something Just Ain't Right 3 Page 2

  He gave a tiny smile and leaned over to kiss me. I missed his kisses. I just missed him.

  He sat beside me and put my hand into his. “I’m sorry, baby.”

  I glanced at him and saw the sad look he had. This conversation was not going to go well.

  “What’s wrong, Morgan?”

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately; about you, and about us.”

  I stared at him, hoping that he wasn’t about to do what I think he was doing.

  “Don’t, Morgan.”

  “Hales, even though Travis, Will, and Caroline are locked up, there could be a possibility that our lives are still in danger. I watched you in my arms not knowing if you were going to die. I can’t do that to you again. I can’t do that to myself.”

  “Morgan, please don’t.”

  “I decided to go away for awhile, just until everything is safe. I know that you will be in good hands with Lamar and even Kyle. He said he’ll watch over you while I’m away.”

  I continued to stare at him, wondering why he was doing this. We both came so far and now, he wanted to give up.

  “Are you giving up on your life and on us?”

  “I’m not giving up! Since you’ve been with me, you have killed someone, been kidnapped and almost died! I can’t risk for you to be with me. This could happen again and you could really end up dead the next time around.”

  “Who to say that there will be a next time? I’m sure nothing else will happen to us since everyone is locked away.”

  “That’s not what my mom said. She thinks there could be more.”

  “If there are, then we’ll get through it together. Not only that, you’ll have Lamar and even Kyle now.”

  “I’m sorry Hayley, but I already made up my mind. In fact, once I leave here, I’m going to pack up my things and leave.”

  “Where are you going?”

  “I don’t know yet; just somewhere that I don’t know anyone in case someone does try to come after me.”

  “Morgan, please think about this.”

  “I have. Baby, I want you to live your life. Once you recover, I want you to go back to school and get your degree. Hell, if you meet another guy, then be with him; at least he won’t have anyone trying to kill him.”

  “You’re being crazy right now. I don’t want to be with anyone else. I want you.”

  “I want you, too, but what type of life would we be living if we're constantly on the run? Where we can’t be around our family because we think someone is after us? Not to mention Shantel is still on the loose somewhere. She might try to come back and retaliate.”

  “That is the reason why we should be together.”

  “No, it’s not. I haven’t talked to Uncle Rick yet, but once I do, I’m going to ask him for you to have around the clock security so that way you’ll be safe.”

  I looked ahead at the door while he sighed.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Morgan.”

  “It’s better if I leave, that way you’ll be okay. I caused enough damage to your life; I can’t keep doing that to you.”

  “I’m fine now!”

  “Yeah, but you could have died! All because of me! I told you before that I was bad for you, but you wouldn’t listen. Now, you laying in a hospital bed. For what?”

  “Because I love you. I wouldn’t change a damn thing with what happened. I told you in that hotel room that I would ride with you and I meant that. Shit, I took a fucking bullet for you, just like you would had for me.”

  “Yes, I would had; that’s why I know that we can’t be together, because honestly, someone will eventually end up dead.”

  He got up and stared at me again. “Just know that I love you and I won’t stop thinking about you.”

  “If you loved me, you wouldn’t be doing this.”

  “I’m doing this because I love you too damn much.”

  He leaned over and gave me a sweet, but passionate kiss. Since he made up his mind to what he was doing, I knew then that was going to be our last kiss.

  “Always remember that I love you.”

  I really didn’t want to start crying, but I felt tears coming. I couldn’t hold them in as I watched him walk out of the door. At one point, everything between us was good. Yes, we were going through a lot with Craig’s murder and with his family, but we were together. Now, he ended it all to protect me. I don’t know if I could forgive him for doing this to me and to us.

  Hayley

  Six Months Later

  “What the hell did you pack in here?” Lamar asked while struggling to carry my suitcases into the house.

  “What’s wrong, bro? Looks as if you need to work out more.” I said and smiled.

  Lamar smirked and went into the living room.

  I sighed as I walked in as well. I looked at my surroundings and took another deep breath. After saying good-bye to Morgan in my hospital room, I slowly bounced back into the person that I was. It has been six months and I still couldn’t believe Morgan left. I really thought after that day that it was all a joke and he would come back, but I was wrong. He kept his promise, which meant I haven’t received a phone call or even a letter from him.

  There were a few bright spots to all of this. After I was able to recuperate from my wound, I was able to return to school. I took a couple of courses over the summer to catch up on the semester I missed, so I was coming into the fall semester as a senior.

  Lamar also took courses over the summer, and he was able to graduate with honors. Instead of him working for our family’s company, he decided to come back to Thompson to enroll in the graduate program. Although I knew he wanted to work in the business with my dad, he was determined to receive his Master’s. I just think he decided to come back to watch over me, which he didn’t need to do.

