by Parks, AL
Griff let out a long exhale. “Okay, I’ll drive you over there. Stay here, and let me make sure we can get out to the truck.” He walked across the shop and opened the door enough to stick his head out. “It’s clear. They’ve left the parking lot.”
He watched her stand and walk towards him. Her face was stone cold, the way it had been when he first saw her at her father’s funeral. She was in self-preservation mode, withdrawing into that dark place she had spent so many years. Damn that fucking bitch, Brandi. There was no need for her to do this, to completely destroy Rissa when she was finally freeing herself of the fears and mistrust.
They climbed into the cab of the truck and he drove across town. Reaching across the seat, he took hold of her hand. She was so quiet, so distant. He needed her to stay with him, stay in the light. She glanced over at him and gave him a smile that did not hit her eyes. He gently yanked on her hand, and she scooted closer to him. Wrapping his arm around her, he pulled her close and kissed the top of her head.
He felt like a failure. He had promised that he would protect her, not let anything hurt her. Yet, her biggest fear was exposure, and there didn’t seem to be any greater exposure than her secret shame being plastered all over the news for everyone to see. To judge her, pity her, or scorn her. And she was going to have to face it all because he hadn’t done the one thing she needed him to do more than anything.
Keep her safe.
***
By the time Griff finally pulled into the circle at Brandi’s house, Clarissa’s rage was at a fever-pitch. He had barely pulled to a complete stop before she was across the cab and out the passenger side door. She didn’t even bother to close it. Didn’t wait for Griff to get out of the truck. Just stormed to the front door and burst through it. The new butler came around the corner from the kitchen and stop abruptly when he saw her.
“Where is she?” Clarissa screamed at him. His eyes were wide and his mouth gaped open. He pointed down the hallway to the living room.
Brandi was standing in front of the fireplace. “What the hell are you doing here? You can’t just waltz into my house.”
Clarissa stormed across the room. A loud clap filled the air as her hand made contact with Brandi’s face. Instantly, a red mark appeared on her cheek. Brandi yelped and she covered the area.
“Why did you tell the press? I did what you wanted. I’m transferring the shares. Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?” Clarissa was yelling and had forced Brandi to back up against the fireplace mantle. Griff entered the room and came towards the women. He grabbed Clarissa’s hand and pulled her back.
Brandi straightened her dress and ran her hand over her hair, smoothing it. “What I wanted was for you to leave, Clarissa. Without you here, there would be nothing to get in the way of Griff and I being together. But I saw you. I drove by the shop today, and there you were, in the parking lot all wrapped up in each other. Smiling. Kissing. And I knew it was too late.”
She took two steps towards Clarissa, pointing her finger in her face. “I spent most of my life having people like you - your mother - look down their noses at me because of where I grew up. How poor I was. All the while you sat in your big, fancy houses, never going without a meal, getting diamonds and cars and whatever the hell else you wanted. And I was stuck, going hungry for days, taking on two jobs while I was in high school just so I could help pay the rent on a rundown trailer that leaked more water through the roof than it could get through the rusty pipes.
“I put myself through night school and got a degree. Did you know that? I was able to get a job as a bank teller, then became the bank president’s secretary. That was rather distasteful, but sometimes a girl without your means has to get carpet burns on her knees and suck a seventy-year-old cock just to get a foot in the door. Luckily for me, your dad was a breast man. So, I made sure I wore the tightest, lowest cut tops I could get away with when he was on the calendar to meet with my boss. It didn’t take much convincing to get him to make me a job offer. Even less to get him in my bed. Seems your mother was a bit frigid. Didn’t really like to play.”
Brandi snickered. It made Clarissa sick to hear the woman talk about her mother that way. Eve hadn’t been the reason the marriage failed any more than Clarissa had been the reason Brandi grew up poor.
“What does all this have to do with me? I didn’t know you when I was growing up. I never looked down my nose at you until you slept with my dad and broke up my family. I think I get to be pissed about that.” Clarissa spat back. She could feel Griff move in closer to her, feel the waves of tension radiating off him. It didn’t make her back down, though, it only fueled her anger towards Brandi.
“You should be thanking me for breaking up your family. If I hadn’t come along and distracted your father, he’d probably still be banging you. I got him away from you, away from a wife who was more concerned about her career to notice that her husband was screwing his secretary and his daughter. But your father was never one to be satisfied with one woman. It didn’t take long for me to figure he had a wandering eye - and a wandering cock. I’m pretty sure he hit on every girl in your graduating class, and probably screwed most of them, too. After I had popped out two more kids for him, he decided he needed someone younger, newer, without stretch marks. And he needed fast cars and motorcycles and airplanes. He stopped spending time at home with me - with his sons - and used all his new toys to get any woman under the age of thirty to fuck him.”
