by Leila Lacey
“Was it someone else? Is that why you had the abortion? Were you afraid that I would figure out you cheated on me?” Logan said. Feeling hurt and rage that she had never felt before that Logan could even THINK that she was that type of woman let alone say it out of his mouth had Shelby shaking from head to toe. There was no way he was going to let him think that he was justified in this attack on her character and not set him straight. She just hoped that Cassidy could forgive her.
“First, I am a baby killer and now I am a cheating baby killer?!” Shelby said to him as she picked up her purse and her suitcase.
“For your information, I did not have an abortion, Logan. Cassidy did. She must have accidently left her paperwork on the table the other day when she came to visit. You know the night you came home and she had dinner with us. I did not say anything to you because she begged me not to. She does not know who the father of the child was; it was a toss-up between my brother and yours! Now put that in your tape deck and let it bump,” she finished.
“What? Cassidy was pregnant?” Lance said, looking at Shelby in a total state of shock. Logan was so shocked that he just sat down where he was, right in the middle of the floor staring at Shelby.
“Lance, as much as I love you that is between you and Cassidy. That is not my story to tell. You need to hear it from the horse’s mouth.” Turning to leave, Shelby stopped and turned to Logan with one last parting remark, “Logan, kiss my ass and go to hell. You sniveling, whining, insecure, drunken piece of shit. We are through!” slamming the door, she walked out of his life.
CHAPTER 7
It had been three weeks since Shelby had left Logan for the last time. The first few days after she left had been a hail of ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I never meant to hurt you’s’' coming from Logan, Cassidy and Lance. While Shelby had spoken to, and resolved her issues with Lance and Cassidy, she still had not seen or spoken to Logan and she had no intention on doing so any time soon. She was sitting on her couch reading a book when she heard a thump at her front door. Her mother was out to dinner and drinks with Mr. Brownstone, who had become her constant companion, which Shelby thought was great because he made her mother smile. Going to the front door, Shelby opened her door to find Savannah on the ground looking like a homeless drug addict...
She was wearing a dirty tracksuit and a baseball cap, she had broken and dirty teeth and sunken eyes. From her limited experience with drugs from volunteering at the homeless shelter, Shelby knew that she as going through heroin withdrawal sickness. She was anxious, nervous, and unable to sit still and suffering flu-like symptoms. Shelby helped her to a chair and went to the bar to get her a glass of water. “Where have you been, Savannah?” Shelby asked her. Savannah started to rock and cry, “Please help me. Please help me, I don’t want to die. You have to help me, please,” Savannah said not really talking to Shelby, just staring off into space. Then she threw up and passed out.
Two hours later, Savannah was in one of Shelby’s guest rooms resting and Shelby, Greyson, Queenie, Sarah, Cassidy and Grace were all waiting in Shelby’s living room to talk to the family doctor after he examined her.
“Savannah is going through heroine withdrawal. Heroin is highly addictive and withdrawal extremely painful. The drug quickly breaks down the immune system, finally leaving one sickly, extremely thin and bony person. From what she just told me, Savannah had been using drugs for years and just recently started to use heroine in the last few years. I don’t think that Savannah knows when her addiction became this bad. Buying heroin on the street, the person never knows the actual strength of the drug in that particular packet. Thus, users are constantly at risk of an overdose.”
“Oh my poor baby,” Sarah said from the corner sitting in a wingback chair with Mr. Brownstone by her side consoling her.
“Whatever may be going on in Savannah’s life, right now she needs intensive treatment and a resolution to any issues that may hinder her recovery,” the doctor said.
The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. No one knew what to do or say. How had they all missed this?
“This is all my fault,” Sarah said.
“Yes! It is your fault!” Grace said from across the room. “I should never have left my child in the care of you and Jackson. Look at Cassidy; if I had raised Shelby, there is no way that she would have turned out like this,” she finished.
