Chapter XXIV
Promise Not To Tell
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| Leila had managed to get Mike into bed with Olivia's help. Olivia was
obvious very frightened, and Leila could tell that this was not her idea
alone! But, that could wait until tomorrow. Mike was semi-incoherent, but Leila sensed that he would be ok. He just
needed to sleep it off. He was rambling on and on about how he didn't know
how he got into that position with Olivia. Leila tried to reassure him that
she understood. "It's OK, Mike," she whispered in his ear, while stroking
his head, "I trust you." He tried to speak, but only mumbled something about trusting her. He
tried to focus on her and said, "I love you... only you...and I trust you,
too. But....." his words faded. "What is it, Mike?" she asked. He tried to concentrate and said, "You would tell me, wouldn't you, if
you had a child." With that he passed out cold. Leila was in shock! "Mike, Mike....what are you talking about - who told you that?!" But it was no use, he was beyond hearing or responding. |
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Leila sat on the edge of the bed, her entire body shaking. But how, she
thought, who could have told him such a thing? No one knew....no one except
for.... Oh, no, she couldn't have, she couldn't hurt me that way! I don't
believe it, she thought as tears streamed down her cheeks. She decided that it must have been Olivia who told Mike that, but she
wanted to know how Olivia had found out. She put on a robe and went to
Olivia's room. There was no answer when she knocked, but the door was
slightly ajar. She cautiously opened the door, peering in calling to her.
There was no answer. The room was in total disarray. Leila walked in and
went over to the closet and saw that all of Olivia's clothes were gone. She
must have come back here and packed in quite a hurry, thought Leila. I guess
she was afraid of what would happen in the morning! Then, with a shock, she
remembered Simon. She rushed out of Olivia's room and down to the nursery
where Simon was. She quietly entered the room and tip-toed to his crib. She
let out a sigh of relief when she saw his little body soundly asleep. Oh,
thank goodness, she thought - at least that idiot had the sense to leave him
here with us. It was obvious that she never wanted this poor little guy, and
knowing her brother, he probably wouldn't be too interested in him either.
But, don't you worry, you precious little one....I love you. And, I'll take
good care of you....yes, don't you worry, my little angel. With that she
kissed his tiny forehead, tip-toed out of the room and back to the room
where Mike lay sleeping. Once back in the room, Leila thought about how she could explain this to Mike. Well, I guess I have no choice but to tell him the truth..... |
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| This was a long-awaited day for Madra! Her Max was finally coming home.
It seemed like an eternity to her that he was gone and she was overjoyed to
be having him back where he belonged. She packed warm clothes for him to
come home and couldn't wait to get to the hospital so she could bring her
Max home. The twins were equally excited. They hadn't seen their father in nearly
a month. Brianne told Madra that she would watch the children while Madra
went in and helped Max get ready. When they arrived at the hospital, Madra went upstairs to get Max ready
to leave. She found him anxiously waiting for her. "Oh, Madra, I can't wait
to get home and see the girls," he said. "And, I can't wait to get home to
be alone with you!" She giggled and said, "Now, Max, behave..." But her smile told him she
was teasing. The paperwork was completed and Madra and Max decended in the elevator. When they reached the front door, Madra took Max aside and said, "Max darling, I have a little surprise waiting for you. As a matter of fact, I have two little surprises waiting for you!" |
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Max turned and saw them! It was a wonderful sight! There were his two
little angels waiting for him. When they saw him, they both squeeled with
delight - "Daddy! Daddy!" and they both ran to him.
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He took his wife in his arms and sighed, "Ah, darling, how in the world
did I ever get so lucky as to find you!" She put her head on Max' chest and said "Oh, Max, I'm the lucky one! I
never thought I would ever find someone who loves me like you! My whole life
I thought I was unlovable, until you came along and found me!" "Unloveable?!" Max said, "Darling, you are the most lovable person I have
ever met. Now, where are my two little surprises?!"
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Max scooped both girls up in his arms! He hugged them tight. It was so
wonderful to be with them again. "Oh, I have missed you both!" he said. "We missed you too Daddy," said both girls as they hugged him and gave
him kisses. Madra was a little concerned about Max picking up the girls and
almost stopped them, but then she remembered what the doctor had told her.
He had told her to treat Max as he was before the heart attack. He also told
her that exercise was good for him and that he could resume all his normal
pre-heart attack activities. Meg looked at her Daddy and said, "Daddy, pwease don't go away again....I
miss you too much." Max assured them both that he would never leave them and
that he loved them very, very much. He looked over to Brianne then and said,
"Welcome home! I hope you had a wonderful vacation." "Oh, I did, Max," Brianne said, "but I certainly would have come home
sooner to help out had I known." "Brianne," Max said, "Madra and I both
discussed it and decided that we wanted you to enjoy your time with your
family and boyfriend." With that Brianne kissed his cheek and said, "I'm so
glad you're OK, Max! I missed you all very much, and I'm happy to be back." "Good," Max said, "now let's go home!" |
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| After being caught by Leila with her little "mishap" with Mike, Olivia
wasted no time in packing her bags and leaving. The last thing she wanted to
do was be confronted by Mrs. Jamison, and she was sure that Leila would tell
her mother what she had done. Damn, she thought, and I was so close to
getting what I wanted from that woman, too.....oh, well, there are other
ways to get what I want. She had no trouble locating Lauren. She had a pretty good idea where
she could be found - skulking around those sleezy bars, looking for some
innocent young thing to pick up. She found her at the first one she stopped
into. She went up to her and grabbed her arm, "Hey, what the heck were you
trying to do - kill the guy? You told me that it wouldn't hurt him, just
make him more 'agreeable' to my advances." she shouted. "Shhhh," Lauren said, "people will hear you. Let's take this in the back
where we can discuss it in private." She led Olivia to the back of the bar, to a hallway at the top of the stairs. She knew no one ever came back here, so they could discuss this in private. |
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Things quickly got out of hand. Olivia was upset that she had to leave
the Jamison home so quickly without receiving her windfall, and told Lauren
so. She was hurling accusations and threats and demanding that Lauren pay
her an exorbitant amount of cash to keep her mouth shut. "What are you
crazy," begain Lauren, "where do you expect me to get my hands on that kind
of money?!" "I don't care how you get it, but just get it, or else...." Olivia
began. Lauren was furious with her. "You little idiot," she snarled between
clenched teeth, "who do you think you are, any way? You're
nothing....nothing." She grabbed Olivia by the shoulders and began to shake her. Then, with
one forceful push, she hurled her away from her and Olivia went tumbling
down the long set of metal stairs leading to the back alley. |
| Lauren quickly scurried down the stairs. When she reached the bottom,
she saw Olivia's twisted and broken body lying at the bottom. Oh, dear, she
thought, what did I do?
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Lauren bent down and turned Olivia over. It was obvious that her neck was broken, but she felt for a pulse. No pulse. Oh, what am I going to do now, she thought. Wait, didn't she say she packed her bags and fled from the Jamison home? Yes, she did....that means no one will be looking for her, and no one knows where she has gone. Now, what shall I do with her body.....
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