Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (59 page)

“
It's
not okay.” Morgan shook her head back and forth slowly. “Those
poor, poor people. Almost everyone died, Markus. Why am I alive?”
Her words were lost in loud sobs and gasps for air. She had made it
out alive with hardly more than a few bruises, and she didn't know
why.

“
The
other guy, Ernesto, I remember seeing him when we got on the plane.
He was one row behind us.” Morgan rolled to her back, and
turned her head to Markus as he spoke. “He survived too.”
Markus pointed to the television, where a helicopter captured the
crash from above. “You see that open spot right there?”
Morgan nodded.

“
That's
where we were.”

Markus
nodded in return. That part of the plane had never directly impacted
the ground. It crumbled and cracked open due to the pressure, but the
remainder of the plane had taken the brunt of the damage. Markus
believed that's what ultimately saved their lives.

Markus
wiped Morgan's cheek with the back of his finger. “You're
alive, Morgan. That's all that matters.”

“
When
I was in the shower, I was thinking about how I'll never see my cell
phone again.” Morgan rolled back to her side. It was true, she
had thought about her phone, camera, scrap book...even her clothes.
The people on the plane would never see their families again, and she
was worried about losing her favorite pair of boots. “I'm a
terrible person.” Morgan quickly wiped her cheeks and sat up.
She knew she wasn't really a terrible person, but the guilt wouldn't
quickly wash away.
And I'm hungry.
If it were even possible,
she cried even harder.

As
if Markus read her mind, he too sat up and placed a hand on her lap.
“I can't remember the last time I ate...how about we turn the
television off, and get some food.” All he wanted was to get
Morgan's mind off of the crash, and away from the news.

Markus
and Morgan had been set up in a bedroom together, and Ernesto had
been set up in a room down the hallway. Two outfits, out of the
pocket of Jules and Maureen had been provided for each of them, as
well as basic toiletries. Morgan was thankful for their kindness, and
thankful she at least had something to wear that wasn't a hospital
gown.

“
Okay.”
She finally spoke and stood slowly. Every inch of her body ached as
she walked across the room, to the tiny orange vial of pills on the
dresser. “You need to take one of these.” Morgan twisted
open the cap of the painkillers and popped a white pill into her
hand. “And one of these.” The other vial was filled with
antibiotics to fight the deep cut across his stomach. She walked them
over to Markus, and then handed him a glass of water that was on the
nightstand. He smiled and did as he was told...after all, the cut was
pretty bad and it was beginning to hurt worse by the minute.

Morgan
walked back over to the desk and took one of her own painkillers. Her
head was beginning to throb, and she knew if she was in pain, he
would be too. “Give me five minutes, and I'll be ready.”
She grabbed the pants, hoodie, socks and panties from the wooden
rocking chair in the corner and headed back into the bathroom.

Morgan
put on her panties and bra, then grabbed the pants. Jules said she
didn't know what size jeans Morgan wore, so had opted for a pair of
sweats. They were cute, and luckily, fit her perfectly. Morgan's
favorite part was the word PRINCESS in pink lettering down either
side of the legs, and knew Angel would have loved them... “Angel.”
She shook her head silently and wiped her drying tears from her face.
She doubted Angel even knew about the crash, and she would do her
best to make sure he knew nothing about it until she felt better.
I've brought you all into my life every time I'm hurt. Not this
time.

Morgan
pulled the pink hoodie over her head, then the pair of socks. She
didn't have her brush, makeup or hair straightener, so her appearance
didn't take much longer than getting dressed and putting her knotted
hair into a messy bun at the top of her head.
I am
not
going
to feel sorry for myself.

She
left the bathroom and saw that Markus had changed as well. He hadn't
been so lucky with Jules' choice of clothing, as the striped green
and white polo was nearly two sizes two small, and the tight gray
sweatpants didn't quite match. He too was thankful for clothing
though and didn't complain. It didn't stop Morgan from smiling
though, even if was a tiny one. “You look good.”

“
You
can see my...” It wasn't appropriate timing to point out the
obvious, but his sword and jewels were clearly visible in the tight
sweats. Morgan actually giggled, and suggested he may be better off
with the other pair. She watched as he took her advice and switched
sweats. “They're a little better.” He shrugged, just
thankful he also had something to wear.

By
the time the two made their way downstairs, both of their pills had
kicked in and Morgan was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed. “I
was just coming to tell you all that dinner was ready. I hope you
like roast.”

Morgan
and Markus exchanged a quick glance and a smile. “I love roast,
thank you.” Morgan took a step closer to Jules, and took her
hand in her own. “Thank you so much for everything. You have
already gone above and beyond...” Tears burned in Morgan's eyes
once more, but she quickly pushed them away with a hard blink. “I
will never be able to repay you for saving our lives or giving us a
place to stay or for your discretion or for your...”

“
It's
quite alright, Morgan.” She gave Morgan's hand a gently
squeeze. “I'm going to go get Ernesto, make yourselves at
home.” Jules returned with Ernesto holding her arm gently to
help him walk. He coughed loudly, obviously coming down with a cold
on top of his injuries. “Oh dear, let me get you something for
that cough.” Jules helped him to the table and returned with a
handful of cough drops. Ernesto smiled and nodded as he put one in
his mouth, and the rest in his pocket.

Morgan
watched the scene then thanked her again before she and Markus walked
followed them. The smell of a beef roast filled her senses, and
Morgan's stomach growled loudly in response. “Wow.” She
found a spot at the table and sat down, and Markus sat down next to
her. Morgan was brought back to just a few days prior, when she was
sitting in the dining room with Markus' family, eating his mother's
roast. It already felt like it had been months since that day, but
time always seemed to stand still when something traumatic happened.

