Arriving At The Morgans'

“Rose is such a sweet girl,” I told him. “She has been one of my favorite people there.”

He beamed proudly. “Thank you. Would you like to follow me, or would you prefer that I drive you?”

I sighed as I lowered my head a little to rub my eyes. “I hate to say it, but I would prefer you drive. I am so exhausted. I drove straight here and haven’t slept a lot the last few days.”

“Alright. I’ll drive you. Joseph will get me a cab back. Are you ready?”

“Yes, but I have my dog in the car.”

He waved his hand as he came around the desk. “No worries. I love dogs. As long as she doesn’t bite me, we will be fine.”

“She is a sweet girl. I don’t think that she will bite you,” I told him.

“Then we’re good. Let’s go.”

I walked by his side back to my car, where I climbed into the back, causing Sugar to also jump in the back to curl up against my side, watching Arlo as he got in. I patted her head.

“It’s okay, girl. He’s going to take us to Maddie.”

“I’m sorry about Ashley. She grew up with Madison, and all of Apple Grove is very protective of the Morgans. They have been through a lot in the last few months.”

“Are they okay?” I asked.

“Yes and no. And before you ask, I can’t give you details. It’s not my business to tell.”

I sighed as I leaned my head back against the seat. “Can you tell me about Brennan? He’s really the only one I care to obtain information on. So far, everyone else has been very forthcoming about themselves except him. It makes it hard to build a relationship.”

“Well, what exactly do you know about him?” He inquired softly.

“Well, I know about Diadra and his triplets. I know about Janice, or whatever her name was, from high school. I know that he lost all of them, and it’s why he’s so closed off.”

He heaved a heavy sigh. “Diadra really messed him up. She crushed the spirit he had in high school. She took everything that he had going for himself and destroyed it. When we were in school, he laughed so much. He wasn’t afraid to get to know someone or let someone get to know him. He was carefree and loved to laugh. It’s why my sister always had a crush on him.” He cursed under his breath.

“I’m sorry. They were never involved. She just had a silly schoolgirl crush on him. He never gave her any kind of attention besides that of a sister. Eventually her crush faded. When she was attacked at work and left to die behind the dumpster, he took her in without hesitation. He helped her heal her mind, and he gave the world back an angel that was almost gone for good. He did the same with Rose when she was assaulted. I will forever be grateful to him for loving my family enough to be there for them in their time of need.”

“I’m glad he could be there for them too. Doc and Rose are such incredibly strong women. I’m not sure how they manage, but they are such an inspiration,” I sniffled.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?” He asked.

“What do you mean?” I inquired as my eyes shot open.

“Do you want to talk about what happened between you and Brennan? I can see the sadness in your eyes, Phoenix. I’m here if you need a shoulder. Brennan was there for my family; I would like to return the favor and be there for you.”

I smiled at him sadly. “I left Eden because he couldn’t tell me he loved me. I begged him to tell me how he felt, but he couldn’t. It hurt too much to stay, especially after I told him that I was in love with him.”

He sighed again as he nodded in understanding. “Ever since Diadra entered his life, he clammed up. He couldn’t express his feelings to her. She would scream and rage at him if he, even so much as, narrowed his eyes at her.” He paused, glancing at me in the mirror. “I’m not sure what all he told you about his relationship with her, but I know that she used to get violent with him. She even stabbed him one night because he told her that he couldn’t continue to live the way they were living. Whenever I told him that he should take the girls and leave, he would always say, ‘It’s the drugs, Arlo. This isn’t truly who she is. I can help her. Rehab will work this time.’” He shook his head. “Rehab never worked because she didn’t really want to get better. The program only works if you work it with gusto. You will always be an addict, but being serious about recovery will help you stay sober. Diadra didn’t stand a chance. The first thing she did after leaving rehab was take money out of their joint account and go get high. And the vicious cycle started all over again.”

I lowered my head to hide the tears that were running down my cheeks. He hadn’t told me all of that. My heart ached to hold Brennan and take away all of his pain. No wonder why he hid his emotions so much. Being stabbed for showing them to the one person you should be able to trust would definitely make someone feel that they had too.

