"Well, do you?" Trey once again asked, waiting for an answer from a stunned Frankie.
"How badly do I want him back?" Frankie repeated his offer, still in shock. "I'm not sure if I should be discussing this with you... I hardly know you!" she explained, as she tried to walk away but then she felt Trey's hand on her arm. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to be your friend," Trey replied, letting go of her arm. "See, I'm friends with Jim Neelan and-"
"How do you know James?" Frankie cut him off.
"Let's just say, we have a woman in common," Trey told him. "I know how important it is to want to hold onto someone, especially the father of your baby... I mean, that young cashier is the father of your baby, isn't he?"
Frankie slapped Trey. "Of course, damn you!" Frankie exclaimed. "Who have you been listening to? I haven't lied about the father in a long time!"
Trey took a step back and dropped his jaw. "I had no idea about any of that," he tried to make her understand. "I just meant that sometimes people find out that the father they've grown to love might not be their real father after all, I wouldn't your child to go through that."
Frankie stared at him for a few seconds. "I wouldn't even consider a relationship with another man," she told him. "The only father this child will know is Ryan."
"We have to ensure that, then!" Trey encouraged, looking back into the store.
"Why you are so concerned about my child knowing who his or her real father is?" Frankie honestly wanted to know.
"Like I said before," Trey reminded her. "It's important to me that your child knows who his real father is... what if Ryan leaves town and leaves you and the child by yourself?"
"That wouldn't happen," Frankie firmly replied. "He'll be there regardless of what he feels for me."
"You can't be so sure of that," Trey hinted. "I'm sure I could help you."
Frankie folded her arms. "And if you help me, what's in it for you?"
"Well," Trey laughed. "There is one little favor that I'd like in return."
Frankie shook her head. "I knew this was coming."
"Relax, it's easy," Trey assured her in a comforting tone. "Are you familiar with the name Georgia Caldwell?"
Frankie widened her eyes. "Of course!" she exclaimed. "I don't think I'm exactly one of her favorite people, though."
"No?" Trey wanted to know. "Maybe you could just help me over the phone... when Georgia is in the same room, I'll make sure she overhears our conversation, just to make my intentions appear real."
"What 'intentions'?" Frankie wanted to know.
"Don't worry about that," Trey told her in a relaxing tone. "Just think of how you want to approach getting Ryan back, and I'll help you one-hundred percent."
"Wait a minute, I have to think of the plan?" Frankie demanded to know.
"I said I'd help you, darling, I didn't say I was a genius!" Trey exclaimed, kissing her forehead, then giving her his phone number.
"Gee, thanks," Frankie sarcastically replied.
"Be in touch!" Trey told her.
Frankie watched as Trey walked away, and then looked down at his phone number. She turned to the store window and looked at Ryan behind the counter. 'I'll be able to think of something so that you'll be here for us, Ryan,' Frankie confidently told herself. 'Just wait and see.'
Lalie removed the blue cap from the bottle and poured herself a glass of ice cold water.
She took a sip and then set the glass back down the counter, thinking about Phil and the current state of her relationship with Kevin.
The sound of the doorbell interrupted her thoughts, as she walked into the living room and opened the front door.
"Thanks for coming," Lalie said to the person standing there, as she watched Phil walk inside.
"I'm glad you called," Phil replied. "The taxi ride over here wasn't as pleasant, but I knew my destination was well worth it."
Lalie swallowed at that flirtation and then walked into the kitchen. "Do you want water, soda... or anything else that I may have?"
"A can of coke is fine," Phil replied. "I like your house."
"It's much different from that basement, huh?" Lalie asked, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a can of soda, and handing it to him.
"Definitely," Phil agreed. "Do you live here by yourself?"
"My parents live here but they're in Illinois right now," Lalie explained. "I have the whole house to myself until my uncle feels better."
"To yourself," Phil repeated with a smile.
"Don't get any ideas," Lalie warned him, raising a finger. "You never told me what happened after I last saw you at the police station that night."
"I just had to do some community service," Phil replied. "I was a victim, also, you have to remember... so, my punishment wasn't as severe as Marcia's."
"I know you were a victim," Lalie understood. "I'm sorry Marcia had you brainwashed like that, but you saw her for who she really was, and you became a better person in the end."
