WIDOWer Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Warren, Bria, and Susan all sit in the hospital waiting room, an hour after Warren had found Jacob unconscious in a pool of his own blood.

On the way to the hospital, paramedics were able to stabilize Jacob long enough for him to tell officers that a masked man broke into the house and attacked him. He’d been rushed into surgery with a stab wound to his hand and shoulder and a pretty significant head wound, that he got falling to the ground after being stabbed.

Warren had also given a statement, saying that he and Jay were supposed to be meeting and when he didn’t answer the door, he let himself in and found him, stabbed and unconscious.

With that, Susan was in the clear for now. But as it stood, officers were now in their neighborhood conducting a door-to-door search for a non-existent masked man.

Before long, the emergency room doctor comes out to give Sue an update on Jacob’s condition

“Mrs. Donaldson, Jacob had been stabbed in his axillary artery when he arrived. Paramedics were able to control the bleed and we were able to repair his injuries. He was given a few blood transfusions to compensate for his blood loss, but thankfully the knife missed his heart. He also had a pretty severe gash to his head, but we performed a head CT and it didn’t show a bleed or fracture. They’re still finishing up but were expecting him to make a full recovery.” he states

“Thank you!” she replies

Then sitting back down as the doctor leaves, Sue mutters

“I gotta call Monica and Jacob!”

“Hey, wait until you talk to Jay.” Bria replies taking her hand

“Ok, yeah. That’s a good idea.” She replies still shaken up and slightly intoxicated

“Hey, were gonna give you a minute, we’ll be right outside” Bria tells Sue

Her and Warren walk outside and get into his car. Bria sits eyeing him for a moment, knowing full well, he’s ready to hear the real story.

“Are you going to make me ask you?” he states

“First of all, just let me say, I’m really sorry for getting you involved in this” she responds

“No, apology necessary. Just tell me what happened!” he replies

“All I know is Jay told Susan that he’d been cheating on her and that the chick is pregnant, then she said, she snapped. That’s when I texted you to go check on him.”

“That’s it, she snapped!”

“Ok, did she say she stabbed him?” he asks

“No, she said she went to get a drink but saw the knives instead. Then I asked her if he was ok, and she said she didn’t know. So, that’s when I called you and you found him”

“I mean, I could have guessed what happened, but I wasn’t exactly sure why.”

“Then when Jay said somebody had broken in, I knew it was most likely something he’d done or said” he adds

“I’m just glad he’s gonna be ok!” Bria lies unable to express how she really feels about the whole situation

“You and me both, I couldn’t imagine telling Jewels something happened to Jay”

“Speaking of Jewels, I know you have to get going.” Bria acknowledges

“No, I’m fine. Doug is at the house.”

“I’m gonna take off in a few. I know we have a busy day tomorrow.” Bria replies

Taking her hand Warren says

“You should take the day and be with your friend”

Bria shakes her head then says

“No thank you. They gotta work this out on their own and Sue will most likely be at the shop herself”

“I’m gonna go back in and let her know I’m leaving. Will you drop me off please?” Bria asks sweetly

“Of course!” Warren smiles

Early the following morning, Bria and Warren stop by to visit Jacob on their way to Jacksonville. Warren had usually traveled to do business alone, but the district 981 location in Jacksonville was only months from completion and he wanted Bria to be involved with the finishing touches.

Still furious with Jacob, Bria knows that her visiting is a bad idea but suppresses her emotions and doesn’t make a big deal about it. The events of last night having brought back so many dark and ugly feelings she’d experienced after Jaylen’s murder uncovered his life of deception.

Jacob turns and seeing them walking in the door, he says

“Hey, good morning”

Bria just narrows her eyes at him and takes a seat.

“Morning Bro, how are you feeling?” Warren asks

“I’m ok.”

After glancing at the door, he adds

“Look, thanks for…”

“Don’t mention it!” Warren states cutting him off

“We just wanted to stop by and check on…”

“He wanted to check on you!” Bria states softly cutting him off not hiding her contempt

Warren eyes her and she shrugs then says

“Well, don’t lie!”

“Renee, I’m sorry…”

“Save it! I’m not interested!” she responds

“How long do you think you’ll be in here?” Warren asks attempting to break up their impending argument

“I’ll probably be getting out tomorrow.”

