Candy Apple Red-Book Two

Chapter 12 - Busted!

Once we arrive at the hospital, the Doctor enters the waiting room where we are seated to discuss Mariah's condition.  We were so relieved to find out that she will recover without a hitch. Thankfully, she suffered only minor injuries in the accident. We know she was very fortunate to have survived at all,  not to mention the fact that she was abducted in broad daylight by some maniac and held captive without receiving proper medical treatment. That could have been devastating if we didn't conduct our own search. I doubt the police would have ever found her. We also discovered is that she's pregnant, and the baby is also doing well. Dylan was pretty excited to find out he was going to be a daddy. 

Oh, but the evening didn't go without a little more drama mixed in despite what we went through earlier in the day; Mariah's parents graced us with their presence. Momma sent them on their way after a heated discussion. Let me tell you, I loved watching Momma put Reagan in her place. She's about the only one who can since Gran passed away.  

Once Mariah was admitted and settled in, we were able to go back to visit with her. She was a pitiful sight; It broke my heart to see her in this condition. Momma explained to us that it looks worse than it is, which I'm glad, but it's hard to even look at her without balling my eyes out. She didn't wake up the entire time we visited, so Momma, Seth, and I left her to rest while Dylan stayed behind. 

As we exited the hospital, I grabbed Seth's hand discreetly and began walking towards his truck. Momma was in front of us, walking towards her vehicle, messing with her phone, and didn't notice. He made a gesture to call him before I hopped into Momma's SUV, and I watched as he turned out of the hospital parking lot in the opposite direction from us. 

I stared out the window on the way home from the hospital. I have so much running through my mind right now. Momma sensed my uneasiness and patted my hand, "You look like you have a lot on your mind, darlin. Do you want to talk about it?" she asks. 

I sigh audibly, "Momma, I feel terrible that I didn't offer to drive Colie to Dylan's house after all that went down. None of this would have happened if I had. She was in no state of mind to get behind the wheel. She wasn't feeling well, and she was shaken up over Dylan being stubborn and not listening to her. Not to mention, it was starting to pour down rain when she left." 

She flashes me a side glance while maintaining focus on the road," Now hush that foolishness. You can't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault."

"You know I overhead Aaron tell Mariah that Reagan sent him here to get her and not to take no for an answer," I tell her. 

She curls her lip in disgust, "That doesn't surprise me! See, if anyone is to blame for this mess, it's Reagan. How about how s**t head spoke about Mariah? I was about to reach through the phone and drag his ass through the mud. How dare he talk about her so disrespectfully like that? Oh, and I love how Reagan tried to get her to go back to him. Apparently, she doesn't care how horribly her daughter was treated as long as she marries a doctor.  Well, f**k that, Miss High and Mighty! It's horse s**t!"

I can't help but giggle. Momma is on a roll, "Well, I'm glad Dylan doesn't treat her like that. He may be crazy protective over the women in his life, but he wouldn't mistreat them. I know he and his sister get into quarrels sometimes, but they are siblings." 

"Oh, me too, dear. Nova would kick his ass if he ever talked to a lady the way Aaron did about Mariah." Momma says. 

"Hey Momma, not to change the subject but do you happen to know why Dylan is so over-protective over us girls? I never had the courage to ask, but he's always so nosey when it comes to mine and Maggie's love lives."

"Well, I'm not exactly sure, but I have an idea. You know Dylan and Maggie's daddy was a raging alcoholic. Nova told me once that he would whoop the tar out of her in front of the kids when he went on those drunken binges of his.  If he wasn't there beating on her, he was gone for days at a time doing God knows what with whom. Dylan was old enough to understand what was going on; Maggie was probably too little to remember that time before her daddy left for good. Nova said Dylan tried to protect her all the time, but he was no match for their daddy. He'd end up getting hurt whenever he defended her, but that never stopped him. He just got right back up and kept trying.  Nova said it was a very dark time in their lives. That's probably why he's so protective. He tries to be the father figure for you girls, and I know he means well. Do you know how hard he was on Earl when he first started coming around?"

"Oh, wow. That's crazy! I feel bad for them. I didn't know he gave Earl a hard time. Earl is a great guy."

"Honey, Dylan doesn't have a lot of trust in males. His daddy probably had a lot to do with it."

I didn't mention anything more about it for the remainder of the ride home. Once we arrived at the house, I marched right upstairs and to get ready for bed. My brain was on overload from everything that had happened today. As I turn my lights off and crawl into bed, it doesn't take long before I'm out. 

TWO WEEKS LATER...

I wake up from my slumber to the blinding rays from the sun in my eyes, "Good morning, sunshine! Today is packing day so that we can head to Tennessee tomorrow!" Momma chirps while holding open the curtains. 

I quickly force my eyes closed and turn over to bury my face into the sheet and groan loudly. She chuckles as she approaches the bed, "Ahh... come on, sweetheart, we have a lot to do today. If we start now, you can have the afternoon to do whatever you like with your friends."

I throw my hands up over my head for a stretch, "Okay." I manage to choke out while yawning. 

