Black Rainbow

by J. J. McAvoy

  They looked stunned, but then again, who would dare raise their voice against the Blacks?

  “Tristan,” Bethan whispered, grabbing on to my sleeve and lightly bouncing Bellamy as she cried, “let’s go, we should be at the hospital.”

  “You go. But be careful. I’m going to go talk to someone,” I kissed her and Bellamy’s foreheads before walking back to my car.

  “Should we go? Should we go too? Will he want us there?” Mr. Black called out to me, and in my bitterness, I turned and shrugged.

  “Do whatever you want, Mr. Black, it’s what you people do best.”

  I got into my car, slamming the door as I drove off.

  I wasn’t done. I had left him alone in the hospital because one: he, in a brief moment of clarity asked for my help, and two: because I needed to see my family. No matter what happened today, he wasn’t going to leave her side…

  ‘Thea. Thea! No… please no. Come on—”

  I shuddered at the memory in my head; his screams kept repeating, as if he was the one who was dying. Levi rarely asked me to do anything for him. So this I would do. I owed it to him.

  Parking across the street, I got out of my car and noticed that the maids were all busy dragging an assortment of bags down to a waiting car.

  Odile came out last, with her newborn child strapped into his car seat. Her brown hair was pulled up into a messy bun, and she was dressed in a pair of jeans with sneakers. In all the time that I had known Odile Van Allen, she never wore sneakers outside of the gym.

  Leaning against her car, I folded my arms across my chest and waited for her to notice me. When she did, she looked away, pretending as though I wasn't there.

  “Levi said when you left the office that day you all but swore to him that the Van Allen’s would not take this sitting down. So we waited for the other shoe to drop. We waited and waited but no shoe. Not even a statement out of any of you.”

  “Go away Tristan,” she snapped, trying to put her child in the back seat.

  “Then today, in court, a judge took a longer than usual time to deliberate… almost like he wanted us all to believe he was truly thinking then matter over. But come on, Judge Thomas? A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge and I know Judge Thomas. We both do, he was born right here in Boston, and he used to donate to all the Van Allen charities. The man is a quick thinker and an even quicker judge. So tell me Odile, what did you offer him?”

  “I did nothing! The loss of your case was by your own doing—”

  “Then a man tries to murder Levi. But I know him too. Or at least I thought I did. He used to work on your father’s summerhouse as the groundskeeper. I thought I was going crazy, because the Odile I used to know wouldn’t try to commit murder.”

  “Read. My. Lips. I didn’t do anything!” she shouted, at me slamming the door to her car before walking over to the driver’s side.

  “I’m reading them but they’re lying to me! What about your father Odile?” I asked, and she stopped. “Since this case started, your father has been in New York, right?”

  “Yes,” she composed herself

  “Are you covering for him again?” I asked as I stepped between her and the driver’s door, preventing her from going anywhere.

  “Excuse me—”

  “I’ll skip to the end, since you seem to be in a hurry to leave town. You’re covering for him now like you covered for him when he killed your mother—”

  “He did not—”

  “Now how many times did he make you repeat that chant?” I asked as I walked around the car. “You told him about the affair, didn’t you? You called him while you and your mother were at the Woodstock fair, and told him. You told him that your mother was there with someone else—”

  “Shut up Tristan! You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

  “And when he got there, he killed her. Stabbed her... what was it? Fourteen times? That sounds like a crime of passion to me.”

  “No you’re wrong—”

  “Who else would you be covering for? Why keep lying for him? He tried to kill Levi today. Your father is a murderer Odile, and you are letting him go!”

  “No! It wasn’t him! It was—” She froze, her eyes wide.

  “Who was it then?”

  She walked around me, heading to her son’s side as he cried.

  “Tristan, leave it alone. Please, just leave all of this alone. Everything was fine—”

  “Everything was not fine!” I yelled once more.

  She flinched, then began rocking her son back and forth as his crying intensified at my outburst.

  Taking a deep breath I tried to calm myself. “If you’re scared—”

  “I’m not scared,” she lied, shaking her head.

  “Then say the truth. You are not fine. With this hanging over your head and in your heart, nothing is fine. Your mother was in love with Ben Walton. Doing this is not what she would have wanted. You lying for the rest of your life to everyone, to yourself, it isn’t want she would have wanted.”

  “Then she shouldn’t have embarrassed us like that!” she spat at me. “Right in the open, she was cheating on our father. She wanted to use me as her cover so that she could sleep with him! It’s her fault. This is all her fault.”

  It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

  Wait.

  “Embarrassed us. Our father. You’re speaking about two people. Your brother, you called your brother. Cole was what, eighteen? Nineteen? You didn’t want to tell your dad, so you called your brother.”

  Everything was starting to form in my mind.

  She didn’t answer.

  “What happened that night in the motel room Odile?”

  She shook her head as she wiped her tears away—.“This was done. It was over. Why did you have to bring it—”

  “Because this isn’t right. You know that. This is blackening you soul. Your smile used to light up rooms, and now you're a walking pit. The brother you think you are protecting is slowly killing you, and you won’t be the only one to suffer. That child in your arms, he will suffer worse than anyone, because he will never understand why you are the way you are. Why you will hurt him because you are hurting yourself. So please Odile, tell me, what happened.”

