Underestimated Too(107)

“I don’t,” I heard Drew say, and then the door slammed.

I hung up, taking a deep breath. Drew may not have gotten anything from their one-on-one, but I did. Deidra was right. I had two choices. I could keep on loving this Drew, and never hold him accountable for his actions, or I could move on. Would Drew ever even let me move on? I doubted it, not without a fight, but how much could he really fight? I had the money, and I knew that Walker would help me with anything that I needed. Mr. Callaway assured me of that long ago. Walker was more interested in my wellbeing than Drew’s. I was sure of that.





Chapter 33





It was the following Tuesday before I finally got out of the house. Marta knew, she’d been with me for a long time now. She knew I wasn’t sick, but surprisingly she only gave me a pitiful smile, letting me know how dumb I was. She never mentioned my sudden illness that kept me upstairs unless she was out of the house. I smiled back, confirming her suspicions.

Drew and I never talked about the divided therapy, not that we ever did, but I thought maybe he would say something about how I defended Dawson. He didn’t, and I didn’t mention it either. He never gave me a time to be back, asked where I was going, or what I was going for when I told him I was meeting Alicia for lunch. Maybe that was a good sign and maybe it wasn’t. I don’t know, it just felt strained between us for whatever reason. I mean, nothing had really changed, and I doubted that Deidra’s twenty minutes of one-on-one fazed him. Drew didn’t really work off of guilt or blame.

“I’ll see you in a while,” I said, reaching up to kiss him.

“Okay, see you later,” he offered, kissing me. What the hell? I needed more than Deidra. Drew wasn’t asking a million questions, demanding to know my every move, or insisting anything. He was just letting me go. I didn’t like it. Why didn’t I like it? I should have been jumping for joy. I wasn’t. I felt rejected. This was so fucked up.

“I love you,” he said with warm words to my lips and a pat on my ass, beckoning me to leave him alone so he could work. That was it. Just like that, he let me go without one dominating order. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.

“I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” Alicia said, standing. My eyes went right towards the counter. Yes. He was working. Now what?

“I would never avoid you. I love you. What would I do without you?”

“You know you can call and talk to me anytime, right?” Alicia offered.

“Yes, of course. How’s my baby girl.”

“Fussy. She got her first shots yesterday.”

“Ahhh, poor baby.”

“I know. Celeste walked her up and down the hall half the night.”

“I thought she looked tired.”

“What are you doing? Why do you keep looking at that guy?”

I took a deep breath. I needed Alicia. I needed her help if I was ever going to pull this off.

“Remember that key I found in the envelope?”

“No, Morgan. Let it go. You’re not going to go play detective. The safety deposit box is in Drew’s name. He’s the only one that can get in there.”

“Yes, but if I could pay this guy to cut his hair like Drew’s, wear a designer suit, and steal Drew’s driver’s license, it might work.”

“You have lost your mind. You think that guy is going to take a chance on going to prison for you, cut his beautiful hair, and impersonate Drew? You’re crazy. Stop it. You’re not doing this. How would you pay the guy anyway? Drew keeps you under lock and key and controls your checkbook.”

“With this,” I taunted with a very expensive necklace.

“Now you’ve really lost it.”

“Come on, Alicia. You’re the only person I have. Help me, please,” I begged.

“Morgan, what do you think is in there?”

“I don’t know, but it just doesn’t make sense. Why would Drew need a safe at the bank? There’s something in there that he doesn’t want me to ever find. I know it and I need to find out for myself.”

“You’re going to pawn your necklace to pay this guy? What if he says no?”

“Then I will let it go, but I have to try. He’s working in a sandwich shop. I don’t know how much this thing is worth, but I’m sure it would be enough to persuade him.”

“I’m sure of it too, but what are you going to tell Drew?”

“I’ve already thought about that. I wore it out of the house today. I’m going to whine about losing it when I get home. He’ll never know the difference.”

“You’re serious about this?” Alicia asked as my new friend placed our customary sandwiches in front of us.