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𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳.
MORGAN SAT ON THE CURB OUTSIDE HER HOUSE, she watched little kids play with chalk on the black cracked roads, small rubble spread out. morgan wanted to watch the outside as it's been too long since she had done such a thing, noel would always make her go out at night like an owl just to meet up with random guys, guys morgan wouldn't even greet or talk to, she'd just observe noel hooking up with one of them.
john watched from the window to check on morgan every few minutes, making sure she's not smoking or running off. his attention turned to the telephone on the wall, the ringing went on and on until john picked it up off the cell.
"john monet, how can i help you?" john starts off.
"john, it's me, meg." his sister from minnesota called.
"meg! hey, how's uhh... college?" john smiled.
"great, how's tulsa doing you?" meg questions.
"it's not bad but it's just been different ever since bonnie died." john says as he bit his nails.
"it's tough but you still gotta keep going for morgan." she reminds.
"yeah and i am." john fake laughs.
"that sounded so insincere, what's going on?"
john sighed, "meg, i'm a single father with a broken daughter!"
"hey, hey, don't cry about it. what do you mean broken daughter, what's wrong with my niece?" meg asks.
"to make it short and not really simple," john attempts to say, "caught morg with drugs and other stuff and she's cutting herself."
"gosh, should i come visit? give you a little break, take morg out for a girls day?" meg insisted.
"that's too much, just focus on your studies, meg." john shook his head.
"no, i'm taking a train down to you guys, show up and that's when you'll know i'm here." meg says.
"meg, i'm-"
"john i said it, and i'm doing it." meg officiates.
"you've always been this bossy." john chuckles.
"only towards you." meg scoffs.
morgan turned to the window and watched her father crack a smile, she wondered who was making her father laugh this much over the phone. she brushed off the questions because this was the first time she watched someone make her father happy, no one's done that ever since her mother died of suicide. morgan remembered little to nothing of it, she only remembered the screams and the cold hands of her mother.
john was holding morgan so she could fall asleep, on the couch, he noticed that morgan had witnessed them fight. it was a silly argument over spilt beer on the kitchen floor, something john had forgotten to clean up. bonnie was on his ass all night with morgan in her arms, complaining constantly over how they had an overdue bill to pay and a spill to wipe.
john laughed in her face about how she could've cleaned it herself, things got out of hand when jobs and money were brought up into the topic of discussion, it practically washed away the spill problem. they went at each other's throats for a good 30 minutes, bonnie slamming doors in his face, john throw soft stuff at her, bonnie even waved a threat around to divorce him and take morgan with her.
final straw was when john brought up her father who left her at the age of 14, bonnie was shocked to see that john used that against her. bonnie placed morgan onto the couch, brushing down her blonde hair with a sad smile.
"mommy loves you so much, and would never hurt you." morgan could remember the voice, "but now mommy has to go, you love me right?"
morgan only nodded, knowing a few words related to numbers and shapes.
"i love you baby, you're my baby forever." bonnie sniffled, kissing the top of her head.
bonnie went into her and john's bedroom, john was busy trying to put his daughter to sleep. morgan was very young at the time but was a smart girl, she knew her parents were yelling and all she could do was she'd a tear when it was over. john held her in his arms, being a man for morgan by hiding the tears in face, calling them raindrops from the ceiling to get her to laugh.
all was quiet when a loud thud appeared out from the bedroom, john's eyes widened like an owl. he gently put morgan down to run off into the bedroom, bonnie was dangling from a rope, fingers cold when he struggled to hold her down.
john cried all night after witnessing the scene, it flashes back in his brain over and over at night.
morgan only remembered that, she didn't remember what caused it but it was sure as hell to morgan that john will never tell her. morgan clasped onto the ends of her sleeves when she noticed noel walking towards her, no makeup and hair was up.
noel sat three inches away from her, with eyes that made it obvious she had been crying.
"hey. noel." morgan says, not looking at her.
"hi, morgan." noel pursed her lips, "listen, i'm sorry for what went down two weeks ago."
"why'd you do it?" morgan turned to her, avoiding the apology.
"i was your best friend until you put all that shit on me, most of it i didn't even know of."
"i was jealous, okay?" noel blurted out.
morgan furrowed her eyebrows, "of what?"
"you and dally, i just liked him before i even knew you guys had a thing together."
"what thing, i'm confused." morgan shook her head.
"the night i slept over and dally snuck in, i pretended to fall asleep and that was when i found out you kissed him and you cut yourself." noel explained, "i got so mad that i just had to find a way to ruin you guys."
"by ruining my life?!" morgan releases in disbelief.
"i didn't want to but the-"
"anger got over you, yeah thanks for the bullshit." morgan says.
the two were silent on the curb with their emotions floating around the air, noel dug her chin into her arms, morgan played with the laces of her converse.
"me and my mom are moving up to baton rouge next saturday, she found a job and rehab center." noel says.
morgan looked at her, "even though i hate you, i'm gonna miss those times."
"me too, i still love you, morgan." noel admits, "i never hated you one bit, not even after the fight."