“Ok, well, let me know if you need anything”

“There is actually one thing.” Jacob replies glancing back at Bria

“Sue hasn’t come to see me. Is she ok?” he asks

“As far as we know she is” Warren responds

“Can you see if you can get her to come?”

After first glancing over at Bria, Warren says

“We will try”

“We have to get to Jacksonville for a couple of meetings today. So, we’re gonna take off. I just wanted to make sure you were ok” Warren adds then Bria stands up and walks towards the door

“Bro, can you give me a second alone with Bria?” Jacob asks

“Sure” he answers

Then turning to Bria, he says

“I’ll meet you outside”

When Warren leaves the room, Bria glares at Jacob then asks

“What in the hell do you want?”

“Look, tell Sue if she won’t come see me, I’ll have to tell the detectives what really happened last night!” he threatens

Bria laughs then says

“Go to hell Jay!”

“And you f*cked your credibility when you lied. Now Sue will just say it was self-defense!” Bria smiles

Then leaning over to whisper in his ear, she says

“She shouldn’t have stopped. I would’ve loved to help her hide your body somewhere, where wildlife could feed on your rotting corpse!”

Then with a devious smile, she turns and leaves the room.

“Everything ok?” Warren asks when Bria makes it outside

“Yeah, fine” she replies walking to the car, still grinning inside

Several days pass and Jacob has finally made it home from the hospital.

Susan, still not having seen Jay, had been staying at Bria’s place since he got home. Unsure what will soon come of their marriage and still devastated not only at the fact that he’d been cheating on her but also that he was now, about to father someone else’s baby. Sue just wasn’t ready to face all that again so soon.

That Friday night Bria and Warren, host a sleepover for three of Julie’s friends, August, Jodi, and Mariah. Bria makes homemade pizzas with the girls and after playing a few games, they sit watching a movie and enjoying ice cream sundaes.

Once they get the girls settled in to finish the rest of their movie, Bria and Warren finally call it a night.

Warren is in the bathroom running a hot bubble bath when Bria walks in

“That looks relaxing!” she states

“I hope it will be!” he replies walking over to her with that seductive smile

“It’s for you!” he adds kissing her cheek

“For me?” she asks

“What do you mean?”

“You’ve done so much today, to make sure this sleepover was a success for Julie. And I wanted to make sure you got a chance to relax!”

“You should join me!” she whispers wrapping her arms around his neck

“Don’t tempt me” he smiles

“I’m gonna have to pass tonight. Just in case the girls need something”

After Bria gets into the tub, Warren leaves and goes to check on the girls. Three out of the four are still awake watching the movie, so he comes back in and takes a quick shower.

Once Bria is out of the tub and dressed, she goes to check on the girls one last time and after leaving the bedroom door cracked, she climbs into bed.

“Thank you so much for everything you did today!” Warren whispers when she cuddles into his arms

“You are very welcome!” she replies sweetly, looking up at him

Warren smiles then asks

“Don’t you wanna go to sleep like this every night?”

Bria rubs her hand down his beard, then down his chest and says

“I could get use to this!”

When she continues down, Warren takes her hand and says

“Hey, behave, you left the door open!”

Reaching up, she gives him a quick kiss then whispers

“Good night!” then rolling over, she is soon fast asleep

The following morning, Bria is up early starting on breakfast. Warren walks into the kitchen and after giving her a quick kiss, he asks

“What can I help with?”

Laughing, Bria asks

“What would you like for breakfast? French toast or waffles?”

Warren laughs then asks

“Oh, so it’s like that?”

“I mean, well… Can you please pass me the eggs?”

“Sure. And I’d love some French toast!” he replies finally

As Bria is finishing up breakfast, the girls walk into the kitchen. After setting the table, Bria and Warren allow them to enjoy their breakfast feast by themselves and take their plates out to the back porch.

The panoramic windows don’t allow them much privacy, so they sit across from each other at the table.

“You’re pretty amazing!” Warren says as they sit down

“I am, aren’t I?” Bria laughs

Then looking over at her with his serious face, Warren says

“I’m serious. I’m a lucky man!”

