Chasing a New Sunrise

Chapter 24

Mom left a few minutes ago to go to court to find out what is going to happen to Mr. Holmes. Ethan said he would come and stay with me, but he wouldn't be home for another hour or so. Levi wanted to stay with me to keep me company, but his mom is forcing him to go and apologize to his dad and is not happy about it. In fact, I haven't heard from him all day and I do hope that he's okay.

My phone rings. I don't bother to look and see who it is before picking it up. I can't seem to remove my eyes from the small brown stain on the ceiling. I've never noticed it before and it's the only thing keeping me from having a panic attack. I wonder how it got there, what it is, and should I ask Ethan for his expert advice. I will think of anything, but the trial.

"Hello?"

"Morgan?"

The voice on the other end makes my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat.

"What do you want Lawrence?" I question.

I guess the spot on the ceiling can no longer distract me. The fact that Lawrence is on the phone with me is going to send me straight into another panic attack. My chest is tightening and I'm tempted to hang up, but don't.

"I hope you're happy," he says, and it almost sounds as if he's crying. "If you win, my dad goes to jail for a few years, and then where does that leave me? I have to move my senior year to live with my grandma," he says. "You bitch, you just couldn't keep your mouth...."

"You have no right to complain about having to move during senior year. I had to uproot my entire life, just so you people would go away." I stop for a brief second to take a deep breath. "Your father deserves to rot in jail. That man threatened my mom with a gun and you think he deserves another chance? He took those pictures of me that day. That's just sick. Only sicko's secretly take pictures of teenage girls cheer leading."

He huffs. I get that he's angry, but it's not my fault his father is an asshole. They have both been harassing us since this whole thing happened and we bit our tongue, always. A gun though, that changes things. That could have ended badly.

"Your selfish dad had to take my mom down with him. All of you deserve to pay."

He's crying and although part of me feels bad, I can't let myself. Doesn't he realize that my father died too that day? It wasn't just his mom. We both lost someone that day. There's nothing that I can do to change what happened that day. There are also no words that I could say to him to help him feel better, I know they don't ever make me feel better either.

My breathing becomes constricted, like it's trapped in a vice and I can't break free. I can't let him know that his words are causing my anxiety to skyrocket. I take two really deep breaths and fight back, "If you are going to make threats I want you to know that I'm recording this conversation right now." Okay, so maybe that's bullshit, but he doesn't know that. "My friend's cousin is the cop who arrested your father and he's downstairs visiting. Would you like me to let him listen in on our conversation?"

I hear the front door open and jump up. I almost grab my bat, but before I can even do that Ethan is standing in the doorway. I'm relieved to see him here earlier than expected. He stops when he sees my face. Immediately he stalks across the room and takes the phone from me.

"If you call here to threaten my girl again I swear to god I will have you arrested. Your father deserves to rot in jail and so do you. Don't you dare call making threats again."

It's like he heard the entire conversation, but I know he didn't. Ethan hangs up the phone, throws it onto the bed and wraps his arms around me.

"Your shaking. I just need you to breathe. Okay? Can you do that for me?"