No Happily Ever After (The Fairytale Diaries #1)

by Amanda Gatton

  Part II

  Kiss the Poison Apple

  Chapter 5

  Imagine the surprise of Quinton Pure when his teen aged daughter, Cailyn, confronted him regarding the illicit affair he was having.

  Cailyn didn't make her discovery in any devious manner. It was innocent and quite by accident. It was also entirely Quinton's fault. He committed the ultimate blunder of a man cheating on his wife.

  He left his web browser open.

  It was late autumn, and only a few weeks away from Thanksgiving when Cailyn dropped into the desk chair in the family room early one morning. Her mother Nathalie was still in bed and her father had already left for work. Cailyn was still trying to wake up and get it together for school, and had decided to mindlessly stare at Likebook for a few minutes before showering.

  When she touched the mouse, the screen saver dissipated and a picture of voluptuous breasts took over the screen.

  Cailyn gasped and reared backwards for a moment, staring at the picture, and trying to determine just exactly what she was looking at. Obviously, it was a pair of milky white bosoms. But why was it there? Things began to register. The photo was attached to an email. Upon closer consideration, she saw that it was her father's email account, left wide open.

  He was the recipient. The sender was Aliah Joiner. Aliah Joiner was decidedly not Cailyn's mother.

  Along with the picture was a filthy message that in one instant, changed her perception of her father. This was not spam email. Cailyn's head spun and there was a rushing sound in her ears. She glanced around the room at the dozens of family pictures that graced the walls. Her lovely, smiling mother. Nathalie Pure was the ideal devoted wife. She conducted herself with a pleasant demeanor and outlook always. She worked and earned an excellent living while simultaneously keeping a wholesome home for the family. On top of her long list of strong character traits, Cailyn's mom was beautiful. With her mother, Cailyn shared identical looks. Petite curvaceous shape, jet black long hair, and blood red lips.

  Cailyn began to boil. How could her father even entertain the notion of dishonoring a woman like that?

  She began further investigating her father's email account and all his improper communications with this wicked woman. There were many pictures, but none of her face. They sickened her. Most of the messages involved disgusting talk and nothing more. But there were a few of a more serious nature. Promises were exchanged. Plans were made. Her father had told this woman he would leave his wife to be with her. Worse, these promises had been made for several years, according to the record of emails sent.

  She sat trembling, staring at the screen with her mouth hanging open. Tears swam in her eyes. She felt both hot and cold at the same time, her head spun, and her ears rang. Moments with her father throughout her life, raced through her mind. He'd been loving and devoted all her days; she couldn't recall any different. He was affectionate with her mother. They were a family of laughter, always. Yet, he'd made plans behind the scenes to leave them, and to make a new life with another woman.

  Cailyn logged out of her father's email and laid her head on her arms to bawl.

  ***

  Cailyn Pure wore head to toe black to school that day. In no way was she normally the Goth sort of girl, but that day she changed entirely. Her very foundation was shaken and crumbling. She felt desperately sad for her beloved mother.

  And violently angry toward her philandering father.

  She suffered through the excruciating school day, ignoring everything and everyone. Literally dozens of her classmates at Faraway Senior High asked her what was wrong, and Cailyn wilted them all with one look. She failed to participate in any class, which was also highly unlike her. The thing was, she simply could not stop thinking of that evil woman's breasts.

  By the time last period rolled around, half her friends were cross with her, and she hadn't even bothered to make note of a single homework assignment.

  As soon as the last bell of the school day rang, dismissing students, Cailyn stormed through the hallway and out the door. She didn't stop by her locker to collect her belongings and put on her coat. The frigid wind outside bit into Cailyn's pale skin, but her anger kept her warm. She stomped down the street and straight downtown. In no time, she shoved open the door to her father's law firm.

  "Oh hello, Cailyn," said the receptionist pleasantly. Cailyn ignored her all together and savagely thrust open the door that connected the waiting room to the rear office area. "Oh! Uh, Cailyn, he's in a-"

  The pretty receptionist jumped up, sending a waft of heavy perfume in Cailyn's direction, to attempt to intervene on her warpath. But Cailyn was already slamming into her father's office before the receptionist could even complete her sentence.