“Would you stop it” she mutters glancing at the girls through the window

“Okay”

“This food looks amazing!” he adds looking down at his plate of French toast with strawberries, blue berries, and sausage

“Bon Appetit!” Bria smirks

Once Julie’s guest have been picked up, Warren helps her clean up and get things back in order.

Bria goes home to check on Susan who to her surprise isn’t there or at the salon. After attempting to call her a few times, she heads back to Warren’s house. On her drive back, Grace calls her.

“Hey Ma!”

“Hey Nee, how are you?”

“I just wanted to check in to see what day you’d be coming home for Thanksgiving?”

Slightly taken aback, Bria doesn’t respond

“By your silence, I take it you’re not sure” Grace states

“No, I’m not sure, I’ll have to let you know.” she replies finally

“Ok, your father and I are really looking forward to telling everyone about the baby and I was hoping you’d bring Warren and Julie with you.” she states

“I’ll call you back later Ma” Bria replies ending the call

Back at Warren’s, Bria gets out of the car and Julie comes running out the door to meet her, excitement all over her face.

Surprised, Bria asks

“What happened? What did I miss?”

“Daddy said you guys wanted to talk to me and that’s why I couldn’t go to August’s house!”

“I know it’s about you saying yes, to moving in with us!” she says super excited

Bria smiles up at Warren as he walks to the door. Shaking his head, he says

“I’m sorry!”

Taking Julie’s hand, Bria leads her back inside, then after she closes the door, she says

“That’s not what we wanted to talk to you about…”

Julie’s excitement dissipates and she says

“So, you said no?”

“But I don’t get it, you were so nice to my friends, you even cooked for…” she begins again looking from Bria to her dad

Finally, they sit down in the living room and Warren says

“We actually wanted to tell you that, Bria is having a baby!”

Julie turns and looks at Bria, then asks

“When?”

“Oh, my gosh! Does that mean I’m gonna be a big sister?” she shouts jumping up from the couch

“Yes, it does!” Bria answers

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Julie says hugging Bria

“It’s gonna be months from now, I just found out!” Bria states, but Julie doesn’t even hear her

“I gotta call and tell August and Jodi!” she states heading to her room to grab her phone

Bria turns and smiles at Warren and says

“I guess, she’s too excited to care that I said yes, to moving in too”

“You said what?!”

Bria laughs as Warren pulls her into a hug, then sitting back, he looks into her eyes and says

“I love you!”

Before she can reply, his lips are on hers, when he parts her lips with his tongue, their kiss deepens. Remembering, they aren’t alone, Bria pulls away then whispers

“Cut it out!”

Julie walks back into the living room with her phone before either of them can say anything else then says

“They didn’t answer”

“I gotta call and tell Uncle Jay!” she adds

“Wait!” Warren states stopping her

“I know you’re excited, but Bria and I still have a few people we need to tell the news. We wanted you to know as soon as possible. But if you could hold off on telling Uncle Jay for a little while. I’ll let you be the one to tell him, but can you wait until tomorrow. I need to call and tell your grandparents first.”

“Ok, I’ll tell him tomorrow. What grandparent’s Julie asks?”

“All of them!” Warren replies then looks at Bria

“Babe, you haven’t told your parents yet?” she asks

“No, I was gonna wait until we went for Thanksgiving. But I just realized, we hadn’t talked about going there for Thanksgiving yet.”

Looking up at Julie, Bria asks

“Julie, can you excuse us for a minute, please?”

“Sure” she replies leaving the room

“Let’s take a walk” she states taking Warren’s hand then standing up

Outside, as they walk the property, Warren says

“Look, I’m sorry. With everything going on, I just…”

Stopping and turning to Warren, Bria takes his hand and says

“You don’t have to apologize. I know we’ve been… Overwhelmed a little bit.”

“That’s the understatement of the year!” he mutters

“My parents are expecting us to come and spend Thanksgiving with them, but we were just there two weeks ago, and they already know about the baby. So, I’m happy to go with you. I’m not gonna lie, I’m a little nervous about Lisa’s reaction to the news, but nevertheless, I am willing to go.” Bria states, then looking over at Warren, seeing he’s distracted and clearly a million miles from their conversation, she asks

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing” he replies

“What are you thinking about?” she asks causing him to look at her

“The thought of telling my parents about the baby…” he stops

“After the complications Mia had after having Julie, we all had to come to terms with her being the only child.” he pauses looking away

“It’s just gonna be a little weird telling Monica and Jacob about you and a baby” he states softly

“I hadn’t really thought about it, until now.” He adds

“I’m sorry babe” Bria whispers

“Anyway!” he says attempting to shake the thought from his head

“When are we moving you in?”

