SCARRED

by Price, Faith

  “He was a heavy drinker, and that made his fists rather heavy too. My parents had disowned me after I married him, and wouldn’t help me when I left him. So, everything I have I had to claw tooth and nail for.”

  Serene grabbed her friend and hugged her hard. “We are alike. My Daddy beat me. A lot of people have beaten me.”

  * * * *

  Rita had stayed the night due to her excessive inebriation as she called it. She watched Serene with bloodshot eyes over a cup of coffee. She was wide awake and looked radiant.

  “I hate you.”

  Serene laughed lightly pouring orange juice in a glass for her. “I told you last night to drink a full glass of water and take a Tylenol.

  “I’ll remember that the next time you get me drunk.”

  “Plus, I think we should have eaten a few more cheese and crackers.” Serene took a dishtowel and wiped the counter. There wasn’t anything there. But she needed to occupy her hands while she talked to Rita.

  “I’ve been thinking about the boutique.”

  Rita straightened a little and brightened. “You’ll come and work for me?”

  “Sort of.”

  “Oh.” Rita said and slumped back down. “I guess any help will do.”

  “I want to invest.”

  Rita’s brow wrinkled. “What?”

  “I would like to become your business partner. I was wondering what percentage of partnership I could buy for a hundred grand.”

  Rita put her hand to her mouth as her shoulders shook with silent laughter. She removed her hand and wiped a tear away. “How does 50% ownership sound?”

  Serene tossed the dish towel in the sink and extended her hand. “It sounds like a deal.”

  Serene heard the front door open and slam shut. She had almost forgotten Mike was coming to take her to the doctor. His voice boomed through the house.

  “Serene?”

  Serene swiveled the stool around that Rita was sitting on and placed a hand over her lips, indicating to be quiet. Rita nodded and Serene placed an arm over her shoulder. Both women stared at the kitchen door.

  Mike’s voice was heard just before he pushed into the kitchen. “Did you realize your front door is un…” he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the two women. “Well, holy shit.”

  “Hello, Mike.” Rita said, enjoying every second of seeing the color drain from his face.

  * * * *

  “The two of you are crazy.” Mike said as he drummed his fingers on the dining room table.

  “No, we aren’t!” Serene shot back. “Can you do the necessary legal paperwork or not?”

  “Of course I can!” he said squirming in his seat. “It’s just weird!”

  “Which part? The fact that Serene and I were predestined to meet, or the fact that you’re my ex-husband and horny for my new business partner?”

  Mike glared at the two of them for a full thirty seconds, but neither woman dropped their gaze.

  “Ok, I’ll do it!” Serene and Rita both tried to hug him at the same time. He smiled and attempted to pinch both butts. “Weird yes; fun definitely!”

  Rita pinched his arm as hard as she could. “Once a pig; always a pig.”

  “Madame, you insult me.” He said and laid both hands across his heart.

  “I hope so.” Rita replied and began to walk from the room. “Serene, I’m going to head out. Ask pig man to drop the papers off at the boutique in the morning.”

  Serene giggled, and glanced at Mike just in time to see him roll his eyes. “I’ll tell him.” She walked Rita to the front door and held it open for her.

  Rita leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Don’t worry; we’re going to be a hit!”

  Rita nodded and leaned back in. She put her lips close to Serene’s ear and whispered. “I was serious about Mike. Just think about it. Plus you ought to know that he’s an amazing fuck. That alone is worth it.” Rita stepped away and pointed at her as she winked.

  “Yes, I’ll keep that in mind!” she said loudly as she closed the door.

  Serene turned around and saw Mike standing there with his arms crossed over his dark suit. “What was that all about?”

  “Oh, just girl stuff.” She said and patted his arm as she walked by.

  He let his arms drop in defeat. “Holy shit.”

  * * * *

  A couple of months went by and Serene tried to forget Lawson by throwing all of her energies into the boutique. She had no business experience but she did have common sense. After the first month they had liquidated merchandise that had sat for over a year and opened up the floor space. Rita decided the boutique should specialize in lingerie, jewelry, and scented candles, with a few other odds and ends thrown in to keep it interesting.

  They had even hired a part-time worker named Janet. It was all working out splendidly except for the fact that Serene still missed Lawson more than she wanted to admit.

  Mike continued to pursue her, but it was waning. Even he could see the battle was being lost to the absent Lawson. He had promised his friend many things, and followed through on them, but he never promised to not contact him himself.

  Lawson watched the cell phone vibrate. He saw the number and didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to hear how she was. The phone went silent and Lawson turned his attention back to his book. He read one sentence when the phone vibrated again. With a sigh he picked it up and answered.

  “Hello?”

  “I know you tried to ignore me.”

  “Maybe I was busy.”

  “Right. I’m coming up.”

  Lawson closed his eyes momentarily, but deep down he was glad to have a real person to talk to. “Ok, top floor.”

  Fifteen minutes later Mike waltzed into Lawson’s makeshift living room and looked around with distaste. Lawson was sitting in a green chair beside a dying fire. The one light that was on didn’t shed much light, but Mike could see dust motes floating in the air.

