Underestimated Too(75)

Derik drove her over to the library the day after I demanded that she was indeed going to have a baby. I never thought a thing about it when Rebecca asked if Derik could take her. She said she didn’t feel well, that was a legitimate reason. Why would I think anything different?

I was doing some research in my office that afternoon when my phone rang.

‘What’s up?’ I asked, seeing Derik’s name. I looked at the clock on the corner of my screen, thinking they should have been back by now.

‘Dude, I’m sorry man. She was right there.’

‘Will you stop with the dude and man shit. I tell you this every single day,’ I scolded Derik.” Drew paused to face the room, and he said to me, “He always talked like that, didn’t he Morgan?”

“Yes,” I answered, dropping my eyes.

“Whoa, whoa, hold up a second,” Deidra requested, when Drew started to talk again.

I looked up to her and then to Drew, wondering what he’d said that made her want him to stop. She wasn’t looking at him. She was looking at me.

“What was that, Morgan?”

“What?”

“You went totally stiff when Drew mentioned Derik. Why?”

Again I looked to Drew.

“We’re not discussing that,” Drew demanded.

“Morgan, did you have a thing with Derik?” Deidra pressed on.

I wrung my hands and closed my eyes. I didn’t want to talk about this either.

“Morgan?” she coaxed.

“She doesn’t want to talk about Derik,” Drew demanded.

“We’re not moving on until we talk about Derik. Derik seems to be an issue here. Why is Derik an issue? Where is Derik now?”

“Sunshine Villa,” I quietly answered.

“Sunshine Villa?” she asked.

“It’s a nursing home,” I answered.

“Okay, and you’re sad because he’s ill?”

“I made him ill,” I said, letting the guilt devour me.

“What do you mean?”

I looked over to Drew, wearing an expression that I couldn’t read. I could read all of Drew’s expressions. I couldn’t read this one.

“Derik is where he belongs,” Drew piped in. “Derik raped Morgan, and I didn’t protect her,” Drew sadly spoke.

Drew felt guilty for not protecting me from Derik. “It wasn’t your fault, Drew,” I assured him.

“It was my fault. Derik gave me many signs of his intentions towards you. I didn’t read those signs the way I should have. I should have protected you.”

“Who was supposed to protect her from you?” Deidra asked.

Drew looked to the floor. Son of a bitch. I didn’t want this. Wishing I would have never pushed him into this. I breathed a sigh of regret.

“Can we continue, please,” I begged, wanting off the subject of Derik.

Deidra raised her eyebrows and waved her hand to Drew to continue. “You were saying Derik called you,” she reminded.

“Yes, he did. ‘Drew, listen to me. Morgan is gone,’ Derik yelled in the phone.

I stood up. ‘What do you mean, Morgan is gone?’

‘I mean she’s gone. I’ve looked everywhere. She went into the bathroom and just vanished. I was right here, right outside the door.’

‘Find her. Now!’

‘She’s gone, Drew. I’ve looked everywhere.’

‘How long?’

‘Thirty minutes or so.’

I hung up the phone and turned to my computer, hoping her phone was turned on, and on her. YES! It was. I looked at the road, trying to pinpoint where the little red dot was on the map. It looked like it was the highway, heading to the airport. I watched it, dialing the number for the airport. She would have had to use the credit card she carried. I could find out where she was flying by that.

Dropping the phone, I watched the little red dot disappear in front of my eyes. No Morgan Kelley had a flight, my card hadn’t been charged, and she was gone. How could she just be gone? She didn’t know anyone, didn’t know the area except the little neighborhood where she’d gone to the library.

Rebecca knew something. She had to. I knew she did. Morgan wouldn’t have done this on her own. That’s why she didn’t want to take her to the library. She knew she was going to run. Rebecca of course feigned ignorance, swearing she knew nothing. I had no way to tell whether she did or not. I should have paid more attention to the cameras. I shouldn’t have let them go to the library alone, watch movies together, cook, nothing. I should have kept them apart like I did when Morgan first came.”

“And you think that would have been better than where you are now?” Deidra interrupted.

I wanted her to shut up. I’d never heard any of this. I didn’t know how Drew felt when I left.