“Now you wait just a minute” Queenie said. Queenie was known for not caring very much for Sarah but she was also fiercely protective of family and if Sarah could put up with Jackson all these years, she was family. “Perhaps if you had kept your legs closed to other people’s husbands you would not share a child with my son. Besides from what I understand, your daughter is no angel; she had an abortion a while back to cover up that she was, like you, fucking more than one dick at a time, but I digress,” she finished.
“CRAP!” Cassidy said.
“Oh God,” Shelby said. Grace spun around to look at her daughter.
“CASSIDY!” she said yelling at her. “Is that true? Have you disgraced yourself in such a way?” Cassidy was staring at her mother with her mouth open unsure what to do or say.
“I would not think that you could really judge what disgraceful is, Grace. I remind you again; you slept with my son while you and he were married to different people. So I am going to need you to take your righteous indignation to the corner and have a time out,” Queenie said to Grace.
“Granny!” Shelby said to her grandmother.
“I am going to leave you the phone number for a rehab facility and I will call ahead and tell them to expect Savannah. But I think she should be allowed to get through her initial withdrawals here where she can get focused care,” the doctor said.
“Of course, Doctor. Thank you so much for coming,” Greyson said walking the doctor to the door. When he returned to the living room he stood in the center of the room. “We need to put aside all the fighting and bullshit and help get Savannah through this. So no more back biting at each other. Like it or not we are all family. We need to act like it,” Greyson said. “I am going to go and arrange for a private nurse to come and help with Savannah. Excuse me.”
“Shelby, baby? Are you ok? You have been awfully quiet,” Queenie said to her granddaughter.
“I am ok, Granny. I just can’t believe what our family has come to. I guess it shouldn’t surprise me with all the pain, lies and betrayal that we have come from,” Shelby said.
“I know, baby but... Damn it, Sarah, would you stop wailing? I can’t hear myself think!” Queenie said.
Walking over to the chair that her mother was sitting in, Shelby kneeled in front of her mother. “Momma, it will be ok. Please calm down. You will make yourself sick,” she whispered to her.
“Sarah, it’s time,” Mr. Brownstone said. “It’s time you tell them the truth.”
“Jeez this family has cornered the market on secrets,” Cassidy said.
“Once again, young lady, I remind you... abortion. Now hush up,” Queenie said.
“What is he talking about, Momma? Tell us what?” Shelby said holding her mother’s hand.
“I can’t. I just can’t. I promised her and I have let you all down so much. I can’t,” Sarah said rocking back and forth with tears flowing down her cheeks.
“Then give me permission to tell them, Sarah. They need to know,” Mr. Brownstone said.
“If you are about to say that you are your own grandpa, I am going to have to wheel myself home because there are things a mother-in-law should never know.” Queenie said. Sarah looked into Shelby’s eyes and then Mr. Brownstone’s and nodded her head in approval.
“Savannah is the one that shot Jackson, not Sarah,” Mr. Brownstone said. There was a sharp intake of breath by all the people in the room.
“What?” Shelby and Cassidy said.
“What do you mean Savannah shot him?” Grace said. Just then Greyson walked in the room with Savannah in his arms. He had gone in to check on her after making his phone calls an
d she had insisted that he help her get to the living room to talk to the family.
“Its ok, Momma, I will tell them,” Savannah said. Sarah approached her daughter and wrapped her in a tight bear hug.
“Baby, I am so sorry,” Sarah whispered.
“It’s not your fault,” Savannah whispered.
“Can the rest of us know what the hell you all are talking about please?” Grace said. Taking a deep breath Savannah started to tell her story.
“Please, just listen and don’t interrupt. I want to tell you all this myself but I only have so much energy,” Savannah started. “I have been using drugs since I was fourteen years old. There is no excuse for dealing with anything the way that I have other than being weak. When I was fourteen, Daddy had a big deal that he was making and the CEO of the company had a…. thing for young girls.” Savannah was so ashamed of her past she could barely tell the story. Her voice was cracking, her hands trembling and she could not look at anyone. Shelby felt like she was in the Twilight Zone and had been for months.