  Now, I’m living in an off-campus townhouse with him, Tamara, and Kyle. Yes, Kyle. After everything that happened, he decided to close The Palace and move to Houston to re-open another club near the college town. He figured not only he could start over, but figured he could really rake in some money since his club will be near campus. Since Kyle didn’t really know anyone in the area, Lamar asked him to move in with us. The situation was kind of awkward at first, but eventually, it slowly started to fall into place. It was great to have Kyle around. He was great to hang out with and a cool guy just to be around. Along with Lamar and Tamara, Kyle helped me through my time of healing my body and my broken heart. Well, sort of. I’m still brokenhearted that Morgan left.

  “So, what room will I be getting?” I asked as I walked down the hallway.

  “Any room except for the one at the end. That’s Tamara and mine.”

  I smiled and went to the first room to my left. I noticed the huge space and decided then it was mine.

  “I know it’s still hard about Morgan. That you haven’t heard from him.”

  I turned around and stared at Lamar. “I’m fine. He did what he thought was the best decision.”

  “I didn’t think he would completely vanish though.”

  “Me either, but I guess he thought it would be best. Have you heard from him at all, though? I thought maybe he would had contacted you.”

  Lamar shook his head. “No, I haven’t heard from him. I’m really sorry, Hales.”

  I nodded and looked out the window ahead. “I’m surprised you’re not saying I told you so. That eventually Morgan would fuck up.”

  Lamar sighed. “I probably would have at first; but now, no. I saw a different side to Morgan in Dallas. He loves you Hayley, so whatever he’s going through, just know it’s to get himself together so he can return.

  “How do you know he’ll return? No one has heard from him in six months!”

  “He’ll come back, Hales. I can’t promise you when, but he will eventually.”

  I shook my head and continued to look out the window. I saw Kyle pull up into a parking space.

  I sighed and went to the bed to sit down.

  “I have
to go pick up Tam from work since her car is still in the shop. Are you going to be okay?”

  I nodded and Lamar patted my shoulder before leaving out of the room.

  I heard Kyle come in as he said hey to Lamar. He came into my room and smiled.

  “Hey. Why you look so sad? It has something to do with my brother, doesn’t it?”

  “I’m not sad, just thinking.”

  “About my brother.” He said as he sat beside me.

  “I’m just wondering why he left the way he did. Why he never contacted anyone. For all we know, he could be somewhere hurt or dead.”

  “Don’t think like that, Hayley. You know how Morgan is; he’s a strong dude. Hell, I know from all the times we got into it.”

  “Don’t I know it.” I said and smiled.

  He looked at me with a smile of his own. “That’s the first time I’d seen you smile in a long time.”

  I started to become nervous as I looked down at the carpet. Even though Kyle has been like another brother to me, there were still times when I would look at him differently.

  When we first met, I was attracted to him because he’s sexy as hell, but of course I didn’t want anything to happen since I was with Morgan and because they’re brothers.

  Even now with Morgan AWOL, I still wouldn’t want anything to happen, but there’s a thought in the back of my mind about his lips being on mine, kissing him like that night in his office.

  Kyle slowly cupped my chin so I could stare at him. “I’m sure he’s okay, so try not to worry so much.”

  “I’m trying not to, but…”

  “No buts. You and I both know how Mo is. He can fend for himself out there.”

  I nodded as his hand lightly brushed against my chin before letting it go. “Let’s do something fun tonight. The club is not opening for another week anyway, so I still have time to relax and be normal. Besides, you probably want to do something before you hit the books soon.”

  “Not really, but…”

  “What did I say about that word?” Kyle said in a stern tone, but he was smiling.

  “I was going to say that I need to do something fun, so sure.”

  “Cool. Whatever you want to do, just name it.”

  “Anything.”

  “Yes, Hales, whatever you want.”

  I gave a mischievous grin. He definitely shouldn’t had said that.

  “I have the perfect place to go.”

  Lamar

  While driving to pick up Tamara, my mind was starting to become scattered. I knew Hayley was still worried about Morgan. Hell, I am too, but he made the decision to go off of the grid for awhile. Although I thought it would had only been for a month or two, he meant what he said about hiding out.

  My phone started to ring as I hit the button on my Bluetooth to speak.

  “Hello.”

  “Hey, Mar.”

  I immediately changed lanes and went to the nearest parking lot of a shopping center. I was expecting his call.

  “Hey, Mo. How are things going?”

  “So far, so good. I kind of hate being among nothing but the woods and trees.”

  “Well, you made the decision to hide out at your aunt’s cabin.”

  “Yeah, I did. How’s Hales?”

  I sighed as I starched the back of my neck. I felt guilty not telling Hayley that I’d been in contact with Morgan since he left. But I knew if I would had told her, she would had found a way to find him, so I kept my mouth shut.

  “She’s good. She’s still wondering why you disappeared, but she’s slowly getting her life back together.”

  “That’s good to hear. I really want her to live her life again. I want her to not have to worry if someone is after her, especially after what happened.”

  “I know. But you and I both know she’s not entirely in the clear, especially if someone else knows about her killing that guy.”

  Morgan sighed. “I know. Let’s just hope Paula was the only witness that night.”

  “Let’s hope. You know, I was also thinking about us, too.”

  Morgan was silence on the other end while I sighed. I knew I shouldn’t had brought that up, but I always wondered what if our misdeeds finally caught up with us. We could both be heading to prison if someone turns us in.

