Aldrich #3
The call that I had to place with my mother was something that I never wanted to experience again.
She was just as shocked as I had been but the thing she didn’t do was question me.
And I wasn’t sure why that fucked me up even more.
I wanted someone to tell me that I was crazy, that I had been lying because if that wasn’t the case then the DNA test was lying.
I’d told Billy to get the best person she had and I knew this crazy stalker girl’s money wasn’t longer than mine.
So whoever she’d bribed to make those results show me as the father was doing something for chump change.
I wanted to find the office and interrogate everyone who worked there but my mama told me that was out of the question.
Instead, she prayed over me saying that something was attacking me and going after the one thing I held in the highest regard: my name.
Calling me a liar and going after my public image was a shitty thing for anyone to do especially when I didn’t have any idea who this girl was.
I was thankful that I had people on my side who would go to bat for me.
But that didn’t mean I was going to just sit around while they fought my battles for me.
My eyes were tired and I knew I needed to give this a rest but something Billy said had been plaguing me for hours.
I’d been scrolling through my emails, DMs, fan chats and the spam folder of my website to see if I had missed something coming from this girl.
She said her name was Marley and her social media before she started this campaign against me was mostly normal shit about her life.
According to the flags in her bio, she was Moroccan and Saudi Arabian and grew up in Michigan.
We didn’t go to the same college and I was trying to find some hint as to when she decided to fuck up my life.
So far, I couldn’t even see when we’d crossed paths.
Billy was messaging me with questions and helping me track my movements back to when I could have potentially met her.
Her face had been vaguely familiar to me but I saw so many people it was impossible for me to remember who they all were.
The body modifications and the work she had done made her look so much like thousands of other women who seem to desire the same face so I was sure I was confusing her with someone else.
On a hunch, I started to look through one more thing and that’s when I felt like my world was crashing down around me.
I shoved back from the computer and the room suddenly felt like the walls were caving in.
My body felt overheated and I had to get out of here.
I glanced at my bed and started to strip the covers off of it.
I was about to get all this shit out of here today.
Shit, I needed to get myself the fuck out of here as soon as possible.
My stomach was churning hard as I piled the sheets on the ground and I wasn’t sure which end it was about to come out of but I felt like I was going to be sick.
My chest was heaving when I got done not from the exertion but from the attempts of trying to keep myself together.
Looking around my room I picked up the phone and called a number I knew could help me as quickly as possible. I wasn’t thinking logically about what I should be doing. My fight or flight was kicking it and it was telling me to do both. I was making moves to run the fuck away.
“Rachelle?”
“Money? Are you okay?” I could hear her shuffling around and I knew that Coach Stew was gonna kill my ass for waking up his wife.
“The fuck Money’s ass calling you for, Puddin’?” I heard Coach Stew’s voice get closer to the phone and I knew he’d probably rolled over to see what was wrong.
I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and saw that it was after one in the morning. Fuck. This should’ve waited until morning. I gripped my scalp trying to will myself to calm down.
“That’s my fault, Rachelle. Tell Stew I’m sorry.
I just got a lot going on and I needed a favor.
” I walked into my closet and pulled down my duffle bag as I tried to figure out what hotel I was going to check into for the night on short notice.
Doing so at this time of night might call more attention to me but I wasn’t sure I cared.
“Ignore him, Money. Are you okay?”
Rachelle was cool as hell and I loved hanging out with her two boys so I knew her question was genuine.
Despite being the head coach’s wife, she still worked within the organization because she said she would never be a woman who just ate off what her husband killed.
Stew loved it cause that meant he had his wife in the building with him and he could see her whenever he needed to.
The long hours he often put in would’ve put a strain on any relationship but he said their proximity to the team and to one another helped a lot.
“I will be. But um, do you think you can help me find a house?” I dropped my duffle and the clothes I was about to pull down off their hangers. It seemed like I was now frozen instead of running around panicking.
“You putting down roots or are you looking to rent?” She sounded more alert than before, which only made me feel worse.
“That all depends on what you find, but yeah I’d probably buy. Cash of course and something that’s secure.” I was doing my best to keep myself level and make plans that would make me feel better. But the way my stomach was dropping meant that it probably wasn’t happening.
I heard her rustling around again and her movements sounded more hurried than before. “Is this something we need to speak with the security team about? There’s nothing wrong with—”
I shook my head because there was no way I wanted this shit to get out.
I didn’t know how I was going to handle it within myself and bringing the public into it was not something I wanted.
Not now or ever if I could help it. She sounded worried and that was the last thing I wanted.
No one else needed to have additional stress placed on them because of this shit.
“If it becomes something more I promise I will. Right now, I just need to move. Quickly.”
“It’s not a problem, Money, I got you. I can have a list of properties over to you by 10—Stew!”
I heard shuffling and knew he’d snatched the phone out of her hand. It was only confirmed when I heard his voice come over the line.
“Young buck, you got me, my wife and this fetus up. Do I need to suit up or are we cool?”
I almost cracked a smile hearing Stew’s ass ready to go.
Craziest thing was I knew he wasn’t playing.
When his wife’s boys were missing Stew really put in more work than the police and got them back without their help.
They’d been having problems with her ex for months but nobody took any of her issues seriously until it was way too late.
Being the type of father he was he’d put his all into finding them safely.
“We’re good, Coach. You know I’m not about to have you out here in no mess.” There wasn’t anything I could do about this and even if it felt like the demons were winning there was no way I was going to say too much. I already felt myself breaking down when I spoke with Rachelle.
“It’s Stew right now and we don’t play that bullshit.
Make sure you reach out to the resources around you and don’t handle shit on your own.
I know how that shit can take you down a dangerous path and I’m trying to prevent you from following in my footsteps.
I might be a hard ass sometimes but with your mental health, don’t fight whatever this is alone, Money.
” I dropped my head into my free hand and almost broke down.
This shit was heavy and with all the other news that was coming out I wasn’t completely sure what I was going to do to keep my head on straight.
I took a deep breath to shore up the blocks I was placing in my head before I lifted it up.
I willed my voice not to crack and the tears not to fall.
“I’m good, Stew, I promise. I need to move though.
And I’m sorry for disturbing your family right now but I thank you for letting me borrow your Mrs.” My voice was tight and I prayed he left this shit where it was at.
If I had to talk about it…yeah, it wouldn’t be good for anyone.
He was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again. “I’m here if you need me, Money. Rachelle ain’t the only Stewart that’s got your back.”
I nodded my head quickly because I understood what he was saying but I wasn’t sure who I could go to with this.
“Thank you, Stew.”
“Any time. And I mean that, Aldrich, anytime.”
I hung up with Coach and went about getting ready for bed. I was exhausted with everything that had gone on today but I wasn’t sure if I could close my eyes.
I glanced at the bed and immediately got creeped out.
The bile in my stomach was churning and I just couldn’t do it.
Instead of forcing myself I went into the hall of my place and grabbed the sheets I kept there.
I was going to cut on the TV in my den, lie on the sofa and pray that sleep eventually found me.