68: M is for Malice
Maxton
He comes to see her every morning. She was so easy to follow with her unwavering routine. He’s become the problem though. I can never predict or set a timeline for him being at her place except for the mornings. Drops the kid off and then comes straight here. Nothing more than a f*****g puck bunny that he hired to watch his kid. He always acted so much better than me because I had no problem taking advantage of their offerings. But he and his brothers looked down on me. If a woman wants to give herself to you, who am I to turn her down?
I’ve always hated him. He gets everything he ever wanted all because of his last name. The captain spot would be mine if he wasn’t there. I’d be the one scouts would be clamoring over. Instead, I’m stuck being in his shadow. The whole school and city fawns over them. My father has money and yet they act like the Reeds are royalty.
Well, that’s all about to change. Easton Reed is about to fall from his pedestal. I’m going to get
my spot back on the hockey team and I’m going to reclaim what should be mine. The little
mouse will be happy to kneel at my feet soon enough. It’s always worked in the past…..
Julian
“I heard you helped with Marshall’s football number retirement ceremony, Julian. Can you give
us any hints about the program tonight?” Mom asks as she plates out pot roast for this early
dinner.
“No, it’s very hush, hush, Mom. Can’t spoil the big surprise.” I answer with sarcastic irritation.
“I’m sure Coach Humphries made it very tasteful.” She adds with her hostess smile on display like that covers up my attitude. I look over to see Dad gazing between us. His shrewd eyes
haven’t missed my attitude towards her over the last few weeks.
“Oh you
know Coach, Mom. He is always sure to do the right thing, at least for his star players and himself. Even if it costs another their peace of mind and almost their life.” I lift a forkful of mashed potatoes and leisurely place them in my mouth. She halts for a second and her eyes dart my way, her head is slightly downbent.
“Your brother worked very hard to earn this. He’s going to be so excited.” She tries to move away from Humphries. “Your game should be exciting after all that.”
“He certainly made lots of effort keeping his reputation intact. I do wonder when he’ll get over Brooklyn though. I mean it’s been three years. Surely we could find him a nice girl. Mom you
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68: M is for Malice
have lots of friends with pretty daughters. What about that one….what was her name? Annie maybe? Or Patti?” I name off the two girls from the photos I know she looked at. They had names with question marks attached to them. Her fork suddenly clatters loudly against her plate.
“I don’t….none of my friends have daughters named anything like that Julian.” She says hastily as her whole body tenses up. I hide my smirk by taking another bite of roast. Dad stares
harder at her.
“Darn, I really thought you did. My mistake. Sorry Mom.” I sit in silence for a minute.
“Perhaps we should talk about something else. Christmas Day maybe, I….”
“Wait, I remember the girl’s name I’m thinking of. Luci….” I drop her name like a triumphant
bomb. “Knew I’d think of it.”
. My mother has gone completely ashen. “N….no. There’s no Luci either, Julian. Stop worrying
about these girls. You are obsessing over this.” Her voice trembles with fear and she’s having trouble hiding it.
“What the hell is going on, Marilyn? Why did you react like that to that name?” Dad asks with narrowed eyes.
“I am just tired of Julian trying to rush his brother into a relationship. He is still grieving Brooklyn, understandably to everyone except Julian, obviously.” She glares at me. I lean back,
folding my arms as I enjoy this much more than I should.
Luci had naturally been right when she told me I was using her as an excuse that night for my
revenge. Girl is damned smart and from what I’ve now observed, she’s sweeter than a f*****g
lollipop. I hate what I did to her and what Marshall did the more I dug. He threatened to
physically assault her if she revealed his secret. Which definitely needed to be avenged.
Easton Reed will get that honor and I hope he ends Marshall’s career. I want to pay him back
for fooling me and also for almost costing Luci her life. She worried that Marshall might come
after me after learning I provoked him the other night. Like she warned me about ruining my
future exposing him. Who does that? Cares about someone who was a f*****g asshole to you.
Someone who deserves to be protected is the answer. And if I lose my pro career as a
quarterback, that’s the price I’ll pay. I deserve no less.
“Grieving her or using her as a shield so no one looks too closely at him? And so her father
would keep him as the starting quarterback, Mother?” I ask with venom.
“Julian, I am your mother. You don’t talk to me like that! Your brother suffered an immeasurable heartbreak.” She sniffs trying to make me look like the uncaring brother.
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“Yeah he sure did. I’m sure he couldn’t decide if he was more heartbroken she died solo before
he finished the season that year and he had to play the grieving guy or if he was hoping she’d take Luci out too.” True panic washes over her visibly as absolute revulsion rises up in me. “You listened to it didn’t you Mother? The final minutes of her life……I had hoped you weren’t that vile. That unfeeling. You are a mother and you swept what happened under the rug. Luci Forrester could have died that night!”
She slams her hand down on the table. “But she didn’t! Brooklyn did! It wasn’t like it mattered.
That girl is of no importance. Nothing more than an attention–seeking little slut that has
issues stemming from her….upbringing.”
