𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣
⊱ ─────────── ⊰ 

I stare out of the window, anxious to see the ground after a three hour flight.

Chris rises from my lap and stretches.

How he can sleep at a time like this, I don't know?

"Did you sleep?" He asks me. I shake my head no as a response.

"—Again, welcome to Denver, and thank you for choosing Delta Airlines." I only catch some of the pilot's schpeel.

"I hate Kendall so much." I mumble about the cast member from Love Island as I put my laptop into Chris's backpack.

Passengers make their way to the front of the plane in an orderly fashion.

I'd like to think it's because I'm cute that this older black gentleman let me go before him.

I smile and walk ahead while Chris gets our carry-ons bags from the overhead compartments.

The marquee reads:

DENVER

"Back like we never left," Chris says to me with a slight nudge.

"You're smiling?" I ask him upon getting a look at his unexpectedly pleasant facial expression.

Chris shrugs both shoulders, walking by my side. He hardly looks down at me but acknowledges my question with a short response.

"I'm just ready to get this all done with, you know?"

I nod my head in agreement. "You think it'll be that easy?"

"Oh, I know it will." His confidence makes me raise an eyebrow.

"Pfft," I vibrate my lips, feeling indifferent. "you're always so confident."

Chris nudges me. "Shouldn't I be? It's how I got you."

I laugh. "You got me by being handsome... and annoying."

Chris raises an eyebrow. "Well, either way, I got you."

I giggle, walking ahead so that I can catch up with Jabari who's been awfully quiet this whole trip.

I use my foot to kick him in the back of the leg.

Hesitantly, he chuckles but only briefly.

I watch his face fall to a more gloom expression.

"JB, what's wrong?" I wonder.

His eyes flicker before he wets his lips to speak. "What if something happened to Jasmine?"

"Don't say that."

"I can't afford to be optimistic right now-"

"Something like what?" I ask.

"I don't know," Jabari swallows, clutching his Gucci backpack. "but I got a bad feeling."

"The Avengers get nervous before battles, too, but they usually win."

"'Usually', ha." Jabari laughs sarcastically.

"AJ," Chris pushes out a sigh of relief as he approaches his old friend. "thanks for meeting us."

Adriel Jones wears a self-satisfied grin as he slaps Chris's hand and pulls him in to his chest.
Beside him, Madi. She walks towards me for a hug, then Chris and JB.

We saw them just days ago but it's nice that they're willing to help. Chris didn't want to get a rental car "just in case." Whatever that means - I'm sure something dangerous.
Anyway, AJ has a boner for making Chris happy, he'll do whatever he can to stay in Chris's good graces.

The six of us pile split into AJ's truck and Madi's Suburu.
Chris offers to drives Madi's Outback so JB and I get in while Andy rides with Madi and her boyfriend in AJ's pickup.

✕

"Chris," I smack my lips in annoyance, "you've rode past the house four times, if you want to go in, we can."

Chris looks at me briefly and then speeds down the street past his parent's house.

"I don't want to see them right now." He claims, tightening his grip on the steering wheel.

"You never do." I mumble, returning my attention to my phone.

"Who you texting, Ben?" Chris jokes.

I cut my eyes at him. "No. That's not funny."

Chris rolls his eyes. "I wasn't laughing."

"Don't start you two, tensions are already high enough. Where are we going, and do we have a plan?" JB interjects, sitting up in the backseat.

I look to Chris for his bright idea.

He smirks, looking at JB in the rear view mirror. "I always have a plan."

✕

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Fuck, was your plan to show up like the police?" I give Chris a hard time for his intense banging on the front door.

"They're not here." JB gives up easily, flailing his arms.

"Well, there's two cars in the driveway, someone has to be." Chris says.

"Maybe I'm not knocking loud enough." He adds, raising his fist to cause more of a commotion.

He looks at my disapproving facial expression and then retracts his fist.

"I'm kidding." He laughs dryly, walking around my body.

I follow Christopher to the garage as he tries to open it.
"J, give me a hand."

Jabari quickly helps Chris with the door but to no avail.

"Breaking and entering?" I hiss, arms folded over my chest.

Chris stands upright and shakes his head at me. "I haven't broken anything, yet, and we can't enter, smart ass."

I shake my head. "Why don't we just come back later?"

"Can I help you?" A man's voice appears out of no where.

Chris, Jabari, and I, all in a similar fashion, slowly rotate on our heels to face the man.

It's Monty - the doctor I met last year.

I'm relieved as all heck, rushing to shake his hand in hopes he'll remember me and forgive us for trespassing.

"It's been a while, but I'm Morgan. I-I used to live here, and we-"

"Morgan!" Juana, his wife, exclaims.

She paces down the sidewalk with open arms and a bright smile on her brown face.

