The Wrong Side of Midnight (8 page)

"I don't know what to do!" were the first words she uttered.

"He found out…"

"Becky, it's over. I knew I'd lose him over this, but I didn't know it would hurt so much. I thought I prepared myself. I didn't even get a
chance to explain. He returned the money and the truck to me! God, this is the worst day of my life."

"Did you explain why you did what you did?"

"I didn't get the chance. He told me to stay out of his life, and he meant it. I don't even know how he found out!"

"Sweetie, why don't you gather a few of your things and move back, and we can get the rest tomorrow. He knows you live here now so you might as well be in your own home."

"Home?
This
is
my home! I don't belong there, and
I never did
!"

The next morning, Chloe heard a knock on the door. She flew to it
and swung it open, hoping it was Matthew. It was Sherry.

"Is this true?" Sherry had the newspaper page in her hand and opened it up so Chloe could look at it.

"Yes, Sherry, it's true. I didn't want you all to find out this way. I may have lied about my last name and my wealth, but who I am and my love for Matthew, my feelings for you and Conner….all of that is
real
!" She stared at the older woman's eyes. "You don't have to say anything, I'll gather my things."

"Honey, I'm not here to throw you out. There are always two sides to every story. Why don't you start from the beginning?" Sherry sat
down at the kitchen table and lit a cigarette.

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Chloe stopped eating and drinking. She hadn't showered or brushed her hair since the day her life crashed around her. She called Matthew over and over again, and not one call was returned. She stopped talking to everyone, including Becky. Chloe wanted to knock on Matthew's door, but didn't want to look at Conner and see the pain she'd caused him. He trusted her not to hurt his son. If only she could explain.

The loud pounding on the door made her lift her head from the pillow. Chloe stayed in bed with the blinds closed and stopped caring if she ever saw the sun again. The pounding continued, followed by the shaking of the doorknob.

"Chloe I know you're in there. Open up or so help me God I'll drag every guard I can get my hands on to bring your ass home!
Open the door
!!"

Slowly she walked to the door and unlocked it, and then promptly went back to her bed.

"Okay, this is enough!" Becky opened every blind, then went to the kitchen and filled up a glass with water. She held it to Chloe's mouth.
"Drink!"

"Go back home, Becky."

"I'm not leaving here until I know you're okay. I'm definitely not leaving today. Drink the water or I swear I'll take you to the hospital." Becky put a slice of bread in the toaster.

Chloe sipped on the water and nibbled on the toast. Becky dragged her out to the balcony and spoke firmly to her friend. She wasn't about to let Chloe sink lower.

"I'm staying with you for a few days and don't even think you have a say so. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're going to be okay. I know your heart's broken, and you've never lost a guy you were in love
with before. Trust me when I say you'll get over him. You should allow yourself to feel the pain, but you can't let it destroy you."

"Becky, it hurts losing Matthew. More than I thought it would. I'm mostly devastated knowing he and Conner are over there still struggling. They don't even have enough food. Did you know that Conner isn't even getting decent medical treatment? He could die, and he's all the family Matthew has left."

"Look, you have to give guys time for things to sink in. In the meantime, you have me."

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Becky continued to ask a million questions and had become her shadow. It was getting irritating. Chloe was eating, drinking, going outside, and had planned to go back to work the next day. Five days of being babysat was enough.

"I'll go, but you have to promise me you'll answer the phone when I call you and you'll take care of yourself."

"Thank you, Becky. You can call and check on me anytime you want."

After Becky left, Chloe took a long hot shower and decided to refuse to go down without a fight. Her mind was spinning, trying to come up with a plan…
If I can get
Matthew to love me again, he'll accept my help.

Chloe had no idea how complicated that would become.

Chapter 7

Lois knew where Chloe was living and that she was involved with someone. She'd followed Becky one evening to some old apartments in the Detroit projects. Instantly she was tempted to haul her back home, but when she saw her with a smile on her face while holding hands with a young man, a relief settled in. At least she could have a chance at a normal life outside of the estate gates. The thought of Chloe having to escape to find love and friends was eating away at her soul. She'd
spent her share of time pacing the mansion halls trying to find a way to help the heiress. For some people, wealth and power meant happiness. Chloe wasn't one of them.

Trying to be a mother figure and nurturer all of Chloe's life wasn't easy. She worked the hardest at trying to keep the young woman's spirit up. Lois knew she could never fill the shoes of a mother, but there wasn't anyone else who'd try. She knew she'd probably lose her job, but was willing to risk it, especially since Chloe seemed to be standing on her own two feet. She set her alarm for one-thirty in the morning and then walked to the phone.

