And I am him…
That was the part that maybe pissed me off the most. When I found pieces of him inside me.
“This is fucked up,” Barr said before he sucked on his cigarette.
“I like it,” Kip said.
“Both of you stay here,” I said. “No matter what happens. You do not come near the ditch until the fight is over. And one of us walks away.”
I looked to my right at Barr.
He nodded.
I looked to my left at Kip.
His eyes were blue and showed a sense of truth that Barr could hide.
Wondering what to do if my father got the upper hand and took me down and kept me down. And kept going…
I nodded to Kip.
He nodded back.
There was nobody else at the ditch.
No bets to be placed.
No money to win.
No reason to have a drink or cheer on a fight.
This was all personal.
If I won the fight, my father would kill the purchase of the land. Which I really didn’t give a shit about. Same for him. This was about power. He knew my mother screwed him over and that I was going to get everything. And I knew my father had never once kept his dick in his pants. The cheating thing wasn’t because my mother was dying of ALS. It was long before that. My mother may have been a pretty hippie surfer girl but she was a force. And she was the force that challenged my father for years.
I loved her for that.
I missed her for that.
She was alive. But believe me, she wasn’t living at all.
That was the rage I needed right then.
I needed to step on that hornet’s nest and let it all out.
I walked up to my father and he put a hand out.
“Easy, son,” he said. “We can do this the right way. It’s not my first fight.”
“No?” I asked.
“Man has to let off steam,” he said.
“Thought that’s why you fucked other women?” I asked.
“No. I fuck other women because your mother isn’t up to speed anymore.”
He smirked.
I threw a right fist.
It smashed against his jaw.
I did not feel any better at all.
* * *
So I kept going.
Punch for punch, thinking about everything that had ever happened between myself and my father. Living out something of a dream that a lot of people probably wanted to do.
And I had to hand it to him.
He knew how to fight back.
And he knew how to goad me.
Letting me get a few punches in on him to start the fight. Stepping back like he was really feeling the hits.
I made the small mistake of pausing for a second to see where he was at.
That’s when he attacked back.
That first punch was probably one of the most shocking things I ever felt.
I had been punched more times than I knew how to count.
But this was… my father.
William Levilitz.
The great businessman. The ruthless businessman.
I threw a left but he blocked the punch and hit me in the gut. I grabbed his shoulder and he hit me again. I fell into him and he hugged me tight.
“Don’t quit on me yet, son,” he whispered.
He pushed me back and swung again, hitting me in the face.
My head snapped to the side and I side stepped.
I turned and put my fists up. I licked my top lip.
Blood.
I nodded to him. “Got a little mark on your eye.”
“Just a scratch,” he said.
“What do you want out of this?” I asked.
“Same as you, son.”
I moved at him and we went for another round of punches.
For a little while I forgot who it was.
It was just a fight.
It was me focused on where the punches were coming from and how to miss them, block them, and then return with a harder punch. It almost became a sense of a dance between me and him. When I’d hit him, he’d groan. Then he’d smile. In a sick way it was almost like he was proud of me. The only time I ever saw him proud of me. Not that he would ever admit it.
When my father started to sweat and tire out, I knew I had him.
I backed off for a few seconds. “Call it?”
“Not yet, son,” he said.
“You know, if this goes well, you might die before Mom does,” I said.
His lip curled. “You little shit…”
He rushed at me.
I knew somewhere inside his black heart he did love Mom. But in the same twisted way he forever wanted her to be hippie surfer girl. He didn’t want her to age. Change her hairstyle. Learn about business. Be smarter than him. He wanted her to give him six kids - three boys, three girls - and never look different.
Because my father was an asshole.
I swung my right hand with all my force and when it connected to his nose, I knew that was it.
He fell to his knees right on the spot.
I changed my stance, my right foot back a little.
My father’s white shirt was stained with blood and dirt.
He looked up at me.
My left hand grabbed the shoulder of his shirt.
I nodded.
I brought my right hand back.
The only way to end the fight was to… end it.
Knock him out.
Leave him out cold in the middle of the ditch.
Let him wake up and realize what had happened.
My father took deep breaths and nodded to me.
He knew.
I knew.
“Son… I love you.”
My right fist shook with fury.
He shut his eyes.
I pushed at his shoulder and backed away.
He opened his eyes and stared at me again.
“You can take the land,” I said. “I don’t give a shit about it. I never did. You’re just pissed you lost everything. You fucked everything up. And you think fighting me will fix that? Not a chance.”
My father slowly climbed to his feet. He started to laugh. He grabbed his right ribs and groaned.
“Shit,” he said. “That was good. We needed that, son.”
“Yeah. We did.”
