Chasing You (Terrell Clarricoates Fan Fiction)

Chapter 34

"Her birth mom is alive?" I question.

"No she's dead. I have her death record. That's how we were able to adopt her. I even have police reports on the overdose," Terrell says.

"Then who's sending her letters pretending to be her birth mom?" I question. Terrell thinks for a moment.

"Fuck!" He says angrily.

"What's going on Terrell?" I question.

"I don't know but I'm gonna find out. Go talk to her and get information. I'm going downtown," he says. He stands and grabs his keys before rushing out the door.

I gather my thoughts for a moment before I walk down the hall. I knock on Maria's door before I open it slowly.

"Maria, honey. Can we talk?" I ask.

"There's nothing to talk about," she says coldly as she sits at her desk.

"Maria, I need to see the letter," I say.

"Why?" She asks. I sit on her bed.

"Have I ever lied to you?" I ask. She considers.

"Not that I know of," she replies.

"I would never lie to you Maria. Your biological mother is dead. I have the reports to prove it if you want to see them. I'm concerned for your safety if someone is pretending to be your birth mom," I say. She looks down.

"Why would someone do that?" She asks sadly.

"Were you hoping it was your birth mom?" I ask although I'm scared of the answer.

"Maybe a little. Not because I don't love you. You're my mom. But I guess I was just curious," she says.

"I get it. You don't have to explain," I say. She sighs and opens her backpack and pulls out a paper. She hands it to me.

"I'm going to find answers on this okay," I say. She nods. She stands and hugs me tightly.

"I love you mom," she says.

"I love you too," I say.

"I'll be back in a little bit okay," I say. She nods.

"I wanted to know if I could go to a movie tonight with my friends," she says.

"With this going on, I'm gonna have to say no. Have them come over. You guys can have a movie night here at the house and I'll keep your dad out late so you won't have to worry about us," I suggest. She nods and thanks me.

I get in my car and drive quickly to meet Terrell. When I arrive, I see Handsy.

"Caroline!" He says. He gives me a hug.

"I wish I was here on better circumstances," I say. He agrees. I spot Terrell.

"I got the letter," I say and pull the paper out of my back pocket. We walk inside and go to the meeting table. I haven't been here in so long. I lay the letter on the table so everyone can read it.

Dear Maria,
     Your parents never wanted you to find out about me. I'm your real mom, and I'm alive. Happy birthday darling. I know this may be shocking but I can't let evil people lie to you. I want you to meet me somewhere so we can talk...

"It's like they are trying to pin her against us," Terrell says.

"Well it was working," I say.

"I think we should go to that address and find whoever this is," Handsy says.

"We can't let them know that we know. They'll run off," I say.

"Well we can't use her as bait," Terrell says.

"I wasn't suggesting that. I think we should just have her play it cool and then we go at the right time. If we go to soon it'll look odd and suspicious," I say.

"Maria wouldn't just go there the same day she gets a letter. We gotta do what Maria would do," Handsy clarifies.

"But what would she do?" Handsy adds.

"Probably try to reach out, to make sure it's real," Terrell says.

"How do we do that if we don't even know who we are talking to?" I ask. We all sit quietly.

"How did she get the letter?" Handsy asks.

"It was left on her car window," I say.

"Fuck. There's no way to contact her without going to that address," Terrell sighs.

"Okay so let's wait until tomorrow night. We'll go in one car so we don't draw attention," Handsy says.

"We'll keep Maria here, just in case," Terrell says.

"Tonight I'm letting her friends spend the night," I say.

"Okay, we'll go back there then," he says. I give Handsy a look and he winks before he walks away, leaving us alone.

"I was thinking, we could stay here tonight. It's her birthday. Let her do her girl stuff with her friends," I say. He smirks.

"I think you planned this to benefit you more than her," he laughs.

"And..." I smile. He grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs. I pause when we get to the top.

"I haven't been here in so long," I say. I look around.

"Nothing has changed," I say.

"Wait till you see the bedroom," he says. We walk back down the hall and he opens the bedroom door. It's the exact same.

"Wait- I want to see Maria's room," I say. We turn around and find her door before opening it. Her tiny twin mattress with pink sheets. Her little toys are on the floor and her drawings still hang on the wall.

I miss the mafia life. Yes it was dangerous and there was always someone dying but at the end of the day I almost understand what Terrell meant when he said it was like a family. It was a family. One that would die for each other.