51: The Storm
Easton
“Daddy, you sit here and Luci sits here. Move Uncle Becker please.” Cole directs us as we get ready to eat dinner.
Dad is here too and he watches Cole closely.
“Coco, don’t make Uncle Becker move. I’ll sit over here.” Luci protests.
“No Luci. You sit here. I has a plan.” He says his little face very set with determination.
“Alright, where are you sitting so I can bring your juice?” She asks him.
“I sit by you.” He says with a smile as Becker moves. He and Kingston exchange glances.
“What about me, Cole?” Dad asks and Cole points to a chair by Jackson.
“Right there Grandpappy.”
Dad eyes Luci all through dinner. Cole is the only thing that distracts him. “Luci let me try on my costume for the play at school.”
“Fun. What are you, Coconut?” Becker asks him grinning.
“It’s a secret. And Luci can’t tell you either.” He points his finger sternly at him.
We all laugh at that and let him talk to us about his day taking up all of dinner.
Luci and I get him to sleep as I hear the first claps of thunder. I lead her into my room as soon as I can. She jumps as a loud crack of thunder shakes the windows. It hit at almost the exact same time as the lightning. “Come here Luci.” I slide up the bed until I’m resting against my pillows and hold my arms out to her. She moves to curl up against me. “What if your dad…”
“Shhh. I locked the door and he always knocks. They really bother you, sweetness.” I hold her tight as I listen to the wind howl. Hoping I can comfort her somewhat.
“Yes. And I need to tell you the whole reason why.” She sounds tired. She sits up to face me. “Part of it is losing my parents to a night like this. But I have other trauma that compounded it three years ago. I told you I would explain about Julian later. Welcome to later with the most screwed up story ever.” She gives me a grimace. “Kids were not kind about me being a foster kid in high school. Mean teenagers will exploit any nonconformity. I was ready to be just a regular girl. I got a scholarship here. It was the only one with the full ride, so I took it. No one knew me and I could be Luci, not Luci the lost or some of the other nicknames I was given.
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+8 Point:
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games,
Syd and I were excited to be here. I planned to try everything. Football games, baseball maybe a campus party, you name it. We started with the football games. After the second home game, I went to the store to buy ice cream. My squirrel brain as usual had me physically running into someone in that aisle. It was Marshall Soames.” I tense up at the mention of his name. “He was nice and asked me to join him for coffee. I knew he was the quarterback from the games, but that was it.” She describes how he asked for her number and they started ‘dating.‘ My hands are tightly coiled into fists, knowing he was playing her before she even gets to that part. That guy is a f*****g prick. I want to punch him as she describes how she saw him and Brooklyn. We all knew he was dating the coach’s daughter and probably not for any reason other than ensuring he was the starting quarterback at Kenton.
“She came and confronted me. I could have let it go, but I showed her all the texts and pictures of us. Two days later, another girl named Annie showed up at my doorstep. She lives a block over. She was seeing him when I was. Saw him leaving my apartment one night only a few weeks prior. I told her about Brooklyn and she was going to contact her. Two weeks after the whole shopping incident, I decided to go out and pick up dinner. I was feeling better and wanted a treat. I went to the hamburger place on the opposite side of Kenton closer to downtown. It was barely raining and a big storm was coming. I knew from the weather that I had time to get my food and get home before the storm. I wasn’t as jumpy with them as I am. now. Just afraid. I was sitting at the red light for that intersection near the campus park. The one that should be a three way stop right next to the massive tree they cut down and turned into those weird connected benches.” I nod slowly at her knowing what she’s talking about. My stomach is already in knots with where she’s going. “As I sat there, I heard someone going way too fast. There was a car to my right. It was one of those economy vans and I could see the dvd players lit up inside it. It was filled with kids. Their light was green and so she was turning right. I saw the headlights approaching way too fast behind me. I couldn’t turn right or go forward or I’d hit that van. I jerked the steering wheel to head over the sidewalk and into the park. They turned too and slammed into the rear of my midsize SUV. I flew forward and the seat belt locked of course. All the glass was shattering as I heard the metal crunching like a can and they continued to accelerate. Somehow, my SUV ended up flipped on the passenger side. The massive SUV that hit me kept going and I heard the crash along with splintering wood. She’d plowed into that huge tree and broke it in half, I found out later.”
“Luci….” I’m reaching for her and she’s shaking her head.
“I was trapped in there. My shoulder was on fire and I couldn’t even use my left arm at the time. I knew I was bleeding because it was dripping down my forehead into my eye. I heard people calling for me to stay put as the thunder and lightning started. All I could think of
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Easton was that I was going to die like my parents did.” She’s crying and I lift her into my lap.
“f**k sweetness….” I’m crying too.
