by King, Dean
“He just jumped me for no reason, mother. You saw it!” Frank yelled, wiping at the blood that trickled from his nose.
“You lying bastard!” Rafe snarled, turning quickly.
“Rafe!” Miranda shouted, “tell me what happened.”
“He went to the club, mother. He posed as me. Ben told me right before the shift changed. His assistant was told that I had something special planned for my lady friend. Peter, who isn’t supposed to be working there at all, can’t tell us apart so thought this asshole was me. Frank had her taken to the black room.” Rafe turned to his mother. “You know she hates the dark! Can you imagine what that was like for her?” Rafe turned back to Frank. “If that’s not bad enough, Frank had Peter tie Nina to a chair and force her to watch as he had sex with two women while pretending to be me.”
“That’s a lie!” Frank yelled coming up out of his seat. “I don’t even know your woman. Why would I care if you want to ruin your life by marrying some bitch? With all those kids, she obviously spreads her legs for anyone.” In an instant, Frank found himself on his back as fists pounded into his already battered body.
“Get up!” Miranda cried, pointing to the chairs. “Get in those seats. Damn it, if you move again, I’ll make you both sorry!”
Reluctantly they did as she bade them. Miranda inhaled deeply. This was worst than she’d thought. She looked at the two as they took their seats. “Rafe, how do you know this is true?”
“He can’t know anything, mother.” Frank shouted. “I didn’t do it, I swear.”
“You’re such a liar,” Rafe grated, “I told you your vanity would get you in trouble one day. Well this is the day. Peter gave me the tape.”
Frank’s skin drained of its color as he stared at Rafe. “What tape?”
“You always tape your adventures remember? I have it.”
Miranda turned to Frank, her lips tight. “Okay, now how about you tell us why you did this Frank...”
Frank looked away from her, his eyes flittering from place to place.
Miranda slammed her palm down on the desktop, the smack made Frank jump. “You will tell me now, Francisco!”
“Okay!” Frank looked at his mother. “I was here when you brought those brats over the other night. I didn’t want to stay, so I went to my apartment above the club only to find my sweet, conservative, brother had been using it for his own little love nest. I asked Ben about it. He was only to happy to tell me how you two met, love at first sight and all that shit.” Frank snorted. “You know what kind of woman would go to a place like that, Rafe. I know how uneducated you are about scheming calculating women. I figured one had latched onto you, and you didn’t even know it. I only wanted to scare her away before she could hurt you.” Frank turned to Rafe. “You don’t know the agony I went through with Diane. I gave her my love and she crushed it under her feet. I couldn’t let some woman do that to you. You’re my brother. I just wanted to see if she was right for you. If she comes back, then she’s a keeper. If not, then you’re better off without her.”
Rafe gave a false chuckle, shaking his head in disbelief. “For a moment, I actually considered your reasoning. But you know what? I don’t get it; how did you know she was meeting me there that night?”
“Ben told me about the candles and champagne, and said you were going to pop the question. Don’t you see Rafe? I love you too much to let some bitch break your heart.” Frank held his hands out to Rafe, as if begging. “Please, if I’m wrong, then I’m sorry. I swear I’m sorry. I’ll help you fix this, just tell me what to do.”
Rafe sighed deeply and he leaned his head back against the seat cushion, staring at the ceiling. Then his crystal gray eyes clashed with Miranda’s. “What do you think, mother? Do you think Nina has a heart big enough to forgive us all?”
“I don’t know, Rafe. I pray she can, not only for your sake but mine as well. She and her family have become as much a part of my life as they have yours. But how do we fix this and when do we tell her the rest?”
“What rest?” Frank asked, sitting at the edge of his chair.
Rafe turned to Frank. “I haven’t been honest with Nina.”
Frank gave a sharp hoot of laughter. “What? You not honest? What’s the world coming to?”
“Shut up, Frank!” Miranda yelled. “Your brother is right. I haven’t been honest with Nina either.”
“What the hell is going on?” Frank wanted to know, a frown creasing his brow. “What are you talking about?”
