The ringing of a phone woke Morgan Saturday morning. She saw her clock read 9:30 and jumped out of bed. How could I have slept so long? She scolded herself. Now, I�m late! She grabbed her robe and ran to the bathroom. Once there, she locked the door and took the quickest shower of her life. Throwing her robe on, she unlocked the door and darted into the hallway, immediately colliding with a tall, solid object. Shutting her eyes, she prayed it was Joe Sr, whom she was acquainted with and fairly comfortable around. Opening them, she felt her face quickly become red when she realized she�d run into JC.
�JC, I am so sorry!� she gasped. �I�m running late, and...�
�Morgan, calm down, it�s okay!� JC laughed. �Actually, Phyllis sent me up here to get you. She�s in the kitchen.� Forgetting how she was attired, Morgan raced down the stairs and into the kitchen.
�Phyllis! How could you let me sleep so late! I�m going to be late to meet...� her voice trailed off when she noticed the five men sitting at the table, two of which were choking on their breakfasts at the sudden entrance of the half-dressed young woman, whose face was once again becoming flushed. �Um... I�ll be right back!�
Morgan quickly got to her room and picked out her clothes. She wore her most comfortable outfit: her khaki cargo shorts and olive green cotton tank top. She ran a brush through her hair, grabbed her brown sandals and a ponytail holder and sprinted back into the kitchen less than five minutes after she�d left it.
When she�d arrived, she saw that Phyllis and JC were now sitting at the table, eating breakfast with the others. She sat down in the empty chair at the end of the table and put on her sandals while the others looked on. That accomplished, she lifted her head and began to swiftly French braid her hair before it had the chance to dry. By the time she�d finished, Phyllis had a plate of fresh fruit set in front of her.
�Thanks, Phyllis.� she said, rapidly beginning to eat.
Phyllis smiled at her. �Anytime sweetie, and at least breathe between bites! For Heaven�s sake, Morgan, where�s the fire?�
�I�m late! I was supposed to be at the park over an hour ago!�
The older woman looked at her, confused. �The park? Whatever are you talking about, dear?�
Morgan tried to think of the reason she�d given Phyllis earlier of why she had to go to the park today. �Um... I promised some of my friends I�d meet them there. We were going to do some kind of get together thing today.�
Suspicious, Phyllis leaned forward. �Which friends would these be, Morgan?�
Morgan sighed. �I...� The sound of the doorbell cut her off. Phyllis rose from her seat to answer it, and Morgan was left with six men staring at her curiously.
�What?�
Justin shook himself out of his trance. �Oh, nothing. Sorry Morgan.�
Sensing they were keeping something from her, she narrowed her eyes. �Listen, Justin, if you want to...� Morgan was once again interrupted, this time by a rather angry-looking Phyllis.
�Morgan, David and Randy are waiting for you in the living room.� she said stiffly. �They said that you were supposed to meet them earlier but failed to show up. I suggest you go in there and politely ask them to leave, unless of course they are actually telling the truth this time, in which case I would have to ask you why you felt the need to lie to me.� The anger in the woman�s voice could be heard clearly.
�I didn�t lie! I said I was meeting friends!� Morgan defended herself.
Phyllis�s voice rose in indignation. �Friends? Friends? Morgan, how can you call those boys friends after...�
�MORGAN!� an angry shout rang out from the living room, suspending Phyllis�s lecture. Morgan immediately shot out of her chair and headed into the living room, where the two men were waiting for her. She was stopped when Phyllis blocked the doorway.
�Morgan, you are not leaving this house with them, do you understand?� she said forcefully.
�Phyllis, you don�t understand this, all right?�
The older woman closed her eyes in frustration. As she spoke to the girl she considered a daughter, she attempted to keep the emotion out of her voice. �Morgan, I can�t in good conscience allow you out of this house with that boy. I remember the condition you were in the last time he brought you home. Now, I know that you�re twenty-one years old, and there�s not a whole lot I can do to stop you, but I want you to fully understand what you�re thinking about doing.�
�Phyllis, I understand what you�re saying, and I appreciate it, I really do... But you simply cannot understand what�s going on here. I�m sorry.� Morgan turned away from her and quickly walked to the living room before she began to cry.
�David, I�m so sorry. I overslept. I was just on my way to...�
David grabbed her arm roughly. �I don�t want to hear it, Morgan.� he replied. �I told you that it was in your best interest to be at the park on time, and you weren�t. You know what�s going to have to happen now.�
Morgan shivered, remembering previous times when she�d gone against David and his friends. Silently, she nodded, determined not to crack in front of them and show her weakness.
�Time to go, sugar-pie.� Randy whispered, taking the arm David had dropped.
Nodding again, she looked back over her shoulder to the kitchen door. �Phyllis, I�m going out for a while! I�ll be back by curfew!� Morgan felt tears threaten again when she heard no response from the older woman, and knew that she had really disappointed her second mother this time. The three were headed towards the front door when Phyllis finally spoke up from the kitchen.
