FURIOUS

by Honey Palomino

  For what I was still uncertain about.

  All I knew was that I was going to do whatever it took to get Molly out of there. Maybe she’d scream. Maybe someone would break a window.

  I was counting on that sign to push me forward.

  I waited and waited, their house sitting quietly, hulking silently in the distance like an animal waiting to strike out at its prey.

  When I saw the attic light come on, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  If Molly was up there, then she was safe.

  At least for now.

  I waved to her, but she didn’t see me. She sat perched by the window in her usual spot and I could see Lucky in her lap. I smiled and sat back into the tree, waiting as long as was needed to make sure she was safe.

  A movement in the trees below the house startled me. I squinted my eyes in the dark, trying to make out what it was.

  When I saw the hulking frame walking slowly to the back door, there was no mistaking who it was. Fury moved with cat-like precision, quiet and slow, opening the back door and sliding into the house without a sound.

  CHAPTER 54

  JACKIE

  “I’m your father…”

  “Your mother…”

  “Maybe not willingly…”

  Green’s words echoed in my head, his sickening voice haunting my house, like a ghost screaming the words into my face, over and over…

  “Stop!” I screamed out. Fury had left me in bed, but now, bed was the last place I could handle being. I couldn’t be still.

  I paced around the house like a mad woman, crying and screaming out into the silence, yearning for some guidance from the only place I couldn’t find it.

  What would my Mom have done?

  What would my Grandma do?

  I’d loved them both dearly, respected them completely. To me, they were strong, vibrant women and their absence from my life stung me every single day.

  I’d gone on without them because of them. Because I wanted to be like them, I wanted to do them proud, I wanted them to see that all the love they’d given me was worth it.

  It had always been just me and them. And after Grandma died, leaving the diner to Mom, it had been just us.

  We’d never needed anyone else. The absence of a father wasn’t an issue, because I’d never known what it was like to have one in the first place.

  I’d never resented my mother for not telling me. I just assumed he was like Jared — a man that came in and out of her life in a flash. Someone insignificant.

  But now?

  Green’s confession changed everything.

  I couldn’t help but question the truth of it. What I couldn’t figure out, though, was why in the world he would lie about something like that now? What could that have possibly done for him? And why now? Why did he tell me tonight?

  There were so many unanswered questions flying around my head.

  And there was only one person who could answer them.

  My eyes widened when I realized that one person was about to be within arm’s reach of my very furious lover.

  If Fury got his hands on Bodhi, I’d never get my answers.

  I ran out of the house at full speed and jumped in my car.

  Maybe there was still time to stop him. I had to try.

  My entire future relied on it.

  CHAPTER 55

  BENJI

  The snow was falling faster around me, clinging to the ends of my hair and my eyelashes. I’d been sitting in the same tree for a while now.

  When Fury went in, I was sure I’d get some sort of sign soon. I don’t know what I expected. Did I think he was going to bring Green out by his collar, handcuff him and take him away?

  Fury didn’t seem like the handcuff kind of guy.

  At least from my spot, I could still see Molly in the window. I knew she was safe. I took my flashlight and quickly shined it her way and then turned it off. I didn’t want anyone else in the house realizing I was out here. I couldn’t risk another flash, but I hoped that was enough to let her know I was here.

  The waiting was killing me. I’ve never had a lot of patience, but when it came to Molly, I seemed to do a lot of waiting around. It didn’t matter. She was worth it.

  But tonight was different. Tonight felt like something big was going to happen. And after everything I’d heard my parents talk about, I knew nothing would ever be the same after tonight.

  I trembled in fear in that tree, but I just let the trembling happen.

  I knew it wasn’t the cold. I knew I was just one little kid. I knew I couldn’t do much, but if something happened that gave me an opportunity to help, I knew I’d take it.

  That’s what friends were for. Mom taught me that a long time ago.

  When your friends needed you, you should be there for them, do whatever you can, even if it doesn’t seem like much.

  That’s what I was doing perched in this tree.

  All I could do.

  A few more minutes passed by and another figure rounded the back of their house. A smaller figure, a woman I think, moved towards the back door with short, hesitating moves, waiting long moments before continuing. She tried the doorknob slowly, looking around before sneaking into the house.

  The overhead light shined down on her and I gasped.

  It was Jackie, from the diner. I’d seen her dancing with Fury earlier, before he’d punched Hank. My eyes widened when I remembered what I’d heard Dad say.

  Mr. Green had raped Jackie’s mom.

  This was not going to end well, I thought.

  I swallowed hard, the pounding of my heart echoing in my ears.

  “Just stay hidden, Molly,” I whispered, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me. “Just stay up there.”

  I jumped down from the tree and gathered my supplies before heading across the meadow that led to their house.

  Molly needed to get out of there fast and I was going to help her.

  CHAPTER 56

  FURY

  I stormed through the house, following the sound of Green’s voice upstairs. Green’s house is big, way too fucking big if you ask me, all long mazes of hallways and separate wings. I’d never been upstairs before and I quickly realized it was a bit of a maze in itself. I found myself in one very quiet wing, Green’s voice fading away.