  “Honestly, Lawson, a man of your taste should hire a decorator.”

  “I like it the way it is.”

  “When are you going to snap out of it?”

  “What?” Lawson kept his eyes on the book and pretended to read.

  “This love sick crap! Honestly, the two of you are infuriating!”

  Lawson glanced up and spoke before he could stop himself. “How is she?”

  Mike stepped near to him and bent his knees to sit on the edge of the fireplace, but looked at the layer of dust and soot, and thought differently. “She’s actually doing very well.”

  “That’s good.” Lawson said quietly.

  Mike watched him a moment and spoke again. “She’s invested some of the money in a dying boutique down the street from that hotel you took her to. You know the one where you broke her heart.”

  Lawson tossed the book on the floor and stared at Mike with murder in his eyes. “I didn’t break her heart!”

  “The hell you didn’t!”

  The two men said nothing and continued the intense staring game.

  “Want to hear the most hideous part of all of this?”

  “What?”

  “This boutique owner that she struck up an odd friendship with turned out to be my ex-wife Rita.”

  Lawson didn’t want to laugh, but couldn’t help it. The sound was foreign to him and he felt startled. Mike visibly relaxed, but he was ready for the killing strike. If this didn’t cause Lawson to do something, nothing would. He placed his hand in his pocket and opened his mouth to strike.

  “Yes, it’s infuriating to have one of my ex’s around when I’m desperately trying to screw yours.”

  Bulls Eye. Mike watched Lawson’s smile slowly disappear.

  “What did you just say?”

  “You heard me, Lawson.”

  Lawson ran a hand over his bald head. “If you touch her, Mike, I’ll cut your balls off and feed them to you as a pâté.”

  “Then stop being a fool and go
claim her!”

  “I can’t!” Lawson yelled as he stood.

  “Why can’t you, Lawson? That woman loves you! Did you know that she was willing to give up the money to find you?”

  Lawson shook his head and turned from him to stare into the cooling fire.

  “You need to hear this!” Mike said and grabbed Lawson by the shoulder and turned Lawson around to face him. “She loves you.”

  “Look at me.”

  “Let her look at you. She told me you wore a mask every time you were around her. I’m still a little shocked that worked out.”

  “It was an exhausting enterprise, Mike.”

  “I bet it was.” He looked at his friend thoughtfully and pursed his lips. “Lawson, the past is gone. Give her a chance to reject you; tell her the truth and let her see you.”

  Lawson didn’t have words. He turned back to the fireplace and sucked in breath as fast as he could. He was not going to cry in front of Mike Reid. Mike narrowed his eyes as he watched his back. He felt anger towards his friend. He was ruining happiness for himself and for Serene. If Mike couldn’t corrupt her himself, he would rather see her completely happy with the man she loved. He lifted a hand but waved it downwards instead. He left without another word; his mind already made up.

  * * * *

  Serene knew Rita had a date that evening, and that only left Mike to knock on her door at 10:00pm. Her list of friends and acquaintances still needed some work. She didn’t dare let her mind entertain the thought that it could be Lawson. Some dreams were just too painful.

  She opened the door and saw Mike standing there dressed very differently than what she had ever seen. He actually had on jeans and a t-shirt. She was impressed the first day he showed up in khakis and Polo shirt, but this altered her opinion further.

  “Wow, Mike, casual looks good on you.”

  “Think so?”

  “Yes.” She said and opened the door all the way for him. “Come on in, I was just about to watch a movie.”

  “Could you not right now?”

  Serene turned and looked at him. His eyes looked sad. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m going to tell you where to find Lawson,” he grabbed her arm as she bolted to the door to grab her shoes. “But first I need to tell you a few things.”

  Serene’s eyes were large and she nodded solemnly. She went into the living room and turned the television off. Mike took a seat beside her on the couch and held one of her shaking hands in his.

  “Serene, you know Lawson was married.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand lightly.

  “Well, she was very beautiful, and very spoiled.”

  “You said she was nice.”

  Mike winced. “I know I did. She was, but she was also very demanding. She wanted a particular lifestyle that I have no doubt Lawson would have eventually afforded, and even at that time he was well off. Lawson was a brilliant attorney.”

  Serene offered weak smile. Mike could tell she wouldn’t interrupt him. She wanted to hear it all.

  “Eventually the pressure became too much and Lawson began taking questionable cases to make extra money.”

  Serene furrowed her brow and shook her head. “Questionable?”

  “I defend everyone, even if I know I will have to lie or falsify something; and I almost always win. Lawson didn’t operate like that, but he began to so he could feed Rose’s greedy appetite. Eventually Lawson was approached by a man that wanted to start a string of small Meth labs. Lawson was always excited to learn something new, and he knew this was going to bring in big time money. Well, the guy came to their house one night.” Mike paused and smiled. “Wow, this house, Serene, it was truly beautiful.

  “He bought an old plantation house. It sits on twenty five acres…anyway it’s lovely. So, the guy came there, but he didn’t really know what he was doing and Lawson knew even less. Rose knew something was going on, but didn’t question it. She knew he was doing it for her and that made her happy.” Mike took a moment to let it all sink in for her. “They were cooking their first batch and something went terribly wrong. There was an explosion.