  A small, mousy man's head snapped up and regarded her with surprise. Her father also looked at her in utter amazement. Red crept up his neck into his face.

  "Cailyn Pure! I'm with a client," he admonished as the secretary ran in behind her.

  Cailyn smiled snidely at the client. "I'm sorry sir; your appointment's been canceled. Please reschedule on your way out." She held open the door and gestured toward the hallway as everyone gaped at her, flabbergasted.

  Mr. Pure leapt up and slammed his hands down on the desk. "CAILYN! Wait outside until I finish with my client," he said, seething anger.

  Cailyn chuckled. "What I have to say can't wait," she snarled.

  Mr. Pure visibly shook with his fuming rage. "Cailyn, do not make me say it again."

  The mousy man stood up and Mr. Pure stammered around asking him to please stay. But then Cailyn leveled a brutal gaze on her father with smoldering black eyes.

  "Dad, I know. I saw your email."

  As fast as the blaze had risen, the color drained from Mr. Pure's face.

  He mumbled awkward apologies as he escorted his client and the aggravated secretary out of the office, and then he returned to his desk. He sunk like a deflating balloon into his seat.

  Cailyn walked very slowly to his desk and then leaned on it against ram rod arms and palms with fingers splayed.

  "How. Could. You?" she growled.

  In response, her father dissolved into tears.

  "HOW COULD YOU?" Cailyn raged. She began pacing crazily around his office. His blubbering emotional display only served to fan the flames of her anger. "You monster!" she screamed.

  "Cailyn, I am your father, you do not speak to me that way." His demand sounded weak and hollow. Prior to her discovery that morning, Cailyn would never have dreamed of speaking to her dad that way. But a shift of power had occurred.

  Prior to that morning, he'd been a different man in her eyes.

  She fought the hot tears gathering in her eyes. She didn't want to waiver. She wanted to remain firmly rooted in unbridled anger and raw hatred. "You need to start talking, Dad. I haven't talked to Mom. Yet. You have five minutes to make me understand why I shouldn't tell her."

  Mr. Pure wept harder. "Cailyn, she doesn't mean anything…"

  "YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS!" Cailyn shrieked. She charged back to his desk, leaned over and placed her rabid face nose to nose with his. "You know who doesn't mean anything?" she hissed through clenched teeth. "Me and Mom, that's who."

  Mr. Pure moaned. "Cailyn, you must believe me. I've wanted to end it for quite some time. But Aliah… She's… Intense. I, I don't know what would happen if I cut her off."

  Cailyn straightened and stood arms crossed over her chest. She smirked down at her father.

  "Well now it boils down to which outcome you fear less then, Dad. You can either end it, and PROVE to me that you ended it. Or… I tell Mom. You have one week. It's all up to you."

  She spun on her heel and stalked out, slamming the door behind her.

  Chapter 6

  Over the days that followed, Mr. Pure deteriorated. Cailyn did as well.

  Mr. Pure became disheveled, distracted and distraught. Unable to sleep, concentrate, or function, he was with his family physically, yet emotionally ab
sent. Cailyn's dark mood worsened. It manifested through her complete change of appearance. She hid behind bulky black clothing and punctuated her angry eyes with heavy black makeup. Cailyn became beautiful in a new, disturbing way.

  Additionally, a wedge grew between Cailyn and her friends as they became alienated by her newfound attitude and constant, short, grouchy mood. She began to skip homework assignments altogether, and her exemplary grades reflected by the change in study habits quickly. There were even a couple incidents of arguing in school that landed her visits to the principal's office; a phenomenon she'd never experienced before.

  Mrs. Pure worried and doted on them both. Clearly some emotional infection had attacked her loved ones, but somehow she didn't figure out that the same exact thing troubled both father and daughter. Mr. Pure maintained that he was simply enduring a trying time at work. And Cailyn just refused to address the changes in herself, and swore to her mother that nothing was wrong.