“Daddy asked me to help him out. He said that I would always be Daddy’s girl if I helped him. Daddy and Shelby had always been so close I just wanted him to want to be close to me, too. When he told me what he wanted me to do, I said no. I knew it was wrong. I was so scared. Daddy said it was ok. Then one day, he took me to lunch and drugged my soda and gave me to the CEO. I never told anyone except Momma. I held it in for years and then I couldn’t stand it anymore,” Savannah stopped and started to sob fiercely.
“I felt so bad that I didn’t protect her that I didn’t know what to do. I tried to be there for her, to help her but she had hurt and suffered alone for two years and I felt there was little impact that I could have on her pain,” Sarah said pensively.
“Wait! Are you saying that Jackson had his fourteen year old daughter raped for a business deal?” Queenie said from her chair. The tears that moved slowly down her cheeks were ones of heartache, outrage, and torment. “Why? Why in all these years did you not SAY something?” Queenie said to Sarah. “Why didn’t you have him arrested? Hell, why didn’t you tell me? I would have had his ass kicked a long time ago. Someone needs to stomp a mud-hole in Jackson’s ass and I would be glad to be a part of finding the person to do it,” she finished.
“Granny!” Greyson said standing next to her and placing his hand on her shoulder.
“I don’t know. I guess I hoped the man I thought Jackson was would show up one day and be a good husband and father. Would… would… I don’t know,” Sarah said sobbing.
“Sarah, I have never liked that my son married you and I spoke to you and treated you poorly in the past when it was my son that needed his ass kicked till hell won’t have it again. I see now, blood or not, you love these children, but I have to say your duty is ALWAYS to your children. You should have reported his ass to the Georgia State Police and protected your daughters!” Queenie said yelling at her around her tears.
“Granny, Momma did the best she could,” Savannah said.
“Is that why you were both so mean to me?” Shelby squeaked out from the window. She had been standing there looking out at the immaculate gardens taking in all that she was learning, trying to understand how she could have been so wrong about the members of her family and what it meant to be a Beasley.
“I am so sorry, Shel,” Savannah said reaching her hand out to Shelby. Shelby took her hand and came to sit next to her on the arm of the couch. “I was so angry after what Daddy did to me. I could not understand why he did that to me. I saw how close he was to you and how safe you were and I was angry; angry that you were safe and I wasn’t, angry that in order to sleep at night I had to take a hit of coke, angry that I slept with men I didn’t like or love because I thought that’s all men wanted from me and angry that you were so smart and confident. I am so sorry, Shel, please please forgive me. I was so wrapped up in my sadness, I didn’t think of all the pain I was causing you until the accident. Until I found out that Daddy set you up with that teacher and he tried to hurt you.”
Shelby leaned in and embraced her sister tightly realizing that she had never really hugged Savanah. It was nice.
“I am sorry. I hate to interrupt but what does all of this have to do with the day that Jackson was shot?” Cassidy said.
Wiping tears from her eyes, Savannah continued her story. “The day that Shelby told Daddy that she was going to take control of the company Daddy was furious and I knew that he would want to take that out on someone. I needed a hit bad and Daddy had blocked all my accounts because he knew that I was using. I went into his office to steal some money out of his safe and he caught me. He was so angry he just started beating me. The last thing I remember is being thrown across the room,” Savannah said.
“Wait what?” Sarah said looking at her daughter. “Savannah, you didn’t shoot your daddy?” she finished looking at her daughter in confusion
“NO! NO! Momma, I thought you did” Savannah said. Now everyone was confused.
“When I came home, your father was lying on the floor with five gunshot wounds and you were on the floor passed out. I thought that you shot him to stop him from beating you. That is why I said I did it. It’s why I picked up the gun and handled it. I was not going to fail my girls again,” Sarah said.
“Wait a minute,” Shelby said. “Momma, you didn’t shoot Daddy, which I already knew by the way. Savannah, you didn’t shoot Daddy. Then who shot him?” she finished looking around the room. The room was silent for a moment before Grace stepped forward.