  “Nothing is going to happen to us, Lamar. The ones who know what actually happened are in prison. If there are other people around, then I’ll find a way to keep them quiet too.”

  “Is that how you’re going to live your life? You’re constantly going to be on guard, killing people so our secret is not exposed. What type of life is that, Morgan?”

  “I know that’s not a way to live, but I have to do what I can to keep the people close to me safe, especially since my mom is on high alert about others coming out of nowhere.”

  I rolled my eyes. Something didn’t sit right with me about Morgan’s mom, especially since he mentioned the conversation he had with her before he left. It was as if she was keeping something from him

  “All I can say is be careful, man. You don’t know who could be lurking around, especially since you’re in the woods.”

  “Don’t worry Mar, I’ll be fine. I’ll call back in a few days to see how Hales is doing.”

  After saying good-bye, I hung up feeling a little worried. Now that Morgan might not return, I don’t know how Hayley will handle things.

  Morgan

  I hung up with Lamar and sighed. I appreciate him for not telling Hayley that he talked to me. Although I wanted to hear her voice and tell her I’m okay, I couldn’t risk speaking to her. I know there are other people out there who wanted to see me dead, so I have to do what I can to stay away from her.

  I looked over at the woman sitting across from me. She crossed her legs and gave a sweet smile. I stared at her, realizing she was beautiful, but I noticed that the first day she introduced herself to me.

  She smoothed down her blouse while she crossed her chocolate legs for the third time. If I didn’t know any better, I think she was flirting with me. If she was, then too bad, because I’m taken. Well, sort of, since I walked out on Hales. Hopefully she hasn’t moved on with someone else, because I definitely haven’t and I don’t plan to.

  “So, Morgan, how are you today? Do you feel any better compared to our last session.”

  I glanced at Kimbella. Since I arrived to my aunt’s cabin, I decided to do something that I never thought I would do, and that was talk to a therapist.

  After Hayley suggested I talk to someone after what happened with Kyle, I pushed it to the back of my mind; but now since everything that has happened and the fact that I have been alone for the past six months, I needed to talk to someone about my issues. Well, just the issues I wanted her to know.

  “I’m doing a little better.”

  “Are you ever going to explain why you decided to up and leave your family and friends?And your girlfriend, why haven’t you called her since you’ve been here?”

  “It’s complicated.” I said as I smoothed down my shirt sleeve.

  “Morgan, I won’t be able to help you if you don’t talk to me. You contacted me to talk about your issues, but you never open up to them. Now, I won’t push you, but I think it would help you if you talked about what’s bothering you.”

  I cleared my throat and sighed. “If I tell you what I’m going through, it would be strictly confidential, correct?”

  “Of course, Morgan. That would go against my oath to release any of my patients’ information.”

  I sighed again and started to talk. “I have been having issues controlling my temper. It only happens when a person pushes me to the brink and I snap. I had recently done it three times; one of those times led my best friend in the hospital.”

  “What made you become upset with your best friend?”

  “At the time, he didn’t like the idea of me being with his sister. He was going to use something against me so I could stop seeing her. That’s when I became upset and started punc
hing him until he became unconscious.”

  “How did you feel when the incident occurred? Did you feel guilty in any way?”

  “Of course I did, he was my best friend. Although we had our issues, I didn’t want to hurt him.”

  “But everything is resolved now?”

  “Yes, we talked out our issues and now we’re cool again.”

  “What about your brother, Kyle. How is your relationship with him?”

  “We’re better now. We had our differences, but after what happened with my girlfriend, we put those issues to the side and are actually civil to each other.”

  “That’s great to hear that you two made progress. Now, let’s talk about why you’re here. It’s kind of weird that you’re in this cabin by yourself since you do have family and friends that you can be around.”

  “I know, but I needed a break from everything.”

  “Why?”

  I didn’t know if I should tell her why I was here or the reason why I became upset so quickly. I knew I should let out my aggression, but after everything I’d went through, I don’t know if I could freely discuss what happened to anyone, including a therapist. I thought if I gave some sort of details to the past few months that she could base her diagnosis from that; but as she gave me a forceful stare, I knew then that she wasn’t buying the story that I was giving her.

  “Let me start from the beginning, when I turned five.”

  Hayley

  Once I realized what I wanted to do for my night out, I quickly began to get ready. Kyle still didn’t have a clue to where we were going, but I think he would like it once we arrived.

  An hour later and we were at our destination. I glanced at him as he gave me a crazed look.

  “Seriously? This is where you wanted to go.”

  “You said to pick a place, so I did.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “I haven’t done this since I was 16.”

  “I guess you better brush up on your skills then.” I said and smiled.

  He playfully rolled his eyes and the two of us got out of his car. Once we stepped inside the skating rink, I automatically thought back to all of the good memories I had growing up. I thought about all the times Paula and me went to the rink near our neighborhood and skated until it was closed. There were a couple of times when Lamar and Morgan would come too which was pretty fun. To this day, I still can’t believe Paula was dead. Although we had our difference recently, it still hurt that she was gone.