WIDOWer

CHAPTER 11

Bria accepts Warren’s invitation to dinner, and they meet at SavOur, an upscale bistro, in the heart of downtown Tallahassee, just after seven o’clock. Bria arrives in a sexy red sleeveless, sweetheart dress. Warren sits captivated by the woman who’d so graciously, found her way into his heart, with that handsome smile that had always made her heart skip a beat. He watched as the host shows her to their table then standing to pull out her chair, he whispers

“You look stunning!” then gives her a quick kiss on the cheek

“Thank you!” she replies with a slight smile

“How have you been?” Warren asks

“Ok, just eating constantly!” she smirks picking up the menu

Warren laughs then asks

“Have you been back to the doctor? How’s the baby?”

“Yes, I have, and I go back tomorrow for an ultrasound” she responds glancing up at him from the menu

“I’m supposed to find out the sex, if you want to come with me.” She adds

“Does that mean you’ve forgiven me?” he asks

“No, that means you knocked me up. So, I guess you can come see if you’re about to father a son or another daughter.” she announces, then after not being able to hold a straight face, they both start laughing

“I’d love to come. Just tell me when and where!”

Bria just narrows her eyes at him then smirks.

Realizing what he’d just said, he smiles and says

“No pun intended!”

Over dinner, things start to feel like old times again. Their time apart seemed to have clarified their feelings for one another.

Warren realizing how much Bria had become an intricate part of he and Julie’s lives and how nothing made sense without her anymore. And Bria realizing that no matter how mad and betrayed she felt after everything that had happened, she still wanted to end every day in Warren’s arms and seeing the lengths he’s willing to go to, to ensure her happiness was proof that he loved her more than she could have imagined.

When Warren walks Bria to her car, she finally asks

“Why’d you go see my dad?”

Slightly caught off guard, he says

“He’s a nice guy, I wanted to play golf and I was in town.”

“Is that a problem?” he asks

Eyeing him skeptically, she says

“Yeah, I guess!”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, Warren whispers

“When are you coming back home?”

“Home!” Bria laughs

Warren just stands looking at her for a moment, then says

“I’m serious!”

Bria breaks eye contact, steps back then shakes her head

“I think the past few weeks have given us perspective…” she murmurs then stops

“Okay…” Warren replies a little confused

“You know I’m crazy about you. And it’s broken my heart being away from Julie but, I still have a lot of questions.” She states then pauses looking back at him

“That you aren’t being honest about!” she adds

“Will you spend the night with me?” Warren asks

After a brief pause, Bria searches his eyes then asks

“Where’s Julie?”

“Winter break started today, she’s with Jacob and Monica” he replies

“If you promise to answer all my questions, honestly!” she answers

“I haven’t lied to you, but I will do my best to provide clarity” Warren states

“Do you need to go by your place first?” He asks

“We’re staying at my place!” she states with a raised eyebrow

“How about tonight we stay at my place and tomorrow, we stay at yours?”

“Ha! Real funny” Bria responds turning to open her door

“I’m going home, you can come by if you want”

Following a quick shower, Bria stands drying off and asks

“Who sent the email from Dillon’s phone?”

Warren looks up watching as she dries off, then after a bit, he says

“A friend, had another friend distract him and they did it while he was blindfolded”

Bria shakes her head

“A friend!” she mutters under her breath

“Who attacked him?”

“Honestly, I have no idea.”

“I just know people that know people, that know some other people.” Warren says shrugging his shoulders

“People that know people!” Bria mutters

“How does that even make sense!” she asks

“I’m honestly…” Warren begins

“Ok, you said a friend, does your friend have a name?” Bria asks ignoring him

Warren shakes his head and looks away from her

“I’m sure I can guess!” Bria states

Finally turning to look up at Bria as she walks over to him, Warren says

“I have people that have my back, no matter what, no questions asked. That type of loyalty I can’t…”

“I know it was probably Marcus or Doug. Considering Doug owns clubs and lounges, I’m betting it was him cause I haven’t seen Marcus in forever.” Bria states cutting him off

“I get it.” She adds straddling his leg, so her baby bump is right in his face

“The baby hasn’t stopped kicking since I got out of the shower” she states grabbing both his hands so he can feel

On the drive to the doctor’s office, Warren says

“I really want to put the situation with Dillon and Scope behind us and move on, if that’s what you want.”

