Girl Gone Bad (18+)

Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Morgan's POV

It's Monday afternoon. Asher gets here tomorrow night. Actually, he gets here pretty late but still. He'll be here. I'm excited, almost too excited.

I force down the smile on my face and continue restocking on canned foods at work. My foot nearly slips off the step of my ladder, but I find my balance once again.

"Ahem." I hear a familiar voice to my left, but I pretend I don't hear him.

The hairs on the back of my neck stand instantly. I slowly place the canned chicken noodle soup onto the shelf, standing up straight.

I slowly turn my head towards the direction of the man, my heart sinking down into my stomach once I realize who it is.

I almost fall off the latter once we lock eyes. His stone cold stare, staring at me in hard judgement.

"Morgan." He doesn't keep his eyes off me as I slowly climb down the ladder.

"Chris-...Dad." I say in a small voice. He's always made me feel smaller. With his constant shaming, criticism, and regular insults. He was my first bully.

I never felt like myself around him, because if I ever even tried to be myself he would shame me for it.

"I see you've uh..." He gestures to the rest of the store around us. "Picked up a decent job."

"Yeah." I say dryly. "And without the help of you."

He leans his head back, taking in my demeanor. "Hmm."

"Why are you here?" I swallow my dry tongue, my eyes darting around the isle we currently stand in.

"I stopped by the station, and that Detective.." He taps the center of his temple, trying to remember his name.

"Asher? Detective Carson?" I immediately correct myself.

"Yeah. He said some stuff that got me thinking."

"What do you want?" I ask impatiently.

"I..I want you to come home."

I scoff, backing away from him. I had to walk away before I lost my shit. I was genuinely about to lose my shit.

"Morgan."

"Get away from me." I grit my teeth, holding back the urge to scream at him from the top of my lungs.

"Plea-"

I turn away from him and aggressively grab the step-ladder beside me, hurrying out of the isle. I can hear his heavy steps following after me.

He mutters a few curse words and grabs my elbow gently. For some reason I stop, but I don't turn around to face him. I'm practically shaking as I try and blink my tears away. Being around him makes me so enraged and so upset.

"Morgan.." His voice is soft, so soft I almost choke on a whimper. He speaks in a tone that somehow puts me at ease. I haven't heard his voice like this in a while. I don't move a single muscle and hear him out.

"I don't want things to be like this. I hate the way things are between you and I." He sounds pained, and I don't care. It's his fault.

"I know that everything that has happened with you, is my fault and my fault only. I never ever wanted things to end up like this. I miss you. Mason misses you."

I'm silent, and I can feel my tears steaming down my cheeks, refusing to stop.

"An apology won't fix anything, I know. But let me try. I want to try. Please, Morgan."

I quickly turn around to face him, my grip on the ladder getting tighter as I speak.

"Nothing you say or do can makeup for everything you put me through for years!" I say between sniffs.

He nods his head slowly, watching me closely, as if he understands.

"You wanted me gone, so I left. I'm moving on, and I'm doing it without you. Just leave me be, don't ever come to this side of town again." I turn to walk away as I hear him utter one last sentence before I disappear around the corner.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Morgan."

****

I sit on the edge of my bed, slowly brushing my damp hair in the dark. I stare blankly into the darkness, clutching the small bathrobe to my body.

My mind kept drifting back to my father visiting me at work. I was left crying mid shift, and had to take an early break. I couldn't help myself.

I won't forgive him. I will never forgive him. Too much has happened for it to be overlooked.

I want to know what him 'trying' was. Buying me a house in the middle of the woods? What exactly could he do to fix things between us?

I refuse to hear him out. He's not the victim here, I am.

My mind is so full I can feel it start to ache. I groan softly, staring at my phone sitting on the nightstand.

A small smile makes its way onto my face as I pick up my phone and dial his number.

He picks up after the first ring, which makes my smile grow even more.

'Hello there.'  His voice is full of amusement and playfulness.

"Hi." I nibble on the tip of my index finger as I smile into the phone. I scoot up against the headboard of my bed, with my bathrobe opening slightly, exposing my nude body to the cold air.

'How's that cold weather in Oregon?'

"Not too cold, still chilly and rainy all day."

'Sucks to be you. I'm enjoying this California heat. Not used to it yet, but it's nice to be able to walk around in a tank top without freezing your ass off.'

I chuckle, humming at the end of my cool laugh. "Nice. You must be attracting all the hot Cali chicks."

'Not at all.'

"Liar. You fit right in."

'Really?'  He chuckles, his voice causing shudders throughout my entire body. 'How?'

"I don't know. You look so California."

He lets out a loud laugh, and it takes him a while to recover. 'That doesn't even make sense.'

"It does, but okay." I give myself an invisible high-five for making him laugh. It was like music to my ears.

'How was your day?'

My smile falters. "How was yours?"

'That bad?'

I don't answer.

'Fine, okay. Mine wasn't too bad. I spent the day with my family, and got to walk around the beach all day. But I gotta get up early tomorrow to start driving back home.'

"It's pretty late now, you should probably head to bed already." I glance at the time on my phone.

'Yeah yeah. Tell me how your day was first.'

I bite my lip nervously, closing my eyes tightly. I sink back into my pillows, staring up at the dark ceiling.

"It was okay. I don't really wanna talk about it."

'I'll respect that.'

"Thank you, Asher."

'Yeah. I'll let you recover from your day. Goodnight.'

I feel my shoulders deflate in disappointment, but I don't say anything.

"Okay, goodnight."