"I'd like to think so," Phil replied with a smile.
"What happened to Marcia?" Lalie wanted to know.
"Last I heard, she was moved to an insane asylum," Phil explained. "She believed that James was with her in the jail cell."
"Wow," Lalie whispered in disbelief.
"I know-" Phil started, as he snapped open his soda can, and the drink came spewing out of the top.
"Oh, Phil!" Lalie screamed, but couldn't help but laugh. "That's the second time in a week that you had a drink all over yourself!"
"Is it a sign?" Phil jokingly wanted to know.
"The bathroom is the second door to the right upstairs," Lalie directed him, and watched him walk up the stairs just as the doorbell rang. She walked over to answer it and saw Kevin standing there with a less than happy look on his face.
"I thought you were busy tonight," Kevin reminded her.
Lalie frowned, as she quickly glanced over at the staircase and closed the door halfway, still making eye contact with Kevin. The first thing she had to do was think of how to get him to leave before Phil came down the stairs.
"It's interesting how you couldn't tell me where you were going to be tonight because it was 'too embarrassing'... but here you are," Kevin presented her with how he viewed things.
Lalie tried to stand fixed in front of the door, but Kevin made his way around her. She sucked in her breath, as she shut the door and turned around to face Kevin. "So, instead of just taking my word for it, you had to come all the way over here just to see if I'd answer my door?" Lalie asked him in disbelief. "That conveys so much trust," she sarcastically added.
"And it's a good thing I did," Kevin mentioned. "Don't lecture me about trust, Lalie, when you said that you weren't going to be home tonight and that was the reason why you couldn't go out with me."
"I decided to postpone what I had originally planned to do!" Lalie exclaimed.
"Why can't I believe that?" Kevin wanted to know. "Let's face it, you've been acting differently ever since Phil came to town."
"I have been acting like myself!" Lalie defended her actions. "You are the one who reminded me about that horrible ordeal the night at the restaurant. Then, you were desperately trying to get my mind off of Phil by taking me different places all night. Then, you come here to check up on me... thinking that I was fooling around behind your back!"
"I never said that, Lalie!" Kevin shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. "I knew the reason you've been acting differently lately is because of Phil!"
"If you want to make this about Phil, then we'll make this about Phil," Lalie angrily argued. "I think it all boils down to the fact that you don't have enough trust in me... your actions are speaking for themselves," Lalie displayed her thoughts. "But, if you want to make our problems about Phil, we will… just like we allowed Frankie to do what she did. Maybe, Frankie helped us!"
"And how do you reach that conclusion?!" Kevin demanded to know.
"I was so gullible to believe that you had slept with her and had done whatever else she had me believe was true, that I realized that maybe we just don't have enough trust in each other as we thought," Lalie explained. "And now, you have to 'check up' on me to make sure I'm not sneaking off with Phil... what does that tell you?"
Phil stood shirtless in Lalie's bathroom, as he desperately tried to get the soda stain out of his shirt. The soap he was using slipped from his fingers, creating a crashing thud sound on the floor.
Lalie sat down on the couch to ponder her own question, as a loud sound erupted from upstairs.
Kevin raised his head to the stairwell. "What was that?"
Lalie picked up the remote and slammed it down on the coffee table. "That?" she wanted to know. "I was going to turn on the television, and I dropped the remote against the coffee table."
"No," Kevin replied.
Lalie immediately stood up and followed Kevin, as he began his trek up the stairs. "Kevin!" she shouted, but to no avail.
As Phil was trying to remove the soda stain from his shirt, he heard the bathroom door open, and before he knew it, an arm came up from behind him, making him turn around.
Phil's eyes widened as he saw Kevin's fist approaching his face, but luckily he had ducked in time.
"Kevin!" Lalie's voice shrieked by the bathroom door.
"So, he WAS here!" Kevin roared. "Now, who's the one with the trust issues, Lalie?!"
"I think you need to calm down!" Phil shouted, then turning to Lalie. "I tried washing it off, but it wouldn't come out."
Kevin widened his eyes. "I'm not even going to ASK what you were referring to!"
