Worth the Risk - Chapter Thirty-Two
Would you risk it all for love
When I arrived home, the front door was locked. We never locked the door; we had a security alarm, so why would we.
I pressed the buttons once more, then tried turning the doorknob again. Nope, it wasn't opening.
Fuck, I didn't have a key which meant I was going to have to ring the doorbell at my own house.
One ring.
No one answered.
Two rings.
Still no response.
Three rings and a kick to the door.
The chain unlocked, and the door handle unclicked. Rowena stood at the door with a sad look on her face.
"Rowena, why was the door locked? Is everything okay?"
"Ms. Chelsey, I'm sorry, I can't let you in. Your parents requested that you stay in the guest house until graduation unless you can abide by their rules."
'What. The. Fuck!'
"Are you kidding?" Her expression relayed that there was no joke about this situation. "Fine. Whatever."
I turned around and returned to the sidewalk leading up to the porch. My parents' room overlooked the front yard. Their light was still on, so I knew they were still awake.
"I. AM. NOT. GOING. TO. COLUMBIA." I screamed as loud as I could at the second-story windows.
Still no response.
Oh well, at least I felt better.
I retreated to my new abode.
Brianna shook her head after I told them what my parents had done. "Why are they being such complete asses?"
"My daddy would never, ever make me give up a dream I wanted." Cheyenne looked devastated by the news.
"Chey, he told you when you were in ninth grade you couldn't open up your own mistress house like the movie 'Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.' "Amber had to throw in a reminder from almost four years ago.
Cheyenne nodded. "It would've been fun, right. They all looked like they were having such a good time."
We all rolled our eyes at her. She was so innocent in her thoughts. If only she would comprehend that most places like that weren't all dancing, singing, and romance.
The others, Marcus and his crew, walked into the cafeteria. Ricky focused on Amber.
How could anyone not tell those two were in love?
They both looked like sappy romance book cover models around one another.
Ricky swung his leg over the side and sat down on the chair behind Amber. His hand automatically went to her belly and rested on the baby bump.
Marcus, Gabby, and five others made their way over. Gabby looked straight at me, gave a small smile and nod, which I returned.
All heads whipped back and forth between us, even Marcus's. Everyone was used to glares and hisses between us two, but things had changed.
The group sat down at their table.
"Okay, what the hell was that? Was that like a smile of death before the kill?" Brianna looked back and forth from Gabby to me two more times.
I shook my head and took a drink of my latte. "Nope, we're good."
Amber elbowed me in the side. "What happened?"
"Nothing. Just tired of all the bullshit."
"You need to eat more." Ricky noticed Amber only had two pieces of pizza.
"Stay here." He jumped up from the chair and sprinted towards the lunch line.
"He's going to get me up to a whale size." Amber sank back in her chair.
I was relieved the focus was taken off me. I glanced over at Marcus, who was leaning over and whispering to Gabby.
No hints of jealousy roared through me like they used to before Gabby and I talked.
Maybe I was recovering.
I rubbed Amber's arm. "He loves you. Let him take care of you and the baby."
She smiled when she glanced up and saw Ricky walking back with another slice of pizza and a banana.
Only if we could all be lucky in love.
Graduation came and went. After so many years of watching others go through the process and waiting for my turn, it wasn't all that special.
Mom and Rowena came to see me walk across the stage. Dad had some business he had to tend to overseas.
How convenient it was scheduled during my graduation, right.
Marcus's whole family made it to the event. They were excitedly loud when his name was called, and he strolled down the runway to receive his diploma.
There were a few after-hours graduation parties, but I opted to stay with her and Ricky at their house since Amber couldn't go.
I hoped Marcus would stop over, but he may have had other plans, ones that didn't include seeing me.
I made my way home around ten o'clock. The lights in the main house were off, and only the porch light was on at the guesthouse.
I pressed in the security code, but it was denied.
What the hell?
I tried it again.
Still flashed red.
I stomped back to the main house and rang the doorbell until my mother answered.
"I can't get into the guesthouse."
Mom let out a large sigh. "Your father had a locksmith come over while we were at graduation. Since you decided to turn down Columbia, he gave you until tonight to change your mind, but you didn't, so he said you are now on your own."
"Are you kidding? This is all over a school. Why can't you guys accept what I want to do with my life?" I was so pissed off.
Should I laugh or cry?
"Honey, I wish I could help. This all started when you were dating Marvin. He had a bad effect on you." Mom shook her head in disgust. "Then Amber got pregnant by one of them. Do you want your life to follow the same path?"
"Marcus, not Marvin. Always been, always will. He was never a bad influence, nor is Amber. Fuck, I would rather be like them, then to be afraid to stand for what I want like you."
Mom looked appalled that I'd spoken to her like that. "I do stand up for myself."
I had to laugh. My mom would bend backward until my dad told her to straighten up if it meant he wouldn't take her money away.
"Yeah, okay, keep telling yourself that one." I started back towards my car. "Just remember, you let him kick out your only child."