  I started running back the way I’d come, heading past the grand stairway I’d come up and down an opposite hallway.

  “Molly! Goddammit, Molly, where did you go?” he shouted, his voice clearer as I closed in on him. “I told you to stay put! Come out now!”

  Doors slammed in the distance, his shoes echoing on the parquet floors. I rounded a corner and there he was, looking like a madman.

  His hair — distinguishably slicked back earlier — was now disheveled and tousled over his forehead. He’d loosened the tie of his tux and the bow hung deflated below his neck. His eyes were wild with anger. In his right hand, he held a revolver.

  I froze, taking a deep breath before going any farther.

  “Fury!” he greeted me joyfully. “I’ve been trying to call you!”

  I nodded silently and waited.

  “I need you to do that job we talked about. It’s time. Tonight. Go do it right now.”

  “Why are you holding that gun?”

  “This ol’ thing?” he asked, waving it around.

  “Yeah.”

  “My daughter seems to think we’re playing a game,” he shrugged.

  “You’re going to scare Molly with that?” I asked.

  “When you have kids, you’ll understand how hard it is to be a parent, Fury,” he said, shaking his head. He paused, snapping his fingers and raising his eyebrows before continuing. “Oh, but maybe that’ll be soon? With you fucking that whore, Jackie, it can’t be long before she pops out a few slutty daughters of her own, I bet!”

  I couldn’t take it anymore. There was nothing left to say, nothing left to hear, no more time to allow this prick to go on living. I couldn’t have h
eld back my rage any longer if I wanted to.

  I rushed him, barreling into him with all my strength.

  The sound of the gunshot echoing through the house drowned out my hearing for a second, the ringing in my ears clouding my mind. He jumped to his feet and scurried away and I moved to follow him, bringing myself to my feet.

  I sank to my knees in an instant, the pain ripping through my leg like a freight train. I looked down and saw the blood pouring from my right thigh.

  I looked up at Green, his gun now pointed straight at my head.

  Behind him, I saw Molly, staring at her father, staring at me, her eyes filled with the kind of fear a little girl should never, ever have to experience.

  CHAPTER 57

  MOLLY

  I’d never seen anyone get shot before. Not in real life.

  It was louder than in the movies and I smelled the smoke from the gun afterwards. Fury’s leg was pouring blood onto the carpet in the hallway and I knew Maria was going to be really upset about that. She was always complaining about how it didn’t make sense to have such an expensive carpet in a place where we walked all the time.

  In my head, I could see her on her knees, scrubbing it with a toothbrush or something, muttering in Spanish the whole time.

  Lucky wiggled in my arms and I felt his body rear up like he was going to bark, so I covered his flat little mouth and nose and ran back the way I came before Daddy could see me. I ran back up the stairs to the attic and closed the door quietly, locking it behind me. I put Lucky on the floor and he ran over to his bed, looking up at me as if I was supposed to know what happened next.

  I waited, staring at the door, jumping anxiously from one foot to the other. Finally, I looked down at Lucky and pointed my finger at him.

  “You stay here!” I said. “And don’t make a sound!”

  I opened the door and crept back down the stairs, slowly looking around the doorframe for my father. He wasn’t in this hallway, and I couldn’t hear him anymore. I took a deep breath and ventured down the hallway, tiptoeing and staying as quiet as I could, despite the hammering in my chest.

  I felt bad for Fury. I wanted to help him, but I had no idea how I’d be able to stop my father. I had to try, though.

  I couldn’t just let him lay there, could I?

  “Mama!” I thought, almost as an afterthought. I knew how sad that was. Most kids went right to their mothers when something was wrong, but I also knew I wasn’t most kids. My mother wasn’t like other mothers. But maybe, just maybe, today she could be of some help.

  I ran down the back staircase to reach the hallway that led to their bedroom. Going the back way let me bypass the hallway where I’d seen my Dad shoot Fury.

  I opened the door and stepped into the darkness of their bedroom. It was always this dark, the curtains always drawn, the lights always off. Mama lay in bed, an open bottle of pills on the table next to her.

  “Mama!” I said, pushing her arm. “Mama, wake up!”

  She didn’t stir and I tried again.

  “Mama, I need you! Mama!” I pushed her shoulder and she rolled over onto her back, her mouth falling open. My eyes widened.

  “Mama?” I whispered. I reached out, caressing the side of her face. My hand shot back fast. She was cold. Her skin hard.

  “Mama!” I cried, shaking her hard. Her hair fanned around her face, but she didn’t wake up.

  My entire body started trembling as I shook my head.

  “You can’t…” I muttered, stumbling backwards.

  “Molly!” Dad’s voice rang out as he burst in the door. I sank to my knees and rolled under the bed. He turned on the bedside light, his feet mere inches from my face as I held my breath.

  “Marilyn, what the fuck?” he muttered. He leaned over her and then took a step backwards. “Fuck! Marilyn, you stupid bitch! I’m going to get blamed for this!”

  He paused a moment and then called my name again. My chest stung from not breathing but I didn’t dare breathe.