After turning to glance at her, he continues

“I can apologize to you every day if you like, but beyond that, my apologizing to anyone else could easily be misconstrued as an admission of guilt.”

Bria sits not responding for a moment, as they pull into the parking lot.

“I respect what you tried to do. I mean, you went about it all wrong, but I get it.”

“In the future I’d appreciate if you’d let me handle things my own way, unless of course there is a situation where people that know people, no questions asked is the way to go”

“Like if Jay cheats on Sue again!” Bria laughs

“Okay!” Warren laughs then leans over and kisses her cheek

Before he pulls away, Bria touches the side of his face and says

“I promise I’ll come to you if I need help!”

After giving him another quick kiss, they get out of the car.

While they sit in the lobby of the doctor’s office, they’re both replying to messages and emails on their phones. Hearing the sound of a familiar voice, Bria glances up and looking through the reception area, she catches a glimpse of Jacob coming from an exam room, followed by a long dark haired, Eva Mendez look alike. Remembering Susan’s words from the dinner they shared not too long ago

“Yeah, the tramp is having a boy! And she wants to name him after Jacob”

“I’m his wife, but I’m no longer the most important person in his life. You know he goes to doctors’ appointments with her! Like literally, they’re gonna be a family!”

Immediately enraged, Bria stands up, dropping her phone from her lap causing Warren to look up from his phone. When he picks up her phone, he reaches for her hand then asks

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

Breaking her out of her moment of hostility, she turns to him then whispers

“I gotta step outside!” then without a second thought, she walks out of the front door.

Not sure exactly what’s going on with her, Warren slides his phone into his pocket, then follows her outside. Walking over to the side of the building, he sees Bria with her head up to the sky with her eyes closed.

“Bria!” he calls out, but she doesn’t respond

“Babe!” he says grabbing her arm

Finally, she turns and looks at him, her eyes filled with unshed tears, and she whispers

“Jay is in there”

Embracing her, Warren shakes his head. Bria stands there breathing in his calming scent. Just when her heartrate starts to regulate, the door opens, and Jacob walks out with his tramp.

“Warren!” he states when he sees them

Recognizing the tramp, Warren says

“Savannah!”

Shocked, Bria lifts her head from Warren’s chest, locking eyes with Jacob’s tramp then looking up at Warren, she asks

“Savannah, who?”

Warren and Jacob stand there not saying anything and the Eva look alike says

“Savannah Randell.”

“Long time no see Warren. Where you been hiding?” she asks

Bria stands watching as Jacob takes Savannah’s hand and she snaps

Karate chopping their hands apart she goes to stand between Jacob and Savannah then says

“Wait a minute!”

Glaring at Warren she asks

“Savannah, you mean second date Savannah?”

Jacob attempts to reach around Bria, and she unexpectedly shoves him against the building hard, pressing and holding the same shoulder Sue had stabbed him in.

Allowing her crazy to surface, Bria leans in and whispers into Jacob’s ear

“I’m going to kill you and this b*tch!”

“Bria!” Warren says grabbing her arm, in an attempt to calm her down

Snatching her arm away from him, she shouts

“DO NOT TOUCH ME!” and without another word, she goes back inside the doctor’s office

“Who the hell is she?” Savannah mutters as Jacob, in a tremendous amount of pain, takes her hand then starts walking towards the parking lot

Horrified by the reality of everything that she’s just learned and still wrapping her head around it all, Bria sits, wishing they’d just call her already so she can go home.

