Jasper was waiting by the limo to take us home and I slid in the backseat, thankful at least that I wasn’t alone with Daddy.
At least not yet.
CHAPTER 47
BENJI
Not long after Mr. Green pulled Molly out of the gym, I saw Mom run in and start weaving through the crowd. She spotted me and ran over, clutching her beaded black purse to her chest.
“Benji, we have to go now, sweetie,” she said.
“Why? Where’s Dad?”
“He’s waiting in the car.”
“In the car? Already?”
“Please, sweetie, we have to go. Where’s Molly?”
“She just left with her father. What’s going on, Mom?”
She paused, looking around the gym before turning back to me.
“Everything’s fine, sweetheart, we just need to leave. Your father isn’t feeling well.”
“Oh,” I said, nodding. “Okay, then.”
Dad was waiting in the car, just like she’d said, but he was nervous and jittery, his hands tapping on the steering wheel impatiently as he waited for us to get in. Mom leaned over and whispered something to him as I put my seat belt on and he nodded and pursed his lips, driving home without uttering a word while he ignored Mom’s nervous glances.
When we got to the house, he rushed in without us and ran straight to his office and closed the door. I stood looking at the closed door, the hair on the back of my head standing up.
Something was terribly wrong, I just knew it.
“Mom,” I said, turning to her. Her pale face looked down at me and she shook her head, putting a finger to her lips.
“Dad needs some time, sweetheart. We just need to talk. You go on up to your room. Hang up your suit.”
In a daze, she walked into his office without knocking and closed the door behind her, leaving me alone in the hallway. I stood there for a moment, trying to figure out what was going on.
The murmuring of their voices grew louder by the second and in moments, they were speaking so loudly, the door could no longer contain their words.
“Will, you must have misheard him!”
“I didn’t, Katie, he was clear as day!”
“Well, this can’t be true. This is just horrible.”
I inched closer to the door, straining to hear more.
“It all makes sense now,” Dad said. “I’d always wondered why Bryce was alone that night, even for a little while. They covered for each other, and kept each other out of trouble usually. Those two were inseparable, and yet there was Bryce, all alone long enough to cause some serious damage because Bodhi wasn’t there to stop him. To think, Katie! Bodhi wasn’t there because he was raping Jane! I can’t believe how horrible that is. And then, once Bryce started pummeling Ross, he wouldn’t stop. I just…I just snapped. I was tired of him bullying us all the time. I was tired of relying on Bodhi to keep him at bay.”
Bryce, I wondered? I’d heard a few stories of a guy who went missing a long time ago, but I had no idea my father was involved. I shook my head, listening more.
“You had no choice, Will. It’s not your fault.”
“I know that now,” Dad said. “I don’t regret killing Bryce.”
I sank to my knees. Dad killed someone? My stomach churned and I clamped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out.
“But I never should have let Bodhi cover it up. I never should have let myself live in the lies he created. I did it all wrong and now we’re all going to pay for it!”
“Everything’s going to be okay, Will,” Mom said.
“No, Katie, it’s not,” he said. “I’m calling the FBI. I already told Bodhi I’m doing it. I’m telling them everything, I’m telling them about Bryce, I’m telling them that Bodhi raped Jane. I can’t just let him get away with this.”
“There’s no proof,” Mom said. “It’s your word against his.”
Dad fell silent and the sound of my own heavy breathing took me by surprise. This was all so much to take in at once.
I waited for them to continue, the clock in the living room ticking loudly behind me. Molly’s face flashed in my mind, followed by Mr. Green’s face as he angrily escorted her from the gym tonight. I’d not seen any sign of Molly’s mother tonight.
“He was furious,” Dad said. “But really drunk.”
“What do you think he’s going to do?” Mom asked.
“I don’t know,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to kill me.”
I jumped up from my spot, springing away from the door.
If Mr. Green was mad enough to kill my father, I could only imagine what he was going to do to Molly.
I’d told everyone how dangerous he was.
I’d told my parents, Ms. Canterbury at school, I’d even called Grace. And yet nobody was doing anything to help Molly, at least not as far as I could see.
If the adults weren’t going to do anything to stop Mr. Green, then I only had one choice.
I had to stop him myself.
I bolted down the hallway and ran out the back door, sprinting through our backyard and into the woods that separated our property. Darkness surrounded me immediately and I froze in my tracks.
I took a deep breath, determined to do this right.
It was cold. I was all alone. And it was pitch black.
If I was going to save Molly, I’d need supplies.
I turned back to my house and ran back in, mentally listing the items I’d need in my head the whole way.
With any luck, Mr. Green would never hurt anyone I loved ever again.
CHAPTER 48
MOLLY
Daddy doesn’t trust many people.
That’s why there aren’t many people working for him at our house.
At the office, he has Pearl, but she never comes to the house.
He also trusts Will, Sheriff Ross, and Judge Connor, but other than that, he’s not close to anyone.
And then there’s Maria and Jasper. They’re almost always around, ready at the drop of a hat to do whatever Daddy requests.
