Already battered by guilt over his brother, Robbie lost control. He grabbed Christy by the top of her T-shirt and pulled her up eye-to-eye with him. Christy shrieked.
“The kid ain’t dead, and you might just go before her, if you keep screwin’ Matt.”
Christy angrily broke free from his hold. “Keep your nasty faggot hands off me.”
“My pleasure.”
“Ain’t but one set of fag hands that can go on me – Matt’s.”
“Matt don’t care ‘bout yall. He just wants to satisfy a sick urge now and then.”
“That’s what he tells you, huh? And you believe it? What an idiot.”
Robbie was about to burst with fury. His eyes suddenly felt sore; they always did when they became bloodshot.
Christy slowly began backing away from him, but not with fear on her face, but rather, with utter confidence.
“Next time I finish with Matt, I’ll send him to you. When you kiss him, that strawberry taste – it’ll be my love juice.”
Oh, how Robbie wanted to break her in half. And then, came the laughter. She backed away, laughing harder by the second. Finally, she turned around, and she had to grab her stomach, the laughs were so hearty.
Robbie whirled around and into his apartment. He slammed the door shut. He fell back against the door and buried his head in his hands. He had to be calm. At all costs, he had to keep it together. He rarely lost his temper, but when he did, he could be dangerous. As he trembled with rage, he thought of only one thing. Christy Cleets had better stay away from his man. If she didn’t, she was going to regret it deeply. Painfully and deeply. Those damn women, why can’t they stay with their own kind? The thought pieced his very soul.
Tori banged on the front door like a woman gone mad. She pounded and pounded. She was on the front porch of her daddy’s house. She had only been there a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. What was taking so long for somebody to open that door?
“Let me in, daddy!” she shouted. “Let me in this minute! I’m gonna kill her. You hear me? I’m gonna kill her.”
The door came open. Henry stood there, looking completely baffled.
“Kill?” he shouted. “What’s wrong with you, Tori?”
“I’m gonna kill the bitch!”
At the back of the den, stood Ava. Tori saw the alarmed look on Ava’s face, and she knew that if there had been any doubt left in regards to Ava, it was now completely gone. The expression on Ava’s face was one of guilt, mixed in with fear. She looked like a woman who knew she had been caught.
Tori tried to push her way past Henry, but he grabbed her.
“Let me go, daddy. Let me go.”
“What’s gotten into you?” Henry yelled.
“She’s gone nuts,” said Ava. “I better call the police.”
“The police can’t save you. It’s too damn late. I’m gonna break your neck, Ava. I’m gonna rip every single bit of your slimy guts out.”
Ava walked quickly over to the telephone beside the recliner. On it sat the phone.
“No!” screamed Tori.
She broke loose from her daddy’s hold. She flew over to Ava, whose eyes pried open a mile. Tori slammed into the woman and knocked her to the floor.
“Get the hell off me!” yelled Ava.
She instantly threw up wild punch after wild punch, hitting Tori in the face, the shoulders, the hips, anywhere they would land. But Tori hardly even felt them. She grabbed Ava by the neck with both hands, and she whipped the woman’s head up and down continuously, slamming it against the floor. Ava screamed, and tried her best to continue with her punches, though most of them missed.
“Let her go!” screamed Henry. “You lost your mind? Let her go, Tori.”
“She’s gonna die. She’s gonna die!”
Henry clamped his big arm around Tori’s neck and tried to pull her off of his wife, but he had no success. Tori then stopped pounding Ava’s head against the floor, because she wanted to try another method for a while. She punched Ava a couple of times in the face.
“Bitch!” Ava shouted in both pain and anger. She threw up a wild punch which landed solidly against Tori’s cheek. It knocked Tori back a little. However, what it did most – was make Tori that much more angry. Tori broke free of her daddy again. She began pounding on Ava’s face in the same manner as she had just pounded the front door. Ava screamed heinously.