�Don�t forget to take your pills first, Morgan!�
Morgan sighed happily. She knew that if Phyllis was still worried about her taking her pills, she wasn�t angry enough that they couldn�t fix things later. �Okay!� she shouted back, then turned and walked to the downstairs bathroom for her morning pills.
She rooted around the medicine cabinet for a full minute, searching for the pills she needed to take that morning. Morgan had two different prescriptions, and she could never remember which one to take when. It was Phyllis that had come up with the idea of labeling the tops of the bottles with colored stickers, so Morgan wouldn�t get confused and take the wrong pill at the wrong time: the blue bottles for morning and the red for bedtime. She grabbed several pill bottles, but none were the one she needed.
�Phyllis!� she called. �Have you seen my blue bottle? The skinny one? I can�t find it.�
�No, sweetie, I haven�t. It�s got to be in there somewhere though.� she heard the woman call back.
The she heard Justin speak up. �I think that�s the one you took upstairs last night, Morgan. That bottle was skinny, and it had a blue sticker on top.�
Inside the bathroom, Morgan paled. She was just about to ask Justin if he was positive of the color of the sticker on the bottle when Phyllis entered the bathroom, looking just as pale as Morgan herself. She gently pushed Morgan outside the door, and began looking through the cabinets herself. David and Randy sighed, irritated that they were once again being held up.
�Justin!� Morgan jumped as Phyllis yelled into her ear.
The curly haired boy appeared in the doorway. �Yeah?�
�You�re sure that the bottle Morgan had last night had a blue sticker on it?�
He nodded. �Yeah, because I remember wondering why it had a sticker on top.�
Morgan�s legs trembled, and Justin shot forward to catch her before she fell. As he was helping her to the couch, Phyllis called for Joey. Within minutes, all five boys were in the living room, looking from Phyllis, to Justin and Morgan, to David and Randy curiously.
�Yeah, Mom?�
Phyllis�s voice shook as she spoke to her son. �Joey, I need you to go upstairs and bring down the bottle of pills that Morgan brought up there last night. Can you do that for me, please?�
Joey�s eyes darted from his mother to a very pale and shaken Morgan on the couch. �Sure. Where are they?�
All eyes looked to Morgan. �Um... I think... They�re either on the counter in my bathroom, or they�re on my night-stand.�
Joey nodded, then ran up the stairs quickly. The guys all walked nearer to Morgan, looking concerned.
�Morgan, are you all right?� Lance�s deep bass voice cut through Morgan�s stupor.
�What? Oh, um... I... I don�t really know.� she laughed weakly.
Justin sat next to her on the couch and gently took her in his arms for a hug. �Everything�s gonna be all right, okay?�
Morgan nodded, burying her face in his shoulder. She missed the surprised and confused look the guys exchanged seeing Morgan initiate an embrace for the first time. Coming down the stairs, Joey stopped in his tracks and stared, not believing what he was witnessing. Everyone seemed frozen for a moment, allowing Morgan the time to simply be comforted, then David abruptly broke the moment.
�Morgan, we really need to go. You can take your little pills later.� he said shortly.
Justin jerked away from Morgan and bolted out of his seat. He stormed over to David, quickly closing the space that had been between them. Morgan watched on helplessly, knowing Justin�s chivalrous actions were most likely going to backfire on her.
�Listen, buddy, I don�t know who you are or how you know Morgan, but how in the world you can dismiss her health like you just did is beyond me. She obviously has to take certain pills at certain times, and she accidentally switched one around. That could have serious consequences! Are you that callous and uncaring?�
David smirked at him. �Well, she�s still alive, isn�t she? She�s fine, and we�ve made plans for the day, which I�d like to point out she has already made us late for.� He turned his attention back to Morgan. �Morgan, come on. Get off your butt and into my car now. We�re late.�
Unwilling to make David any madder than he already was, Morgan swiftly rose from her seat on the couch. She moved to get her purse, which had been dropped to the floor in the confusion that had occurred. She had almost gotten it, when a hand grasped her arm and forced her to stand upright. Expecting it to be Justin, she gasped aloud when she saw the deep brown eyes of Joey.
�Here are your pills, Morgan.� he said quietly. �And you�re not leaving this house with those guys, just so you know.�
Startled at his statement, she jerked her head back up to look at him. Morgan was thoroughly confused by the concern she saw in his eyes. Okay, she thought, two minutes ago he wasn�t talking to me, and now he�s worried about me? Man, this day is just getting weirder and weirder. Next thing you know, Chris will be professing his undying love for me. Looking around the room, Morgan became even more bewildered; every one of the people in the room were looking at her with a mixture of 20 % curiosity and 80% pure concern...concern for her. Morgan felt overwhelmed briefly, then saw David and Randy. She�d seen that look on David�s face before, and it wasn�t good. Morgan flinched involuntarily, and Joey�s arm was instantly back around her waist. Feeling the tears welling up in her eyes, she glanced once more from Joey to Justin to David and Randy.