  “Molly!” he cried out again, walking away. His footsteps faded away outside the room and I finally exhaled, breathing deeply as I crawled out from under the bed. I ran to the door, not brave enough to look at Mama again, my mind unable to register what had just happened, the only thing I knew was that I needed to get far, far away from Daddy’s reach.

  I followed his fading footsteps down the hall and stopped at the top of the stairs as he disappeared into the kitchen and then through the door that led to the garage.

  Where was Fury? I wondered. Was he still laying in the front hallway? Was he alive?

  Daddy came back out of the garage, a bright red gas can in his left hand now and his pistol still in his right. I gasped out loud, unable to keep it in. His eyes shot up towards me, but I jumped back just in time to hide from view. I peeked back around the corner and saw him in the formal living room below, pouring gas on the long, silk curtains that covered all the big windows that lined the front side of our house.

  He picked up a long stemmed lighter from the fireplace and clicked the switch on it, a perfect flame appearing at the tip.

  “Fuck it,” he said, his eyes wide and wild, before he screamed out “Fuck it all!”

  He touched the flame to the curtains and they caught immediately, the small flickers turning to thick, raging flames in seconds.

  “Lucky!” I thought, my eyes wide as I turned and ran back to the attic.

  CHAPTER 58

  JACKIE

  I crept into the house through the back door after finding the front locked. Fury’s bike was out front and I hoped like hell I was there in time to stop him. My thoughts were beginning to calm down and I didn’t want anyone to die.

  I only wanted the truth.

  I wanted Green to pay for what he’d done to my mother, for what he’d done to me. But the last thing I wanted was to lose Fury because of what he might do to Bodhi.

  Bodhi wasn’t worth it. He was a piece of shit that deserved to be in prison. Not Fury.

  When I first walked in, the house was quiet and dark. I walked into the kitchen, and I couldn’t help but shake my head at the luxuriousness of this entire house. Not a penny had been spared. The finest marble lined the countertops, with expensive tile lining the walls and backsplash, the cabinets made from intricately carved old growth wood.

  This is what the townsfolk paid for, I thought. With their blood, sweat and tears, giving kickbacks to his family for years. All this extravagance, all this wasted money, for a family that didn’t even love each other, for a man that didn’t appreciate it.

  My eyes caught movement outside the kitchen window and I squinted to see a small frame coming towards the house. I walked to the door and opened it, surprised to see Benji walking towards me, a flashlight in one hand, a baseball bat in the other, and a backpack slung over his shoulder.

  “Benji?” I asked.

  “Hey, Jackie,” he whispered.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I’m here to save Molly.”

  “Molly?” I asked, my eyes wide. “Why?”

  “I don’t know what’s going on with you adults, with you and Fury and Mr. Green and my Dad. But while you’re all fighting with each other, I’m going to save my friend.”

  “Benji, what are you talking about?”

  “My Dad told me about your Mom. I’m so sorry.”

  “Benji…”

  “My Dad said he was going to turn him in, though. You probably need to know that.”

  “Benji, where’s Molly?”

  “I don’t know. I think she’s still in the attic hiding. That’s where I’m going.”

  “Do you know where Green is?”

  “I saw Fury come in before you. I bet they’re together. I think I heard a gunshot.”

  “What’s that smell?” I asked, sniffing the air. “Something’s burning.”

  “I gotta go,” Benji said, running off.

  “Wait! I’m coming with you!” I followed him to the west wing of th
e house, down one long hallway, and then another. He stopped in front of narrow flight of dark stairs that steeply led to the third floor. We climbed them and stopped at the door. He knocked — three quick knocks, then one short one. He paused a second, then did it again.

  The door opened quickly and Molly stood there with wide, frightened eyes, a fat pug wiggling in her arms as she held him tightly.

  “Benji, what are you doing here?!” she cried.

  “I told you I’d save you, Molly!”

  “My dad set the house on fire!” she said, shaking my head. “We have to get out of here!”

  She looked at me and shook her head.

  “My Dad shot Fury, too, Jackie,” she said.

  “What!” I cried, looking behind me quickly. “Oh, God, no!”

  I stared down the hallway, watching in horror as it began to fill with smoke. I looked back at the kids and shoved them back into the attic.

  “Stay in here. Keep the door closed and open the window, okay? I’ll be back. I’m going to find help. There’s smoke in the hallway, so don’t come out. Find something to cover the crack under the doorway so the smoke doesn’t come in, okay?”

  They nodded and I slammed the door, running into the smoke-filled hallway, covering my mouth with my arm.

  CHAPTER 59

  FURY

  I ripped off my shirt and wrapped it tightly around the top of my thigh. The heat of the bullet was still radiating through my leg, but I pulled myself to my feet anyway, ignoring the pain shooting through me.

  The anger burned all the pain away. With each step I took, the violent burning was replaced with ferocious, boiling rage that consumed me. Pumping through my veins like a drug, a turbulent furor pushed me on, gifting me with Herculean strength that I’d never experienced before.

  One fucking bullet wasn’t going to stop me from tearing Green limb from limb.