Tori thought she heard glass break, but she paid it no attention. She was too involved with her current calling in life, which was murder. She felt something whiff by her face quickly, and it got her attention just enough to look up. There was Jimmy, holding a broken beer glass, and looking mad enough to kill. He swung it at her again, and it came within an iota of smashing into Tori’s eye; but Henry was able to grab Jimmy’s hand, and the bottle dropped to the floor.
“Stay out of this, Jimmy!” Henry yelled.
“I ain’t gonna let that crazy thing hurt my momma.”
“I’ll handle this.”
“Leave me alone!”
Jimmy tried to pick up the glass. He was close enough, though, that Tori was able to land a quick punch into his stomach. The boy grunted and grabbed his stomach, gasping somewhat for breath. He fell to the floor on his knees. As he then slouched over to fall completely to the floor, he bumped his head against the coffee table. His face hit the floor. He started crying.
“Mommy, mommy, she hurt me!”
Ava, however, wasn’t in a position to take any kind of revenge. She threw her hand up and clamped it across Tori’s face. Tori did the same to her. She knew that she had better training at this. She could hold her grip much longer. She was going to suffocate the beast.
“Tori, let her go. You let her go now,” Henry ranted.
He gripped his daughter’s neck even tighter, trying to strangle her if possible, just enough to get her to relent. But Tori really wasn’t bothered that much by her daddy’s actions. In fact, she knew that she could have dispensed of him in a matter of seconds, only she didn’t want to hurt him. In her current state of mind, she knew there was no telling what she might do.
She bit into Ava’s hand, and Ava screamed out and then dropped her hand from Tori’s face.
“You tried to kill my sister. You tried to kill my sister.”
She pounded her fists twice more into Ava’s face. Ava’s lip burst, her nose started bleeding. But Henry then managed to get his other arm around Tori’s neck. Tori felt the weight of his entire body on her back. She really didn’t want to hurt her own daddy, but he was making it extremely hard.
“Get off me, daddy. Let me go.”
“What’s come over you, girl? What’s happened to you?”
“Get off me, before you make me do something to you.”
“I ain’t gonna let you hit her no more.”
Tori knew this man wasn’t going to let up. She found herself in a wily dilemma. In order to beat the mess out of Ava, or worse, she was probably going to have to do serious damage to her daddy as well. This man would fight to the death for that woman, of which Tori now had her hand clamped across her throat. Ava snarled and struggled to break free
“Daddy, please get off me. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Are you crazy? You think I’m gonna stay here and watch you do God-knows-what to my wife?”
Tori was starting to feel helpless. Her daddy was a real jerk when it came to Ava, but he was still her daddy. She had once loved him more than life itself. She didn’t want to hurt him. Maybe she could knock him off her just enough, so that she could incapacitate him. After all, she was a karate expert. But no, she couldn’t always measure the strength of her punches.
“Daddy, no!” she yelled at the height of her lungs. “You can’t stop me. You can’t.”
Despite her words, she then regretfully freed Ava’s throat. She fell to the side of Ava, with her daddy lying on her back. She heard Ava coughing. But Tori, she wanted so much more . . . so much more.
“Why
have you come into my house with this craziness?” Henry, breathing hard, angrily asked.
“It’s true, daddy. Joe Riley is not lying. Your dirty, stinking wife tried to have your own child killed.”
“And what kind of proof do you have?”
“I don’t have any. I just know it. I talked to Riley today. The man is telling the truth.”
There was silence. She heard not a sound from Henry.
“ . . . You mean to tell me,” he then responded, “that you came into my house and caused all this hell, just because you want to believe a lie.”
“It’s not a lie.”
“How dare you take the word of that bastard Riley over Ava’s.
“Fuck Ava.”
“Fuck you.”
This time, the silence came from Tori. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“I . . . I didn’t mean that. It just slipped out.”
“Let me up,” Tori said, trying her best to fight back the new rage that now grew on top of what she already carried.
“Let me up, damn it.”
