Chapter One

Stacey was glad to have a place to call her own, it wasn’t everyday that she moves into a half a million dollar house. It was beautiful, but so barren with nothing but a few boxes inside. Today was the second week of moving, so much hasn’t been done, mainly because of the help. Stacey laughed to herself, her friends were hard workers when they actually did what they were supposed to, but they rarely did anything but talk. Marie and Irene had become fairly close over these past few weeks, and especially in the past week. Meg was there as always hanging with the guys, David, Jose, Rudy, Ernie, Skeet, JJ, Ricky, and Gerald. Of course she was closer to Gerald considering it was her life lover and her fiancé as well. Meg and Gerry were two of a kind, meant for each other and there were no other words to describe it. Then there was Brandi, the third to the trio of Meg, Stacey and of course Brandi. When they were in high school they considered themselves the plastics from Mean Girls. Although they were a nicer version, and a more down to earth version as well.
Stacey was inside the huge house, putting a box on top of the others that were in the kitchen clearly labeled “Kitchenware”. Her Armani heels clicked on the tiles as she walked towards the carpeted living room. Heels were quite comfortable for her, unlike those tennis shoes that had gel soles, she could run and hike in heels if she had the chance. She heard laughter from out in the driveway, and once again she laughed to herself. There they go again just having fun when they should be unloading the truck. It was ok though, she didn’t have a certain time to be all moved in, so it didn’t bother her much. She was a very patient young lady, once she was on hold up to almost two and a half hours, simply because she didn’t want the receptionist to come back to a dead line.
Stacey was also a very considerate girl, she always thought of others before she thought of herself. Stopping at the edge of the carpet she slipped off her heels and gently placed her graceful feet on the soft cream colored carpet of the room. She had picked the carpet herself, she wanted it to be as soft as it could be. And though there were those who advised against light colored carpet, she chose it anyway. It was the most beautiful and creamy color that she had ever seen. Closing her eyes and letting the carpet squish between her toes she thought of a white sandy beach, and the carpet was the thick soft sand that she glided over. She was about to touch her toe into the crystal clear water when something jerked her from her fantasy.
A loud thud interrupted her. “Sorry Stace,” David gave a sheepish smile. “I guess it just slipped from my hands.” He turned to go out to the front again, but turned back. “Stace, are you doing ok?” There was a pause, she knew what he was talking about, but it was too painful to think of. “I mean, everyone’s outside, and you’re still inside putting that box away that we gave you over twenty minutes ago.”
“No,” Stacey managed. “I’m alright, I’ll be back out in a moment.”
So, David turned and went out the garage door where the sound exploded as he opened it, and hushed as it was closed. Turning to the front hall she gazed at the gorgeous stairwell that had won her heart when she and Chad were house hunting. The other houses had things that were beautiful and unique yes, but there was still something missing. And that stair case was it, the one thing that she really wanted in her house. The case was made of a beautiful birch wood that was going up in a curve. Instead of a bulky square-like staircase that made it look too clunky, this staircase gave the house more of a flow. And she loved it. Putting her hand on the banister and rising up the cushioned steps, she went back not that long ago to a night that she wouldn’t soon forget.