“Yeah, we all agree - my father was a selfish prick who probably deserved to die. Still waiting for the part where this had to be turned around on me.” Clarissa’s voice had calmed a bit. She hadn’t ever considered what her father had done to Brandi. It didn’t excuse her behavior, and Clarissa would never forgive the woman for how she had treated Eve. Or for exposing the sexual abuse to the world.
“When your father told me about the bike shop, and I met Griff, I knew I had found a way to get back at him for cheating on me. The more I was around Griff, though, the more I knew I wanted him for more than just a revenge fuck or two. He’s young, sexy, and going places. All the men your father associates with were suddenly dropping big bucks to buy his bikes. He was going to be a part of their circle, making the kind of money they made. But he was also just a guy from the wrong side of the tracks.” Her eyes lifted and she peered past Clarissa to where Griff stood behind her. “I knew what his life had been like growing up without having to know anything about him. It had been hard, just like mine. He had fought his way out, just like I had. We knew what it was like to be poor and looked down upon. I knew we could be happy together, because we understood each other, and wanted the same things.”
She dropped her gaze back upon Clarissa and glared. “You destroyed my plan. You’re just like every other rich girl, thinking you own everything - that you’re entitled to everything. Your father left nearly his entire estate to you. You! A person who wouldn’t have spit on him if he were on fire. I saved him from a loveless marriage, made all his business associates and friends envious of him - the man with the sexy, young wife. He gave you the business that I was supposed to have. And you swooped in here, ready to get your millions and go. So, what made you stay? What made you want Griff? Was it because you knew I wanted him? You wanted to hurt me, take the only happiness I have had in months away from me. You stole my plan - to work side-by-side with Griff and make him fall in love with me. You ruined everything. So, I ruined you.”
The room was a silent as a tomb. Even the air stilled and became stagnant. That was it? That was the reason Brandi had given up Clarissa’s secret to the press? Because she had some delusion that Griff would fall in love with her if they worked together? And she thought Clarissa planned to fall in love with Griff so she could - what - get one over on Brandi?
Her blood began to boil again, and she could feel the rage about to explode. Griff shifted behind her, and she thought he was taking a step towards her. Probably trying to get her to leave.
The women stood, a
foot apart from each other. Brandi’s finger was still up in Clarissa’s face, but was shaking. They glared at each other until Clarissa finally snapped.
How dare this woman come into their lives, make decisions for them, and destroy their happiness because she feels she is owed something for her past.
Clarissa grabbed Brandi’s wrist twisting it away from her face and forcing Brandi to gasp. “You sleazy bitch. You’re no better than the people you claim to hate so much. All you want is power, money and control. You think if you have control over people, you can get them to do what you want? Force them to love you? You are as sick and twisted as my father. If I were you, I’d watch my back. This is far from over. I’m going to make you pay for everyone you’ve hurt - my mother, my sister, Griff. You’re going to regret fucking with my life and with the people I love.”
She pushed Brandi away from her and marched out of the room. The truck door stood open, inviting her in. That wasn’t an option.
She had to get out of there. Needed time to think, but desperately just wanted to forget. She ran across the driveway to the massive garage that housed her father’s car collection. Speed and adrenaline. Two things that would offer a respite from the turbulent storm in her mind. Opening the box on the wall where all the keys were hanging, she grabbed the ring for the BMW Z4 and jumped into the vehicle. She hit the remote button, opening the garage door as she brought the engine to life.
She was so close to wrapping her hands around Brandi’s neck and squeezing the life out of her. The thought both frightened her and brought her immense joy. She had always hated the woman, but right now, she wanted nothing more than to make her pay for all the hell she had put Clarissa’s family through.
She slammed the car into first gear and shot down the driveway. She had no idea where to go, she just drove, praying it would help calm her nerves. Provide some clarity on what the hell she was supposed to do now. Because all she could think of was how badly she wanted Brandi extracted from her life, by any means necessary.
And that was not a good place for her to be in her current state of mind.
***
Brandi grabbed Griff’s arm as he tried to go after Rissa.
“Griff, it didn’t have to be this way. I just wanted an opportunity for you to see how much better life would be with me. Clarissa has some serious issues. The kind of abuse she suffered because of her father, cannot just be undone. It will take years of therapy, and I don’t think she is willing to put in the time to get well. She’ll lead you on until something in her snaps. Then she’ll see you as the enemy - the same ugly person her father was - and she will drop you. By then, you will be so invested in her that you will be devastated. I’m just trying to save you from years of disappointment.”
She stepped into him, her hands running up and down his forearms. “I can give you what she can’t, Griff. You won’t have to deal with all the daddy issues. We can be so much more together.”