They filled him in on how everything had snowballed into one big lie. Frank was thoughtful for a moment, nodding his dark head as he took it all in. “And I have just added to our list of grievances. So this girl is some kind of paragon, everybody loves her and she loves everybody, right?”
“No, that’s not right,” Rafe snapped. “Nina is human, just like the rest of us.”
“So find something she’s done and throw it back at her. Make her see that we all make mistakes.” Frank shrugged, then wiped at a thin line of blood oozing from a gash on his cheek.
“How could you suggest something like that?” Miranda snapped. “If you are not going to be helpful then sit there and be quiet.”
“Mom’s right Frank, besides I love her, why would I want to throw anything in her face? I want to marry her but I’m fighting an uphill battle which I don’t see how I can win.”
Frank continued. “I’ll tell you what. We can go and explain what I did. That will get you off the hook and she’ll be happy again. You two can get married then you can tell her what you and mother did.”
“There you go again!” Miranda snapped. “What? You want him to trap her into marriage?”
“If that’s the only way he can get said princess.”
“Frank you are not helping. That is an underhanded way of doing things. I want to fix what I’ve done, not compound it.”
“Then I’ll just sit here and shut up.”
“Thank you.” Miranda declared. “I won’t let Nina get any more hurt than she already is. No, we have to get this over with right now.”
“No mother, wait.” Rafe held up his hand. “I think Frank is right about one thing. We need to do this in steps. Let’s not throw everything at her at once. First we’ll fix Frank’s mess, and then mine.” Rafe exhaled as pessimism gradually exited his face.
*****
Three days later they pulled up to Nina’s house. Her small gray sedan sat in the graveled driveway.
“Good, she’s home. She’s not going to want to see us but we have some major groveling to do. Frank, you help me give the boys their new bikes. That'll keep them occupied. Mother, will you stay outside? I have a feeling Beth will be spitting nails when I kick her out of the house.” Rafe climbed out of the truck.
“I will, but I need to talk to them too, Rafe. I lied to them and hurt them,” Miranda reminded him. She’d been quiet the whole way over.
“I know, mother, but let me talk to Nina alone, first.” Rafe saw the boys right away, he called them to him.
“Hey Mr. Rafe, where ‘ya been?” Danny called. Then he and Sam froze when they saw Frank, their mouths hanging open.
“Wow, you have a twin brother!” Both boys looked at each other in amazement.
Frank stepped forward. “Hi there, how old are you guys?”
“We’re ten,” Sam volunteered, moving closer to Rafe and seemingly not sure about Frank.
“Come on, let’s see what we brought for you,” Frank suggested.
“You brought something for us?” Sam asked, looking up at Rafe.
Rafe kneeled down. “Yes, we did. My brother Frank wanted to meet you two.”
“He did?” Sam’s golden eyes took in how well Frank and Danny were getting along.
“Yes. You know twins need to stick together.” Rafe cleared his throat. “Tell me how your mom is doing.”
“She’s alright, I guess.” He shrugged looking down at the grass under his feet.
“What do you mean, you
guess?” Rafe asked softly.
“She doesn’t smile any more. And sometimes she cries. Beth is angry. She’s being mean to us.”
“I like a few minutes to speak with your mother. Is that alright?”
Sam shrugged, “I guess so.”
Rafe ruffled the boy’s blond hair. “You go on, get your present. Frank will give it to you.”
“What happened to his face?” Sam wanted to know.
Rafe didn't want to tell the boy he beat his brother senseless. “I think he fell.” Sam nodded and ran off to where Danny stood talking to Frank.
Miranda got out of the truck and watched Rafe climb up the stairs and went into the house. Minutes later, Miranda had to cover her ears for the screaming inside. She ran into the house.
Miranda saw Rafe standing at the foot of the staircase. Beth apparently intended to refuse him access to the second floor. Finally Rafe picked her up and planted her on her feet behind him, then he hurried upstairs. Miranda ran to Beth and pulled her into her arms, hoping to give Rafe time to get into Nina’s room and lock the door. “Sssh,” Miranda cooed, rubbing Beth’s arms. “He’s not going to hurt her darling I swear.”
“I can’t let him near her,” Beth cried. “He’s hurt her enough already.”