"Hi!" I exclaim, matching her energy.

"Oh, it's been so long, but I've been keeping up with you on your socials. How are you, what brings you here?" She talks a mile a minute with her El Salvadoran accent.

I smile sweetly. "Can I have that tour of the house now?"

✕

Monty, the doctor and homeowner, let Chris, Jabari, and I inside.

Juana, being the great hostess she is, helps us to some iced tea before we have a look around.

It's just as I remember it the last time I was here - homey. I love how lived in it is, with their kid's toys everywhere. There's not a single corner in the house that you can walk to and not see artwork or a family portrait somewhere.

"—Thank you. How's your daughter?" I ask about the oldest of their children who has frequent panic attacks.

"What's with all the questions, how about we ask you some?" Juana giggles, pouring her a glass of tea lastly.

She lives gracefully around the kitchen island and stands before Jabari, my fiancé, and I with a wide closed-mouth smile.

"Okay..." I exhale, pushing the glass to my lips.

"What are you doing back, visiting family?" She makes conversation.

"I hate small talk." Chris mumbles under his breath.

"I'm sorry, what's with him?" Asks Monty, observing Chris closely.

Chris quickly answers, "I'm irritated-"

"He means impatient," I laugh awkwardly to excuse his behavior.

"Um, listen," I stammer to the couple, "well if you remember, I used to live here and we think we might've left some things behind."

"Oh, why didn't you just say so?" Juana squeaks.

I look up at Chris and he scowls, annoyed that we didn't just lead with that.

"I do have to tell you, it's been a couple of years, we've changed quite a lot."

"Yeah, I remember you saying you would." I reply, following her through the foyer.

"There's the study, it used to be a bunch of security cameras in there but we got rid of that immediately." Juana tells us.

Chris immediately looks at me and I look at him.

She goes on. "This door leads to the basement as you know, half bath here, uh, in-law suite down the hall, Jesse's room right here," Juana verbalizes, showing us around as if we're all not familiar with what used to be Malcolm Jameson's estate.

Each room, each hallway, reminds me of things that I tried to forget.

Up the stairs, Juana shows us each bedroom and bathroom, telling us what changes she made and why she chose each design.

I am drawn down the hall before she shows us that way. A strong memory pulls me towards the bedroom that once was mine.

"Oh, Morgan, you might not want to—" I ignore Juana's warning and go ahead.

Large double doors take up a considerable amount of space on the second floor of the mansion.

I pull them open and brace myself.

"Fuck." Chris curses before I can.

My chest inflates with every breath. I hold it, not believing this is real.

It's hard to see - the room where I was held captive many nights. Where I was constantly under Malcom's or his guards surveillance.

Wait—

"It's a bit much, I know, the lavender." Juana laughs timidly.

I walk in carefully, looking at how there's not a detail out of place. Everything is exactly how it was left - how I left it. It's uncanny.

"I thought you were changing everything?" I remind Juana of what she told me last year.

"I know, but Jesse liked the room so much, we didn't want to say no." Juana coos, scattering across the white faux fur rug.

She frantically tinkers with each picture frame and trophy her daughter has on display atop the dresses and drawers.

I swallow hard, trying to come to terms with this.

"Is something wrong?" Asks Juana, talking to the back of my head.

I hesitate to answer, "No, nothing's wrong. This was just a weird trip down memory lane."

"Well, if you didn't find what you're looking for, why don't we go downstairs? The kids will be home any second."

✕

"—Again, sorry to impose." Chris says to Monty.

Monty waves him off. "Hey, I was an Army brat, I'd do anything to see the first house I grew up in now. You guys are welcome anytime."

"Thanks again for the tea and lunch, Juana. I love me some Spanish food." Jabari flatters Mrs.McLaughlin.

"Me too, why do you think I married her?" Monty humors the guys and his wife.

"Morgan?" Jesse grabs my attention.

I look at the fourteen-year-old attentively.

"Yeah?"

"Sometimes I get scared in my room, is that why you didn't like it?" She asks me quietly.

I furrow my eyebrows. "What do you mean, you get scared?"

She pushes her thick dark brown hair behind her ear and gulps. "It feels like there's someone watching me."

I watch her hang her head like she's guilty or ashamed, but she shouldn't be.

I lift her chin and smile while looking her in the eyes.

"I was scared because I didn't have anyone in the house who loved me the way your parents and siblings do. You're fine, trust me." I tell her so she can feel better, and she does.

Nodding, Jesse begins to smile.

"You ready, Morgan?" Asks Chris, his hand on my shoulder.

I nod, standing with him and Jabari.

"Leaving so soon?" Asks Juana, frowning.

"But I didn't even get to show JB my dunk!" The youngest, Ricky, exclaims.

