The Con Man

The next few days went without any argument. Andi found a way to make things between her & Mozzie better & by the end of the week it was as if nothing had changed, they were friends again. Things got so comfortable that Mozzie even went with them to the club instead of just dropping them off. On her 14th day she got up & went to the kitchen. She had become accustomed to waking up alone & finding a note from Neal, which she saved every single one. This morning’s note read; Andi went into town, I noticed we were about out of milk & I know you need some razors, left some ham steak in the fridge as you requested last night. If you make some Mozzie say’s to leave some for him. Be back soon, love you, Neal. She laughed at the note, set it down & went to the fridge, 20mins later scrambled eggs, ham steak, & a stack of toast was sitting on the table. She even put out fresh cuts of banana’s & strawberries. As she ate her mind wandered, although she loved being here, she missed her family. She had been thinking for days about asking Neal if she could write a letter to them. She wanted them to know she was okay, that nothing bad had happened. But she was afraid that if she wrote them than Peter would go after them, she knew calling would be to risky, she decided right than that she would ask Neal as soon as he & Mozzie got back if she could write her family. She knew it was risky, but she had to do something. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even hear them come back. It wasn’t until Neal kissed her on the cheek that she finally came out of her trance. She looked up at him ‘You okay babe’, he asked. ‘Yea fine, I hope I didn’t make too much’, she said looking at the spread on the table. ‘It smells great’, said Mozzie. ‘Yea, looks good too’, said Neal. She finished her plate & put it in the sink. She started leaving the room when Neal said ‘Where you going?’ ‘To take a shower’, she said. She went into their room got her clothes & went in to take her shower. All the while thinking about her family, she started crying. She finished her shower & still in tears fell onto the bed after getting dressed. He must have heard her because second’s later he was in the room. ‘What’s wrong’, he asked. She sat up, tears streaming down her face. ‘I miss my family’, she said. He sat on the bed & pulled her into him. ‘I’m sorry’, he said. ‘I don’t know how much longer I can stay here’, she said He rubbed her head, he didn’t want her to go, but he knew she couldn’t go on any longer like this. ‘Please Neal. Just come back with me. It’ll be okay, I promise’, she pleaded with him. She pulled herself away from him to see the expression on his face. ‘Andi, you know I can’t go back there’, he said. ‘Yes you can, we’ll talk to Peter, he’ll speak on your behalf, say how good you’ve been these past two years’ ‘That’s not going to be enough’, said Neal. After a few moments she got up & went to the closet pulling the clothes she had brought with her & getting her suit case. ‘Please Andi’ She turned to look at him. ‘No Neal, I’ve stayed here for two weeks. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t pretend that everything is perfect here. I miss my family; Mom, Papa, Trina, Jacob, Jakole. Especially Jakole, I haven’t heard her laugh in fourteen days, fourteen day’s Neal!’ He got up & grabbed her throwing her in his arms. ‘Please don’t go. I can’t make it without you’, he said. ‘I can’t make it without you either Neal, but I can’t live like this anymore. I’m leaving, right now’, she said. He let her go & left the room. Neal found Mozzie still in the kitchen eating breakfast. ‘What’s going on’, said Mozzie. ‘She’s leaving’, said Neal. ‘When’, said Mozzie with confusion in his voice. ‘Right now, she’s leaving right now. What do I do Mozzie’, he said with fear in his voice. ‘If you go back you’ll get in trouble. Is she really worth it’, said Mozzie. ‘I love her Moz’, Neal yelled. ‘Than go, it’s obvious she means more to you than your freedom so go’, said Mozzie. Neal thought about what Mozzie had just said, he knew he was right, that if he went back he would be in trouble, but just like Andi he missed New York. He missed everything about it & he knew that if he let her go now that would be it for them, he didn’t think he could handle that, being without her would be to much for him. He paced in then main room thinking over & over again what was going on, he didn’t want to lose her, not like this. But he knew no matter what he said nothing could change the fact that she missed her family. He bolted for their room just as she was zipping up her suit case, she looked up at him, the tears had stopped, but the fear was still in her face. ‘Neal’, she said. ‘I know’, he said back. She ran falling into his arms & they both began to cry.