Sarah paced back and forth in front of the leather couches of the lobby waiting for Chad. Glancing at her watch she sighed. "Dammit," she mumbled. Walking to the desk she leaned over looking back and forth for an attendant. "Excuse me," she said loudly. A young man of about 18 walked out and looked at her.
"Ye…yes…?" he asked nervously.
"Can you tell me if there is a Chad staying here?" she asked.
"Ch…Chad?" he repeated. "Does he have a last name?"
"I…I don't know," she snapped.
"Umm…just a second," he said looking at her funny. Typing something in the computer, he glanced at her leaning her back against the counter. "Umm…there's like 10 Chad's listed here."
"Dammit!" she exclaimed.
"Ex…excuse me," the boy said as he picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked. ">pause< Umm…hold on a moment." Looking at Sarah he asked. "Are you Sarah?"
"Yeah. Why?" she asked.
"There's a gentleman on the phone that would like to speak to you," he said handing her the phone.
"Chad?" she asked.
"Yes, darling. I'm sorry. I fell asleep and didn't set the alarm. You can come up if you'd like. I'll only be a bit," he said.
"What's your room number?" she asked.
"612."
"Coming right up," she said smiling. Handing the phone back to the attendant she smiled. "Thank you," she said walking to the elevator. Getting on, she pushed the button for the 6th floor and smoothed down her short black dress. She twirled her hair around her finger nervously, watching the light move from G to 6. Stepping off, she walked down the hallway towards his room. Stopping in front of his door, she adjusted her dress straps and smoothed her hair. Taking her compact out of her purse, she checked her make-up and smiled. Clicking the mirror shut, she dropped it back into her purse, rapping lightly on the door.
"Hello," he said opening the door.
"Hi," she said smiling at his bare-chested appearance.
"Come in," he said holding the door open wider for her.
"Thanks," she said walking past him.
Closing the door, he watched her walk. Closing his eyes and shaking his head, he grinned. "I'll ummm…I'll be just a minute," he said walking into the restroom.
Sarah sat down on the bed, looking around the room. Spotting a book on the other table, she stood up and walked over to it. Recognizing it as a photo album, she sat down at the table and started flipping through it. "Oh my GOD," she whispered her eyes growing wide as she looked at the pictures.
"So, where do you-" Chad started walking out of the restroom. "What're you doing?" he asked looking at her.
Closing the book quickly she looked up at him. "I ummm…I was…just…I…I'm sorry," she mumbled.
"It's okay," he said walking towards the table. Looking at her closely he said, "You okay?"
"I…umm…no, not exactly. I'm kind of confused," she said glancing at the book and then at him.
"What are you confused about?" he asked sitting across from her.
"I just…I'm not sure what to think. I mean…that was…" she said looking at him.
"Come on," he said holding out his hand to her. "We can talk at the restaurant."
"Okay," she said taking his hand and following him out the door.
"So, you and Alesha dated?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah," Chad said looking down at his plate. "We umm…we met when she was a freshman in high school, I was a senior for the second time. She was at a party, and I thought she was the most beautiful girl in all the world. She was so funny and sexy. She had on this black leather skirt, and tight black tank top…she had these black streaks in her long dark red hair…GOD…"
"She dyed her hair? And wore black leather?!?" Sarah asked surprised. "What the hell? Are we talking about the same chick?"
Chad laughed. "Yeah, she was quite different then," he said. "She was rather plastered so she crashed at the party. I kinda ended up sleeping next to her." He chuckled softly. "She freaked out that something had happened that night," he shrugged. "I took her to breakfast and we kinda started hanging out after that. Her cousin, Bethany…she hated me."
"How sweet," Sarah said trying not to laugh.
He looked at her and grinned. "Anyway…we dated for a couple of years. We fought constantly. She was such a bitch sometimes," he shook his head. "Especially with all the drugs she was using and the alcohol. She was ALWAYS either high or drunk."
"ALESHA?!?" Sarah exclaimed. "Oh my god," she whispered.
"Yes, Alesha," he said. "Well, one day…we had broken up like a week before…she came up to me and told me she was pregnant."
"Was it…was it yours?" Sarah asked.
Chad nodded. "Even though she had slept with a couple of people before me and while we were broken up, she didn't sleep with anyone while we were together -"
"You sure about that?" Sarah said.
Chad looked at her funny. "Yeah. I'm sure about that. Anyway…she wanted to get rid of the baby. She was only 16. And she knew she couldn't take care of it. I wouldn't let her," he said. "Well, things happened and stuff and Bethany talked her into getting an order that wouldn't let me around Alesha." He shook his head, "And that in turn kept me away from the baby. Then, Alesha gave custody to Bethany and high-tailed it to Florida cleaning up her act. I've been trying to get Alesha back and custody of Taelen ever since."
"Tae…Taelen? That little boy that is with her now? The one that she says is her cousin?" Sarah said.
Chad nodded. "The only people that know who Taelen really is are those that are really close to Lesha."
"Do you realize how damaging this could be for her?" Sarah asked a smile spreading over her face.
"I take it, you're extremely happy about this information for some sick reason," he said looking at her.
"Kind of," Sarah said. "You see…she has something that I want. And it seems that what I want has something YOU want."
"You're speaking of Nick I presume."
"Yes. And if Nick found out about Alesha's past, I'm almost POSITIVE that he'd go ballistic and kick her to the curb. Being that she'd be all alone, and suddenly you've appeared, she'd come crying to you," Sarah grinned evilly.
"Somehow I doubt she'd come running to me, but I could see how your plan has potential," he said smiling at her, an idea of how to get Alesha and his son back forming in his mind.