  She swallowed, still trying to wipe away her tears and with a choked sob, she began.

  “She took me to that stupid fair. She said it was just going to be us that weekend, just the girls. But then he came, and she thought that I was stupid, that she could just force me to be friends with his daughter, and I wouldn’t notice what was going on.

  “I was mad at her, and when I saw the pregnancy test in the bathroom that night, I just couldn’t take it anymore so I called Cole. I told him everything and he told me not to move, that he would be there soon. I stared at her and I realized that I hated her; I couldn’t stand the sight of her, so I went to sit outside. It was cold and she kept telling me to come in, but I told her to leave me alone. Finally Cole arrived, and he told me to stay in the car… I…”

  She covered her mouth and finally looked to me. “She screamed once. That was all I heard, but it took Cole so long to come out again, and when he did, he had changed. He threw away the trash, and got into the car with me.

  “The whole way home he said how we were a family—we were the Van Allens. He called her a disgrace, and told me what to say. But I didn’t realize he had killed her until she was on the news. Everything happened so fast and he said no one was going to talk to me. He told me to stay away, so I did. No one came—”

  “You have to testify to this Odile.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t. I just can’t. They will crucify me. Everything will fall apart. I can’t.”

  “I’ll help you. I will do everything in my power to protect you. But you need to testify because hearing it from you is much better than hearing it from a tape.”

  I reached into my front pocket and pulled out my phone.

  Just lik
e that, she broke down, and I pulled both her, and her crying son, into my arms.

  LEVI

  “Levi!” Selene yelled as she ran towards me.

  I had just called her, didn’t I? How did she get here so fast?

  Looking up at the clock, I realized that four hours had somehow slipped by. It had taken me some time after… after it had happened to call her. But she was the only person who I knew Thea needed most.

  “Have they said anything? Do we know anything? We couldn’t get an immediate flight out and they kept saying that she was in critical condition. And—”

  “Breathe,” a teenage boy, about seventeen or eighteen, said. He had dark brown skin and black eyes. He placed his hand on her back and rubbed it soothingly. I hadn’t noticed him until now.

  “I’m sure she’s fine—”

  “She was shot! She is not fine! I don’t understand!” I cried.

  Never in my whole life had I felt as useless as I did today. I was failing everyone and everything.

  “I haven’t heard anything yet,” I said to her, which only made her cry more.

  In the four hours that had passed, I had heard nothing.

  “Selene?”

  She broke away, wiping her eyes and turned to face a worried, older woman who was making her way towards us with the aid of a cane. She was short, with white hair and dark wrinkled skin. Though she was two generations above, there was no mistaking the resemblance. This was Grandma Cunning.

  “No word yet,” Selene said and the woman looked to me. “Grams this is Levi Black. He’s not just dad’s lawyer—”

  “Selene, it’s fine. It’s nice to finally meet you, ma’am.”

  I extended my hand towards her but she just stared at it and then back to me.

  “So you’re the one who’s dating my granddaughter?”

  “N—” I began, but Selene elbowed me.

  “Yes. Yes I am.”

  I couldn’t deny how good it sounded to say it out loud.

  She nodded, finally shaking my hand and taking a seat.

  “Can I get you anything?”

  “Don’t go outta your way for me son, just sit,” she said as she took a deep breath. “You saw it didn’t you? You were there.”

  I didn’t want to talk about it. I was trying to block it out. I made no reply.

  “You took this case for her?”

  “Yes,” I told her. There was no point in lying now. “But she made me believe.”

  She smiled, “Yes. She’s a passionate one.”

  “I know.”

  “You take a case on for her? So she takes a bullet for you?”

  I sat up, blinking as I thought about it. Her on the ground, staring up at me, trying to speak, but before she could her eyes had slipped shut. I thought she had died. Right in front of me, with my hand on her stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. I thought she had died, and I wanted to die alongside of her.

  No.

  Sniffling, I wiped the corner of my eye and sat back in my chair.

  “I don’t mean to chastise you, Thea does what she wants. It wasn’t your fault. But when she wakes up, you’d better knock some sense into her.” She paused and placed her hand over her mouth, and I took her other hand into my own. “You better tell her she can’t be jumpin’ in front of no bullets just because she’s in love with someone. I would yell at her myself, but I know I will end up crying right in the middle of it.”

  “That would make her feel worse. You should do it.” I forced a laugh. “She’s going to be fine.”

  Why didn’t I believe myself?

  “You better not pull any stunt like this, either of you. You’re always following her lead,” she pointed to the couple in front of us.

  Selene nodded, as she lay her head against her boyfriend’s chest.

  “I won’t let her,” he said to their grandmother, and she nodded.

  When the doctor came out, none other than Dr. Sharpay London, she looked over us all. Her eyes fell on me in shock, before she smiled knowingly. “Are you all Thea Cunning’s family?”

