CHAPTER 71 - WHY THE FUCK, SERIOUSLY, JUST WHY???!!!!

MICHAEL AND LINDSAY’S APARTMENT - WEDNESDAY LUNCHTIME

LOUNGE

LINDSAY

I am absolutely fucking livid! I bet she enjoyed every second of that! I stare at the picture on the screen. It is of my parents, Gilda, Ruth and Arno with the Caramels at the airport...with Gus and JR! I know that I am punishing myself and click on the next picture...and of course it gets a lot worse...Brian, Justin and the Caramels are with them! I force myself to stop looking and decide to go to the country club for lunch. I am still smarting from being thrown out of the restaurant and if I stay one more minute, I think I will break his nose again!

COUNTRY CLUB - AN HOUR LATER

That bottle of wine has gone down exceptionally well! Although I should’ve eaten a bit more. I wobble to the bathroom to splash my face. As I take a seat in the stall, I rest my head in my hands.

“Oh did you hear?” Someone twitters. “The Hobbs-Mallard marriage is over!”

“She will be quite the catch! Never had them together in the first place.”

“Me neither and now I know why. There was always something off with him. He’s gay!”

“No!” Her friend replies.

“Yes! He’s not out yet so it’s not official but apparently he bats for the other side.”

“Oh, but that’s not all…”

I listen in amazement to them talk about him. What happened at the company that he used to own and what his mother-in-law did, was absolutely addictive to listen to as I wait for them to leave. And now, I have the perfect plan!

THE MODERN HONOLULU - SATURDAY AFTERNOON

BRIAN AND JUSTIN’S SUITE

JUSTIN

I still can’t quite believe it! We’re eating lunch in Honolulu and Gus is still refusing to let the sonogram picture out of his sight. Arno is now frantically calling Hunner to get the builders in to get the room ready…

Start of flashback

DR SHAW’S PRIVATE MEDICAL PRACTICE - FRIDAY MORNING

DR SHAW

This is why I don’t go on holidays! I have spent the last few months undoing the fuck ups that my now ex-medical partner has done! And now I have the best news to deliver. As they come in I still can’t believe that Ruth is pregnant and its Arno’s...at least he got that right!

“Right, lie down Ruth.” She gets comfortable and then I lift her top and apply the gel. Gus is wide eyed and when I show him Hiccup in her tummy. He can’t quite believe it.

“So when does Hiccup come out?” Gus looks at the picture excitedly.

“Well now that I have got everything in order. Seriously that man was a nightmare. On the 11th August or thereabouts.” I wait for realisation to dawn.

“Uh that’s three months away.” Arno points out.

“Yes, you’re six months pregnant. You pretty much got pregnant immediately after birth.”

I have heard of a deafening silence but not a catatonic one. Arno opens his mouth and closes it again. “S-s-six months.” Justin stammers.

“How the flip-flapping heck can I be six months and this flat!” Ruth gasps and reaches for her mom. Brian, in turn, helps Arno to sip some water, having managed to get his head from between his knees.

“You have Brian and Justin to thank. They made you super receptive to Arno’s sperm considering his low count and et voila!”

End of flashback

BRIAN

“Earth to Justin! Stop looking so smug! It could’ve been either one of us that made her super receptive, not necessarily just you.” I growl in his ear and he tries to wiggle away from the heat of my breath.

“Stop it!” He shivers. “We’ve got to concentrate on Rage Unleashed really hard now!”

“I am thinking hard right now.” I murmur and watch out for Gus on the balcony. We’ve not told him about being a godfather yet. But he like everyone else is looking anywhere but at us.

“Brian...mmm!” I stick my tongue down his throat and quickly carry him to the bathroom as he starts to suck ravenously on it.

“Hurry!” He begs and I stick my hand down his shorts and pull him out, before wrapping my hand round both our cocks. “Oh God…!” He groans and latches onto my pulse point. I jack us off quickly and he screams his release into my neck. I gasp mine into his hair. It takes a few minutes for us to hear the hard knocking and loud calling of Nancy.

“Be right there!” I call out and hold Justin up. It takes a few minutes for us to get out and when we do the looks on everyone’s faces make me frown. “What’s happened?”

Where’s Gus?” Justin looks around.

“With Gilly, Gummy and the Caramels, on the beach.” I look at Nancy and as well as tears, she looks absolutely incandescent. “She’s surpassed herself this time. I need you to get Mel on the phone and then I will explain.” It doesn’t take long for Mel to pick up.

“Are you calling to be smug about the sandy beaches?” She laughs.

“No. This is about Lindsay. I want you to start proceedings to have her rights to Gus removed…”

“Nancy!” Ronald gasps.

“What the fuck did she do?!” I bark.

“She ga-gave Chris Hobbs your home address.” Nancy tells us before sobbing. “How could she? How could she and call herself a mother?!”

“How the fuck did she get in touch with him?!” Justin yells and I pull him to me, feeling him shaking.

“Nancy darling, please gather yourself.” Ronald is rocking her gently. Everyone is just so stunned that nobody is saying anything. Nancy clears her throat hard and takes the tissue from him to wipe her eyes. “Now calmly explain.”