“And the rumors that were floating around were even worse.”

“What rumors?” I asked tearfully.

“That their triplets were fathered by Diadra’s drug dealer. There are also rumors that the paternity test was faked, but that didn’t start going around until very recently. I want to be able to say that I don’t believe the rumors, but with Diadra, I wouldn’t put it past her. She was always trying to bring him down so she could control him easier. He didn’t deserve what she did to him. He loved those girls more than the air in his lungs.” He paused to sigh heavily. “I’m not going to lie to you, Phoenix; I’ve been really worried about him the past few days.”

“And why is that?”

“Because those girls meant everything to him. As do you. And if those rumors reached him and now you’re gone, I really worry about his mental state. Before you, I had no hope for him. I thought he was going to stay a hermit, hiding deep inside of himself for the rest of his life.”

I looked down at Sugar as I stroked her fur. “Are you angry that I left Eden? That I left him?”

“I want to say yes, because I know what a great guy he is, but I also know what Eden is for. It’s to heal from trauma. Whatever took you to Eden had to be a lot. Just like I know that what plagues Brennan is a lot. It might even be too much for someone else to cope with. So, no, I don’t blame you for taking the step you needed to for you. If it was Rose or Doc, I would want them to make the same one for themselves. The only thing I hope that comes from this is that Brennan wakes up and smells the coffee. He can have everything in this world. He can be happy again. He is just afraid. He’s spent so much time being withdrawn and alone, he doesn’t know how to be happy. It’s been so long since he had a reason to be, so I don’t think he understands what exactly it is. And that’s not your fault. He has to figure it out for himself. He has to do that for himself. Just like you have to figure out how to be happy for yourself too. Only when you both figure it out can you two be happy together.”

I lifted my eyes to his in the mirror. “Do you think that he will ever allow himself to be happy with me?”

He put the car in park in front of a house before turning in his seat to face me. “I think now that you are not there, he is going to fight like hell to get to a place where he deserves you. He wants to be worthy of you. He has always wanted to be worthy of his partner. And he was. It was Diadra that wasn’t worthy of him. Losing your presence in his life is going to wake him up. He’s going to come to terms with his past. And when he does, he will come find you and never let you go again. That’s the kind of man that he is.” He tilted his head toward the door. “We’re here. Why don’t you go up and let them know you’re here? I’ll speak to Joey in a little bit.”

I held his gaze for a moment before shaking my head. “I think you’re wrong. I think he liked the idea of having another woman to save. I just happened to be the one he chose to try to save. I begged him to love me. I begged him to step up for me. He refused. I’m not going to force myself on him. He may need to feel worthy, but I need to feel wanted. And I don’t think, even if he did love me, that he would ever be able to give that to me. I’m sorry, but I don’t foresee us getting back together. No matter how much I may want to. Thank you for bringing me here. I really appreciate both the guidance and the conversation.” I smiled sadly down at Sugar. “Stay here. Mommy will be right back.”

I went up onto the porch, where I hesitated for a moment before knocking softly. When it wasn’t answered after a minute, I told myself to knock one more time before giving up. As I turned around to leave, the door was pulled open, and my heart started pounding in my chest as I stared up at Joseph in relief for a moment before smiling slightly, trying to keep all of my emotions under control.

“Hey, Joey. Is Madison home?” I asked.

“Of course. Come in.”

When he stepped back, I cautiously entered before following him down the hallway to a closed door. He pushed it open a little before calling out softly, “Babygirl, you have a visitor?”

“A visitor? In the middle of the night?” Madison inquired groggily.

“Yes.”

I heard rustling inside the room. “Who is it?”

I stepped around Joey as tears started to prick the back of my eyes. “I’m sorry to intrude, but I didn’t know where else to go.”

She sat straight up, fully focused on me with all traces of sleepiness gone from her as she jumped out of bed to rush over to hug me.

“Leah! What are you doing here?” She questioned worriedly.

“I left Eden. I couldn’t be there anymore, and I had nowhere else to go,” I sobbed as I wrapped my arms back around her, clinging to her tightly. “He’ll never love me like I love him.”