“Darling stay here, talk with me.” Miranda entreated. She continued to talk to Beth but her eyes were on the top of the stairs.
Rafe stepped into the tidy bedroom. It was decorated with warm shades of brown, and gold. And accented with cool greens. He’d always loved Nina’s room, it was so comfortable, warm and cozy. But now it wasn’t so inviting.
Nina sat at her window seat, staring out into the distance. Rafe jumped at her voice.
“Why did you come?” Her voice sounded rough; slowly she turned dull green eyes towards him. “Aren’t you finished with me yet?”
“I’ll never be finished with you, darling.” Rafe gently moved closer. “I had to come. I had to see you, to tell you the truth about that night.” She held up her hand to halt him.
“I don’t want to talk about that. Just go away, Rafe. Go away and leave me in peace.” She turned towards the window.
“No, I won’t go away. Listen, Nina, I know what happened. I know what you think you saw. It wasn’t me. It was my twin brother. It was him, he thought…” His words drifted off as she began to laugh. Weak and teary, it touched him so deeply, he felt his own eyes water.
“Your twin brother?” Nina’s lips lifted in a miserable smile. “I wondered what you might come up with. I thought you had more imagination than this. I wondered if I meant enough to you to come up with a good excuse but now I see I don’t.”
“Nina, I swear to you. It was him…”
“Stop it, Rafe. Stop it and get out.” Nina stood to face him, one finger pointing at the door.
Just then the connecting bathroom door crashed open and Beth and Miranda charged into the room. But Beth didn't stop, she went straight at Rafe with her fingers like claws. He caught her wrists in one hand while curling the other around her small waist to hold her still.
Beth kicked and screamed and writhed in his arms. “You let me go! Let me go right now! You did this to her! It’s because of you she can’t eat! I’ll kill you!” She shrieked. ‘You are nothing but a dirty, lying asshole!”
Nina reached for Beth. Tears she’d tried so hard to hold rolled down her cheeks. “Beth, baby, please. I can handle this. He was just leaving. We talked about this, now stop it.”
“I won’t let you hurt her again, you bastard!” Beth ignored Nina, her thin feet kicking at Rafe’s shins. Rafe grimaced in pain.
“Stop it Beth! I need to speak to her! This isn’t helping anything,” Rafe stormed as he tried to control the furious teenager.
“Rafe! Let her go!” Nina yelled, pulling on Beth’s arm.
“Let go of me!” Beth’s shrill voice added to the chaos. “Let me go!”
Miranda couldn’t believe how much pain she was feeling. Their pain was her pain. It was because of her that everyone was so troubled. “Let her go this instant Rafael!” Her heart in her throat, she yelled, “Rafe, release her this instant!”
“Stay out of this, mother!” Rafe shouted, all patience gone. “You’re supposed to keep her downstairs...”
Everyone froze at the sudden silence. Nina turned stricken eyes to Miranda. “What did he say?”
Miranda suddenly paled, she took a step back. Her lips worked frantically but the lie wouldn't come. Gray eyes darkened to gunmetal as she looked to Rafe for help.
Nina turned to Rafe, betrayal written on her every feature. “Did you just call her your mother?”
He couldn’t stand the pain in her voice. “Yes, but…” the slap of flesh against flesh echoed through the room when Nina’s hand connected with Rafe’s face.
“Damn, she has good aim!” Frank said from the open doorway as he entered. “Hi, sweetheart.” Frank stood beside his brother. “As you see, he already has some bruises, but if you want to add more, then be my guest. He’s too pretty for his own good...”
Nina couldn't believe her eyes. Her frantic stare flew from one brother to the other, then to Miranda. She approached Frank. “It was you?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, yes…” Before he could finish, her fist connected with his bruised cheek.
Frank flinched, but stood his ground.
“Get out!” Nina hissed, her eyes narrowed at the brothers.
Beth looked towards Miranda, her lower lip trembling, tears streaming down her young face. “So you lied to us, too.”