“Are you gonna hurt Ava?”
“Let me up, damn you.”
Tori violently began trying to raise herself up. She irately flung out her arms. She would do anything to get this man off her back. And that’s what he was to her currently, just another man – not her daddy. Now, she knew that she not only had to find a way to control her fury in regards to Ava, but also in regards to her daddy. Otherwise, she might just indeed hurt the man.
“Tori, just take it easy.”
But Tori fought her way up to her knees, causing her daddy to fall on his butt. Tori got to her feet. She was the only one who stood. She felt as if she were in the midst of three slimy snakes. Ava coughed and raised partially up. The look of anger in her eyes was enough by itself to kill. But in her condition, she had no chance. Jimmy lay on the floor, crying harder than ever.
Tori pointed at her daddy, who watched her in complete consternation.
“You disgust me. You’re a sick excuse for a man, for a human being. You’re no daddy of mine. That woman tried to kill your daughter. Your ten-year-old daughter. And you defend the bitch. You make me want to puke.”
Henry only stared up at her. He wanted to say something, and Tori thought she saw just a slight bit of guilt in his face. But she didn’t care. As far as she was concerned, she was through with him. Tori then turned her attention to the object she hated more than anything else in this world. She now pointed that same finger at Ava.
“I swear, I’m gonna get you. If I have to die to do it, I’ll get you. You call yourself a preacher. God should’ve struck you down the day your evil ass was born. Maybe he still will – through me. It’s definitely gonna happen, whether He’s involved or not.”
Ava didn’t say a word, just like Henry. She only stared at Tori. Defiantly.
“Ava Edwards, I swear to God,” Tori screamed wildly. “I’m gonna get your ass. You going down for what you did to my sister. You going down!”
Tori nearly started for her again, but she stopped. Attacking Ava would bring another attack on her from her daddy. She didn’t want to leave three dead bodies behind in this house, only one. There would have to be another day.
“Just leave,” Henry said to his daughter. “Please, Tori. You’re wrong. Just leave.”
Tori looked at him with a world of contempt.
“If Susy does survive what that monster did to her, I promise you, you won’t have either one of us. I’ll see to it personally. You don’t deserve us.”
Again Tori looked to Ava. The defiance in Ava’s eyes was stronger than ever.
“It’s not over, Ava. I’m looking at a dead woman. I promise you, I’m gonna get you. Don’t doubt it for a second.”
Tori quickly turned around. She had to get out of this house. She felt dirty and nasty being inside of it. She almost ran to the door. She stopped and looked back at her daddy. Tears began to fill her eyes.
“How could you, daddy? How could you defend her?”
“You . . . You’re wrong,” Henry answered, somewhat weakly. He looked away from her.
Tori walked on through the door. But as she went onto the porch and walked down the steps, she vowed revenge. She guaranteed that one day, Ava Edwards’ life would forever become a pure hell. That was, if she even lived.
Chapter Twenty-Two
If only Ava could have been prepared, she thought angrily. Let the bitch come after her again; she’ll be ready next time.
She sat on the couch. Her nose no longer bled, but she did have a cloth at her mouth. Jimmy lay curled up beside her, his head rested against her hip. He had his thumb in his mouth. Ava gently caressed his hair as she stared out into space.
So Riley had gotten to Tori, she thought wickedly. That was okay. Tori couldn’t prove a thing. Nevertheless, Ava would try and play it as cool as possible. For the time being, anyway –until things had died down somewhat – she wanted to divert as much attention away from Joe’s accusations as she could. Therefore, she would press no charges against Tori. She figured, the less it was talked about, the better. Still, if Tori tried to attack her again, she would do what she had to do. She had probably robbed Henry of one child; she hoped she wouldn’t have to take out the other as well. It was up to Tori. She hoped to God that Tori was just steamed up for the time being, and that she would eventually cool off. If not, there was going to be serious tragedy ahead – for Tori.