“I don’t want the land,” he said. “I wanted your attention. Need you to know it’s all okay. I’ll be okay. I am okay. And what your mother did was right. It was the right thing to do. I wouldn’t have done the right thing. I would have fucked it all up.”
I balled up my fists and watched as he slowly approached me.
His face beat up.
He smiled.
The same kind of smile he probably gave to some woman when he needed to get off.
“And you’re right about everything else, son,” he said. “I’ve always been the way I am. I love women. I love their company. And while it doesn’t make anything right, I have never given myself to anyone but your mother. And you might not believe this, but she knew. She understood. As long as I came home to my family, she was good with it. As long as I took care of my family, she was good with it.”
“Using your money to get what you wanted,” I said.
“What else is money good for, son?” he asked.
I sucked in a slow breath. “So now what?”
“Nothing,” he said. “She’s going to die, Preston. My wife is going to die. Your mother is going to die. And when that happens, at the very least, you and I should be there to honor her. No matter the bullshit. It should be about her.”
I blinked fast and kept myself stoic.
Slowly, my father reached for me.
He touched my shoulders.
Then he slid his hands to my back.
He hugged me.
He fucking hugged me.
“I’m proud of you, son,” he whispered. “Takes a real man to do what you’ve done.”
I
slowly moved my right hand and touched his back for a second.
The hug ended right there and he held my shoulders again.
“My only advice is next time don’t stop,” he said. “Don’t be a pussy because of your feelings.”
My father patted my shoulders and stepped back.
He rubbed his jaw and turned away.
“Hey, Dad?” I called out.
I hadn’t called him Dad in years.
He turned, just as surprised as I was.
I swung one last right and hit him so hard in the jaw he went down for good.
I had no choice… I was my father’s son…
* * *
Tinsley and I held hands in silence as I drove my SUV home.
She had jumped at me, touched every cut and bruise on my face. She gasped when she saw my hands. She asked a million questions and I answered none. I just kissed her and that shut her up.
“I can’t believe Kip fell for that joke,” she said.
I smiled. “Yeah.”
“He really believed that, huh?”
“Yeah,” I said. “He’s tough as nails but afraid of scary stories.”
“That’s good to know,” Tinsley said. “I mean, think about what we can do when Halloween comes. Or just in general. I wish I knew that earlier.”
“You’re damn vicious, sugar,” I said.
“No. Vicious would be finding out what Barr is afraid of. And what you’re afraid of.”
“You already know what I’m afraid of.”
“I do?” she asked.
“Yeah, sugar. Losing you. That’s the only thing I’m afraid of.”
Tinsley sighed. “That’s so cheap. But it’s so fucking good too, Pres.”
That shut her up again.
When we got to my house, I held her hand as we walked through the main floor. The house was dark and quiet. But there were at least ten people in the house. That was always the strangest part of living the way we did. The house was never empty. Someone was always working on something. Whether it was maintenance, construction, food, medical, whatever, there was always someone there.
“When are we going to patch you up?” Tinsley asked me.
“Little while,” I said.
“Can you talk about it now?”
“Soon,” I said.
I pulled her close and kissed her head.
I broke away and pointed to my mother’s room.
Tinsley nodded and waited.
I entered the room and one of the nurses was sitting there.
Watching TV. Reading a book.
“Hey, Preston,” she said, standing up.
I honestly didn’t know her name.
I nodded to her.
She then saw my face and her eyes went wide.
I guess rich boys like me weren’t supposed to look like they had been in a fight.
The spoon wasn’t always silver… sometimes it was dirty and bloody.
“Can I have a minute?” I asked.
“Of course,” the nurse said. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
I walked to the bed and Mom was asleep.
She slept a lot. Which was kind of funny in a way because she never used to sleep. She lived and loved life and wanted to be awake. She wanted to see the sunrise and the sunset. She wanted the waves. The adventures. The sand. The seashells. She loved going to see Sarah and the exotic animals. It was about life for her. Nature, animals… goddamn hippie…
I touched her hand and slipped my fingers to her wrist.
I felt her heartbeat and I swallowed hard.
Sometimes I wished she would let go. Fight to go. Be free.
“It’s going to be okay, Mom,” I whispered to her lifeless body. “I can take care of everything. Everything you’ve done for me. I promise I can take care of it. That includes him. There’s no need to worry or fear. Things are okay. And I will never let him near what you don’t want him close to.” I swallowed hard again. “I hope you’re dreaming right now. I hope you can still dream. And I hope you’re dreaming of tigers and the ocean and waves that can’t hurt you and whatever else you’ve ever wanted in life. Goodnight, Mom. I love you.”
I kissed her hand and left the bedroom.
The nurse went back inside and I went to Tinsley.
I scooped her up into my arms and walked her outside.
