Forgive for Joy's Sake (Part 3)
I finally finished working and knew I had to get out of the house soon or Mom would be at my door. I’d been ignoring her calls since she left and if she hadn’t turned up by now then something serious had happened. Sure, I was worried and I sent up a prayer for Mel, but I didn’t have it in me to be sucked into whatever it was that was going on.
After signing off of work, it took me less than five minutes to grab my keys and purse and head for the door. I opened the door, prepared to leave, and was startled by the man standing at my door. It took me a second to recognize him.
“Hi, baby girl.” He smiled and annoyingly my stomach fluttered. He reached in for a hug, but I put out a hand to stop him.
“Wes, I’ve asked you a million times not to call me that. Now it’s been over ten years since we’ve seen each other and that’s the first thing out of your mouth. Hell, even my mom has the sense not to call me that anymore.” I tried not to look at him too hard, because I didn’t want to start drooling. As long as I can remember, I have had a strong attraction to him. Following him around since I was five and shamefully offering myself to him at sixteen and twenty, only to be turned down by him both times.
He smiled and chuckled a bit, then reached for me again and pulled my stiff body into a hug. “Alright, stink pot it is then,” he said, referring to the other annoying name he called me after I stepped in some dog poop while chasing him when I was 10.
“Funny, real funny,” I said, stepping out of his embrace and then stepping outside next to him so I could shut and lock my door. “And to cut to the chase, no to whatever it is that brought you here. I don’t want to hear about what’s going on with her. I hope all will be well, but I don’t want to be bothered.” I started down the stairs of my front porch and headed for my car. He followed alongside of me.
“Sorry, but you saying no is not an option. I know things are strained between you and Mel right now, but she needs you. She is going through the roughest time in her life and she needs her best friend.”
I stopped just shy of my car and faced him. “She should have thought about that before she decided to stab me in the back. I am no longer her best friend so if that is what she needs, I ain’t the one. Look, I am not saying I don’t care what happens to her, but I am saying I don’t want to be brought into whatever it is that is happening with her. Besides, she has Jackson and she has you to lean on. In fact, she has my mother too. So, no she doesn’t need me, she just wants to use whatever it is going on with her to get a pass on the awful thing she’s done. Right now, Wes, I am all out of passes to give. Now please walk away and go take care of your sister.”
His brows knitted together and he looked into my eyes as if he was trying to read my deepest thoughts. “There is no Jackson to lean on,” he said stiffly and watched as my mouth fell opened.
“What?” I choked out, then caught myself. “Nope, you’re doing exactly what I’ve asked you not to do.” I turned away not wanted to find out if no Jackson meant they’d broken up or if there was truly no Jackson. I hoped to high heaven it was the former and not the latter, but for my sanities sake I didn’t want to know.
Wes caught me by the arm and turned me back to face him. “In fact, if things don’t go well tomorrow morning, there may not be a Mel for me to take care of either.” He said this with a raw pain in his voice. “So, I’m sorry if you are trying to protect your feelings, but sometimes you have to be bigger than the baggage you refuse to let go of.” He waited as the information he had force fed me seeped in. It took me a moment to come to grips with the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to walk away and save myself. “Fine, what hospital? I’ll meet you there.”
“How about I just take you. You look a bit shaken and I can’t handle any more accidents or loved ones being hurt.” He put his arms around my shoulders and lead me to his SUV.
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