I climb out of bed and get myself ready for the day. While I'm getting dressed, Momma begins to pack up all of my things, placing them in boxes. It's an emotional day for both of us. I realize this is something I have to do to better myself, but it's not easy. I will miss everyone. This is my home. Soon, I'll have a new place to call home. Only temporarily, but still, it will be an adjustment. 

I spent the entire day with Maggie yesterday. We cried and reminisced about old times, looked through old photographs, and said our goodbyes. This afternoon, I promised myself that once I've packed up and once everything was ready to go, I'd no longer allow myself to grieve. 

Once my room was packed, Momma and I carried boxes downstairs to her SUV, "Well, I think this is the last box, sweetheart. You should have plenty of what you need to get by in the dorms." she says. 

"Yep, this is great."

"Okay, baby girl, the rest of the day is all up to you. Tomorrow, Mariah and I will have you all day on the ride to school." 

I can't help but chuckle. I realize she's fighting back the tears. I reach out to embrace her; she pulls me in and squeezes me tightly before she takes her index finger and wipes the wetness from her eyes, "I love you, Momma." I tell her. 

"I love you, baby," she replies as she turns around and walks up the front porch to go inside. 

I follow behind her, but I stop to sit on the porch swing. I think I'm going to call Seth and see if he wants to spend the rest of the day with me. I fish my phone out of my pocket and dial his number. 

Seth's POV

"You doing okay, bud?" Dylan asks as he notices how tense I am. 

I exhale audibly, "Yeah, I just got a lot of s**t on my mind right now." I respond.

"Wanna talk about it?" he asks curiously. 

I snicker, "Nahh... I'm good, thanks."

"Well, if you change your mind, I'm here," he responds. 

I aim my dart for the target in front of me. Ready...Aim...Shoot! It flies across the room and hits the bullseye. 

"Damn dude, killing it, man. You are whipping my ass!" Dylan replies with an annoyed undertone. 

I shrug my shoulders and shoot the next two darts for the center of the bullseye. 

He smacked my shoulder with the front of his hand, "I knew you let little B win that night. I know we haven't played this since high school, but I didn't remember you sucking that bad at darts."

I keep quiet and walk over to pull the darts from the target and return behind the line before handing them over to Dylan. He shakes his head from side to side and takes a swig of beer, "Nah, man, I gotta go. Ri is home all by herself, and she's been sicker than a dog all day. I thought morning sickness was only during the morning, but hell, she's sick all the time and really sensitive to smells. Plus, she's been pretty emotional over Brie leaving for college. It could be hormones; I don't know. They got real close this summer."

I shrug my shoulders, "That's cool; go take care of your woman."

He finishes off his beer and throws it in the garbage, "Man, I'm going to miss that stinker. I hope she doesn't bring home some douche bag from college. Nobody is good enough for my little B. She's just as much my sister as Maggie is." he says. 

I roll my eyes while I walk over to the workbench and set the darts down before finishing off my beer and throwing it in the garbage, "Alright, I'll catch ya later, man."

He leaves the garage and hops into his truck before speeding off down the road. I place my hands on the workbench to steady myself as I am overcome with emotion. I didn't think it would hit me this hard. I'm so f*****g in love with that girl. What the hell am I going to do with myself after tomorrow? Why did I start this up? I knew this would happen, and I'd catch feelings for her. She's just so darn irresistible; it's hard not to. I can't ask her to stay; she needs this experience. I really think she at least deserves to know how I feel. 

Suddenly, I feel a vibration in my back pocket. I reach back to dig my phone out and glance at the caller ID. Speak of the devil!  

"Hello," I answer.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Brie asks. 

"Oh, nothin just fiddling around in the garage, what are you doing?"

"I just got done packing."

I begin to feel my stomach doing flip flops, "You wanna maybe come over and spend some time with me?" I ask.

"Of course, that's why I called, silly."

I can't help but snicker, "Alright, sweetie, I'll be there in a few."

I disconnect the call and run inside to grab my car keys, then sprint for my truck and head down the road to pick her up. 

After a few moments, I pull up at the stop sign down the road from her house, where she is waiting for me. She looks so darn beautiful in her little pink halter top and blue jean shorts. She hops inside the truck and leans over to kiss me, "Hey." she says. 

"Hey, beautiful," I respond. 

Her attention is suddenly diverted directly behind me. I turn in the direction that she's looking, and my jaw drops. Lori just pulled up next to my truck,  "Oh hey Momma!" she chokes out. 

I wave awkwardly, "Hey, Lori."

She chuckles, "Hey, you two, whatcha doing?" she asks. 

Brie clears her throat, "Um..we were..um."

I interrupt, "I was gonna take Brie to get some pizza for her last night here. I hope that's okay."

She shrugs her shoulders and flashes me a smile, "Of course, have fun, you two." she responds and winks in my direction before taking off down the road. 

I turn to Brie, "Well, we just got busted!" 

She covers her mouth with her hands. I put my truck in drive and speed off down the road.