"You can't stop me from seeing a friend!" Lalie shouted, walking into the bathroom and stopping before Kevin and Phil.
"A friend?!" Kevin demanded to know. "He's a KIDNAPPER!"
"A former kidnapper," Phil corrected him. "Besides, I was a victim, too!"
Kevin turned to Phil. "Do you mind?" he asked him, before turning back to Lalie. "How long did you plan to keep these meetings secret, Lalie?"
"It wasn't even supposed to be a secret... I just knew you'd react this way if I told you!" Lalie tried to make him understand.
"Lalie said that her plans tonight were 'embarrassing'... that's why she couldn't tell me," Kevin filled Phil in. "How do you like being labeled as an embarrassment?"
"I think you're doing a pretty good job of embarrassing yourself," Phil quipped. "If you just listen, you'll understand... I wanted to see Lalie... so I called her and we made plans... if she had plans with you, I'm sure she would have told me about that... and we could have rescheduled!"
"You make it seem so simple," Kevin told Phil in a serious tone. "It's not about plans and rescheduling, she wasn't honest with me," he continued, then turned to Lalie. "It was Phil that was on the phone earlier, wasn't it?"
"It might have been!" Lalie shouted.
"WASN'T IT!" Kevin yelled.
"Yes, it was!" Lalie finally gave in. "I think you are overreacting to this situation, I wanted some time to catch up with my friend, it's not like we were going to have some torrid, sexual romp in his hotel room!"
Phil widened his eyes at Lalie's vivid example. "Of course not, Kevin."
"I don't give a damn," Kevin muttered. "That's the second time that you have referred to Phil as your 'friend', he's not your FRIEND!"
"Who are you to tell me who my friends are?" Lalie wanted to know in a serious tone. "You don't know what Phil and I endured in that basement, it wasn't just two people locked up in a room... we got to know each other, we played cards, and endlessly waited for Marcia... or anybody to come back."
"Do you want to play cards, Lalie?" Kevin questioned her. "I'm a pretty mean rummy player, if you want to give that a try, but in the meantime..." Kevin picked up Phil's shirt, which had fallen on the floor and slammed it into Phil's chest. "You're on your way out."
"Kevin, you can't-" Lalie began.
"It's okay, Lalie," Phil replied. "We'll be sure to do this again sometime... when jealous lovers are on vacation, okay?"
Lalie followed Kevin and Phil downstairs, and watched as Kevin pushed Phil out of the house and shut the door behind him.
"How the hell dare you!" Lalie screamed at the top of her lungs, as she watched Kevin turn around with sweat beads on his forehead.
"It was the right thing to do!" Kevin shouted.
"The right thing?" Lalie demanded to know. "He was a visitor in my HOME, you don't come in my home and throw someone, that I invited, out of my home, Kevin!"
"When it's someone like Phil, you can be damn sure that I'll throw him out," Kevin argued, nodding his head.
"How could you say that?" Lalie shook her head, trying to understand. "You don't know the first thing about Phil, and what we endured in that basement."
"You make it seem like you shared something special!" Kevin accused.
"Maybe we did," Lalie replied, walking right up to Kevin and looking him in the eyes. "We shared fear, the sense of not knowing when someone would walk through the door, when we'd get a shower or eat a meal. We shared hope, as we tried to convince each other that Marcia would come back and we'd escape. And most of all, we shared our thoughts and got to know each other."
"Maybe a little too well," Kevin concluded.
"Maybe you ARE jealous," Lalie observed in a disappointed tone. "Now it's my turn," Lalie began, as she walked up to Kevin and grabbed him by the arm, and led him to the door. "When you kick someone out of my home, you can expect the owner of that particular home to return the favor... and that's exactly what I'm doing."
"This isn't over," Kevin told her.
"Damn right," Lalie simply replied, shutting the door once he was on the porch.
Lalie turned around, seeming out of breath, as she tried to take in all that had happened.
Phil walked down to the corner of the street, waiting for the taxi he had just called on his cell phone.
A car flew by him, flickering its lights and blaring it's horn, as it did so.
Phil figured it had to be Kevin's car. "If there's one thing Kevin will learn," Phil muttered. "It's that he's not part of the equation of Phil and Lalie."
Chapter 8
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Tracia