  “Yes,” her grandmother answered as I helped her up.

  “The bullet struck her liver, causing her to go into hypovolemic shock due to the loss of blood, which in turn caused her heart to give out. But she’s in a stable condition now and is currently asleep. She will make it.” She smiled. “A nurse will take you in to see her soon.”

  “Thank god,” Her grandmother said and I looked towards Sharpay. She smiled and nodded before she turned and walked back down the hall.

  Taking a deep breath, I fell back onto the chair.

  She was going to be fine.

  THEA

  “Urgh,” I groaned as I tried to force my eyes open. It was a lot harder than normal, and when I did, all I felt was pain.

  What the hell had happened to me?

  My eyes adjusted, and as I looked around, I noticed the IV drip in my arm and the heart rate monitor that stood beeping next to my bed.

  “What?”

  I tried to move my hands, but looking down, I saw that Levi was there holding it. He was asleep, and dressed in a pair of scrubs. His hair was messy, and he had a thick layer of stubble under his chin. He looked beat down.

  “You’re awake,” Selene smiled, as she came in with a pot of flowers.

  She was wearing color! Not a single black item on her…

  “What happened?”

  “You thought you were superman, and threw yourself in front of a bullet,” she snapped at me, as she put the flowers down to give me a hug. “Don’t scare me like that. Grams is so angry with you.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, as my memories began flooding back to me.

  She let go, and when she moved I noticed that Levi was now awake and sitting upright. He had a smile on his face with his arms crossed, half of his face was slightly red from sleeping on it, but I couldn’t care less. He just kept smiling at me and as he stood up, I took his hand and squeezed it tightly.

  “I’ll give you guys a moment before I call Grams,” Selene said, as she kissed my cheek and left.

  She looked so different now, like she had grown up overnight.

  “Are you alright? The pain, I mean?” He sat beside me.

  His caressed my cheek with the back of his hand and I found myself so overwhelmed with emotion that I couldn't speak, I just nodded.

  “Good, because I’m livid with you Thea Cunning. How could you be so stupid? How could you do that?”

  He kissed my forehead before cupping my cheek. I was trapped in his green eyes, unable to move.

  “I thought you were dead,” he whispered, as a tear dropped from his face onto mine.

  Reaching up, I wiped them away. “I’m sorry—no, that’s a lie. I wasn’t really thinking. I saw him moving towards you, I saw his intent and I just… But I’m glad I did. I’m glad I ran forward. You’re always saving—”

  “That is never the way I want you to save me, especially because you feel indebted to me.”

  “I don’t,” I said. Looking into his eyes I don’t know why I didn’t say it before. “I did it because I loved you… because I love you. I’d rather die than lose anyone I love.”

  The corners of his lips twitched and turned upwards, but he fought it. “You can’t say that now. I still have a whole speech—”

  “Later, Professor.” I kissed him.

  He kissed me softly… softer than any kiss we’d ever had before. It was as delicate as a first kiss, and all too soon he broke away.

  “If you think you’re running away from me now, then we should get your head checked too,” he whispered, brushing back my hair.

  I grinned. “Oh you have no idea what you’re getting yourself into. I now have the I-literally-took-a-bullet-for-you card.”

  “Well I have the I-helped-your-dad-get-out-of-prison card,” he said as he got up, and for a moment my heart rated quickened as I stared at the door.

  Instead of my father, it was Selene, my Grams and another bo
y that I had never met before, who was holding on to Selene’s hand.

  “I don’t understand,” I told them as my Grandmother walked over to me and took my hand. She kissed it with a large smile on her old face.

  “Just watch,” she replied as Levi turned on the television.

  The screen flickered once before turning on. Levi flipped through the channels and finally, there stood Tristan, making his way on to the screen and standing before a podium. The ticker underneath him read: Odile Van Allen’s SHOCKING confession.

  She sat behind the microphone, as beautiful and as regal as ever, with her head held high as she addressed the audience before her— “My name is Odile Van Allen, when I was twelve, my mother was murdered in a motel room in Woodstock, Connecticut. Her case made national headlines and our family was given an overwhelming amount of support from all of you… support that we didn’t deserve.

  “I was there when she went to go see her lover Ben Walton. She wasn’t kidnapped, we drove there. And she wasn’t raped, she loved him openly. The truth of the matter is that she was not murdered by Ben Walton.

  “Her killer was my brother, Cole Van Allen, who I had called to come get me that night. For seventeen years, I’ve held my tongue and allowed an innocent man to pay the price for my brother’s sins. And after seeing Cole’s actions once again today in the attempted murder of Levi Black, I realized how far this has gone, and I feel that I can no longer lie for him.

  “To Ben Walton’s family, I’m so sorry for all the pain we have caused you and the rift we have left in your homes. Though my words mean nothing at this point, I will say it again for all of you to hear; Ben Walton is an innocent man and I urge the six court of Connecticut to free him.”

  “What?” I cried wiping my face, “I… why? How did you—?”

  “Breathe,” Levi whispered taking my hand, “it’s over.”