Mom was still standing on the front porch as I raced down the driveway in my Porsche. Hopefully, they wouldn't report it stolen. It was a present, so technically, it was mine.
Ten minutes later, I was knocking on Amber's door.
"Chels, what's wrong?" Amber opened the door and let me in.
"Um, can I stay here for the night?"
"What happened?" Amber put her arm around me and led me into the kitchen.
A girl laughing, followed by Marcus's chuckle, caught my attention. Ricky, Marcus, and a girl I didn't recognize were sitting around the table. The girl, a dark-haired beauty, was sitting way too close to Marcus for my liking.
"I'll just go. I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had company." I turned to walk back to my car.
"Chelsey," Amber grabbed me by the wrist. "Stay. Tell me what happened."
I didn't want to throw all my troubles out there for everyone to hear. But fuck it, they were all going to find out sooner or later I was homeless.
"My parents kicked me out since I decided not to go to Columbia. I need a place to crash until tomorrow, until I can get a hold of my grandmother Beatrice," I glanced over at Marcus when I said the name, because he was the only one who knew it was part of my long middle name.
He had a secret smile wanting to surface, but he was holding it in.
"She's my mom's mom and totally dislikes everything about my dad. So, maybe she will loan me some money."
"Chelsey, that's fucked up." Amber looked as distraught as I felt.
You can stay with us as long as you want. My home is your home." She took me by the hand and led me closer to the table. There were only four chairs around the breakfast table, and all were taken except for Amber's beside Ricky.
"Here, sit." The girl with Marcus stood and motioned for me to take her seat.
"I'm good, thank you." I tried to be cordial, but seeing her with the man I wanted sparked a bit of jealousy that I thought was gone forever.
"I'll curl up on my favorite spot." The girl sat on Marcus's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thanks." I scooted the chair away from the happy couple and sat beside Amber.
"So, Chelsey, Marcus told me lots about you." The girl on Marcus's lap situated herself to talk with me.
"Oh."
Why would Marcus talk about me to his new girlfriend?
"Maria, we don't have to go there." Marcus looked uncomfortable with her talking about me... or maybe when there was an us.
"Okay. Okay." Maria held up her hands in surrender. "We gotta go anyhow, cuz" She removed herself from Marcus's lap and fixed her short skirt, which had ridden up on her lean, tan thighs. "Congrats on graduation everyone."
Cousin?
Who?
Marcus or Ricky?
I knew it wasn't Amber.
"Cousin?" My eyes darted back and forth between Ricky and Marcus, then settled on Maria for an answer.
"Well, really, we're third cousins, but we're close." Maria kissed Marcus on the cheek. And we gotta go now. We have to get up in five hours," she said, looking at her cell phone. “Damn it, Marcus, I need more sleep." Maria pulled on Marcus's hand.
"I'm coming." Marcus appeared hesitant, but he stood. His eyes were on me the whole time.
"I wanna beat the traffic getting into Philly tomorrow." Maria walked towards the kitchen exit. "We have to work tomorrow. It was nice meeting you guys."
"You're leaving?" I questioned Marcus this time, hoping he would answer.
"Um... yeah." Marcus's eyes shifted away from me.
"Maria's family has a business in Philadelphia. Marcus is going over to learn some business skills this summer. He'll probably be back in the Fall." Amber finished answering for him.
I stood. "Well, have a safe trip. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." My voice shook as I tried to contain my emotional rollercoaster.
I wanted to break down and cry. To plead with him not to leave, give us another chance, but I had to be strong and let him go.
Even though we hadn't solved any of our problems, I still believed we had this connection, like what we had could still be possible in the future.
"Ricky, let's walk Maria out." Amber rubbed my back, then took hold of Ricky's sleeve.
"What? Why?" Ricky stood, but didn't look like he wanted to go anywhere.
Amber gave him a look that signaled he better follow, which he did without another question or complaint.
The temperature and tension in the room increased once everyone exited. Neither Marcus or I said anything. Like after all we'd been through, we couldn't think of one word to say to one another.
"So, you're going into business?"
"Yeah, my cousins have a popular web show, so I'm going to learn the basics."
"Cool. Will you go to college for that afterward?"
Marcus shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe." Another moment of silence.
"I better...
"You know...
We both started to speak at the same time. Marcus waved for me to continue. "I've said this before, but I'm sorry I hurt you, that wasn't my intent."
"Chelsey, it's all been said before, but I don't know if I have enough trust yet to begin again with you."
My eyes teared up even further. This was goodbye. I lost so much in the past couple of months, but having Marcus about to leave was the worst.
"Maybe someday?" I wiped the falling tears away.
"Let's see where life takes us. You go dance, and I'll learn what I can with this business deal." Marcus leaned his head down, tenderly kissed me on the cheek, then walked out.
I swear to God, he whispered I love you underneath his breath when he kissed me. I had to hold onto that and hope time would bring us back together