But what if Tori went to the media with her accusations? she wondered. She had better not. Without evidence, she could possibly sue the stuffing out of Tori. But anyway, Joe’s accusations had been through the media, and so far, the lack of proof had hurt him tremendously. Of course, she had despicably viewed Robbie’s disk; there was evidence. And therein lay another problem. How would she get that faggot off her back? Things were a mess. Her well-thought-out plan to eliminate Susy hadn’t gone smoothly at all. But she would work her problems out; she always did.
Henry came rushing into the room, carrying a tray with a large kettle and several cups on it.
“The tea’s ready, sweetheart,” he said.
He walked to the couch and sat down, placing the tray on the coffee table in front of them.
“It’s herbal,” he said to Ava. “It ought to soothe your throat real good.”
“Thanks, honey,” Ava answered innocently.
“You want some, Jimmy?” Henry asked.
“Leave me alone!” Jimmy snapped, never looking up.
“He’s just upset,” Ava said. “He’ll be better in a little while. After all, he was attacked.”
Henry’s face became wracked with guilt.
“I’m so sorry about this, Ava. I don’t know why Tori did this. You sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”
“I’ll be fine, sweetie. Really. Tori was wrong, but I forgive her. She’s so lost right now because of Susy.”
“I say put the slut in jail,” Jimmy attacked, this time looking up at his mother.
Ava gracefully turned on the charm.
“Now, son, we’re Christians in this house. We forgive people for their sins. You have to learn that.”
Jimmy angrily dropped his head back down.
“I guess,” Henry said embarrassingly, “I’m gonna have to ban her from this house. Her behavior was despicable.”
Ava could tell that Henry hated the thought, but he looked as though he didn’t know what else to do.
“I don’t think you’ll have to worry about her coming here anymore,” said Ava. “She hates us.”
“Yeah. I’d say that’s true all right.”
“She’s so filled with evil. Malice.”
“And not just that. Craziness too. I can’t believe her – actually listening to Joe Riley. How could she?”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” Ava lay her head on his shoulder. “Unfortunately, Tori’s problems are her own. As long as we all stick together in this house, she can’t hurt us.
”
“What if she tries to attack you again?”
“Honey, believe me, Ava can take care of Ava. I’ll be ready for her from now on. I just hope I don’t have to put her in jail. I don’t want to put you through that. You’re going through enough.”
Henry wrapped his arms around her. “You’re such a good person, Ava; always concerned about others. So forgiving. I don’t ever want to lose you. I love you so much.”
Ava could do nothing but curl up in his arms. She smiled widely.
Tori was so upset that she felt like she wanted to explode. She constantly paced around her den, occasionally having a sizzling feeling go through her head. She also had Simone hot on her heels.
“Girl, will you calm down before you make yourself sick?” Simone pleaded.
“How can you ask me to calm down? That woman tried to kill my sister.”
“Even if Riley is right, it won’t do any good to give yourself a stroke.”
Tori stopped briefly. “Riley is right, Simone. I looked in the man’s eyes. He’s not lying.”
She resumed her pacing.
“Well, what exactly do you plan to do?” Simone arduously asked.
“I want to go back over there and break Ava’s neck. Maybe I should’ve done it, anyway. Damn, I had my chance. I might’ve blown it.”
“You did the right thing. Going back over there won’t accomplish anything.”
“That animal will be ready for me now. That’s okay. I’ll find a way to be ready for her too.”
“Tori, just stop. You’re scaring me. Take a look at yourself in a mirror. You look savage –like somebody who wants to kill.”
“I do want to kill, goddammit! The more I think about it, the more I think I should go back over there.”
“Are you crazy? I’m surprised the police haven’t already come to arrest you. Don’t press your luck.”
“To hell with the police. To hell with everything. I want the woman’s ass.”
Tori all of a sudden started for the door.
“Where are you going?” Simone asked.
“Back over there.”
Tori had only taken a few steps before she felt that sizzling feeling in her head cause her to stumble.
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