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Sylvia Burlington took one last look at herself in the mirror before heading to the dig site for more photographs. What she really wanted to do was go back to bed. Standing out in the heat all day with a thousand bugs and foul smells was sure to make her photograph poorly. She couldn't seem to keep the scowl off her face. There wasn't a single quiet place she could go to get some peace and unwind some. Outside the windows she could hear children running around which made her think of her daughter, and that's the last thing she wanted to do. The phone began to ring loudly in the
other room. Her last nerve was breaking.

"Get that, Earl!" She listened as his footsteps moved to the parlor. Sylvia was confident she wouldn't have to yell again and make her headache worse. Earl felt it necessary to talk extra loud on the phone, especially if it was long distance. She shut the bathroom door with her foot and held a cool cloth to her forehead.

"Lois! What a pleasant surprise. I hope nothing's wrong. Is Chloe okay?" Earl's body tensed.

"Sir, forgive me for this, but I have some uncomfortable things to say. You've been very good to me over the years, but you and Mrs.
Burlington have treated
me
better than your own daughter."

"My daughter has everything she could ever want. What's this about, Lois?"

"She wants parents…parents who love her, want to talk to her and, more importantly, want to be with her."

"We're in Africa doing important work and you know this. My wife calls and speaks with Chloe a few times a week, but I haven't spoken with my daughter in quite some time. When I come to the phone, I think she hangs up, and it breaks my heart, really. But if you are so concerned about her, why haven't you called before this? I question your motive."

"Your wife speaks to me only. When Chloe comes to the phone to talk with her mother, it's Mrs. Burlington who hangs up on her child. I was given the orders to call the office for emergencies only, never your private number. There's nothing I'm risking now by dialing you direct."

"You may call here anytime you wish, and you know that. She hasn't been speaking with Chloe?"

"You may as well have a seat, sir. This will be a long conversation, and I plan to tell you everything. Then I will pack my bags, because your daughter doesn't even live here anymore."

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Sherry reached over and held Chloe's hand as she placed the newspaper article on the table. "This is how Matthew and his father found out. Reporters are such hounds."

"I never meant to hurt anyone," sobbed Chloe.

"Wipe those tears off that pretty face. I've known Matthew all his life, and he has a good heart and good head on his shoulders. He'll come around."

"They both need the money, and Matthew needs the truck, Sherry."

"For being so young, you have a heart of gold. It'll work out, I promise."

They hugged at the door before
Sherry left, and then Chloe ripped up the newspaper and threw it in the trash.

The next morning, Sherry glared at Matthew as she handed him a cup of coffee.

"
What's that look
for? What did I do?"

"Why did you walk out on Chloe like that? I went upstairs and spoke with her. She's still the same sweet girl."

"The same sweet girl who lied and manipulated me, not to mention my father, so we could become her project?
I refuse to be viewed as a pathetic cause. We're not a charity case for anyone, and when I met her,
she said she needed a job and an apartment. She acted like one of us. The truth is she'll never be one of us. Do you know how embarrassed and humiliated she made us feel? Don't you think I feel bad enough for not being able to take care of my dad the way I should? That I'm not college educated, and that the business is barely hanging on? She hit us below the belt. For that, I'll never forgive her. I wish you'd just kick her out." Matthew left without allowing the older woman to get a word in edgewise.

Sherry got up and watched him walk to that damn beat up truck. She had to think of something to make the man get the cement out of his head. Of course Chloe was right; had
she of been honest about who she really was
,
Matthew wouldn't have given her the time of day.

Chloe walked in Sherry's office and poured herself some hot water for tea. She stuck around, dunking the teabag and wiping down the table, straightening magazines and newspapers, until she caused her boss to spin around in her chair.

"I know why you're hanging around in the office. Matthew left already. If you want to catch him, you best be up by five-thirty." Sherry smiled and winked.

"Oh...well I couldn't sleep. I just feel like keeping busy today.
Seriously,
me
being in the office has nothing to do with Matthew."

"Bullshit."

"Okay, you're right. I'll go
vacuum
and be in here bright and early."

"Atta girl."

When Chloe was done cleaning, she walked to the apartment four doors down. She softly knocked, knowing Conner was sitting at the kitchen table.

"It's Chloe. I'd like to come in and talk with you if you don't mind."

Conner hated to ignore the young girl, but the last thing he wanted to do was get in the middle, especially after his son told him to
keep his nose out of it. Matthew needed the time to figure things out in his own head. He knew his son better than anyone and was well aware that Matthew was more stubborn than a mule. Conner didn't understand why Chloe withheld the truth, but knew there was a reason. She had a good heart, and this whole thing bothered him greatly, but it wasn't up to him to find out the answers.