“I shot him,” she whispered, standing proudly in the center of the room.
“WHAT?? Mom!” Cassidy said to her mother.
“I found out what that son-of-a-bitch did to my child and I went to confront him. I gave him Savannah to raise her and take care of her and he sold her like she was a piece of meat! I came here and I saw her in the corner blood flowing from her head and she was not conscious. When I confronted him, he had the nerve to raise his hand to me. So I picked the gun up off the desk and I shot him. He kept coming toward me so I picked up a small statue he had in the library and I clocked him over the head. He finally went down. I checked on Savannah and she was still breathing. I couldn’t think straight so I left. When Cassidy told me that Sarah was saying that she shot him, I knew she would never cover for me. But she would cover for Savannah and I figured she owed her that much.” Grace had finished her confession.
“Has money made everyone in this world crazy?” Queenie said. “You slept with Jackson when he was married and made a child and left her with him. Then he… he… sold her to a pedophile who I will find and have castrated and your resolution was to shoot him, which you should have done years ago. You shoot him when you find out and let his wife take the blame because you are angry she didn’t protect YOUR daughter from him?!”
“I am the last person to point fingers because it seems that my son is the monster that created all this mayhem. But, Grace dear, you have no right to stick Sarah with your attempted murder charge. You will take yourself down to the District Attorney’s office and tell the truth,” Queenie said before anyone else could say anything.
“Are you telling me what to do?” Grace said to her.
“Yes, young lady, I am. One thing that has been lacking in all of this foolishness is a sense of personal responsibility and these children have suffered for it. My father was a slave, my husband’s father was a slave and they built the Beasley name into an empire! One of respect and innovation around the globe but no one apparently has taken that on as a part of the family creed. Jackson being born into money and prestige has made him a jackass of epic proportions, and his ‘I am God, I seek and destroy’ methods have brought this FAMILY to ruin. So now, it is Granny’s turn to speak. Grace, you and Greyson and Mr. Brownstone are going down to the Prosecutor’s office and tell them the truth and get all charges dropped off Sarah for something she had nothing to do with,” she was saying.
“Mrs. Beasley, I am quite w
ealthy. I can afford a lawyer of my own,” Grace said.
“Shut up, girl. Granny is talking and if you had any idea how to deal with this the right way it would have been done already. So hush up. Grey, you and Mr. Brownstone will then get yourselves over to Beasley Holdings and take your father’s name off of everything that has to do with the Beasley name; the company, the house, the cars, everything. As of today, Jackson is disowned and is as of right now a broke homeless pimp of children. After this moment, his name will not be mentioned in my presence, is that clear?” Everyone in the room just nodded their heads. Everyone knew once Granny took over, she meant business and not to cross her; that would be a big mistake.
“Sarah, you will divorce Jackson and marry Mr. Brownstone. You and he have looked at each other longingly long enough. Now it is time for you to be happy. As long as you stay away from Jackson, I will make sure there is never a thing you could want for. Savannah, baby, you are gonna take yourself to rehab and go through intensive therapy and in a few months, when you are in a good place in your recovery, you will be coming to live with Granny. You just need a little focused attention. Shelby and Greyson, you will continue to run the company together so that neither one of you ends up like your father. Grey, take Cass out to dinner; take her on a real date. Cassidy baby girl, keep your legs closed,” she finished.
She stopped to give everyone a chance to chime in their objections but no one had any. So she turned her wheel chair and started to leave. “I am going home and drinking a shot of eighty-year-old scotch and take a long nap. I do not know how long you children thought I was going to sit by and let you ruin the Beasley name but I was named Queenie for a reason, baby,” she finished as she was leaving. The only thing that could be heard for a while was the sound of Queenie’s wheel chair as she left. They all looked at each other astonished that Queenie had just solved all of their problems in a matter of minutes. Looking around the room, Shelby stood up and said, “Well, what are you all waiting for? Let’s get to work!” Everyone spent the rest of the day implementing Queenie’s orders.