So, when we get home from the dance and he immediately sent them both home, my stomach sank. Maria glanced at me nervously before leaving, but she grabbed her bag and did as Daddy asked.
Jasper offered to hang out in the apartment over the garage, just in case Daddy changed his mind, but he insisted he go to his own home. I heard all of this being negotiated as I wandered around downstairs, looking for Mama as soon as we got home. When the door clicked behind Jasper, I ran upstairs to avoid talking to Daddy.
I should have known he’d find me.
Tonight, he was drunk, really drunk. But there was more.
He was angry and muttering to himself, something about Will and the truth and the past and he wasn’t making any sense.
“Molly, come out of your room,” he slurred, trying my doorknob.
I’d taken a risk and locked it, knowing it would upset him if he came up to my room. I waited silently for him to leave, my eyes locked on the door.
My heart pounded as the seconds ticked by. I stared out the window onto the back yard, the lights from Benji’s house flickering through the woods and I closed my eyes tightly, drowning out Daddy’s increasingly loud voice.
One, two, three, send me to Benji’s house! I wished.
I opened my eyes, my heart sinking because I was still there, still in my own stupid room, with only that stupid, flimsy door between me and the angry monster on the other side.
“Molly!” he yelled, banging on the door, each blow landing harder, sending the little porcelain horse figurines that were perched on the shelf by the door falling to the ground.
I jumped with each blow.
My hands trembled as I picked up Lucky from my bed and held him close, waiting for whatever was going to happen next.
I gave in.
Accepted it.
Because I knew, that no matter what I did, no matter how much I fought back, no matter where I might hide,
that I belonged to him.
He could do whatever he wanted to me.
He’d taught me that.
He’d shown me that, over and over.
He was my father. He was in charge.
He was the one in control of things, in control of me, in control of everything.
I wasn’t in charge.
Not me.
Never me.
CHAPTER 49
BODHI
The pain I’d felt earlier had now transformed into pure rage.
Rage at Will.
Rage at the past.
Rage at my younger self for ruining my life with stupid, careless decisions that had never ceased to haunt me.
Maybe Will was right. Maybe, that night so fucking long ago, we should have told the truth. Maybe things would have turned out differently.
But maybe not.
That’s the fucking kicker, ain’t it? You can’t go back. You can’t make another decision and get a fucking do-over.
You've got one chance most of time.
That night was one of those.
Don’t get me wrong. If I could go back and do it all over again, I’d do it all differently. I’d never have touched Jane, first of all.
I don’t even know why I did that.
I was drunk, that was for sure.
Hell, Bryce and I were both drunk as skunks. We always were, though. That’s just what we did. We hung out, got drunk, and found ways to waste a hell of a lot of time. It wasn’t easy in this boring ass town, but we managed.
We did a lot of walking, and a lot of talking.
We had dreams back then, big ones. We were both going to hit the big time, be big football stars at Oregon State, get out of this piss ant town and make something of ourselves.
Both our families expected us to carry on the family tradition of nourishing our roots here in Greenville, but neither one of us was interested in that. We couldn’t wait to get out of here, go off to college, start our lives.
I left Molly’s door after a few minutes of pounding on it. Let her ignore me, I didn’t care.
She didn’t care about me anyway.
She was just like her useless mother…
Nobody cared about me.
In fact, there wasn’t anyone who’d given a genuine rat’s ass about me since Bryce died, truth be told. And he’d been dead for twenty-five long years now. I remembered that night like it was yesterday, the details of it all remaining clear as day in my head as the years passed. I’d tried to forget parts of that night, but it never worked.
I walked down the hall to my office, lost in the past once again.
It had been a night just like a thousand before it.
Cold, dark, uneventful.
Quiet and boredom were two qualities that plagued a town like Greenville and yet Bryce and I had made it our mission to squeeze every ounce of entertainment out of it before we left for college.
We’d spent the last few hours at the football field, hanging out on the fifty-yard line and smoking some grass that he’d found in his Aunt Dottie’s kitchen drawer. We lay on our backs, looking up at the stars.
“Can you believe it’s almost over?” Bryce asked.
“What?”
“High school. Greenville.”
“It’s about time,” I said. “This last year has drawn on forever.”
“It’s been nice, though, don’t you think?” he asked, lifting up on one elbow and leaning over me.
“I guess,” I shrugged, taking a hit off the joint and passing it back to him. He smiled down at me.
“Admit it,” he said. “You’ve had a blast. You’re the fucking golden boy of Greenville.”
“Whatever,” I said. “So are you.”
“Not like you, Bodhi,” he said, his voice softening. He looked down at me and shook his head. “Everybody loves you.”
“I don’t know about that,” I said, warily.
“It’s true,” he said, growing quiet. He stared down at me and his eyes glassed over. At the time, I thought he was just stoned.
“There’s nothing special about me,” I muttered. I truly believed that. I was born into this life, I’d not done anything to deserve having it so good. My family’s money. The privilege I’d grown up with. Having a friend like Bryce, even though he could be a bit of a violent prick sometimes, those weren’t things I deserved.
