I Want You Here, With Me

Calvin was terrified ,by the thought of becoming a father. He just turned 18 years old? He never had a job? Babies cost a lot of money.

Plus, his father was a psychopath and dangerous. 

He knew Maria was a trigger to his father because his father was a racist. And he was never going to accept Maria. 

Not only was Maria's life at risk, but their unborn child was as well if Maria was, indeed, pregnant.

Calvin's father would do anything to stop that baby from being born if he knew that Maria might be carrying.

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Mr. Wyatt went to the marketplace and bought Maria a pregnancy test, something he had never seen himself doing.

A child was a blessing; it really was.

He was happy for the young pair, but he was so worried for them.

They could not live with him forever, and none had any money.

Mr. Wyatt also knew they were in danger and wasn't throwing them out. Especially not when Maria could be carrying a child.

No, he'd help them as much as possible while building his case against Mr. Wraith. That man was due for arrest. Sooner rather than later.

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Maddie followed Hunter after he left the warehouse. She held a reasonable distance between them. She braked the car slowly, and studied him when he exited the vehicle and ran inside a house.

"So, this was his new home?" She muttered and took a binocular to look closer through the windows. She wanders from window to window and freezes when she sees Mallory rushing into Hunter's arms when he steps inside.

Maddie saw Hunter hugging Mallory back, and they both started giggling.

Maddie's hands were shaking. How could he do this to her?

She threw the binoculars aside, stepped on the gas, and took off.

That wasn't something she wanted to watch... How could he do something like this to her? They were meant to be together.

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"Hunter!" Mallory shouted and ran towards his arms. 

"I missed you!" She cheered, and Hunter smiled and embraced her. 

"I can see that," he said, laughing. "What's up, brother?" Blade said and went out to the kitchen.

"Not much. Happy to be home again." Hunter replied and nodded to Blade.

"Oh, okay. All good?" He replied, and Hunter gave him a look.

"Hey, Mall. Why don't you go choose a movie for us?" Blade said, and Mallory nodded,

"Of course!" And left the room. 

"What's new?" Blade asks, and Hunter lowers his voice. 

"Maddie, here's what's going on," he sighed, and Blade frowned. 

"She stalked me here," murmured Hunter, "What? And you let her? Are you dumb?" Blade abruptly said, and Hunter rolled his eyes.

"No, not on purpose. I found out after I parked in the driveway and saw a car driving slowly in the back. The driver was wearing a cap."

" A cap? How did you know it was her then?" Hunter shook his head.

"Because it was my old Liverpool cap, the one I lost. And the one I had custom-made." Blade chuckled. "She isn't the brightest."

"No, but she's dangerous," Hunter replied, and Blade nodded.

"So we have to update the security system. And we need someone down here with Mall if we can't be around. " Hunter nodded. 

"I'm thinking about hiring Ana's cousin." Blade frowned. 

"But will she take on this kind of job? She's used to being around the big stars and events. Not babysitting."

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"Is that what you are feeling? That you need to babysit me?" Mallory said with a shaky voice. "Then you don't have to do that anymore," she mumbles and runs away with tears in her eyes. She ran into the yard and was about to climb the fence when Hunter caught her and dragged her down.

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"Mallory. Listen to me: We don't see it as babysitting you; it's more like guarding you since you're still in danger and Maddie is unpredictable. We want you here, with us. And I will not allow anything to happen to you. I care about you, Mall, and I want you to be safe." Hunter looked at Mallory, who had tears running down her cheeks.

"Don't think anything else, okay?" He mumbled and felt his heart begin to beat faster the longer he looked into her sad eyes.

"You promise? You want me here? With you?" Mallory quivered, and Hunter nodded. 

"I promise. I want you here, with me." He replied, and Mallory swallowed nervously.

"Hunter, I..." 

"Hey guys," Blade shouted, and he erupted Mallory.

"Get in here," he went on, and they looked at each other, and Hunter felt his stomach float. 

"Let's go inside," he mumbled, and Mallory nodded, "Yes, let's go inside."

________________

Mrs. Wraith had just showered when she overheard someone coming into the room. "Hello?" She called as she wrapped the robe around her bare body. "Hello, wife," Mr. Wraith said, and Mrs. Wraith felt the alcohol sting in her nose. "You're drunk," she murmured and started applying her night cream to her face.

"Yes, and I believe you deserve a little love tonight," he declared, and Mrs. Wraith sighed.

"No, I will pass," She replied, and Mr. Wraith was unhappy with her answer. "I'll fuck you whenever I want to, ungrateful whore," he yelled at Mrs. Wraith and dragged her out of the bathroom.

"Please, Harold. Stop this," Mrs. Wraith begged and fought him off her.

"I will see you sober in the morning." She declared and rushed out of the room. But his hand grabbed her hair when she was in the doorway.

"Aouuu," she screamed and tried to make him free her. 

"You really are an ungrateful whore. A whore who needs to be taught what happens when she defies her man." Mr. Wraith scolded and kicked her back.

"No, stop this, Harold," She screamed.

Mr. Wraith throws her on the bed, and Mrs. Wraith kicks and screams all she can. But then it all stopped.

Mrs. Wraith sat up in bed and saw Hollie standing with a broken vase in her hand. "Oh my god. What if I killed him?" Hollie said and stared at Mr. Wraith's lifeless body on the ground.

Mrs. Wraith stood up and tied her robe.

She knelt next to her husband and saw his breast move.

"He's breathing," Mrs. Wraith mumbled, and Hollie sighed deeply.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Wraith. I had a bad feeling when I came home, and I ran over here with the relentless feeling that something was wrong. 

And obviously, I got here just in time. But I never wanted to hurt anybody," Mrs. Wraith nodded.

"You did the right thing. Will you help me pack?" Mrs. Wraith asked, and Hollie frowned, "Pack?"

"Yes, I am leaving. Now. Tonight." Mrs. Wraith stated, and Hollie nodded.

"Of course. Where do I begin?"

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Duncan searched in his storage room for the box with all his personal possessions from his time in Ireland. After flipping the whole room, he found it and took it to the living room. He began to unpack it, and the memories were washing over him.

Then he found what he was searching for the picture of Cordelia. 

The woman who had won over his heart and broke it, too.

And he was pretty sure that this woman could be Mallory's mom, and he could be her father.

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Maria sat with her eyes shut and counted the two minutes until the pregnancy test showed the result, and that was the longest two minutes of her life.

"One hundred and twenty," she whispered.

She took one look at that test, and her heart stopped.

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Mr. Wraith awoke on the floor with a banging headache. He felt confused before the memory of his litigant wife came before him.

Mr. Wraith felt the back of his head; he had a big lump. 

He stood up and looked around the room; rage started brewing in him.

His wife's jewelry box was gone from the open safe, and he rushed into her closet and noticed that the branded bags and other expensive things were missing.

That meant they either had a break-in or she left.

Mr. Wraith rushed across the house, talking with security on the phone, "Did my wife leave?" He asked, "We never saw anyone leaving. Just Hollie and we helped load her car with the bags that you, sir, and Mrs. Wraith required for a romantic getaway she was planning on behalf of Mrs. Wraith," Mr. Wraith roared. "Did you check the baggage?"

" No, sir." He was stammering, and Mr. Wraith knew: his wife was probably in one of those bags.