* * * * * * * * *

Stacey had been inside for quite a while now. Although David had said that she would be out soon, she knew better. Marie couldn’t help but worry about her friend who she’s known for just over seven years now. It was just a natural thing; even if it was a foolish thing to do. Marie couldn’t help it, after watching out for a girl that got into more trouble than she could handle; it was the only thing she really knew how to do with Stacey.
This was yet another moving day and yet another day that they had accomplished close to nothing. No body cared, though, there wasn’t any rush to move Stacey into this giant house that her fiancé had bought for the two of them after they were married. Marie couldn’t help but think that Stacey wasn’t happy with Chad. She’s seen Stacey happy with a man before, and she knows that it’s not Chad that’s keeping her with him. No, it was something a bit more complicated.
Watching the guys try and take the bureau off of the truck it started to tilt the wrong way and Marie reacted quickly throwing her arms out. “Watch it guys! This side’s falling!” Marie started to laugh, these guys thought they knew everything, but Stacey would have killed them if they dropped that bureau.
“Thanks for the help Marie,” Ricky was such a smart allic and thought it fun to crack jokes at every occurance of the day. “So, glad that you helped all you could.”
“Oh,” Marie sighed. “You’re welcome. You guys do know that if you dropped that, Stacey would’ve killed you right?”
“Yea, and then none of you would see the light of day again.” Irene was Stacey’s so-called twin, and it was very apparent why. To the naked eye there was nothing that resembled one to the other, Stacey was whiter than white, and Irene was as Hispanic as you could get. Stacey was taller than Irene and Irene’s hair was darker than Stacey’s. Yet they acted so much alike that after being around them both for a period of time you would start to think that they really were twins, in some weird sci-fi movie of the week kind of way.
“Yup, and then you guys wouldn’t have any way of paying for your alcohol.” Meg was the one that was closest to the guys, and in more than one way she was closer to Stacey. Marie got jealous at times when Stacey had previous plans with Meg and Brandi, and couldn’t hang out with her, but then again, Stacey wasn’t confined to just one friend. She had many actually, many friends that have proved that they were there for her no matter what. Especially recently; Marie still couldn’t get over what had happened. It was so unexpected and no one ever thought that it would happen to Stacey’s life. Shaking the memories from her mind Marie came back to the situation at hand.
“Well, I guess it’s a damn good thing that we didn’t drop it huh, nigga?” The guys had some strange fascination of calling everyone they knew nigga. It was funny in a way, but then it was annoying after a while. David turned to Marie, “Hey will you grab the dolly that’s in the corner, nigga?”
“Yea, nigga!” Marie laughed at herself. “David are you sure that Stacey said she’d be right out?” She walked to the dolly and wheeled it over to the truck. “She’s been inside for almost an hour now. I’m starting to get worried.”
“Yea, someone should probably go and check on her.” Brandi sounded concerned as well, “I mean after what happened, she has been taking it way to well.”
With the efforts of David, Ricky, Ernie, and JJ, the bureau finally came off the truck with not the slightest scratch. “Maybe I should go in and talk to her?” Irene offered.
“No, we should leave her alone.” Marie stated.
“Maybe I should go, I mean I think I know more of the situation.” Meg volunteered.
“No, we should leave her alone, she’ll feel attacked if we all talk to her about it.” Marie was the one who knew Stacey’s emotions best. Stacey would in fact feel attacked and very vulnerable if her four closest girlfriends came to confront her about her feelings over the events in the past couple weeks.
“I think that Ricky should talk to her since –” David was interrupted.
“Marie’s right.” Ricky calmly agreed. “She should be left alone.”
“Thank-you” Marie thought about it for a moment, “Wait, why? I agree with David. You’re the one that she’ll be most likely to talk to. Not us.”
Ricky continued to take boxes off of each other, then hoping over the side and taking the boxes from the truck and setting them on the extra dolly. “I’m the last person she needs to see right now,” he stopped. Beat, “It’ll hurt us both too much to talk.”
Putting her gentle and comforting hand on his shoulder, Marie offered him courage. “It’s ok, I’m pretty sure that this talk is past due to happen.” A short pause, she pressed further. “You can’t wait forever to talk to her about this. It’ll happen eventually.” Beat, once more he leaned on the boxes with his back to everyone, and his face shielded from his friends.
“Alright.”, He decided, “I’ll talk to her.”

* * * * * * * *

Stacey had reached the top landing of the stairs, and stood for a moment wondering if she was ready to do this. It had been eight straight days since she’s entered this room. The door was closed, and she started to grab the knob. She pulled back unsure of the things behind, what if the pain was too much? What if she simply wasn’t ready? What if everything was there as it should be, including the one thing that she longed for more than ever. She turned away from the door and stopped, it had been too long for her heart to ignore it. She turned back once more to the blank white door in front of her.
She heard laughter from outside and Marie yelling at the boys about something. Looking back up at the door that held a dark secret that she wasn’t nearly ready to accept, she walked slowly towards it and placed her hand on the knob. The knob was cool to the touch and harder than anything she wanted to hold right now.
Closing her eyes, she turned the knob all the way to the right. Keeping her eyes closed she opened the door wider and took a step forward. She slowly opened her eyes and her heart suddenly had a sharp ache. She was right, it was too early to gaze into this room.
It was the room across the loft from the master bedroom. She gazed longingly upon the small furniture inside. The wooden crib painted a glistening white, with blue and white sheets and blankets. The changing table matching the crib, and all the linens matching those in the crib. A matching rocking chair and draperies. The room was painted a light blue like the sky, with clouds here and there to give the illusion of the actual sky in the room.  There was a baby blanket pinned to the wall with a name embroidered onto the center of it. Michael Nicholas Lopez born on November 16, 2006.
Tears started to form in her beautiful green eyes, a deep hurt was surfacing, and she couldn’t stop them from flowing down her cheeks, and rolling on her chin. She heard the garage door open, and hoped it was someone dropping a box off in the living room. She waited a few seconds and walked to the rocking chair facing away from the door and towards the baby’s crib. She didn’t hear the door open or close again, someone was still in the house. She turned her eyes to the window on her right and looked out across the neighborhood street that over the next few years she’d get acquainted with.
As yet more tears glided down her cheek, a calm voice came from behind her. “It’s painful to think about him isn’t it?” She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. More tears fell off of her smooth face. She didn’t say a word hoping he would leave, and forget this conversation. He stepped forward, “I know it’s hard, Stacey, I know better than anyone other than you.” She tried to contain her shudders from the tears that were now flowing from the corners of her eyes and falling over the bottom as if abandoning a ship about to go under. A warm hand was suddenly on her shoulder, she tensed and looked at the hand. She knew his skin well, beautifully brown and young. His fingernails perfectly manicured, almost as if he had had them done; despite the fact that he’s a car mechanic like the other guys. His touch - warm, comforting, and familiar. “I’m not telling you to let go. I’m asking you to let it out. You’ve kept it all inside for over a week, now it’s time to talk to someone. And it doesn’t have to be me.”
There was a long silence and suddenly the hand was gone, she turned quickly into an embrace that she had needed from him more than she needed anything in her life. She clung to him like a lost child, and he held her, gentler than Chad could have ever held her. She wept in the arms of her first love and finally showed some of the pain that had been buried deep inside her heart for too long. “I tried to get him back, I tried so hard, I ran fast, but they got away, they left, I ran, I ran” She burst out at once, and couldn’t stop rambling. “I let them get away, I let them get away, so familiar, I’d seen it before.”
“Stacey,” He tried to calm her. “Stacey, calm down its ok, I’m here, its ok.” He wiped her tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead. He held her tighter to help her keep from shaking. “I’m not leaving you Stacey, everything’s gonna be ok.” Her warmth was something that he had needed as well, tears started to form in his eyes, as he thought of that night only a week before. Shaking it from his memory he held her tighter. They moved to the rocking chair and he sat down, then she sat on his lap, holding each other mourning over the loss of a simple baby boy that was only five months old.