It was a statement rather than a question. Miranda knew the girl wanted her to deny it, but she couldn't. She wanted to look away from the disillusionment on Beth’s face. Nina glared at her as if she were the worst traitor. Pain as sharp as any she’d ever felt lanced through her. “Please, you have to listen.”
“To what?” Nina cried, tears clogged her voice. “More lies?” She paused, taking a deep breath to speak past the misery clogging her throat. Her anguish was now complete. “You were the mother I never had. You made me feel special, you made me believe that you loved us,” Nina said, her voice ragged with suppressed pain. She stopped abruptly and struggled to collect herself. “And you!” Her agonized face turned to Rafe. “I thought I would never find the kind of love I thought I had found with you. I began to hope we could spend the rest of our lives together.” Her pained eyes took in mother and son. “How could you two play with us like that?” Her eyes fell on Frank. “Excuse me, I mean you three. Was this some kind of sick game for you all?”
“Nina...,” Rafe begged, desperate to take her in his arms. He accepted her anger, but her tears held him helpless in their grip. With each crystal drop, he felt as though a nail was being hammered through his heart. “Nina, honey, you must believe me. Mother had nothing to do with this, it was all my fault.”
Nina released a deep and mocking laugh. She wasn't listening. “How stupid of me! Both of you came into my life at about the same time.” Her brow puckered in a frown. “How could I have not known? Even Danny saw it, he said you looked like Ms. Miranda, but I dismissed it. I told him it was only because you two had the same color eyes.” Nina’s green eyes looked into those of mother and two sons. “You’ve had your laugh, now go!”
Rafe was desperate. “Nina, it’s not like that. Please, you have to listen to me. I love you, damn it! I wanted to confess. I wanted to tell you everything, but it became too deep. I didn't want to lose you! I can't lose you, Nina! I need you in my life!”
“No, I won’t listen to this. I need you three to leave my house.” Her head held high, Nina pulled the crying Beth into her arms. “I believe you’ve done what you wanted to do.” Nina turned her attention to Beth. “The game is over.”
Miranda looked at Rafe, her heart in her throat. “Rafe?” That one word pulled at his already battered heart. He hadn't only hurt the woman he loved, but he’d hurt his mother. He’d caught her into his web of lies.
He went t
o Miranda. Gently taking her upper arm, he started to lead her and Frank from the room. “Let’s give them time to recover. Then we’ll return.”
“But she doesn’t want to see us again,” Miranda dabbed at the tears flowing down her cheeks. Her eyes never left the embracing pair who stood in the middle of the room.
The tremor that shook his mother’s voice only added to the pain Rafe felt. Once they were out the door Rafe closed it and leaned against it, his heart heavy with despair. He swallowed hard and vowed to himself that this wasn't the end. “I won’t let her go that easily.” Rafe stood in the hall with his mother and brother. “Listen, I won’t lose her, not for anything. Frank, I’m going in there and pry those two apart. I’ll hand Beth over to you. You take her downstairs and keep her there. Mother, you can talk to Beth. Try to get her to understand what I did. Frank, watch her. She’s very good with head butts. I’m not leaving this house until I get a ring on that woman’s finger!”
“But Rafe, don’t you think you should give them some time? I mean they’re hurting right now,” Miranda asked, sniffling.
“Time for what? To harden her heart against me? I’m hurting too, mother. I didn’t mean for this to happen, but it did. Now I have to fix it or I’ll lose her forever.”
“Alright son, but I can’t watch this, I’ll be waiting downstairs.” Miranda hurried away from them.
Rafe turned to Frank. “You ready?”
“Of course I’m ready. I haven’t met a woman I can’t handle,” Frank boasted.
“Well this one’s not yet a woman, so be careful.”
“Don’t you worry about me. You just go get your girl back.”
Rafe thrust the door open. Nina and Beth froze, allowing him just enough time to pull Beth away. Before she could think to resist, she found herself in the hall and Frank’s arms.
“Well, hello, cutie.” Frank gave her a lopsided grin as he lifted her into his arms.
Beth started to scream. She reached for the door but it was slammed in her face. A loud click of the lock contrasted the stunned silence.
“Come on, I have someone who wants to talk to you,” Frank said, close to Beth’s ear.