Conscious of Bria’s heightened emotions, Warren doesn’t say anything when the nurse leaves the two of them alone in the sonogram room. Bria just sits staring off into the distance, unable to believe that the same woman that had dated Warren is now pregnant by her best friend’s husband. The parallelism was far from daunting, it had enraged Bria to the point of no return, and she knew that something had to be done.

Later that afternoon, they call Julie and share the news of Bria having a baby girl. She is ecstatic about her baby sister, she starts talking about plans for the nursery and says she’ll be watching videos on how to hold a baby and changing diapers.

After a long, emotionally draining day, Bria holds it together long enough to have dinner with Warren, but she can’t help but constantly replay the events from the doctor’s office over and over in her head. The nerve of Jacob, flaunting around with that tramp, even after Sue agreed to go to counseling in an attempt to hold their marriage together.

After they’d finished eating, Bria tells Warren that she’s heading home. He doesn’t object, he just asks her, if it’s ok for him to walk her out.

Once he closes the front door behind them, he grabs Bria’s hand, and they walk to her car. Stopping next to the car door, Bria wraps her arms around Warren’s neck, then laying her head on his chest, she just stands there breathing in his calming fragrance. Placing his arms around her waist Warren, stands there for a moment then asks

“Are you, okay?”

“No, but I will be!” Bria mutters shaking her head, not looking up at him

Turning to lean against the car, Warren lifts her chin up, causing her to meet his gaze then whispers

“You’re five months pregnant and I know today was insane…” he pauses as Bria stands, now narrowing her eyes at him

“I am thoroughly aware of how intense things got today.”

“I mean, I thought I’d seen you mad, but…” he pauses shaking his head

Bria just stands searching his face, attempting to figure out what exactly he’s trying to say.

“I heard what you said to Jacob, I’m pretty sure Savannah heard you too!”

“I’m just saying…”

“I’m glad they heard me. Because I meant every word!” Bria states with a look in her eyes that Warren hadn’t seen before

“Babe, you do know Jay is a lawyer” he replies

“I know he wasn’t the one who took his bar exam! And he knows that I meant exactly what I said!”

Warren stands puzzled not responding and Bria gives him a quick kiss then says

“I love you, but I gotta go!”

“I’ll see you tomorrow” she states watching him, as he stands up from the car, just looking at her not responding

When Bria drives away, Warren pulls out his phone and calls Doug over to his house.

Bria arrives at Susan’s shop as she’s finishing up with her last client. While she’s locking up, Bria gets up to go into Sue’s office, like she’d done a million times before. Sue calls out attempting to stop her, but it’s too late, she’s already inside. Looking around the office Bria sees that Sue has added what looks to be a loveseat. Walking over to it she pulls up a cushion then turning around, she looks at Sue standing in the doorway.

“Why have you been sleeping here?” she asks

“Look Nee, I…”

“I saw Jay today!” Bria states cutting her off then sitting down on the sofa

Susan shakes her head then sits down at her desk.

“These shops are all I have. Literally everything Jay and I own, is in his name.”

“I thought you said you and Jay were going to counseling.”

Susan laughs then says

“For what? I am never going to be a stepmom to that tramp’s baby!”

“Savannah!” Bria states remembering the look on Savannah’s face when she had Jacob pinned against the wall

With a surprised look on her face, Sue asks

“How do you know her name?”

Bria stands up then walking over to Sue, she says

“Come on, let’s go, I need you to drink a few shots for me and you!”

On their drive home, Bria fills Sue in on the events of her day. Telling her that she’s gonna have another niece and about Warren having dated Savannah and how she’d slipped up and threatened them in front of him.

They stop by the liquor store and when Sue gets back in the car, she asks

“So, what did he say when you told him about the bar exam and that you were serious?”

“He kinda looked like he wanted to throw up, but he didn’t say anything.”

“I know that’s like his brother and it’s Julie’s uncle. But we agreed…”

“I know all about our agreement, but honestly…”

“No buts Sue, you came through for me and now it’s my turn!” Bria states

“Look, I never could have imagined you’d fall in love again. And I know that this is complicated. I mean you can’t have your stepdaughter’s uncle killed.”