“
There's
seven plates...” Markus moved his head around the table,
pointing at them.

“
You,
Ernesto, Jules, Me. Maybe Maureen is joining us?”

“
That's
still only five.” Markus and Morgan both shrugged. More guests
weren't a bad thing...in fact, Morgan welcomed anything to keep her
mind off of everything.

“
Do
you think she would mind if I stole one of these ro...” Morgan
was reaching for one of the fluffy golden rolls when a loud knock on
Jules' front door startled them both.

“
Coming!”
Jules came down the stairs in a hurry, shouting to the person on the
other side of the door. “Welcome!” Morgan didn't care to
look up as the guest entered the house, as she pushed a piece of
bread into her mouth. The wall separating the living room and dining
room prevented her from seeing the front door, even if she had cared
to see. Footsteps echoed across the wooden floor and Morgan knew the
guest was closer. She popped another chunk of bread between her lips,
and her mouth was still full when she was expected to answer.
“Morgan, your mom has come to see you!”

Before
Morgan could look up, the piece of bread lodged into the back of her
throat and she was sent into a coughing frenzy. “Morgan, are
you okay? Morgan? It's okay, get it out.” Markus put his hand
on Morgan's back, and when the coughing began to subside, he knew he
didn't have to take further action.
“My...” Another
cough. “
Mother
?” She hadn't seen her mother in
years. Hell, her mother probably didn't even know she didn't live in
Ohio anymore. “There's no fucking way.” Morgan regretted
the words as quickly as they left her lips. “I'm sorry, it's
just my mother would never...” Morgan's
mother
came
around the corner and she fell into another fit of coughing. Her eyes
grew wide as Julianne lifted a brow, telling Morgan it was a good
time to stop speaking.

“
Oh,
Morgan!” Julianne ran to Morgan's side as she stood, and her
cold hands wrapped around Morgan's cheeks. “Sweet child.”
She pulled her into a tight hug, and didn't let go for several
seconds.

“
Ow.”
Morgan giggled as Julianne released her.

“
Sorry,
sorry dear...” Her hands went back to Morgan's face, and a
single tear fell down her face. “And Markus.” Julianne
turned around, “so lovely to see you.”

“
Mom...”
Morgan cleared her throat, bringing Julianne's attention back to her.
“I thought you were camping....with no signal. How did you
know?” It was her best attempt to cover the way she'd reacted,
but it was still a poor effort. Before Julianne could respond,
another person entered the dining room and found his spot next to
Julianne. Morgan cleared her throat again. “Hi...
dad
.”

Chapter
Four

Felix
brought Morgan in for an even tighter hug than Julianne had given
her, and Morgan winced in pain until he finally released her. She
wouldn't complain, it was a pleasant surprise to see her
parents.
It shouldn't have been a shock that Julianne had found out so
quickly, but seeing her boss sit down next to her left her
speechless. “You're...here.” Morgan smiled and took
Julianne's hand in her own. She must have lied to gain information,
and Morgan smiled to Julianne, sharing their little secret. Markus
quickly understood too, and kept his lips tightly sealed with the
information.

“
Yes,
dear. I'm here.” Julianne gave her hand a squeeze, then tucked
a strand of hair behind Morgan's ear that had escaped her bun.

“
I
know.” Morgan took over and pushed the strand back into her bun
and smiled at Julianne. She knew Julianne wouldn't care about her
poor appearance at the moment. In fact, Julianne herself wasn't
looking her best. The woman looked tired, with several bags under her
eyes as evidence and had a half inch of dark brown roots showing
beneath her updo. She didn't have on her usual amount of jewelry, and
her clothing choice was far more casual than Morgan was used to
seeing. It brought Morgan an odd comfort to know Julianne hadn't
taken a great deal of time on her own appearance. It was something
she couldn't explain, but Morgan did know that for Julianne to not
apply a fresh coat of gloss to her lips before going anywhere, things
must have been serious. In that case, it was to see her
daughter
as soon as possible.

As
Jules was dishing out generous hunks of roast for everyone, Ernesto
finally joined them at the table. He sat at the far end, and as he
made eye contact with Morgan, she felt that same uneasy emotion she'd
felt in the hospital. His brown eyes bore into her, as if he were
reading her soul. She knew she was being ridiculous, but she still
felt uncomfortable around the man.
I feel like I know him.

Morgan
brushed off the feeling as her full plate was set down in front of
her. “This looks amazing, Jules.” Voices around the table
happily agreed as they picked up their forks. It was just as good as
she thought, and she was the first to ask for a second helping. Under
normal circumstances, Julianne would have reminded her that second
servings were not appropriate for a lady, but she let Morgan have her
moment of happiness with her dinner.

At
the end of the meal, Morgan and Julianne helped clean up, even though
Jules insisted they didn't. When the final dish was being placed into
the cabinet, another knock at the door made Morgan jump.

“
That
must be Maureen!” Jules left the two in the kitchen as she
shuffled into the other room in her slippers.

“
Good,
I was worried it might be my brother.” Morgan raised a brow at
Julianne and the two woman laughed loudly.

“
They
won't release any names.” That information, Morgan wasn't quite
sure of, but she had assumed as much. “It was the only way I
could find you, Child. I can't tell you how terrified I was.”
Julianne hugged Morgan again, and kissed her cheek firmly.