“Apparently she was in the country club and overheard about the ending of the Hobbs-Mallard marriage. He’s not out yet but that’s neither here nor there. It seems that on Thursday evening she paid a visit, with mindless Michael in tow, to his residence and told him that you told his mother-in-law about the events of the prom that led to the breakdown of his marriage.”

“That....” Justin growls.

“But amazingly enough, he did the right thing...wait, let me finish.” Nancy stops us. “He went to Felicity Mallard, his soon to be ex-mother-in-law, because he thought she was testing him. When he described the people he thought she sent, she recognised the description of Lindsay and called Lynette, who called me.”

“Okay, so what do we do now?” Justin’s voice sounds stronger than I know he’s feeling.

“Leave it with me.” Mel orders. “Nancy, can you text me Lynette’s number and I’ll deal with everything? Also, I think that Debs and Jennifer should fly over. It’s at times like this when only the moms will do.”

“I agree.” Ruth decrees. “Let me call them and explain. I think the further they are away from the clownish cunts the better! Arno, go get mom. Ronald, can you go be with the kids and tell her she has some vermin to remove?!”

I feel Justin start to fall apart, but can’t help but marvel as they rally to protect us. “C-can we h-have the room?” I stammer and lead Justin to the bedroom.

“Of course.” Nancy nods and starts to shepherd them out. When it is just me and her by the door, she kisses my cheek. “We’ve got you. Don’t worry, we will keep you safe.”

BEDROOM

An hour later, we’ve both stopped crying and are now angry. So very, very angry!

“She dies and I kill her.” He snarls. “It’s the only way!”

“And I’ll hide the fucking body!”

LINDSAY AND MICHAEL’S APARTMENT - TUESDAY A WEEK LATER

LINDSAY

Michael and I have heard nothing since we did what we did. Of all the people we could contact, we contacted him! We being drunk is no excuse! It’s been over a week since we did it and since nobody has come to see us, we start to relax. I know how the WASP network works; they attack hard and fast. So surely, we must have gotten away with it!

“So what are we going to do to...I’ll get it!” I call out and head to the door. I’m surprised to see Mel, Debs, Jennifer, my mother and Gilda outside. “Did we arrange to…”

“Inside! Shut up! Sit down!” Mother spits.

I hurry to the lounge and Michael looks up in surprise.

“Mother, what is this…” I begin.

“You are a cunt. A selfish, manipulative, egomaniacal cunt!” She seethes and I blink. “I never thought that this would happen, but it has. I have two daughters…”

“I know that…”

“And neither of them are you!” She rails. “I have Lynette, whom I birthed and love and now I have Mel! She has been more of a daughter, a mother and friend than you ever were or will be! You have your inheritance, spend it wisely and carefully. You are dead to me. Dead!”

“Mo…”I gibber.

“You may call me Mrs Peterson!” She barks.

“Michael.” Mel turns to him. “You will never get your rights back. Never! And this is a restraining order, barring you from being anywhere near Brian, Justin or the children...any of them. It doesn’t just mean their homes and businesses anymore but every-fucking-where they are, you are not. And the same applies especially to you, Miss Peterson!”

“What is…” He starts.

“Did you or did you not go to see Christopher Hobbs?” Jennifer asks, quietly.

“I… We...” I try to explain it away but they aren’t having any of it.

“The answer to that question is ‘yes we did drag our drunken asses to his house and gave Brian and Justin’s address to him!’” Debs bellows.

“We were...OWWW!” I scream as Jennifer’s hand connects twice across my face. My skull feels like it’s been crushed on either side of my head.

“He tried to kill my son!” She screams. “You are so lucky it is us you are dealing with!”

Debs pushes Michael back down as he tries to get up. “Move again Michael and you’ll need a proctologist to remove my foot from your ass,” she growls. He settles back into the seat beside me, trembling. Like me, I don’t think he’s ever been so scared.

Jennifer addresses us again. “As I was saying, you’re lucky it’s us because Emmett, Ted, Hunner, Ben and Carmine wanted to come and have a chat with a lot more physicality, if you get my meaning. The only reason Brian and Justin aren’t here is because of Carl, who told them that he would arrest them if they took one step on the property. I think Justifiable Homicide was even mentioned, which I am oh so fucking close to committing myself!”

Tears are streaming down my face and I am sure I can taste blood. “Please!” I whimper. “I think we should…”

“One more word bitch snitch, and I will make sure you never smile again!” Jennifer snarls. And I don’t think I have ever been more terrified of her than at this moment. I’m actually quaking internally.

“As well as those papers, these papers are to strip you of your parental rights to Gus, Lindsay. The fact that you went willingly to the man that tried to kill his stepfather and everything else you have done…”

“No, Mel! Please!” I beg.

“And these…” Gilda comes to stand in front of us. “These are papers terminating your tenancy with immediate effect. And those men out there are going to clear this place after you move out. We will send your things on to whatever address you give us, but you are going right now!”

“YOU HEARD HER...NOW MOVE!” Debs bellows. “Take what little of your shit you need and get the fuck out!”