“Let’s just focus on getting through Thanksgiving” she replies

“If there’s anything you want to change or add, just let me know. I want you to be comfortable and feel at home here.”

“I will.” She replies sweetly

Wednesday night before Thanksgiving, Warren, Bria, and Julie all drive up to Warren’s parent’s house outside of Atlanta. Susan still hadn’t forgiven Jacob, so she drives to Jacksonville to spend Thanksgiving with Grace and Ed.

Having seriously disappointed her parents, Bria silently prays their trip goes smoothly the entire ride. Realizing she’s the first woman Warren is bringing home since Mia, she expects things to be a little awkward. Nervous about how welcoming the rest of his family will be, considering Lisa hadn’t been too keen on their relationship.

They pull up to a traditional English cottage in the woods, a little after eight o’clock. The driveway is filled with several cars, trucks, and SUVs, slightly overwhelmed by the number of cars, Bria doesn’t move to get out right away.

Julie is out of the car before Warren even puts it in park. When he gets out and notices that Bria hasn’t moved, he walks around to open her door.

“Are you coming?” he asks sweetly

Bria gets out and stands up then smiles, but it doesn’t quite meet her eyes

“Is it too late to change my mind?” she asks

“Kinda” Warren replies softly

“I had no idea, there would be this many people here!” Bria replies looking around at all the cars

“It’s really not that many people, it’s just my aunts, uncles and cousins.”

Bria just stands shaking her head

“Hey, look at me!” Warren states gently lifting her chin

“Everyone is going to love you and I can’t wait to introduce you. But if this is too much…”

“No, it’s fine.” she states cutting him off

“Let’s just go before I lose my nerve!” she murmurs

Then taking a deep breath she tugs at the hem of her blouse praying it’s loose enough to hide her baby bump.

The rich smells of onion, garlic and clove are joined by the sweet smell of cinnamon and vanilla Greeting them as they walk up, and Warren opens the door. When Bria breathes in the aroma, all her worries seem to fade away and instantly she feels right at home.

Warren works his way around the room introducing Bria to his cousins and aunts, then as he makes his way to the back porch to find his dad and uncles, his phone rings. After he glances at it and sees its Doug, he continues to the porch. Warren Sr. stands up and meets them at the door as soon as he notices them.

After hugging Warren, he reaches out his hand and says

“Your reputation most certainly precedes you Ms. Bria. It is a pleasure to finally meet you!”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Daniels!” Bria replies

“Call me Senior. If Junior brought you here, you’re practically family!” he smiles

Drawing Bria’s attention, Warren says

“These are my uncles, Jake, Lee, and Dennis”

“Guys, this is Bria!”

“Pleasure to meet you Bria. Would you two like a drink?” Uncle Lee asks from behind the bar

“No, thank you” Warren replies

“We’re about to play some cards, if you all want to join” Senior states

Warren glances at Bria, then says

“I might catch the next game. I’m gonna go catch up with Ced and Chloe.” he replies

When they settle down in the living room with Warren’s cousins, Lisa walks up behind the couch

“Junior, I set up the yellow room for you.”

“Ok, thanks Ma”

Before she walks away, Bria asks

“Can I help with anything Lisa?”

“No honey, I think we can manage!” she scoffs then returns to the kitchen

After a little while, Warren goes outside to bring their luggage inside and his cousin makes it back with a bunch of pizzas.

While they sit eating, Julie comes over to their table followed by two of her cousins, Kim and Rachel and says

“Dad, tell Kim and Rachel that I’m gonna be a big sister too! They don’t believe me!”

Warren stops mid bite and Bria almost chokes on a piece of pizza she was chewing.

As they sit surprised, not responding right away, Lisa turns and looks in their direction.

“Yes, ladies, Julie is telling the truth!” Warren explains

“And thank you Julie for the announcement!” he adds finally meeting his mother’s glare

Everyone begins congratulating them and when the girls go back to the playroom, Warren gets up from the table and goes into the kitchen to talk to Lisa.