She touched my face. “Pres…”
“I kicked his ass,” I said with a grin.
“I still can’t…”
“You don’t have to,” I said. “It’s done. In a way, we understand each other better than ever. What’s his is his. What’s mine is mine. That’s the end of it. In a really fucked up way, sugar, he does love his wife. That will be the last tie for us. And whatever happens then happens. I know the truth. And I don’t regret anything.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Pres,” Tinsley said. “I hope things calm down now.”
I didn’t respond.
Just wait until you hear about Cole… and BC… and the videos…
“I just want to go back to earlier,” Tinsley said. “Being in the pool. Messing with Kip. Laughing…”
“I don’t,” I said.
“You don’t?”
“No. I don’t want Barr and Kip here. I want it to be just us.”
“Well, it is just us, Pres.”
I brushed my lips to hers. “Sorry about your phone, sugar.”
Tinsley gasped.
I ran forward and jumped into the air, her body locked tight to mine.
She screamed and I laughed.
We both hit the pool water at the same time.
What could I say…
I loved it when Tinsley was wet for me.
Chapter 11
Tinsley bounced on the bed on her knees. Without her hair pulled back, it danced all around. And without wearing anything under the hoodie that was once mine, her chest did the same dance as her hair. It also didn’t hurt the fact that she was wearing jet black panties and nothing else on the lower half of her body.
“Are you really not going to be there?” she asked. “Are you going to be afraid of someone? That’s not a good look on you.”
I rubbed my jaw and stood up.
She was going for the low blow and there was nothing I could do to stop her.
Not to mention she was right. In a way.
“Sugar, it’s not that simple,” I said. “I’m still getting this sorted out. You don’t quite understand how ruthless BC can be. And, no, I’m not afraid of them. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Tinsley stopped moving. “So this is on me? You’re going to blame me for this then.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You literally just did, Pres.” She moved from the bed. Standing there looking like a messy dream. “You just fucking did.”
Tinsley walked to the bathroom and paused at the open doorway. In a quick move, she peeled the hoodie up over her head and threw it behind her. The hoodie landed in the bedroom. She stepped into the bathroom. There was a perfect tan line of where her bathing suit top would have been if she was wearing one.
My hands balled up into tight fists.
I managed one step before she started to turn, only to slam the door shut and lock it before I got to see anything.
I hurried to the door and grabbed the handle as though my touch would magically unlock it.
She was playing tough.
Really fucking tough.
And to think it wasn’t all that long ago I stood behind her and whispered in her ear to forget what she saw me doing to someone in the ocean. And then I warned her to get the hell out of BFH before it was too late.
I nodded.
I appreciated the move.
She was beautiful and not afraid of anything.
Which was good and bad.
I put my hand to the door.
“Whatever you have to do, sugar,” I said. “Enjoy yourself.”
My move was leaving the bedroom but
not the guesthouse.
She could be alone but not alone.
Before I could get to the kitchen and get a damn drink I heard noises outside the guesthouse. I couldn’t tell if it was a laugh or a scream.
I ripped open the front door of the guesthouse to find Barr standing there with a cigarette dangling from his lips. The smoke rose up into his face and climbed up over his head. He looked at me and nodded.
Straight ahead in the pool were two girls.
One in a bright bathing suit, the other in a black two piece that hardly qualified as a bikini. And then there was Kip, standing at the edge of the pool in his jeans and white sleeveless shirt, flirting with them both. And they were eating it up too. Loving the attention from the Rulz.
“Something to have fun with,” Barr said.
“You sure about that?” I asked.
“Jealous there’s not three?” he asked with a wink.
“Which one is yours?” I asked.
“Who gives a shit? It’s all the same at the end of the night to me.”
“Romantic.”
“I’m not here for romance, Pres.”
I rubbed my jaw again.
Tinsley was topless in the damn bathroom, pissed at me. Trying to strong arm me into a party on the beach that I had no desire to go to. If we showed up, the entire vibe would change. It would become our party. We’d make the rules. We’d control everyone. Which was how it always went. More than that, it would keep any outside bullshit from happening.
Unless Cole decided to do something stupid.
“Visiting out of town,” Barr said. He pointed his cigarette at the two girls in the pool. “They heard about us. We’re kind of celebrities in a way.”
“Good to know our reputation doesn’t stop at BFH.”
Barr laughed. “We already knew that.”
I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled for Kip.
He walked to us and cupped his hands under his chest.
Holy fuck he mouthed.
I looked to the pool again.
I nodded.
“Guess you fell in love,” I said.
“I’m good with that,” Barr said. “I’ll take the one with the full piece bathing suit. I like that she’s covered up. More mystery. More to unravel. Makes it interesting.”
PRES: a bay falls high novel Page 9