“Julie doesn’t even really know Jay. All he does is lie to her.”

“Even still, Warren would never forgive you. And I won’t be the reason you two don’t make it. I’m glad you’re finally happy and he’s good for you” Sue states

“Deals off!” she adds

“That psycho offing himself was an unforeseen win. We’re still in this together.” Bria replies

“And I think I have an idea about how we can get it done.” Bria whispers pulling up to her house

“Nee, I’m serious. I’m handling this on my own. You’re pregnant if there’s any blow back from this you cannot be involved.”

Bria just looks at her then says

“Whatever!”

Bria comes up with a plan to reach out to Doug and blackmail him into giving up the guys that jumped Dillon. Sue agrees to move in with Bria and after drinking herself into oblivion, Bria helps her to the guest room then takes a hot relaxing bubble bath.

Later that night, Doug finally shows up to Warren’s house, only he’s not alone. He brings Marcus, Theo and eight half naked females along with him.

Warren hearing several voices coming from his living room, walks out of his bedroom and is immediately accosted by one of the ladies

“Are you the man of the house?” she asks

Before he can answer, someone turns on some music. Looking around for Doug, Warren finally spots him in the kitchen pouring a drink.

“Bro, what the f*ck!” he snaps walking up to Doug snatching the bottle from him

“Man, there you go!” Doug replies

“This is not happening! You got two minutes to get all these people out of my house!”

“Come on Bro, you single again. Loosen up and take one of these…”

“I’m not single!” Warren states cutting him off

“Aww, she took you back, man that’s great! We gotta celebrate!” Doug states as two of the girls walk into the kitchen. The same girl that met Warren coming out of his room follows them and when she tries to wrap her arm around his neck, he realizes Doug is a hopeless case.

Once Warren finds Marcus, he and Theo help him get all the ladies outside and Theo drives them back to Doug’s house. Not long after that, Doug passes out on the couch and Warren goes to bed.

The following morning, Warren walks out of his bedroom and finds Doug in the kitchen searching through the cabinets.

“The aspirin is right here!” he states reaching him the bottle

Taking them, Doug says

“You ain’t gotta yell bro”

“WHAT THE F*CK WAS LAST NIGHT!” Warren states

“I told you to swing by, not throw a party” he adds

“Man, d*mn. I was already wasted before you called me.” Doug replies

“What did you want anyway?” he asks

“Drink some water and eat something. I’ll be back in a minute” Warren responds

Warren takes a shower and gives Doug some time to get his head together. Once he’s back to his normal self, Warren asks

“Do you remember Savannah?”

“You mean Eva?” he replies right away

Shaking his head Warren says

“She doesn’t look like her, but yeah”

“Her last name is Randell. Isn’t that Dillon’s last name?”

“I think so. Why?” he asks

“I need you to look into it and find out if they’re related.” Warren states as his phone rings

After glancing at his phone, he answers the call and leaves the kitchen

“That must be ole girl!” Doug mutters

After finishing his call Warren walks back into the kitchen and finds Marcus sitting at the table with Doug.

“Well, I ain’t seen you in weeks, now this makes it twice in less than 24 hours. To what do we owe this…”

“You know I gotta let the dust settle when y’all up to no good.” Marcus replies

“Mr. Detective, you full of sh*t!”

“But I am glad you stopped by. I need you to look into something for me.” Warren states

“What?” Marcus asks

“A double murder suicide case in Tampa about three years ago, one of the victims’ names was Dr. Jaylen Ross” Warren explains

“Ok, What about it?”

“I don’t know.” Warren responds shaking his head

“Jaylen, ain’t that ole girl husband?” Doug questions

“Yeah. Something she said yesterday just…”

“I don’t know, just look into the case and let me know what you find” he states

With an unsettling feeling, Warren heads into the office for the day, after requesting a favor from each of his closest confidants. Bria’s words still echoing in his head

I’m going to kill you and this b*tch!