Chloe, Warren’s cousin, asks Bria

“Do you know the sex of the baby yet?”

“Not yet, we’ll find out in a few weeks.” She responds

“Nice, so how far along are you?”

“Almost fourteen weeks”

“Is this your first?” another cousin asks

“Yes” Bria responds as Warren comes to sit back down next to her

It’s after midnight when they finally make it up to bed. Exhausted from the drive and the night, Bria is asleep before Warren gets out of the shower.

Thanksgiving morning is rather quiet, the kids are all outside, running around enjoying the two and a half acres of property. The guys are back on the porch playing cards, while they wait for the first football game of the day to kick off. A little before noon, Doug arrives.

“Happy Thanksgiving Fam!” he states walking in

Doug goes straight into the kitchen and greets Lisa and the other ladies with hugs and kisses

“I’m sorry, I’m late Ma! I got caught at the lounge late last night.”

“I tried to call somebody and tell him to let you know.” He adds loud enough so Warren can hear him

“What’s up Pop?” Doug says greeting Senior as he walks out to the porch

When Doug comes back into the living room to join everyone else, he finally greets Warren and Bria, then starts catching up with Warren’s cousins.

Football becomes the highlight of the day. Warren and his entire family are all football fans, so Bria feels right at home. Despite them all rooting for different teams, everyone spends the day eating and watching the games.

Bria and Warren are sitting outside by the fire pit later that evening, enjoying some alone time, when Lisa makes her way out to them.

“How is the happy couple?” she asks sarcastically walking up behind them

“We’re good. I know you must be tired” Warren replies

“I’m ok.” She states joining them

“Everything was amazing, and you have a beautiful home” Bria states

“Thank you” she responds still glaring at Warren

“What Ma?” he says

“Why did Julie have to be the one to tell me you two were expecting?” she asks

“Ma, I already told you, we were going to tell you. I…” he begins

“How far along are you?” she asks finally looking at Bria

“Almost fourteen weeks” she responds

They sit in silence for a few minutes, then Doug walks outside, and Lisa asks

“Bria, why don’t you come help me in the kitchen?”

Taken by surprise, Bria hesitates briefly then stands up and says

“Sure” leaving Warren and Doug alone

In the kitchen, Lisa begins putting food into plastic containers then finally looking across the counter at Bria, she says

“So, Bria, tell me a little bit about yourself!”

“I’m not sure what you mean” Bria responds

“Where are you from? Is this your first child? How did your last relationship end?” she asks getting straight to the point

Bria stands not responding right away but just as she’s about to respond, Lisa adds

“I know, I can come off a little cold sometimes. But I only want what’s best for Warren and Julie. Having watched them deal with the loss of Mia…” she pauses

“Mrs. Daniels, I understand completely where you’re coming from. But trust me when I tell you I share the same concerns you do!”

“That being said, Warren and I both have our share of baggage that we’re continuing to work through, but we are happy together. And I love both him and Julie”

After standing briefly looking down at the food, Bria whispers

“Yes, this is my first child. I grew up in Texas and I’m a widow”

As Bria says ‘widow’, Lisa looks up at her, surprisingly sincere this time, then says

“I’m so sorry!”

“No, don’t be. It’s…” Bria stops

“I had no idea you were ever married”

Bria laughs then says

“Apparently neither did my husband.”

Resisting the urge to pry, Lisa says

“Warren mentioned your parents just celebrated their anniversary. What do your parents do?”

“My dad is an administrator at Omni Health Group, and my mom is in public relations.”

“Interesting” she replies as Senior and a few more people walk into the kitchen

“Thank you, Bria. I won’t keep you, I’m sure Junior is wondering where you are” Lisa smiles

“My pleasure”

Early Saturday morning, Warren, Bria, and Julie leave and head home. After having a surprisingly great Thanksgiving weekend with the family, they are all too excited to get back. Warren and Bria share the good news about Bria moving in with them on the drive home.

That afternoon, Susan calls Bria and tells her that she’d be going back home and that her and Jay would be going to counseling. Hiding her contempt, she tells her that she’s happy for her and gets off of the phone as quick as possible.

As she hangs up with Susan, she gets a text from Jennifer.