�I... I�m sorry guys, but I can�t go with you today. We�ll have to do it another time.� she managed to whisper.
The fury was clearly evident on the faces of both David and Randy. Randy stomped over to the door and threw it open, heading back down to David�s car, which sat parked by the curb. David simply stared at her for a long moment, letting his anger grow before he began taking slow, deliberate steps toward Morgan and Joey.
His voice shook with anger. �Morgan, you are going to severely, severely regret this, do you understand me?� he said quietly, his large hand encircling her small wrist and squeezing tightly. Morgan cried out in pain.
�You have exactly two seconds to let go of her before you hit the ground, buddy.� Joey said menacingly.
David flashed an irate glare in Joey�s direction, then dropped Morgan�s arm. �I�ll see you around, Morgan. That�s a promise.� he whispered into her ear sweetly before turning around and following his friend out the door.
The seven people left in the room were silent as they heard the screech of tires as David peeled away from the curb. When Morgan realized the full scope of what she�d just done, as well as the repercussions she�d be faced with the next time she saw either David or Randy, her legs once again turned to rubber. This time it was Joey who caught her and helped her back to the couch. She shakily sat down between Justin and Joey, placing her head in her hands and trying to figure out how she�d gotten herself into such a situation yet again.
�Morgan?� Phyllis kneeled down next to Morgan and placed a comforting hand on her knee. �What did they want, Morgan? Why did they show up again after all this time?� Morgan didn�t look up; she simply shook her head miserably. Phyllis continued on gently. �Morgan, you know you have to tell Officer Taylor that he�s back in town. You can�t let this keep happening, and you�re the only one who can stop it. I wish I could tell you to just pretend it never happened, but I can�t sweetie. This has got to stop.�
�I know!� she cried, looking at Phyllis through tear-filled eyes. �I know it, Phyllis, I just... I�m just so scared.� Morgan broke down in tears, sobbing helplessly.
Joey looked down at the girl in his arms, his heart breaking that she was hurting so much and there was nothing he could do for her. He tightened his arms around her, trying to comfort her the best he could. He glanced at his mother, wondering what it was that both women were hiding. After a few minutes, Morgan calmed down and looked up at the people surrounding her.
�I... I think I�m going to go back to bed for a while, if that�s okay.� she murmured.
They all nodded, and Phyllis helped Morgan up to her bedroom. The boys sat down around the living room, waiting for Joey�s mother to come back down the stairs. They all hoped she�d fill them in on the drama they had just witnessed. They looked up when they heard Phyllis coming back down the stairs. Phyllis saw the questioning looks that Joey and his friends were giving her but shook them off. She picked up the bottle of medicine from the table on which it had gotten placed and picked up the phone.
�Yes, this is Phyllis Fatone. I�m Morgan Carpenter�s guardian, and we have a little problem...all right. Yes, I�m Morgan Carpenter�s guardian, and we�ve had a mix up with her pills...yes...She went to take her morning pill and realized she took it last night by accident. Yes... We were wondering if there were going to be problems since she took two doses of it yesterday... No, we just realized it a few minutes ago... All right... Yes, thank you...Goodbye.� Sighing, Phyllis set the phone down and turned to her son.
�What�s going on, Mom? Is Morgan going to be all right?�
�Yes, she�ll be fine. She probably won�t be feeling very well tonight, so we need to make sure she�s comfortable, but other than that, we can just wait and watch her to make sure she doesn�t have an adverse reaction to the double dose of medication she took yesterday.� she explained.
Joey shook his head. �No, Mom, I meant that scene earlier. Who was that guy, and why does she have to tell the police that he�s in town?� Joey�s voice shook. �What did that guy do to her, Mom?�
Phyllis closed her eyes to ward off the emotions flooding her. She wanted to tell Joey and his friends the truth about everything that was going on, but knew that only Morgan herself could do that. She looked up into her son�s troubled eyes and sighed. �I can�t tell you that, Joey. I don�t have the right. I will tell you that if any of you see either of those boys around the house, don�t leave Morgan alone for a second. Make sure that she is aware if they start hanging around and keep the doors and windows locked at all times.�
The concern evident in the guys� faces tripled at the ominous sound of Phyllis�s voice and the severity of her words. �Is... Will they hurt her?�
Phyllis paled involuntarily, remembering the way Morgan had looked the last time she�d been out with David and his friends. She knew that Morgan�s pill mix up may have saved her life, and had definitely saved her a sound beating. �I wouldn�t put it past that boy to hurt anyone or anything. He�s evil, plain and simple. I only wish I knew what he wanted from her now, after all this time.� she whispered. Focusing once again on the present, Phyllis abruptly stood and walked back into the kitchen. She paused at the door, and looked at the boys for a moment. �I want you guys to promise me that you�ll watch out for her. Be friendly to her. Be the sweet and caring young men I know you all can be, and not the distant and cold boys I saw this last week.�
All five hung their heads in shame at the way they�d treated Morgan over the week. Joey looked up to the ceiling, as if trying to see through it to make sure Morgan was all right.