Love, Honor, and Betray by Roby, Lawson (ebook reader ink txt) 📕

“This sounds bad.”

“It is. Reggie just told me last weekend that his former girlfriend is eight months pregnant.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That was my response exactly.”

“How long have you guys been together?”

“Only for six months, but still.”

“Did he just find out?”

“No, and that’s part of the reason I’m so pissed off. He knew right away when we started dating, but he didn’t tell me. Claimshe was afraid I wouldn’t keep seeing him if I knew.”

“Wow. So what are you going to do?”

Robin reached for the bottle and added more shampoo to her hands. “I don’t know. But I really hate this because now I feellike I can’t trust him. He shouldn’t have kept this from me. Plus, I’m not sure I wanna deal with any baby mama drama. Actually,I’m not sure I wanna deal with another woman’s baby, period. But there’s one problem with that.”

“What?”

“I love Reggie. I mean I really, really love him, Charlotte.”

“That’s hard. And you know I understand that better than anyone.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“It’s hard, and while I’ve never shared this with you before, ever since Curtina came into the picture, I’ve been miserable.At first, it was because of Tabitha and how she kept trying to be with Curtis. Then, when Tabitha starting being sick allthe time, Curtina started staying at our house more and more. But the worst has been since Tabitha died.”

“Why is that?”

“Because Curtina now has to live with us for good.”

“Do you think you’ll ever feel better about it?”

“I don’t know. But for the sake of my marriage, I’m really trying.”

“Just knowing that Reggie is about to have his first child with another woman really hurts,” Robin admitted.

“I’m sure it does. I was devastated when Curtis first told me Tabitha was pregnant. But at least with Reggie, he didn’t startdating you until after the fact.”

“But he still kept it from me.”

“He definitely should have been up front with you, but if you love him maybe you should just see how things go.”

“I guess. I won’t have him hanging out at her house all the time, though. He can either pick his baby up when he wants tosee it and bring it to his house or not see it at all.”

“I don’t blame you. Because some women never move on. They always feel like they have a connection with a man if they havea child with him, and they never get past it. That’s how Tabitha was, anyway.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Reggie claims she’s not like that, but that remains to be seen.”

Robin lathered Charlotte’s hair twice, rinsed it one final time, and saturated it with conditioner, and then placed a clearplastic cap on her head. As they walked over near the dryers, Robin said, “Oh no. Look.”

They both moved closer to the TV screen.

“We’ve just learned that Harold Rush, the history teacher who held three students hostage earlier this week, has died,” thefemale anchor stated. “Rush had also been in the news because of child molestation charges and had just been arrested oneday before the hostage incident. However, he posted bail the very next day, went to his home and picked up a handgun, andthen drove to Mitchell Prep Academy. Rush is survived by his wife and a stepdaughter. This story is continuing to develop,and we will bring you more during our five o’clock broadcast.”

“Matt is going to be so hurt over this,” Charlotte said and then heard her phone ringing. She grabbed her purse, and ironically,it was Matthew calling. “Hey, sweetie.”

“Mom, did you hear?” he said, choking up.

“I did. And I’m so sorry, Matt.”

“I knew he was gonna die. I knew it.”

“Well, at least you did all you could.”

“But it wasn’t enough. I just wish I’d known what it was I was supposed to say to him.”

“Mr. Rush was a very sick man, sweetie, so please don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s not your fault.”

Matthew sniffled, and it killed Charlotte to hear so much pain in his voice. She hated that he was blaming himself for Mr.Rush’s death.

“I’m going home.”

“I don’t think you should be driving. So, why don’t you call your dad to pick you up?”

“I’ll be fine.”

“You don’t sound fine.”

“I’m just a little upset is all.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I just wanna go home.”

“I wish you would call your dad, but okay. Straight home. And I’ll be calling you in about twenty minutes.”

“Okay, Mom,” he said, sounding slightly irritated, and Charlotte knew it was because she was babying him again.

“I love you, and you drive safely.”

“I love you, too, and I will.”

Charlotte got under the dryer and called Curtis.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey. You busy?”

“A little. But I have a few minutes. What’s going on?”

“Mr. Rush died.”

“That’s too bad. Have you spoken to Matthew?”

“Just hung up with him, and I could tell he was crying. He said he was going home.”

“That’s probably best,” Curtis said.

“I agree, but I wish he didn’t have to drive himself. I told him to call you, but of course, he didn’t want to.”

“He’ll be okay. I’ll check on him in a little while.”

“I told him I’d call him, too.”

“I’m sure he’s taking this hard.”

“He is, and it’s all because he was right there when that gun went off. He didn’t actually see it, but he was right there.”

“We’re probably going to have to get Matt counseling.”

“I think that’s a good idea, and I don’t think we should go to lunch now,” Charlotte said.

“No, I’ll just come straight home when I finish up with this last meeting. Oh, and I have some other news for you, too. It’sabout Raven.”

“What about her?”

“I’ll tell you later. You won’t believe it.”

“Okay, well, I’ll see you soon.”

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you, too.”

Chapter 35

Well, I’ll say this much,” Charlotte said. “You were definitely right when you said I wouldn’t believe it. I mean, Raven wasalways so nice. So pleasant to be around.”

Curtis lifted one of the smaller barbells from the floor. “She fooled all of us.”

Normally, Curtis did his workouts first thing in the morning before anyone else got