Jabari laughs. "Next time."

"Can you guys come back when we get home from vacation?!" Leah, the second daughter, basically begs.

"Where are you going on vacation?" I ask them just to avoid agreeing to visiting again.

"We're going to the Outerbanks to visit some family." Monty answers, cleaning up after us.

"Oh yeah, when?" Chris talks.

"We're leaving in about an hour, actually. Yep, we're driving - family road trip." Monty laughs richly, rubbing his wife's arm.

I nod my head, taking a mental note of that information.

"—It was nice meeting y'all." JB wraps up the conversation after minutes of inching towards the door.

"Bye, Morgan." Jesse says to me.

I turn to face her as she walks me to the car.

"The vanity in your bedroom, cover it up with something before you leave, okay?" I advise the teenager.

She doesn't say anything but I know she'll listen to me.

Without another word, she runs back inside.

✕

"I'm starving, I ain't had this shit in a minute!" Jabari expresses aloud.

He trails Chris and I into the urban restaurant.

"Looks like The Q got a makeover." I comment, taking the new appearance in.

There's a banner up that says:

GRAND RE-OPENING

And another note on a chalkboard that reads:

*Under new management*

Please seat yourself!

"Don't mind if I do." Jabari pushes past Chris and I to walk to the first booth he sees fit.

I catch a quick glimpse of Christopher's tightly clenched jaw. He's not happy, and I can see why. With this separation of his parents, seeing them actually divide ownership of their business — The Q— makes it real.

I don't bother soothing him with any words, I just walk ahead to the booth and wait with Jabari for Chris to join us once he's finished looking around at what his mother has turned this place into.

He scoffs, taking a seat next to me.

As we look over the revised menu, we're greeted with a "welcome home."

I look up to see Mary, unsure of what to say, how to greet her.

Jabari gives her a cordial "Hi, Mary, how are you?" She answers with a warm smile and then gives me a look.

I clear my throat. "Hey, Mar'." That's all I can say.

"Hi, Morgan. I've missed you - all of you. Chris..."

"We're ready to order." He says, keeping his eyes on the menu.

Mary sighs. "I'm not your waitress this evening."

"Well can you get her?" Chris barks.

Mary flails her arms. "Can't you talk to me like a normal person, I'm still your mother?"

He slowly rolls his eyes up her body and to her desperate stare. "I genuinely have nothing to say to you."

"Morgan, are you guys staying in town?" She redirects her attention to me.

I gulp, unsure if I should engage in conversation with her or not.

"We haven't gotten that far, yet. Didn't plan on being here too long." I answer meekly.

"You're staying at the Inn, it's settled. I'll have Crystal get the rooms ready for you now-"

"You still own the bnb, you and Carter didn't split custody of that too?" Chris remarks.

Mary shuts her eyes and inhales deeply before saying anything back to her spiteful son.
"We... co-own it. For now."

"For now?" Chris scoffs.

"Can we talk about the details of my divorce somewhere else, son?"

"No, we can't, and if you keep talking to me, we'll go somewhere else to eat." Chris says to her clearly, finally meeting her gaze with his cold one.

Mary looks at me, teary-eyed, and then excuses herself, calling over a waitress.

Jabari opens his mouth to say something to his best friend but I send him a look that says not to. Not now.

Instead, JB clears his throat and asks about the menu options. "I need to know who in the kitchen before I order the potato salad."

The waitress finds him amusing but promises the food is good, and he'll be satisfied.

Once she takes our orders, we're left alone at the table again in silence.

"Aye, don't this place still turn into a club at night?" Asks Jabari.

"That's probably the other location." I tell Jabari. He means the original restaurant which was owned by Malcolm.

"You mean my Dad's?" Chris snarls.

"Fuck that. What's phase two of your plan since we didn't find anything at the house?" Jabari questions Chris.

Chris shrugs his shoulders. He's disassociated after that encounter with his mother.

"I have a plan, actually." I speak up, chewing my lip.

Both men look at me anxiously.

"The lavender room; when I was there, I felt like I was being watched constantly." I share.

Jabari rushes me to spit it out with the rolling of his wrists.

I gulp. "Today Jesse told me she feels the same way, like people are watching her."

"What are you trying to say, it's still cameras in there? You heard Juana, she said they got rid of all Malcolm's surveillance shit in the study." Chris counters.

"But there's still something in that Lavender room," I theorize. "and I think it's the vanity."

Christopher and Jabari look at me with skepticism that makes me suck my teeth.

"Seriously," I argue, "everything in the house has been completely changed or purged, except my — that— room."

"So, what, we wait until they come back from North Carolina? That'll take forever." Jabari's pessimism gets the best of him.

"Who says we have to wait?" I ask the men.