lies lies lies || book three

chapter twenty three

She woke up to the smell of pancakes and yawned while rubbing her eyes. Looking next to her, Morgan was standing patiently with pancakes and some orange juice and handed it to her, "I got to go to Home Depot but I'll be back. Call me if you need anything b- Laney". He waited for her to respond but realized that she wouldn't and walked out of the room. She knew he was going to call her babe and she didn't really mind. Looking at the clock, her eyes widened at the time of 1:10 PM. She had slept through the day?

Yawning, she reached for the fork to take a bite of the pancakes. Why were these pancakes so oddly shaped? Heart-shaped pancakes. The nostalgia was hitting her as she realized the small details of his pancake shapes. Her heart swooned at the sight as she took another bite, each bite getting better than the last. It was either the baby or it was her, but something about these pancakes was making her emotional. She had never cried while eating pancakes but this was a first.

Knowing Morgan was out of the house, she called her mom.

"Laney, I've been worried sick," her mom scolded her.

"Hi Mom, I'm so sorry. Pregnancy has just..." and with that, she trailed off to cry, telling her the whole truth up until what was occurring right now. How she has the nursery so beautifully set up to the small details on the pancakes.

"Oh Laney," her mom sighed, "I support you through anything in life".

She didn't even have to ask her mom, Lisa just knew what Laney was thinking.

Taking a deep breath, her mom spoke, "I've never told you this but... your father cheated on me one time".

Laney sniffled, "Really?".

"Yup," she could hear her mom chuckle at the memory, "He went after my arch-nemesis in college at the time, Hilary. And you know what, I found them in the bleachers of the football stadium making out when he said he wasn't going to the game. Your father did everything to try to take me back, and I said no. Until he got his mother to come help and she threatened to beat him in front of me if he ever screwed up again. But he said something that'll always stick: Would you regret it if we didn't try again?".

Laney was still in shock that her father cheated, "How long did he cheat for?".

"Just the one time... well two times. They had kissed before but that was her fault. I witnessed it with my own eyes. I wish I could help you, but don't let him give up his life for you. I know damn well that you would never forgive him for that," she warned him.

She nodded soaking in the advice, "Thanks Mom".

"Yeah and Laney?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever lie to me about Christmas again," she said before hanging up the phone.

It was a valid reason to be upset, but she knew her mom would swing around. She felt good getting the situation off her chest and not having to feel like she was walking on eggshells around her mom. And even though she was on bed rest, she felt inclined to gravitate her way back into the nursery. It was like a spell was cast on her to make her prance her way there. But she restrained herself. Going there could potentially just end up in heartbreak for her. If she decided to leave by the time she was better she would be torn between leaving that room bare and childless and staying to raise a kid with him.

Consciously, she hated the way her subconscious spoke about him. It was in a demeaning manner. Yes, he cheated but it didn't qualify any right for her to be as rude as she was being internally. Maybe she just spent too much time in her head.

Without much thought, she called Ashley.

"Hey A," Laney said calmly.

"Hey A? Laney I've been worried sick about you," Ashley spoke, "I know you went to the hospital. Morgan called me earlier in the morning to tell me so I'll let it slide. How are you feeling?".

She froze, "He did what? A, you can't let him know I called okay? I've been mute around him. I've barely spoken to anyone in weeks except when I called my mother before this".

Ashley gulped nervously on the other end, "Uhh didn't know you guys weren't cool sorry. Mom forced me to speak to him after he lost his shit about the papers being delivered. Turns out Reese has a loud mouth and has been running his name all over the grocery store about it".

Laney sighed, "Fuck".

"Well never mind that. Morgan did it to himself, God knows why he threatened to shoot someone off the property. So what is going on?" Ashley spoke.

Laney explained everything to Ashley including her internal thoughts, "I know you may be biased because it's your brother. I was going to call Leslie but I couldn't put her through that".

Ashley chuckled, "Well I won't lie you are on speaker".

"I would never judge you Laney. My son has put you through enough," Leslie inputted making Laney turn red. Ashley sure had a way of picking up and answering phone calls.

"Follow your heart, Laney. We will have your side no matter what. Just know that he really is trying. I even offered him a drink when he came to the house and he said no," Ashley said, "I'm going to go but keep us updated".

"Will do! And please do not tell anyone," Laney huffed before hanging up.

Now that was taken care of, she grabbed her laptop and placed it in front of her opening her emails. Finding Reese's contact information she began typing an email out:

Hi Reese!

I hope this message finds you well. Interestingly enough, I've been hearing that you have been speaking of my private marriage concerns to the public in grocery stores, etc. Effective immediately, I am threatening to press charges against you if you ever open your mouth about me or my husband ever again. This town is small.

Hope this message finds you well. Happy holidays.

Best regards,

Laney WALLEN

Pressing send, she felt satisfied with her message. As if it was record timing, Morgan had opened and shut the front door. She could hear the rustles of plastic bags in his hands and planks of wood hitting each other as he walked by her door and went down the hall. Due to her door being shut, she was eavesdropping but she heard him drop the stuff in the nursery.

A drill had started to create a hole somewhere in the room and she just pondered on what he could be doing to that room. She was making herself question everything, it wasn't fair. She could easily pick up her feet and walk over to watch but her body remained glued to the bed.

Closing her eyes, she tried to take herself away from reality for a moment. The baby was gently kicking but she hadn't been as bad as usual lately which was odd. Maybe she felt at peace because she was home. What would she think if she heard the story of her parents when she was older? Would she have to bear witness to another cheating scandal? These were questions she never thought of until now. Her mom had provided insight into her teenage love that ended up going right for her after a simple confrontation. But Laney refused to put her daughter through watching her mother go through any of these emotions ever again and be traumatized by the thought of love in the future. She didn't want her child to see her parents suffer through navigating infidelity.

As she contemplated how she felt about Morgan, she began to understand why she was thinking differently lately. Why she was even considering having Morgan back in her life after everything he had put her through. Because now, things were different. Her purpose was different: she was about to be a mother.

And that meant one thing: It wasn't only her that she had to think about saving from heartbreak, it also was her daughter.

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last update for the hour... promise.... we are almost reaching the end!!