“They finally got me out like three hours later after having to cut my vehicle in half. I was barely conscious by then and they gave me pain meds. I woke up four days later. I had dislocated my shoulder, fractured my tibia, bruised ribs, concussion, and tons of scratches and bruises. The airbag deployed, but I turned my head and it slammed my forehead into the window.” She takes my hand and stretches my fingers into her hair right above her left temple. I feel the fine scar there. “I was in the hospital for two weeks. Sydney came and told me what happened the first day I was awake. Brooklyn was driving her giant Yukon SUV and she’d been drinking at one of the bars. She wasn’t completely drunk, but close to it. She died when she hit that tree. Was ejected from the vehicle I found out from the police when they came to question me the next morning. But then Franklin Humphries came to see me along with Marshall.”
“They f*****g threatened you, didn’t they?” I growl.
She nods slowly. “Yes. Marshall was first. He said no one would believe a throwaway and if I breathed a word, he would come back and make sure my injuries I currently had were nothing. But then her father showed up and I realized he had no idea Marshall was a serial cheater. I tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen. He was….enraged. It wasn’t grief, it was pure rage and I thought he was going to hit me several times. He said no one would believe me, he had already gotten the records sealed. He wanted to protect Brooklyn’s reputation since she couldn’t do anything to redeem herself after almost killing me. He told me I could live past being talked badly about, but she would always be dead and would never be able to make up for drinking and driving. For almost committing manslaughter. For losing her mind about Marshall cheating on her with me. She had a breakdown and was under psychiatric care. His little princess’s image would be tarnished and his wife apparently was losing her mind over that. The way he talked, they were both obsessed with Brooklyn. I tried to tell him that Marshall had another girl, but he wouldn’t listen to it. Got in my face screaming about how I destroyed his daughter. Left him and his wife with nothing.”
How hasty of me to think I wanted to punch Marshall. I want to tie him to our hockey goal and take slapshots at him. See how long it takes to fracture his ribs and teeth before I beat the life out of him with my bare hands. Franklin Humphries, I want to slice open and gut with my skates. Neither should be breathing.
“Wait a minute….Gina Humphries is one of the heads of the education department at Kenton, She….you had an issue with someone and they told you to change your major. Luci?” My
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mind is connecting the dots fast and my temper is ready to light them on fire. She had to give
up her dream, what she’d be absolutely amazing at because of a bunch of polished looking
trash.
“I spaced out during a class completely at the end of my sophomore year and she made sure
everyone knew why. Told me I could never be responsible for children if I couldn’t stay in the present. Marshall told them about my ADHD. She began to nitpick everything I did in her
classes, almost failing me. I couldn’t afford to fail a class and lose my scholarship, so I moved
to something else.” She admits quietly. “There’s more. Brooklyn intentionally accelerated to hit
- me. Not a random car. She saw me from the bar parking lot as I was sitting at a red light and
followed me.”
“How do you know that? That’s attempted murder, Luci, not manslaughter.” I am ready to
implode. My jaw aches with how tightly I have it clenched.
“Because Julian came to see me Saturday night. He found out Brooklyn sent his mother
everything she had. All the photos of her son and his affairs, a video of Brooklyn the night of
the accident where she talks about how she’s going to kill him. How he wouldn’t get away with
humiliating her and that even if she didn’t kill him, he’d never play football again. The video
text to Mrs. Soames continued as she slammed into my car. You can hear her saying he
deserves what’s about to happen and then the sound of the initial hit. The phone goes off after
that. He brought me a flash drive of all of it with a tearful apology. He confronted Marshall
Friday night and punched him.”
“Julian apologized to you?” I focus on her, holding onto my control barely. They covered this up? Marilyn Soames is going to wish she’d been a f*****g adult along with Gina Humphries.
Image and control…like my f*****g mother.
“Yes, he was very furious with Marshall and the Humphries brothers. I haven’t forgiven him
fully yet.”
I tilt her face up to mine, vibrating with fury. “He was furious….. You don’t have to forgive him at ALL! He can live, but I am going to kill f*****g Marshall Soames. I might beat Julian only half to death. And Franklin Humphries better be able to sprint like his running backs. She tried to f*****g kill you and he doesn’t want her f*****g reputation tarnished?!”
I move her to the side and jump off the bed, grabbing my shoes.
“Easton no, please don’t go. Don’t. They will just have you arrested. Cole, you need to think
about Cole.” She pleads, crying. I vaguely hear the doorknob rattle. “I need you to stay here. For
me, please.” That stops me. She never asks for anything for herself.
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A minute later, the connecting door opens and Jackson steps in looking worried. He should.
“I could hear you yelling angrily across the hall. What is going on?”
“I have a whole f*****g list of assholes to destroy.” I answer coldly before I look down at Luci, who is shaking. I take a deep breath knowing she needs me right now. I pull her into my arms and kiss the top of her head. “I’m here sweetness.”
Ivory Row
Just one update today with the two chapters. But it has what you’ve been waiting to hear with a few extras. Comeuppance is about to roost. What will Easton do to them? FYI Updates will probably be late tomorrow as I will be traveling and spending the day with family.
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