  “Luckily, Lawson had stepped to a different part of the room, looking something up on the computer, I think, but he was burned badly anyway on his arms, back, and head.”

  Serene pulled her hand away and covered her mouth with both hands. Her eyes were filled with tears. “The mask.” She whispered.

  Mike nodded. “He never wears it anywhere else, but he did around you. He was ashamed.”

  “What happened to his wife?”

  “The explosion killed her. She was in a room right above it.”

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s at the house. No one has lived in it since, and he didn’t fix it up at all.”

  “How did the police not know?”

  Mike sat back and rubbed his face quickly with both hands. “They knew. I’m the one that got him cleared of the charges, but he was disbarred anyway.”

  “So, he became what he once defended.”

  Mike nodded. “But understand Serene, that was just part of what he did. He invested the money from Rose’s life insurance policy, plus he was already well off. He kept the drug trade small. Well, smallish.”

  “But it’s all gone now?”

  “What his money?”

  “No, the drug business.”

  “Yes. He would be hard pressed to get rid of all of his money. He’s a smart investor, and because of it he’s still worth several million, even after giving you what he did.”

  Serene put her hands to her ears. She couldn’t hear anymore. She needed to act. She went to the bathroom and ran a brush through her hair. She reapplied some eyeliner and mascara, and sprayed some perfume on. When she emerged, Mike was standing by the front door.

  “Are you ready?”

  Serene nodded and grabbed her purse and keys.

  The drive took them thirty miles further from the city. It was truly rural by the time Mike pulled onto the side of the road and got out. Serene rolled her window down.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing; we’re here.” He pointed to the driveway that arched upwards into the trees. “The driveway is uphill, but the property levels off once you get up there. You’ll see what I mean.”

  Serene looked up at him. “Thank you, Mike. You’ve been a good friend to me.”

  “I wanted more.” He said with all seriousness.

  “I know. That’s how I know what a good friend you are.” She leaned out of the window and motioned him down to her. She kissed him lightly on the lips.

  “Tease.” He whispered. He straightened from the car and smiled down at her. “If it doesn’t work out, you know where to find me.”

  Serene put the car in gear and smiled up at him. “You should consider Rita again, she’s really great, Mike.”

  “I know she is. Yeah, I’ll keep her in mind.” He watched sadly as she drove up the steep driveway. He was sad he hadn’t stood a chance, and he was sad that her heart might be broken all over again.

  * * * *

  The house stood sentinel on the hill with black windows and dirty walls. The front door swung crookedly on its broken hinges. Serene popped her glove box open and grabbed the small flash light she had stashed there. She hoped Mike was right about Lawson being in there. From out here the house looked abandoned and perhaps haunted.

  She got out of the car and walked soundlessly through brown grass and other dead weeds. The night was cold, but it was early spring so at least there wasn’t the crunch of frost to announce her progress. She walked up the massive front steps and stood for a moment admiring the grand pillars and architecture of the front of the house. She wished she could have seen it before it had fallen into disrepair.

  She cut on her flashlight and pointed it at the front door. With a deep breath, she pushed it open and stepped inside. She was in what must have been a large foyer and she could see a room to her left that was had part of the wall b
lown away. She didn’t want to look inside there just yet. Instead she pointed her flashlight to the winding staircase and began taking the steps carefully upward. She wasn’t sure of the structural integrity of the staircase, and thought it would be terrible if Lawson found her dead of a broken neck.

  Once she was at the top, she saw that a hallway broke off into two directions. Her other option was to go straight ahead to the next stairwell which was considerably narrower. She didn’t see any light coming from either part of the hallway. Both ends turned a corner and continued on, but she decided she would start at the very top and work her way down.

  The staircase was dusty but her flashlight did pick up footprints in the dust. Thankfully it wasn’t carpeted like the bigger one. Her heart leapt with the hope that Lawson was indeed on the next floor. To her disappointment that floor was similar to the last but there was a door open near the landing, and she thought she saw the soft flicker of candle light.

  It was another even narrower staircase. When she came to the top, it opened into one huge room. There were circular windows at either end, and Serene realized it was an attic; a very large attic. There was a fireplace with a roaring fire burning from within, and that was where the flicker of what she had thought was candle light had come from.

  Serene clicked her flashlight off and scanned the room. He had to be in here somewhere. All of the corners of the dirty space were dark. Her eyes darted back to one corner in particular and saw that it was darker than it should have been.

  “Lawson?” her voice wavered and she took several steps forward.

  “That’s far enough.”

  Serene laughed and began to cry at the same time. She had replayed the sound of his voice in her head over and over since he walked out on her. Hearing it again in person was just like hearing an angel sing.

  “Did Mike tell you all of my secrets?”

  Serene nodded and wiped at her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “I’m here because I love you, Lawson. I don’t care about what happened. I don’t care about your burns.”

  “I killed my wife.” His voice strained out of the darkness and Serene closed her eyes to the pain she heard.

  She nodded her head and spoke softly. “You were only trying to give her what she wanted. It was an accident.”