* * * * * * * *

‘Stacey was definitely going to be surprised when he got home,’ Chad thought. He hadn’t seen her in over a week; not since the investigation began. The team hadn’t been able to find much of anything, all they had was there was a red Honda accord at the scene of the crime. It had been a long week for everyone at the agency, no one slept, no one gave up; the team was still working back in Beverly Hills, the chief just ordered for him to go home to his fiancé and his home. He loved that girl more than anything in the world, and he was proud to be the one that she chose to spend the rest of her life with. The internal battle that he’s been having with himself would soon be over. As soon as the “I do’s” were said he would feel much more comfortable. He never could get the idea that Stacey would run back to Ricky out of his head. Especially considering the circumstances; in a way Chad was glad that it happened. He laughed, of course he was glad it happened. Not that his only son was gone, but that the tie between Ricky and Stacey was finally broken. He felt horrible for thinking these things, but secretly he wished that the baby would be gone forever. Not that there was much chance of his survival after what had happened.
Chad turned the corner and there was his gorgeous house that he had bought for the two of them for after they were married. The cars that lined the streets were those of nicer models, Mercedes, Corvettes, Lexus, Lincolns. You wouldn’t find a single beat up car in this neighborhood. But what was this? There was three of them, and all in front of his house.
“Oh, great,” he murmured to himself. “I can’t believe those sons of bitches are here.” Chad never liked those guy friends of Stacey and her other friends. They just weren’t his type, they were too… too grungy, he hated to say it, but they were too far below him and his friends. And he couldn’t understand how Stacey could stand being in their gross house where the paint was pealing, there was no furniture other than two small love seats in the front room. Across from the love seats there was a small TV on top of a used keg container. And she thought of this place as home; he just couldn’t get it and he knew he never would.
They had been hanging around the house “moving” but he knew that they didn’t accomplish a damn thing, and he just wanted them gone. Far away so he could live his life with his soon to be wife, and their children. He was a prick and he knew it, but he hid it well to Stacey. The others he didn’t really care about because he knew that Stacey was gullible enough to just believe him. He parked the silver gleaming SUV with the Cali license plate, and saw the one car that he dreaded ever seeing here, at his home.
He stormed up the driveway and the laughter that was once so plentiful and joyful was instantly gone. “Where is he?” he said through gritted teeth. No one said anything, but Marie started to step up.
“Don’t…” Brandi started, but Marie knew what she was doing.
“And may I inquire as to who you’re talking about?” She played it off coolly. She knew very well that Chad was afraid of only two people in the world, and those two people were Stacey and Marie.
“You know who I’m talking about Marie,” he was still panting from the anger. Not caring who saw or heard. “WHERE is he?”
“Everyone that you see out here is who came here, and Stacey’s inside. Having a discussion with a long time missed memory.”
Chad’s eyes grew so wide and his face grew so red that even Marie took an uncertain shift in her weight. He made his hands into fists and gripped them so tightly his knuckles turned a milky white. His eyes narrowed and despite her better judgment Marie took a step towards him.
Barely audible to the human ear he scathed, “He had better not be inside my house.”
“And what are you gonna do about it if he is?” Marie’s composure had come back to her she was the one that was running the show. For a spilt second it looked as if he was going to hit Marie, but he threw her into the truck and ran into the house. He was gonna slit his throat if he caught that bastard touching his girl.