At seven in the morning, Matthew went back home, got his father situated and made his breakfast.
"Aren't you going to eat, son?"
"No, I have something to do real quick." Matthew opened up the checkbook and wrote out his first payment to Chloe for two hundred dollars. That was the amount the hospital agreed upon to pay off his father's bills. He wrote on the bottom, "Reimbursement for medical bills," and tore out a sheet of paper from a tablet and wrote a message. "I'll configure the interest and give you back every cent. We were doing just fine until you put your nose where it didn't belong." Matthew sealed the envelope and walked down to Sherry's office. She was just starting a pot of coffee.
"Good morning, sweetie. You're up early for a Sunday. Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's all good. Could you give this to Miss Burlington?"
"When are you going to stop this hate crusade you're on? I've gotten to know her, and she told me why she did what she did, and I believe her. You would too if you'd give her the time of day. Honestly, I love you dearly, but you're acting like a—"
"Just make sure she gets it. Thanks, Sherry, I appreciate your concern."
Sherry watched as he walked out of the office.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Chloe awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. She ran and grabbed it off the kitchen table, then hurried back to bed and under the blankets before answering it.
"Tell me you're not still sleeping at two in the afternoon."
"No, it's freezing outside. I was just taking a nap."
"Chloe, I'm on my way over. If you've allowed yourself to fall back into that sink hole…"
"I didn't! Look, Beck, I worked until twelve-thirty and then came home for lunch. I had a tuna salad sandwich and scarfed down two brownies. I'm fine. You know I sleep if I get cold. Cleaning the hall with people coming in and out of the door didn't make a very warm environment to work in. I ran in here to get warm and fell asleep. Seriously, stop worrying about me."
"Have you spoken with Matthew? Tell me you're still staying away from him."
"The only communication I've received is a nasty letter with a check enclosed, so he can start paying me back. Your plan isn't working."
"Give it time."
"It's been months, and I can't wait anymore. I'm going to make some lasagna from scratch and take it down the hall. Conner won't be expecting me so maybe he'll open the door. All I need is a chance, Becky. One lousy chance…"
"Uh, you're going to make it?"
"I found a recipe online. I'll get up early tomorrow morning and get my work done for Sherry, and then run home and start cooking. He'll love it."
"He will. One look at your beautiful face and he'll melt right on the spot." Becky didn't even believe that line. She cleared her schedule for tomorrow night, just in case she had to pull Chloe out of the pits of hell, again.
Chloe quickly finished her tasks at work and couldn't wait to get to the store. Her happy mood didn't escape Sherry.
"It's so nice to see you having such a good day, it's long past due."
"I'm going to cook dinner for Matthew and Conner. I need to drop it off while Conner's alone at the apartment, because he'll be more accepting, I think. If I can have the chance to explain to him, he'll help me with Matthew. I want you to take this key for the new truck. If his old one stops working he'll at least have access to transportation."
"I hope your dinner is a huge success, dear." Sherry took the truck key and put it in an envelope for Matthew.
"It has to work. The holidays are just around the corner and I want to make sure theirs isn't miserable. One chance is all I need. Even if Matthew continues to hate me, but Conner forgives me and accepts my help, I can live with that."
"You really aren't doing this just to get Matthew back."
"I would love to be with him. He's the one I was meant to be with, and no one could convince me otherwise. But I love him enough to trade. I'm willing to stay far away from him if it means I could help them have a better life. I'm sure he'll never forgive me for lying and being so deceitful, but I really did have good intentions. I screwed up, Sherry, and I have to pay the consequences."
Sherry would make sure she shoved the envelope under the Sharp's door.
Chloe wrote out her grocery list, threw her hair in a ponytail, called Becky, and then headed out the door. She couldn't wait to cook this dinner. If she was given the chance to talk with Conner, she'd be sure to leave Matthew out of the conversation as much as possible. They both had to believe she wasn't plotting to get Matthew to come back. Her words weren't going to have much clout, so she'd have to show them both. Beyond cooking the dinner, Chloe had no idea how she'd pull that off. One day at a time.
When she reached the big intersection, the light was green. Chloe was hoping it'd be red so she could stop and visualize Matthew being there. The driver in the large, speeding Blazer had the red light but didn't even bother to break, let alone stop.
The old blue Impala rolled twice before slamming into a telephone pole and coming to rest on its mangled side.
Chapter 9
Becky drove across the railroad tracks with a bouquet of assorted flowers, a bottle of red wine, and a box of cannoli. When Chloe told her about cooking the lasagna, she felt the need to help. Her friend would be scattered with nerves and would surely forget the small stuff. This was such an important evening for her best friend; a chance to be with someone she loved. She thought Chloe loved Edmund, but after witnessing her love for Matthew, Becky knew he was the one. She'd do anything to help give Chloe the life she more than deserved, more than paid for. Had she known how miserable Chloe was all these years, she would have yanked her from that house long ago. How it must have crushed Chloe to spend every moment of every day pretending she had loving parents, a great boyfriend, a happy life. Every time she thought about the whole picture, water filled her eyes.
Construction. Great. Becky sighed heavily and looked for a way to get around the traffic backup. Afraid to leave the main road and drive on unfamiliar, and probably dangerous, side streets, she decided to wait it out. The thoughts of leaving this road and getting lost were terrifying her. She saw some cars turning around which would definitely give her a chance to do the same; she just had to move up some. Twenty minutes passed and finally Becky could see an officer directing traffic. The closer she got, the more police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks came into view. No construction workers. Oh God, an accident. A bad one. Becky said a silent prayer as she waited her turn to be directed by the officer. Hopefully she wouldn't see any of the victims.