  Finally the time came when Cailyn received a much anticipated update on the Pure family situation.

  She lay in bed, propped on pillows, late one night. Unable to sleep, her bedside lamp cast dim light across her as she read a dark and chilling book of Grimm fairytales. She'd had no idea the original versions of fairytales she'd known and loved all her life had originally been so frightening. And, she loved it. Cailyn startled when her bedroom door quietly swung open. Her father slipped in, then softly shut the door behind.

  He strode to her bed and dropped a sheath of papers unceremoniously onto her lap.

  She blazed him with a quick glance of pure hatred, discarded her book, and then scooped up the papers. She quickly determined they were printed emails.

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/12 1:23 p.m.

  Dearest Quinton,

  Years. Years of my life I've devoted to you. You think you can carelessly cast me aside and be free of me?

  We shall see.

  Love, Aliah

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/13 9:18 a.m.

  My Darling Quinton,

  Don't worry, lover. I won't tell. I have other plans.

  Yours Eternally, Aliah

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/14 2:26 a.m.

  Quinton,

  Answer me.

  Aliah

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/14 12:00 p.m.

  Mr. Pure,

  A response on your part IS required. I can assure you, I am not a woman to be trifled with. As you well know.

  SINCERELY, Ms. Joiner

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/14 6:54 p.m.

  YOU VILE LOSER. POWERFUL LAWYER MAN. WHOLESOME FAMILY MAN. YOU CAN AND WILL ROT IN HELL.

  I'LL PUT YOU THERE MYSELF.

  From: MirrorMirror@faraway.net

  To: QPure@faraway.net

  11/14 8:19 p.m.

  Be warned, you've gone too far, Quinton. Don't bother answering now. It's too late. You have set a wheel in motion. I will kill your darling daughter. I will cut out her heart, and I will feast on it. Then, I will hunt you down, and I will shove what remains of her dead, rotten flesh down your throat.

  Your Promised One, Aliah

  Mr. Pure wept openly as he studied Cailyn's face while she read the emails. After finishing the last one, a sigh escaped her in a deep blast. Her hands dropped heavily, leaving the papers lifeless in her lap.

  "So, I guess you told this psycho that it's my fault?" Cailyn said incredulously, staring straight ahead.

  "Cailyn, no! Of course not! I didn't give her any explanation or even meet with her in person. I just broke it off."

  "Lovely, Dad. You've just done a lovely job."

  "I have to go to the police, Cailyn. I can't allow her to threaten my family."

  Cailyn scrambled out of bed, sending the appalling communications flying. "Dad! No! Mom will find out. You can't hurt her like this."

  Mr. Pure blubbered crazily, his normally handsome face a mess of tears and snot. "Your mother would choose being hurt over you getting hurt, any day of the week. I have no choice."

  "You listen to me," Cailyn seethed. "This is some angry tramp that's all talk over being dumped by some married jerk." Quinton's back straightened and he flinched as though he'd been slapped. Cailyn continued. "You will NOT destroy my mother over his nonsense, do you understand me? So help me, Dad, I promise you… If you cause Mom ONE TEAR over this, I will never ever speak to you again. Not ever. For any reason."

  He gaped at her with wide, desperate eyes. "Cailyn, please," he begged. "You don't know her like I do. She's crazy. I take her threats very seriously. Please! Don't put me in this position."

  "You put yourself in this position."

  His shoulders slumped. After a long silent moment staring pleadingly at her, he finally spoke. "I will take you to and from school EVERY day. You will keep your phone on you and turned on at ALL times. You will not go anywhere but school and home, and if me or your mom can't be home with you, then you'll come with me wherever I go. Until… This blows over." For a moment she did not respond so he continued. "Cailyn, that's my counter. If you insist on keeping this quiet, then I will protect you. You agree to this, or I'll go to the police. Even if it meant losing your mom and you both, I'd do what I have to."