Griff knocked her hands away and stepped back. “You’re out of your mind if you think I will ever feel anything for you but disgust. What you did to her, outing something so personal, something she has struggled to deal with most of her life just so you could get what you want, was the cruelest thing you could ever do. There was never a chance in hell that I would ever want anything from you, with or without Rissa in my life. Now, all I can think about is how the world would be a better place without you in it. Nothing would make me happier than for you to suffer the same fate as your late husband.”
“I’m sorry,” she cried. “I wasn’t thinking. I saw the two of you together, and I just snapped. I’ll make it up to her. I’ll go to the press and tell them it was a lie, have them back off of her. I’ll do whatever I have to do, if you’ll just give us a chance.” She was on her knees in front of him, looking up at him through the tears that streaked down her face.
Somehow he had stumbled into an episode of the Twilight Zone, because this shit couldn’t be real. He looked at her, and just shook his head. “You need some serious help.”
He walked out of the room, past the butler who was standing in the hallway eavesdropping. He lowered his head as Griff passed. Once outside the house, Griff approached the passenger side of the truck expecting to find Rissa waiting for him. The cab was empty. Spinning around, he looked around the grounds to see where she had gone. The garage was across from him, one of the doors open and the bay empty.
Shit!
He ran around the front of the truck, hopped in, and tore down the driveway. Where the hell could she have gone? He grabbed for his cell phone, hitting her speed dial button. It rang and rang, finally putting him into her voicemail.
“Riss, where are you? Call me back, baby. I need to know you’re okay.” He ended the call, and dropped the phone in the cup holder. He had no idea what kind of vehicle she was in, where to begin looking for her, or what the hell to do. All he knew is that she was upset and alone, and he was not around to save her from falling into a dark place.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
There was a parking area atop a cliff that overlooked the ocean. Clarissa pulled into the empty lot. It was windy and cool as she sat on the old wooden bench a safe distance from the steep drop. It was becoming more and more difficult for her to wrap her head around all the changes in her life over the past few weeks. Her father’s death. Griff. Her secret exposed. Her mind couldn’t seem to settle on one issue to deal with, and was bouncing around from one thing to the next.
She couldn’t grieve for her father, and she knew that was probably going to hit her somewhere down the road. She had spent so much of her life hating him. One time she had tried to talk to a counselor about what had happened. The woman told Clarissa to find empathy for her father and forgive him since he was obviously dealing with some serious issues and not handling them in an appropriate manner. Clarissa walked out after one hour and never returned. She found it hard to believe she would ever forgive the man for what he had done. But she knew, if she was going to truly move on, she was going to have to find that forgiveness. Today, however, was not that day.
For years she had feared anyone finding out about the sexual abuse she suffered. It was incomprehensible that it was now public knowledge for everyone and anyone to discuss, debate, and judge her actions - her life. It was humiliating having lived through it, lived with the shame. There was some relief in knowing that the only other person who knew would never reveal the secret. But he had, and to the one person that would keep Clarissa’s secret just long enough to find the most opportune moment to use it against her.
Now, everyone knew, and the bubble she had created for herself had burst in dramatic fashion. Her deepest pain and horror was available for public consumption. Humiliating wasn’t even close to what she was feeling now. There was no name for it - it couldn’t be adequately defined. It felt as if she was in some type of limbo between life and hell. She would be forced to answer questions about what her father had done, watch as people would either pity her or scorn her. None of them would ever look at her the same way. Nothing she had done in the past, or would do in the future, would matter. The level of respect and admiration she had achieved in her career would take a backseat to her past. She would forever be known as the girl who was molested by her father.
She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out her cell phone. Griff had been calling non-stop since she had left Brandi’s house. He was probably going insane trying to find her. It wasn’t fair to him, not letting him know she was okay. It was even less fair that he had fallen in love with such a fucked up girl. A girl whose issues kept becoming bigger and bigger. What was once a manageable issue - a pebble - was creating ripples in a pool that were ever increasing in size. He hadn’t signed on for this shit, and shouldn’t have to deal with her problems.
The phone rang in her hand. Her mother. Another person who was probably going crazy with worry. Clarissa knew she was disappointing them all, but she hadn’t been able to talk to them earlier. She just didn’t
have it in her to be the strong one right now.
She also knew that if she didn’t talk to her mother, there was a pretty good chance the woman would call out the National Guard to find her. She pushed the answer button on the phone and put it to her ear.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Clarissa, sweetheart, are you all right?”
“Have you seen the news?” Clarissa looked out over the water. It was starting to blend with the darkening sky. She would have to eventually go home.
Home. Where was that exactly?