by BWWM Club
"I'm not in the mood for a fight, Jason."
"That's good." Jason grinned. It wasn't a nice one. "This'll be easy, then."
Carl didn't see it coming. He was only aware of what was happening when pain exploded in his head and he hit the floor, his bag sliding across the floor. He lay on his side, the world spinning and out of focus. Something wet trickled down his face, tickling his skin.
He saw Jason's sneakers come into view. Jason knelt and pushed Carl onto his back with the baseball bat. The bat had blood on the end of it. He jabbed the bat in Carl's face, narrowly missing his nose.
"Don't look at Louise and we'll get along fine, you little half caste monkey."
Then he stood and walked away whistling, twirling the bat in his fingers. Carl lay there staring at the ceiling. He had hoped someone would come out and find him lying there in a pool of blood but that would be wishful thinking. No one would come out to see what the commotion was; the minute they saw Jason they would know not to get involved, even if his victim bled to death.
Forcing himself to move even with his head pounding, Carl rolled slowly onto his front, pressing his fists to his forehead. Then he heard sudden pounding of running feet.
"Carl!"
Louise. Carl thought he was suffering a concussion. Then someone knelt beside him and put a hand on his back.
"Oh, my God. Are you okay?"
Despite the situation Carl let out a dry chuckle.
"I think that's a slightly redundant question, isn't it?"
"Sorry."
Carl moved slowly as he sat up, Louise helping him. She settled him against the lockers and knelt in front of him. Her eyes widened.
"You're bleeding."
She reached out to his head but Carl gently batted her hand away.
"I'll live." He lied.
"Who did this to you?"
"Have a guess."
Carl could see when Louise realized who had attacked him. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I can't believe he would do that. He's always intimidating guys around me but he's never beaten them up."
"Yeah, well, none of them were me, were they?" Carl grunted.
"Don't be like that." Louise touched her fingers to his jaw and looked closer at his injury. Carl tried not to breathe in the sweet smell of her perfume. "Shit, that's actually quite bad."
She sat back and pulled out her cell phone.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm calling an ambulance."
"Don't!"
Panic gripping him, Carl grabbed at her wrist, making her drop her phone. He saw Louise wince and loosened his grip but he didn't let go. If his parents heard what had happened there would be hell to pay. Jason would make things hell for him. While he wanted the bastard to be dealt with properly, he had to live with the consequences if nothing happened and it would be Carl who got the grief.
"Carl, you're bleeding and you look woozy. I think you've got a concussion." Louise gently unfurled his fingers from her wrist. "You need to be seen by a doctor."
"But my parents can't find out about this." Carl protested. "And I don't want the police involved."
"Don't worry about them right now. Just focus on yourself." Louise touched his thigh. Carl felt his muscle instinctively tense at the heat of her fingers through his jeans. "I'll come with you if you want."
Carl didn't want anyone to know about this. He didn't want his parents to find out he had been beaten up; they would only assume he had been in a fight instead of a surprise attack. He didn't want the police involved; that would only make things worse if Jason wasn't arrested immediately or was released. But Louise was right. He needed to get seen to.
Closing his eyes as the pain intensified, he nodded.
*****
"Sorry I had to reschedule this, Toby." Mike Reynolds stabbed at his steak with his fork and shoveled it into his mouth. "Got a bit stuck at work."
"That's not a problem."
Toby cut off a chunk of chicken, loaded with melted cheese and bacon. It had been a while since he had had this meal. Whenever he had lunch or dinner with his brother they always went to the same place, the place they had enjoyed as children. The atmosphere was calming and friendly and the food was delicious. Toby had taken Simone here a few times and she had agreed it was a lovely place. The children enjoyed it and couldn't get enough of the food.
Toby chewed his mouthful and swallowed, tasting the barbecue underneath the cheese and bacon.
"The food is still to die for." He declared.
"It certainly is." Mike munched on a chip. "I cannot believe they have barely changed anything since we were kids."
"Sometimes the old is a lot better than the new."
The only thing Toby had been looking forward to with this meal was the food. He wasn't enjoying the company, although Mike was behaving himself for once. His older brother thought he was completely off his rocker to have considered getting together with Simone, let alone marrying her and having children. But Mike and their sister were the only two in his family who would speak to him and even then it was because of his money and they wanted to make sure he left them something. Toby had flat-out refused to give them any money at all, even after all the guilt trips from the two of them. No way was his family getting the money he had worked hard for and put towards his children.
Looking at the two of them, no one would think Mike and Toby were anything but brothers. Both were over six feet, dark haired and slim. Mike wore his hair longer so it had to be tied back and he had an earring in his left ear. As a music producer he had a lot of his own money but Mike had never given up an opportunity to attempt to scrounge off his younger brother, who had a lot more in his account.
Despite hating the things Mike said about his marriage, Toby tried to keep things civil between them. It was uncomfortable but at least someone was speaking to him. Toby had hoped that keeping in contact with Mike, his family might come back slowly and accept Simone and the children.
It had been over twenty-five years and it hadn't happened yet.