In an attempt to avoid Bria, Warren calls her to let her know he’d be in Valdosta for the day. But to his surprise, she asks if it’s ok for her to join him. Unable to think of a quick explanation for declining, he agrees to swing by and pick her up.

When Bria gets in the car, she asks

“Did something happen in Valdosta or is this just a pop-up visit?”

“Just a pop-up. I just wanted to drop in, it’s been a minute since I was there” Warren answers

“Did you tell your parents about the baby?” Bria asks

Warren shakes his head, remembering the news they’d gotten yesterday about their baby girl.

“No, I didn’t. Did you get a chance to?” he asks

“No, I’ll call them later today. I did tell Sue though” she responds

Then turning to look at him, she says

“I’m sorry about yesterday. I know that Jay is like a brother to you, and I shouldn’t have reacted that way.”

Warren glances at her, unable to register any sincerity in her voice, he knows that she is just saying what she thinks he wants to hear.

“I was stunned seeing him with Savannah too, but you…” he pauses

“You were furious!” he mutters

Bria rides in silence gazing out the window for a while until Warren asks

“Did you talk to anyone after your husband was killed? Like a grief counselor or a therapist?”

Glancing over at Bria, he sees her smirk as she looks out the window. Then finally turning to look at him, she laughs then asks

“Why would I do that?”

“When we met, you talked about how you were still angry and bitter. Those are feelings that you should talk through with someone.” Warren answers

“Did you talk to someone when Mia was killed?” she asks

After glancing at her, now seemingly amused, Warren says

“I did, eventually.”

“Anger can be…” he begins

“What happened to the driver of the truck that hit her?” Bria asks softly cutting him off

Shocked by her question, Warren just glances over at her

“I’ve been thinking about everything that happened with Dillon. I mean, he only gave me an inappropriate gift, broke a vase of flowers and screamed at me, and you ruined his career then had him beaten within an inch of his life.” Bria explains

“So, I wonder what people that know people would do to a man who carelessly day drinks and kills a young loving mother and wife”

“Not everyone has loyal people that have their backs, no questions asked!” she smirks

As the realization of her comments dawn on him, Warren pulls into a parking lot. After putting the car in park, he turns to Bria and asks

“Is that supposed to mean something?”

Still amused by their conversation, Bria says

“It means exactly what it sounds like”

“And you didn’t answer my question!” she adds

“And in the spirit of transparency I’m not going to.”

“And don’t try to make it seem like any of that has anything to do with how you acted in front of the doctor’s office yesterday”

“I told you that the stuff with Dillon got out of hand and…”

“Save it Warren, I couldn’t care less about what happened to Dillon. I was only upset because you weren’t upfront about the whole thing. A heads up would have just been nice” Bria confesses cutting him off

“Wait a minute, you broke up with me and stopped talking to not only me but Julie for weeks, all because I didn’t give you a heads up.”

Bria just sits eying him with an unfamiliar look in her eyes.

Warren is blown away by her candor, after searching her eyes, he laughs then whispers

“You threatened a lawyer and a pregnant stranger in broad daylight, probably on camera”

Now slightly uneasy with where the conversation is heading, Bria looks away from him then whispers

“Good thing you didn’t hear what I said to him at the hospital!”

Warren shakes his head, at a complete loss for words. After rubbing his hand down his face then pinching his nose as he takes a deep breath, he says

“I asked you straight out, if you’d killed your husband…” he pauses turning to look at her

“And you said no!” he adds

“And I didn’t!” she responds

“You told Jay that you were going to kill him and Savannah. Then last night you turned around and told me that you meant every word and that he knew you meant it.”

“Did you mean that metaphorically or literally” he asks

“In the spirit of transparency, I’m not answering that!” Bria answers nonchalantly

“Bria, Jacob is Julie’s uncle.”

“No matter how I feel about you, him or the situation. I can’t change that” he acknowledges

They sit in silence for a moment both contemplating what their future could possibly look like, then putting the car in reverse, Warren drives back to Bria’s house.