A Fresh Start

“Oh sweetheart,” her mother cried on the phone.

It was a week since the miscarriage. At Neil’s Cherise had a meltdown and since then Harold made her stay home. Micah came in before and after the work day to make sure she was okay. He stayed the night each night and forced her to eat.

“I don’t know what to do, Mom,” she said, burying herself into her bed. “I feel so guilty.”

“Micah was right, honey. It wasn’t your fault.”

“He’s been staying with me. When he’s not at work.”

“He’s a very sweet man. Do you want me to come down? Your sister is back from her honeymoon so I’m not house sitting anymore.”

“No. That’s okay. I’m sure she-she’ll be delivering so-”

She couldn’t finish the sentence and cried into her pillows. Her mother cried with her until she calmed down.

“When will Micah be there?”

She looked at the clock. “In an hour.”

“Have him call me, please,” she whispered.

“I will. I’m going to sleep now.”

“Okay. I love you sweetheart.”

“Love you, too.”

-

Micah came back with Arby’s, Cherise’s favorite fast food place. While she ate slowly, still in her pajamas from three days ago, he called her mother. He went outside to take Lira to go potty while he talked to her. Cherise managed to eat half of her sandwich but only a couple of fries.

“Your mom really wants to come down,” he said when he got back inside. “For both of us.”

“Do you want her to come?”

He thought for a few minutes. “I think it would be good for you.”

“We’ll wait til my sister delivers,” she mumbled, taking a sip of her Sprite. “I want her to be there for that without worrying about me.” Micah nodded in agreement. “Is that why she wanted you to call her?”

“No,” he said but didn’t elaborate.

Cherise rubbed her eyes and her phone rang. It was Amanda.

“Hey,” she said, trying to sound as normal as possible.

“Hey girl!” Amanda said. “I did the digging for you and came up with some… interesting results.”

“I’m putting you on speaker,” Cherise said and put the phone on her dining room table. “Micah’s with us.”

“Micah! It’s been a while!”

“Hey Amanda,” he returned, popping a fry into his mouth. “What did you find?”

“It took a while,” she said, her voice getting serious. “Those numbers didn’t match up with anything I could think of. So, I went on Google and did one of those amalgams. You know, where they have you put in a word and they mix it up for you? Anyway, I ran through all of the amalgams it supplied and it sent me to a website.” She hesitated here and sighed. “I don’t know where you got these numbers from, Cherise, but you better be careful.”

Cherise frowned at the phone. “What website did it take you to, Amanda?”

“A website in Paris. It’s an underground sex trafficking business.”

Cherise couldn’t speak but looked at Micah with wide eyes.

“You’re joking,” Micah breathed.

“Like I said, I don’t know what you’re doing, but tread carefully. Shit,” she said suddenly. “I have to go. My boss is coming over.”

“Thanks for your help, Amanda,” Cherise said and hung up.

She leaned back in the dining room chair.

“Holy shit,” Micah muttered, running a hand through his hair. He tossed a fry to Lira. “What are you going to do?”

“Tell Olivia to start with,” Cherise answered. “Micah, I’m in way over my head here.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “This is too much.”

Micah moved his chair over to hers and held her. “I’m here,” he whispered. “I’ll call Olivia for you.”

“What was the real reason my mom called?” she asked later that night as they were getting ready for bed.

Micah sighed heavily, pulling on a pair of sweat pants. “You sure you want to know?” Cherise nodded and he got into bed, bringing her with him. He held her close. “You have a nephew. Your sister went into labor yesterday.”

Cherise clenched her jaw as her body began to shake with suppressed sobs.

“Let it go, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “Don’t hold it in.”

Finally, she took his advice and howled into his chest.

--

When Cherise woke up, Micah was on the phone in the living room. She could hear him speaking but it was muffled through the wall. She shuffled out, taking Lira out so she could go potty.

“I let Olivia know what Amanda found,” Micah explained when she got back in the apartment.

“What did she say?”

“Well, she freaked out for a while there,” he answered honestly and looked at his watch. “I need to head out to Maria’s. Will you be okay?”

“I’m coming with you. I’m tired of being cooped up.” Micah looked at her doubtfully and she smiled sadly. “If I feel like anything is going to happen, I’ll let you know.”

She kissed him and he sighed through his nose, wrapping his arms around her. It was the first time they had made any kind of romantic contact and it didn’t take long for him to press her lightly against the wall. She moaned a little as he ran his hand up her stomach.

“Let’s go take a shower,” he whispered in her ear and she could hear the suggestive smile in his voice.

She couldn’t help but giggle. “Last one there has to start the water,” she said and he grinned, racing her to the bathroom.