“You’re special, Bodhi,” he said, smiling at me. “You don’t give yourself enough credit.”
“You’re the only one who thinks that,” I said.
He grew quiet again and I stared back up at the stars. After a moment, we stood up and started walking again, heading back towards the town square and towards his house.
“Do you think college is going to be weird?” he asked.
“No,” I said, as we neared the corner by Jenny’s diner.“Why would it?”
“We won’t get to see each other as much,” he shrugged.
“Aren’t you sick of seeing each other? It’s time to make new friends,” I replied.
Bryce stopped, reaching for my arm.
“Bodhi, I’m just saying, I’m going to miss you, man,” he said.
“You’ll see me all the time,” I said. “We’re going to the same school. We’ll be on the same team, for fuck’s sake.”
“We won’t spend as much time alone,” he said, his big blue eyes peering down at me. I squinted, my mind reeling at what I saw there. I shook my head, sure it was the weed that was getting to me.
But then, he shook his head slowly and bent it towards mine, his lips falling against my lips, warm and hesitating. I froze, my head spinning.
What the hell was happening?
His kiss turned harder, his tongue darting out and sliding between mine. I stood frozen in place as he kissed me.
A crash sounded behind us and we jumped apart instantly. A startled Jane stood in the alley by the trash can, her eyes wide as saucers, a bag of garbage in her hand. She dropped it and shuffled away quickly. Bryce and I looked at each other.
My mouth opened in shock and I shook my head.
“Bryce, dude…” I began.
“Don’t, man, just don’t,” he said, putting up a hand and running away, disappearing into the park.
I watched him go, confusion filling my head as I slowly started towards the diner, towards Jane, all alone, so pretty, and me, so drunk, so stoned, so damned confused…
I shook the images from my head, the rest of it too hard to take right now. I couldn’t go there. Not tonight.
Tonight, I needed to take care of business.
I needed to save my future, my family, and my business.
I picked up the phone and called Ross. It took him a few rings, but he finally answered.
“Bodhi, what’s up?”
“It’s time, Ross. Will’s gone off the deep end. We can’t wait any longer.”
“For fuck’s sake, Bodhi, this again?”
“There’s no other way, Ross. Do you want to go down for all this? You were there, too.”
“I don’t know anymore, honestly. Aren’t you tired of all this? The lies? The hiding? Looking over your fucking shoulder? It was a long time ago, Bodhi, and honestly, none of us did anything wrong, except covering it up. We should have come clean a long time ago.”
My anger returned in a rush.
“Ross, if you don’t fucking listen to me, if you don’t get on board with this, I’ll fucking kill you, too. Do you understand? Either Will goes, or we all fucking go. I’m not afraid to take you all down with me.”
“Bodhi, this doesn’t make sense. So you kill Will, then what? It’s just another lie. Another fucking secret to live with. Enough is enough!”
“Just tell me you’ve got my fucking back, Ross!”
“Fine! Dammit! I’ve got your back. I’m tired, Bodhi. Do whatever you fucking want. I’ve got a prisoner to attend to.”
“Who?”
“Fury. I thought you knew? I picked him up.”
&nbs
p; “Why?”
“Hank wants to press charges.”
“No fucking way,” I said. “I need him. Let him go. Let him fucking go right now, Ross, and tell him to call me right away.”
“Jesus, Bodhi.”
“I’m not fucking around, Ross. Do it.”
I hung up the phone, more determined than ever that I was doing the right thing.
All I needed was Fury to finish the job and I’d never have to worry about Will again.
CHAPTER 50
FURY
I couldn’t believe this asshole had me arrested.
I paced in the lone cell at the Sheriff’s office. Situated directly in the middle of the office, the wide open cell bars put the prisoner — me — in full display, like a goddamned caged animal in a zoo.
Ross sat at his desk, huddled over and whispering into the phone.
For the last half hour, he’d sat hunched over his desk while filling out whatever paperwork he deemed necessary to charge me with this bogus bullshit charge.
“I was only defending Jackie,” I'd told him in the car on the way over.
“I know, son,” he said. “But a charge is a charge. Gotta do the right thing.”
Surprisingly, I found him smart and reasonable, if a little slow. Fortunately, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been arrested plenty of times before and I knew better than to panic about it.
Before long, I’d be out of here and back in Jackie’s arms.
I’d play their stupid little small town game if that’s what they needed. Whatever it costs for Ryder and Grace to get me out, I’d pay them back. It was worth it to feel Hank’s face slam into my fist, to tell you the truth.
What a fucking asshole, I thought, for the millionth time since his blood had stained my knuckles.
Ross finally got off the phone and cradled his head in his hands, muttering to himself. He grabbed the form he was filling out and ripped it up, crumbling it up and throwing it into the trash can next to his desk. With a heavy sigh, he stood up and walked over to my cage.
He unlocked the lock and threw open the door.
“Get out,” he said, shaking his head.
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