The Billionaire's Secret Love Child(98)
I felt a little sheepish. He liked me more than I thought he did, or so he said. He deserved to know the truth.
“Marcus,” I sighed, “the cabin that we shared wasn’t mine, it was Tyson’s. He’s this guy that had been trying to date me for a while. He invited me to his cabin to get away from the city for a while so we could maybe try to make a connection. He was so incredibly persuasive that I said yes.”
I stood up and went to the small refrigerator and yanked out a bottle of tequila, downing the mini bottle almost instantly.
“Look,” I continued, “I never liked him, I still don’t. But, I was taken back to the city by Devon the day after you left for your trailer. He was quite forceful and brought me to Tyson’s place. Once I got there, he told me that I owed him for that nice little getaway. That’s when I found out what he really is. He’s trouble. I didn’t know he worked for such bad people and if I had I probably wouldn’t have even said hello to him in the first place.” I could feel some tears starting to well up behind my eyes. A couple more mini bottles from the fridge helped me take my mind off the tears.
Marcus grabbed me from behind. It was a tight hug that made me melt. I hadn’t felt close to anyone the last 3 months. It caught me so off guard that I could barely feel the tears streaming down my cheeks. But, I couldn’t let it continue, I barely knew Marcus anymore. It was like being hugged by a stranger.
“I can’t do this Marcus; I need to go for a walk.” I pried myself from his grasp and disappeared into the bathroom to change. The steam hadn’t dissipated and my clothes were a little wet but I didn’t care.
I stomped toward the door to the room but was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.
“If you’re going to go, at least take this with you.”
He handed me the knife, which I took and shoved into my pocket.
“I’ll be back. I just need some time to clear my head for a moment that’s all.”
I left the room and slowly shut the door. It was below freezing so I pulled my jacket just a bit tighter. I needed some food and remembered seeing some vending machines near the lobby so that’s where I found myself walking.
The machines were quite dated, but the food was new at least. After picking out the couple items that would hopefully satiate me for the night I noticed an old pay phone. I picked up the receiver and heard a dial tone and couldn’t help myself. I threw a few spare quarters in and dialed the one person whose voice I needed to hear now more than ever.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Mom,” I replied, “Don’t hang up, please.”
“Emily? Is that you? It’s been almost six months since I talked to you last, where have you been?”
“I’ve been… busy mother. You’re still doing well I hope?” I asked hoping the answer was long.
“Oh, I’m still breathing if that’s what you’re after. And, how have you stayed busy that you can’t phone your mom from time to time? I only need a quick 5 minute call so I can hear my baby girls face. You know, mothers and daughters need to stick together.”
I couldn’t help but let out an ironic laugh of both joy and pain. I wish I could just go see her as she was always my rock in the hardest of places.
“Mom, I don’t have long to talk. I know it’s late but I wanted to let you know that I’m fine, and I won’t be available for a while. I have some business that needs to be attended to. So, I’m going to go live with my old friend June out in Kansas for a while. I haven’t seen her since college but we were as close as sisters can be. I’ll give you a ring when I get to her place.”
“Okay, Em. Just don’t forget that I love you and your father is always going to be watching down on you from wherever he is.”
“Thanks, mom,” I said wiping away a tear. “It means a lot to hear your voice right now. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Have a great trip sweetie, goodnight.”
“Goodnight.” I responded and we hung up.
It was nice to know that she was there for me even when nobody else was. I scarfed down the cookies I purchased from the machine and headed back to the hotel room. The cool air was stinging at my now red nose and I needed to warm up. When I arrived, I saw that Marcus spared no time falling asleep facing away from the door. I took this as my chance to avoid waking him so I stripped to my night shirt and crawled under the blankets. It wasn’t the greatest sleep, but it was the best I’d had in months.
4.
“We’re going to Kansas?” Marcus asked with a surprised look on his face. “If you don’t mind me prying, why are we going there?”
“I have an old college friend that I would consider a sister at any time. She wouldn’t hesitate to help an old friend in need so that’s where we’re going. Now, if you want to leave now then be my guest. But without a strapping young man to keep my safe I’m not entirely sure I’ll make it there.” I said with a pouty face, “So, are you in or are you out?”
He hesitated, but I could tell he wouldn’t miss out on this. He was not the type to leave someone in need out in the cold and I took advantage of that. It helped that I felt much safer knowing that he was nearby.
We shuffled into the car along with a few other patrons from the previous evening, and we all made our way back to the highway. It was quite uneventful for both of us and as the day dragged on, our hunger got the better of us so we found ourselves pulling off the highway once again.