Mike picked up his wine glass and looked at Toby over the rim with a sardonic grin.
"Speaking of which, how's Simone?"
Toby stiffened. They had managed to get forty-five minutes without talking about Simone or the children. That had to be a record. Normally it was ten minutes after Toby sat down but Mike put in a sly swipe at his wife. He focused on cutting up his chicken. He would not let Mike ruin his food.
"She's fine." He said curtly.
"It's your 20th coming up soon, isn't it?"
Toby couldn't resist a slight smile. Their twentieth anniversary. Twenty years married to the best woman he could hope for.
"Next month."
"Damn." Mike lowered his glass and shook his head in slight amazement. "How the hell have you been with her that long?"
"Because I happen to love her, Mike. Strange as it may seem to you."
"But I still don't understand how you can be married to a nigger whore for that long." Mike raised an eyebrow at his brother. "Are you sure she hasn't drained you dry? Have you checked your accounts, still have money in them?"
Toby sighed. Suddenly he didn't feel hungry anymore. He put his knife and fork down and prepared for the attack. Simone passed off the slurs aimed at her but the minute they were behind closed doors she burst into tears. Toby hated hearing it and he wasn't going to let Mike get off talking about her like that.
"Don't start all this again, Mike. I thought we were going to have a meal together and catch up."
"We are. And we're talking about that bitch you're married to."
Toby took a deep breath. What he really wanted to do was swing at Mike but he didn't need the publicity. Mike would thrive on it but Toby wouldn't. He preferred his privacy.
"I've told you before and I'm telling you again, Mike - stop being so disrespectful about my wife. You're not married to her so why should you be so bothered?"
"I'm just worried about you, l
ittle brother." Mike sat back in his chair. His expression said he was anything but worried. "In my experience black women always cheat. You've been with her since you were fifteen and I shudder to think about the amount of times she's slept with someone behind your back."
Toby had the misfortune to know about all of Mike's conquests. His brother had never married but he had had a string of girlfriends, sometimes several at once. He wasn't bothered about their ethnicity and had been known to date black women. But he was not very nice to them and they always ended up walking out on him. Mike tried to claim they had cheated and he had thrown them out but Toby knew better. Those women had more self-respect than to sit around and be verbally and physically abused by a man who thought he was God's gift.
"Simone has never slept around." He said stiffly.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course I am. Are you sure your girlfriends don't sleep around?"
"Why would they need to?" Mike gave an arrogant smile. "I'm excellent in bed."
"So you say."
Toby knew better. None of the girls Mike dated would be brave enough to sleep around. With Mike's reputation they would be pulverized. The one girl who dared to sleep with another guy - with Mike's approval - ended up in hospital with a broken jaw.
"I do say." Mike leaned forward. "And you shouldn't trust women completely, except our mom. All black women cheat and Simone would have done it dozens of times."
Toby tried to rein in his temper but Mike was pushing it.
"I trust Simone completely. Who was the one who took me in when Mom and Dad kicked me out?"
"All you had to do was kick her to the curb and then you'd still be talking to them. You wouldn't be married to a sponger with three half caste kids."
Toby's self-control snapped. He resisted the urge to physically attack his brother and stood, his dinner half-eaten.
"Right. I'm done."
"Where are you going?"
Toby picked up his jacket from the back of his chair and put it on, giving Mike a glare.
"Are you seriously kidding me? You know my family is my world."
"I'm meant to be your family."
"I'm talking about Simone, Carl, Craig and Nick, who you refuse to see and who our parents refuse to acknowledge." Toby leaned over, causing Mike to back up as he got in his brother's face. "I don't like it when you slag off Simone but I grit my teeth. But calling my children names is cross the line. No one says things like that about my kids." He straightened up and turned away. "Do me a favor and don't call me."
"Toby..."
But Toby was already walking away. His blood was boiling. How dare his brother talk about his children like that? The man didn't give a shit.
Maybe he really should cut off contact. Trying to maintain things with his brother was too much stress.
As he went outside and stalked across to his car, Toby felt his cell phone ringing. Digging it out, he saw it was Carl calling.
"Hey, son, what's up?"
*****
Simone turned off the hairdryer and picked up her lipstick, delicately applying a slight amount to her mouth. The shower had made her feel better after the hard slog of her errands. Now it was time to freshen up and get ready to see her youngest son at his basketball game at school.
People would wish they had her life where she didn't have to work and she could do whatever she wanted. But Simone didn't like sitting around trolling through magazines, having millions of salon appointments and sunbathing. She preferred to be up and moving around, hence why she played tennis regularly and tried out other sports. She loved her art and taught classes at the community center for underprivileged people. It was fun and it was rewarding.
Simone even did all of the household shopping, from groceries all the way through to furniture. And never any of the fancy stuff unless she liked the look of it. Even after twenty years married to Toby, Simone could never get the hang of spending lots of money; she spent within a budget she set herself and that was it. The children never went without but they were never spoiled. If Toby or herself wanted something they went and got it. Nobody spent money on a whim.