  She stared at him with tears in her eyes. Suddenly, she recalled the father she'd loved endlessly only a week before. Maybe all was not lost. "OK, Daddy," Cailyn agreed meekly.

  ***

  She began receiving strange friend requests on Likebook. The first one came that very night, as she checked her account just before bed. It was from a user named Jane Johnson who didn't have a profile picture. Additionally, the user had no information about herself listed or even one single Likebook friend.

  She sat in a small, dim ring of light at the computer desk in the quiet family room. The light reflected on her shining black hair and pale porcelain skin, giving her a sort of ethereal look. The room outside Cailyn's ring of light was cloaked in darkness. She shivered at the sudden sense of loneliness as she stared at the strange request on the computer screen, and how any other day, she probably would've accepted it without a second thought.

  Cailyn's anger flared. She declined the invite to connect and then blocked the user. "Weak," she muttered. She was certain it was Aliah Joiner hiding behind a false identity. But, it did remind her to change the security settings on her account to lock down her profile tighter than a state penitentiary.

  She knew she should tell her dad. But she also knew he'd flip and probably call the police. At very least, he'd force her to delete her social media accounts. And she wasn't about to do that over a classless tramp who didn't scare her in the slightest.

  She did however; decide to take a few minutes to hack all her mom's social media accounts to tighten up the security settings there as well. Mrs. Pure wasn't really into the online scene and rarely used social media. As Cailyn suspected, all her accounts were left wide open visibly, so she made sure people could no longer easily access her mother's personal postings. She could only imagine that this Aliah Joiner probably deviously stalked Mrs. Pure from afar.

  Well, not anymore.

  But the next morning she had another odd friend request. This time there was a picture and it was a teenaged boy she didn't recognize with a name she did not know. He too, had no friends. "Nice try," Cailyn growled as she stabbed the decline button. Clearly Aliah Joiner thought she was an idiot, and that infuriated her. She began to almost wish Aliah would confront her face to face. And then they would see who would eat whose heart.

  Throughout the day, there were more random requests which she denied. Finally, a request came from her friend Jennifer Tide. A corresponding message accompanied it.

  Hey Cailyn. I deleted
my old account; this is my new one if you could accept me.

  Cailyn smiled at her pretty friend's freckled face and moved to accept, but then she paused. Something told her to type Jennifer's name into the search bar. She grew angry all over again to find her friend's profile still intact and already on her friend's list. Along with being annoyed once again, she became uneasy for the first time.

  For some reason, it unnerved her that the woman had chosen to impersonate one of her own classmates to attempt to ensnare her. She clicked back to the fake Jennifer profile. Of all the requests she'd received, this one was the only one with more photos than just a profile picture. She'd stolen many of Jennifer's pictures and created albums to create the effect of a real person. She'd also copied and added Jennifer's personal information. Most disturbing of all, there were actually a few friends associated with the profile. Her own classmates. People who hadn't had any reason to be suspicious and had accepted her.

  Aliah Joiner was trying harder to connect.

  She picked up her phone and dialed Jennifer Tide.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey, Jen. It's Cailyn Pure."

  "Oh, hey, Cailyn! How's it going?"

  "Fine. Hey, did you by chance make a new Likebook profile and request me?"

  "Um, no. Sure didn't, why?"

  "I think someone's impersonating you. They have your pictures and a few people from school actually accepted this fake profile."

  "Oh wow! Really? That sucks. Probably one of those Likebook scammers that try and get you to give them money or something."

  Cailyn paused, frowning. In her mind's eye, she pictured her perky, freckle faced friend with the fiery mane of curls, innocent and oblivious to how truly dangerous false identities on the Internet could be. "Yeah probably. Well, I'll report it and let the other people that accepted it know to report it also."

  "OK, great! Thank you!" Jennifer said cheerily.

  "Hey, Jen, could you do me a favor?" Cailyn asked, feeling rotten that her completely uninvolved friend had now been inadvertently involved.

  "Sure sweetie, whatcha need?"

  "Change all your security settings, OK? So people that aren't your friend can't see your stuff."