“Wow….” I breathe out and have to take a minute. “She’s an orphan who had to live in foster
care. How dare you act like that makes her dirty and beneath you. She has more integrity in
her hand than you do your entire body. And Marshall lied to HER. Along with the other four or five you know about.”
Now Dad slams his fists down. “Someone better start explaining now! You are making fun of
an orphan who lived in foster care, Marilyn? Need I remind you how I grew up for a short
time….” His voice is laced with steel. My father hasn’t forgotten his humble roots.
“Well, you see Dad, Marshall had a few side pieces at Kenton over the years. It was easy since Brooklyn went to Piedmont. Brooklyn found out about three weeks before she died. She sent Marilyn here photos of the girls and a voicemail the night she died. In it, she rams Luci Forrester’s car thinking Marshall was with her. She intended to harm him. Afterwards, Marshall and Coach decided Luci should be blamed for Brooklyn’s death. They asked the football team to make her life hell. And sadly, I did. Which might be the biggest mistake of my
life.”
Dad’s eyes blaze, and my mother shrinks back in her chair. “Show me.” His voice has a dead calm quality that even I’m frightened of. I hand him my phone with the first photo ready. His fingers work as his jaw gets tighter. He hits play on the voicemail recording and turns the speakerphone on. I close my eyes, imagining Luci’s terror. They said her car flipped and she was trapped. I went and found the paramedics who showed up. Some guys named Warner and Ari who are more than familiar with Luci even if she doesn’t realize it. The Warner guy said she looked like a panicked deer.
“This girl is an orphan?” Dad asks quietly.
“Yes, her parents were killed when she was three.” I explain. That was all Easton would tell me.
I looked the rest of it up.
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68: M is for Malice
“Marshall had moments of weakness, Edward. This girl, she tried to trap him. He confessed to me, she was hoping to become pregnant. A one–night stand gone wrong. She tried to hurt Brooklyn deliberately by making it sound like a bigger deal when she confronted this girl. Told Brooklyn she was going to have a family no matter how she had to go about it.”
“Moments of weakness Marilyn…is that what you call being a disloyal piece of s**t and cheating on your significant other?” The ice in his voice has never been directed at her. “You believe Marshall for this one girl when there are photos of more. Proving he’s a lying sonofabitch already. Are you really that f*****g stupid or were you so worried about burying your head in the sand so no one would look poorly upon you in your circle? Those women whose opinion you hold so dear at your little meetings.” She says nothing, merely gaping at
him. He’s never gotten angry with her like that in front of us.
He turns to me. “What did Humphries ask you to do and what did he tell you?”
I tell him everything that I know. I play the video where I confronted Marshall. Mom begins to
cry and shake as she listens. “Edward, I…”
He holds up one finger to her, never looking away from my phone. “Does this girl have anyone to support and help her? Wait, don’t answer that.” He reaches over for Mom’s phone and slams it down onto the floor, shattering it. “Since you’re stupid, I doubt you have your own son’s
phone number memorized. You’ll be coming with me to this….event, so I can keep an eye on
you. And then you’ll pack your s**t and get out of this house. You can go stay with Marshall.
Both of you can commiserate over how you’ve been cut off completely from me and my
money.”
She shakes her head truly panicking, but he holds one finger up to her. “Julian, does she have
anyone?”
“Easton Reed is her boyfriend. And he’s pretty damn pissed off about what happened.”
Dad’s eyebrows raise slowly. “Jason Reed’s oldest….well, that should take care of things
naturally. We may need next–of–kin information for your former brother.”
“There’s a little more Dad…” I say watching the disbelief on his face.
Easton
Julian’s text comes through and I read it feeling pleased. His brother is about to find out what
happens when you f**k around with something that belongs to me, that I care about. And I
hope he comes at me because I am going to break his f*****g hand and arm with pleasure.
The same one he threatened to hit her with. She left that part out to Banning, who now wanted
to blow him to small pieces with an IED. I’m fairly certain Baker would help him build one.
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68: M is for Malice
I have a strong suspicion that’s why Julian was provoking him earlier this week. Trying to get him to come at her, which would allow someone to take him down without any type of legal ramifications. I warned him though that she’s not to be used as intentional bait and he backed off after that. Didn’t think of it that way. I will not put her at any risk in this.
Dad offered to take the blowback for this if it comes to that. Franklin Humphries is about to find out exactly how little tolerance the world has for a grown man bullying a girl younger than his daugher. Dad’s got his own revenge with our coach, who should have stayed in his own. lane. Or better, he should have told his brother off and helped him get therapy. Dad’s revenge was much colder than mine and I quickly agreed to go with his idea instead of mine. Luci says grief can cause so many different reactions and emotions, but that’s no excuse for this. Grown
adults went after a girl who was only guilty of trusting a guy who fooled her. Taking their
anger out that their daughter was gone on Luci.
at
Ivory Row
Julian seems to have learned his lesson. Explosion number one and a problem brewing. I honestly dislike Marshall’s mother more than him. She’s a woman/mother and both condoned and hid what he did. You didn’t think Maxton just disappeared did you?. Let’s take Marshall down shall we? Two more coming, just give me time to finish the second one. They go together.
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