Chloe stood outside the door and knocked a few more times. When she was sure she'd given Conner more than enough time to answer it, she walked back down to her apartment and shut the door. Matthew wasn't going to be home for another couple of hours. Hopefully
she could catch him outside before he went upstairs. Chloe went to the bathroom, showered, and did her hair exactly the same way she had it on the first night she met him. In cut offs and a t-shirt, she went downstairs and sat in her car. If he saw her standing in the parking lot, he'd keep driving and she knew that.

Chloe rehearsed her words over and over again in her head, and sometimes out loud. The new truck she'd bought for Matthew stood out like a fly in the punch bowl.
Come on, keep it together, Chloe.
This might be her only opportunity to talk to Matthew, so she had to make sure not to blow it. Hours later as daylight began to fade, the old red pickup truck drove into the parking lot.
Before she could even get out of her car, Matthew spotted her. His eyes could have easily burned holes right through her. Chloe could have cried, but instead she got angry. She was going to make him listen to her one way or another.

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

John tried to stay out of it, but watching his best friend be so preoccupied and pissed off all the time wasn't going to cut it. He wanted to shake some sense into him, but it wouldn't be that simple. He watched Matthew lower all his guards for this girl and knew how
hurt he was.

"Have you talked with Chloe?"

"Let's not talk about her…
ever
. She was a fake."

"Matt, there has to be a reason. I mean look, she deposited fifty thousand in your account, paid your dad's medical bills, bought you a new truck, and yet she still lives here. Hell, she could have done all that from her mansion. Be mad at me if you want, but if she saw you as just a charity case, she would have already hit the road. She's staying because she cares about you."

"She humiliated me, and I trusted her. You think a relationship can be built on deceit and lies?"

"I just think—"

"I'm done talking about it…"

"All I'm saying is
,
I think you should give her five minutes of your time to explain. You don't have enough facts to just cut her out of your life. I know you love her, or you wouldn't be this pissed off."

"John, you're my brother. I know you're concerned, but back off. I don't need any more of your advice. Following it the first time was a sucky thing to do."

"Okay, I'll be blunt. You walk around here barking at everyone or ignoring them. The guys are threatening to quit. If that happens you'll lose the business."

"Yeah, well maybe that'll be the best thing that can happen to me."

Matthew spotted Chloe again sitting in her car when he pulled up to the apartment.
Why don't you just go the hell away?
Every time he saw her, it reminded him of what he couldn't become. She was no different than Josie. Both women let him know that he fell short in life. Even though Josie really hurt him with her words, she at least told the truth. When he climbed out of his truck, he saw Chloe get out of her car.
Here we go again.

"Matthew, wait…" Chloe watched him briskly walk into the building.

Chloe took off running up the stairs and reached Matthew's door just as he shut it. She knocked every couple of minutes for half an hour.
Finally she went back home.

The next day Chloe wasn't scheduled to work, but got up anyway and was in the office at five-twenty sharp. Sherry had only been there for twenty minutes. Both women paused when Matthew put his hand on the door at five-thirty and stepped inside. Chloe poured him a cup of coffee as quickly as she could. Before she could hand it to him, he left.

"He isn't even giving me a chance, Sherry."

"Don't give up on what you want. You proved to him you had no money…now work just as hard to prove to him you're the same woman he fell in love with."

"How do I that? He won't even
talk to me."

"No, you can't talk to him. Show him."

Why does he have to be so difficult?
Chloe went back home and let
herself
fall back into bed, where she stayed for two more days…

∞  ∞  ∞  ∞

Becky was beside herself with worry. Chloe wasn't answering her phone again, and she had to find someone to help her. The only other person who Chloe was close to was Lois. She hopped in her Jaguar and hoped Lois would be willing to come to the pits of Detroit with her. Getting her best friend out of that
apartment and back home wasn't going to be easy.

She drove through the gates without stopping. The staff knew Becky, and she could come and go as she pleased. If Becky had someone else in the car with her, she would have been stopped. When she rang the bell, a maid answered the door.

"I need to see Lois."

"Lois Shepherd?"

"Yes, the cook. Could you get her please? This is kind of an emergency."

"I'm sorry. She no longer works here."

"Are you kidding me? Lois is family to Chloe. Where is she?"

"I don't have that information."

"Great. Are the Burlington's
here?"

"No, ma'am."

Becky left the estate as quick as possible.
Chloe is going to freak out over this.
She stopped by her house and packed a bag. She left a note for her mother explaining she was going to stay at Chloe's for a few days. It wasn't a lie, but if her mother knew where she was going, she'd tie her to the wall.

She pulled up at the apartments and went right up to Chloe's door. Becky didn't pound on the door, but repeatedly knocked on it without pausing. She knew that would get her friend moving.