Quite Quitting

A Bet's A Bet

My eyes opened sharply at five, and thank god for that. Definitely glad we were going to Church today so I could thank the big man; otherwise, I would have been caught down here, in the basement, on this small bed, with Alex. I softly got up, slowly sliding my body off.

I grabbed my clothes once I was off the bed, dashed up the steps, and woke Noel, who was snuggled up on the couch with Charlie. "Get up. No, Dad's going to be up soon!" She groaned and snuggled back into the blanket she and Charlie were sharing.

"Noel Burns, if you don't get up this instance...." I yelled, still trying to keep my voice low.

"I am getting up. You sleep, thief." She yelled, yanking the blanket off herself.

"Shut up, come on!"

I heard Noel trail behind me as we headed to our adjacent rooms.

"Don't wake me until the sun is in the middle of the sky." She warned as she opened the door to her room.

"I won't need to. Mom will get us up in an hour or so for Church." I smile an evil smile at her.

"I know you didnt get any sleep last night either. We could hear you both. So I'd wipe that smile off my face if I were you!" Noel advised, and my face complied.

"Got to bed," Was all I could yell. Now Noel was the one with the evil smile as she disappeared behind her bedroom door.

I did the same, and my phone rang when my head hit the pillow. "Hello, why are you up?"

"I missed you. You know most girls would kiss goodbye after taking advantage of a man all night long...." He joked.

"I didn't want to wake you! I know you slept late." When I woke up for a few seconds at around three, Alex had not fallen asleep. He was working on his phone, trying not to move much, probably to make sure it didn't wake me.

"I am fine. I hate that you had to leave. Wish you could have stayed with me."

"Me too!" I smiled. "Tonight, maybe we can? You did your time last night. Tonight we get a hotel room!" I suggested. "I'll talk to my father."

"I don't think I can stay tonight. I have to go to the city after dinner today, babe. I have a meeting with Shawn." He hesitantly informed me.

"Your dad's lawyer? Is everything okay?"

"I will ask Shawn about my options on selling my Stocks in my dad's company." He nonchalantly said. "We will also discuss how I can return his money for his investments in LongD."

"What? Why?" I asked, snapping up from my pillow.

"Nothing is final yet. It's just something I want to discuss with him. Shawn's a friend, and he's offered to have an off-the-record conversation. "

"Yeah, but why are you having this conversation? It seems like you are trying to cut your family out of your life." I accused him.

"It's not that–I just don't want them to use me as a clutch. I just don't–I am trying to understand my options if I sell LongD." He stuttered.

"What?" Now I was off my bed, my feet hitting the floor so violently that my ankles wobbled. "Why are you selling LongD?"

"No. I am just thinking about it. I am thinking of taking a smaller role at LongD. I don't want to be stuck working all the time. Plus, I can take my money, assuming it makes any, and invest in a different company." So he explained, but I wasn't buying it. I feared that yesterday's events rattled around in his brain, urging him to run away from his family.

"Okay, well, don't decide anything from one meeting."

"Okay, let's change the topic."

"Let's get up in an hour or so to prepare for church," I complied.