Simone couldn't understand women who sneered at her for not taking advantage of her husband's money. But Simone wasn't interested in spending money just for the pleasure of spending money. That wasn't how she was.
Finishing off the light touches of makeup, Simone heard the front door opening and closing. Voices, faint but recognizable, floated down the corridor. Smiling when she heard her husband, Simone left the bedroom and made her way into the lounge. Toby was standing by the kitchen island with his arms folded glaring at Carl, who stood by the couch with a scowl.
Simone pulled up when she saw Carl's head. It was heavily bandage with remnants of dried blood crusted on his face. His temple and his eye also had a bruise coming up a deep purple.
"Oh, my God, Carl." Simone approached Carl and reached out. "What happened?"
Carl knocked her hand away before she could touch his face.
"Guess." He muttered. Then he stepped around her. "I'm going to my room."
"Carl..."
But Carl had already disappeared down the hall to the bedrooms. A door slammed loudly a moment later. Simone flinched and looked at Toby, who was still glowering.
"What happened?"
"He was attacked at school." Toby growled. "I picked him up from the emergency room. One of the other boys hit him with a baseball bat."
Simone's stomach dropped.
"Oh, God."
Her baby had been hurt. She couldn't comprehend why anyone would do that at all. Discomfort and anger stirred in her gut.
"A classmate was at the ER with him. She said it was over her. The guy who attacked Carl is her ex-boyfriend and Carl likes her." Toby's mouth twisted. "Carl didn't want the police involved."
"He what?" Simone stared at her husband. "But he was assaulted. They need to be involved."
"He doesn't want them involved." Toby raised a hand as Simone started to protest. "Before you harp on at me, love, Carl is seventeen so he is classified as an adult. If he doesn't want to press charges then he doesn't have to."
Simone floundered. She didn't agree with the state putting the age of majority at sixteen. Sixteen-year-olds couldn't make mature, informed decisions for themselves. She certainly couldn't when she was sixteen. This didn't settle well with her.
Toby saw her agitation and his expression softened. He went to her and slipped his arms around her. Simone leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes, telling herself to breathe as calmly as she could.
"I know you don't like this, honey." Toby rubbed her back. "I know you're worried about Carl. Hell, I'm scared for him. But I think he's concerned that the cops won't arrest the guy and if they did he would be released to give him more aggravation. Either way he's losing the battle."
Simone didn't like this. She wanted to drag Carl down to the police station and give a statement. But Toby was right. They couldn't do anything now, Carl was classed as an adult. She would just have to grit her teeth and step back.
"I'll comply with his wishes." She said, raising her head. "But only for now. No one hits my kids and walks away."
"I know. I'm thinking the same." Toby pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We'll see how Carl thinks in a few days."
He was right. In a few days Carl would be thinking more clearly and decide that he was acting irrationally. At least Simone hoped so.
She gave Toby a quick hug before stepping back.
"How did it go with Mike?"
"Not good." Toby rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "The food was fine as usual and he seemed cordial enough. But then he started making jabs at you, saying all black women cheated."
Simone rolled her eyes.
"He's doing that again?"
Every couple of years Mike would drop the same hint again that Simone was a gold-digger and was simply after Toby's money. He seemed to forget that Simone married Toby before he made hi
s billions and tried to put doubts into Toby's mind that Simone was going to drain him dry. Toby was always wise to it but he did come home mentally worn out afterwards. It was getting incredibly old.
"I know. I had to walk out when he started insulting the children." Toby rubbed her shoulder. "Luckily Carl called me to come and get him so I had an escape but I was ready to punch him."
"I wish you had." Simone glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. "Shoot, I'd better get moving. Nick will be furious if I'm late."
"Are we still watching Criminal Minds later?"
Simone grinned.
"Absolutely." She retrieved her handbag and slung the strap over her shoulder, slipping her feet into her pumps. "Put it on record just in case we're late. We'll get the pizzas on the way back."
"Sounds like a plan." Toby gave her peck on the lips. "Have fun."
"Will do."
Simone hurried out the house and jumped into her car, tossing her purse into the passenger seat before backing the car down the drive.
She was in such a hurry that she didn't realize until she was nearly at the school that Simone realized she had forgotten her cell phone.
Chapter 4
"Mom?" The little male voice broke through her thoughts. "You okay?"
Simone snapped out of her trance and stared in the rear view mirror at her son in the back.
"Huh?"
"Mom!" Nick whined. "Have you been listening to me at all?"
Simone winced and focused on the road. She was glad that Nick couldn't see her blushing.
"Sorry, Nick. I guess I'm just feeling tired. It's been a long day."
It had been a long day but that wasn't what had Simone's mind wandering. Since leaving the house her thoughts had been on Carl and seeing the bandage wrapped around his head. To hear he had been attacked at school made her furious; the school was supposed to have security and they had been missing when Carl was being attacked with a baseball bat.
She was going to have a serious word with the principal about that. If they didn't do anything about that little shit who thought it would be okay to do what he did then she would, whether Carl liked it or not.