Hey, I just left Dillon’s house, I need to see you ASAP!

After reading it, she responds

What’s wrong? I thought he didn’t want to see us.

Bria puts the phone down on the counter and goes to the bathroom, when she comes back, she has a new text message

No, just YOU! Are you home?

No, I’m at Warren’s house. Just call me

I’ll swing by, be there in ten minutes

Jennifer arrives a few minutes later and calls Bria to come outside. Walking outside to meet her, in her sweater top and leggings, Bria says

“Hey Jen!”

“Hey, look at you!”

“You look cute!” Jennifer states

“Thank you! What’s up?” Bria asks

“I went to check on Dillon this morning and he was saying some crazy stuff!”

“First of all, he kept asking if I was alone. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t bringing you with me.”

“Ok” Bria replies a little confused

“Then when I got there, he said that you’d been the one that sent that email, ruining his life and his career.”

“And that you had some thugs jump him and threaten him, all because of the stuff he bought you for your birthday.” Jen states

“What?! Jen, you need to stay away from Dillon, he is crazy!” Bria responds

“I thought that too, but the more questions I asked, the more his story made sense. He said you had some chick seduce him and that’s probably when you send the email. Something about the timing and IP address or some sh*t”

“And that when the guys jumped him, they said if he even thought about you again, they’d kill him.”

“Jen, now you know I didn’t…” Bria begins

Laughing Jennifer says

“I mean after he showed me all the gifts he gave you, I kind of understood, but d*mn!”

“Wait!” Bria states holding up her hand

“What do you mean, he showed you the gifts? How could…” she begins confused

“He said you left them on his doorstep!”

“Jen, I threw that bag in the trash. I told you, I didn’t even open it!” Bria states now baffled

Turning to look towards the door, realizing that only one other person could have known about that gift bag, then back at Jen, Bria asks

“Jen, what was in the gift bag?”

Jennifer giggles then says

“Literally, all the stuff from the email that was sent out, a book, toys, lotions and lingerie”

Bria stands shaking her head then says

“I gotta go Jen!”

Furious, Bria turns to walk back into the house, unsure how, but now realizing, somehow Warren had to have been involved in this.

“Thank you for stopping by Jen, I’ll call you later.” she states not looking back

When Bria gets inside, Julie is watching tv in the living room and she finds Warren in his office.

Walking into his office, Bria closes the door behind her then smiles and says

“Please, think very carefully before you respond to my question!”

Confused, Warren looks up at her from his computer, smiles then says

“Okay”

Narrowing her eyes at him, Bria asks

“What happened after you threw that gift bag from Dillon in the trash?”

Warren’s heart stops beating, and he just sits momentarily not responding. Then finally he speaks

“Promise me, you’ll let me finish explaining before you…”

“I’m not making any promises! Answer the question!” she states cutting him off

“I called Doug to come get it.” Warren states finally

“Why?” Bria asks

“Look, before we go down this road. I honestly didn’t mean for any of this to go this far and I’m sorry” Warren replies

Bria laughs then asks

“Why did you have him get the bag?”

“You were upset and after I looked inside, so was I. And I wanted to send him a message” Warren states

Following a brief silence, Bria sits down and says

“Doug came and got the bag, then what?”

“Apparently, you already know what happened, or you wouldn’t be here. So, what is the point of this?”

“The point is, this is your one and only chance to explain. Because if everything that I’m thinking is true…” she stops

Warren pushes back from the desk, then stands up and walks around to Bria

“The only explanation I have is that the situation got out of hand” he states taking her hand

Bria sits not looking up at Warren, as unshed tears pool in her eyes. Thoughts of everything Dillon had endured over the past month start racing through her head. Realizing that he’d thought she was behind it all along, sends her over the edge.

Snatching her hand from Warren, Bria stands up and glares at him.

“I never want to see you again!”

“Bria!” Warren states grabbing her arm

When she pulls away, she shouts

“Don’t touch me!”

“Babe, you’re carrying our baby…” Warren begins

“If you even think about me or my baby, everything you did to Dillon will become public knowledge!” she replies

When Bria opens the door to leave, Warren says

“You can’t be serious!”

“Try me!” she states just before closing the door behind her

After saying goodbye to Julie, Bria grabs her things and heads home.