“Mother…” I whimper.

“You don’t have one. Not anymore.” She retorts.

“And neither do you!” Debs snarls at Michael. “Now get your asses up and grab the needful in the next five minutes! Or you leave in what you’re standing in!”

BRITIN

LOUNGE

BRIAN

I just stare at him! He did not just do that! “I get it you are angry but you don’t get to do that...ever!” I snarl. “How bad do you want them to win?!” I stalk up to him as he had backed away but in doing so he tripped over the rug and I am standing over him, all six foot two of me. He starts to scramble back but I grab his ankle and pull him back under me, pinning him to the floor. “Stop it now!” I snarl at him.

“No! You fucked her and now she...mmmfff!” I slam my mouth against his and wince as his teeth catch my tongue. But I need to bring him back, and brute force is the only way sometimes with him. He is pushing against me and pulling my hair so I pull his and kiss him harder. I feel his heart hammering in his chest and he starts to fight harder.

This is different... he seems really scared! He’s kicking and punching and almost ripping the hair out of my skull. What the fuck is going on?!

I lift my head and he starts to scream. “No! No! No! Don’t! Don’t!”

“Justin! JUSTIN! It’s me, calm down it’s me!” I yell at him and try to gather my traumatised husband into my arms but still he fights.

“GET AWAY FROM ME SAP, I WOULD RATHER DIE!” He screams.

Sap?!

“JUSTIN, IT’S ME BRIAN!” I bellow at the top of my lungs, thankful that Ruth and Arno have the Caramels.

He stops punching and looks at me. But his eyes are unfocused; he looks like a wild animal. He’s still trying to get me off him but I am not moving, then I feel the wetness. He’s pissed himself.

Oh please God no?!

“Justin. Look at me, please look at me.” I beg and slowly his eyes start to come into focus.

“Brian?” He croaks. “What happened?”

“You slapped me…” I explain gently.

“I-I slapped you?” He looks at me in disbelief.

“Yeah and you seem to have pissed yourself.”

“I am so sorry for slapping you. I don’t know what came over me…”

“What did he do?” I ask.

“Who?” He shakes his head as if to clear whatever his memory is trying to bring back.

“Sapperstein.”

He goes absolutely pale and his eyes widen.

“Sa…”

“You said you would rather die.” I whisper. “Please tell me.” I look into his eyes and he wraps his arms and legs around me and I manage to get us up and shuffle back to the sofa. Fuck the material...I replace the whole fucking thing, but I need to hear this...and he needs to speak it aloud. It’s something he should have done long ago, like with what led to that unfortunate situation with the fiddler. God, he’s carried and hidden so much by himself! I listen with my heart breaking as the tears pour out of him while he tells me what Sapperstein tried to do. I am so proud when he said he kicked him in the teeth and got away.

“Are you going to…” He begins.

“Take you upstairs and give you a nice soft bath...yes. Put you in your wuffy-fluffies so you can get some sleep...yes. Call and make an appointment with Dr Alex Winter, so that we can talk about everything we should’ve talked about...yes. But have you leave my life absolutely fucking not! Okay?”

Silence.

“Say okay.”

“Okay.”

I lower my head and kiss his tremulous mouth and sigh in relief when he responds.

GILDA’S APARTMENT - 10 MINUTES LATER

GILDA

I have had enough of this shit! Lindsay and Michael are supposedly packing but Lindsay is using her injuries to stall for time. Well that shit stops right now!

“Come on ladies, let’s help this along!” I order and we stalk to their rooms. As I suspected with idiot boy, he’s laying down and reading a comic but jumps up when we come in. He can’t seriously think that defiance is the way to go right now. This little punk is gon’ learn today!

“You carried him for nine months and he’s not grown that much, but you reckon you need some help?” I look at Debs and she nods. He looks confused, which I now understand means he looks almost normal, for him anyway. But it doesn’t take too long for him to catch on when we each grab an arm and a leg to carry him outside and throw him onto the lawn! Taking out the trash has never been so much fun.

“Nancy! Jennifer!” I yell as Lindsay runs into the bathroom and locks the door. She came out when she heard Michael screaming to be released.

“Open the fucking door, Lindsay!” Mel orders. “It will be so much more dignified!”

“A few more minutes! I need to cover...” She pleads.

“Your few minutes were up 10 minutes ago! Now open up and walk out or…” Mel’s sentence is cut off when Debs pulls her out of the way. Her eyes go wide as Nancy and I barge the door. We aren’t at all surprised to see Lindsay cowering in the bath when it flies open. Another stalling tactic that won’t work! I take a step forward but am shocked when I’m unceremoniously moved out of the way, momentarily thinking that mealy-mouth manchild dared to come back in here. However, I laugh when I see the reason why.

Jen storms in and grabbing a handful of her hair, pulls her out. “You are leaving now!” I watch with immense pleasure as she drags Lindsay all the way out by her hair. She trips and stumbles a bit but Jen is not slackening her grip at all. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lindsay comes away from this resembling a bald chicken, or at the very least with patches of hair missing. As we reach the outside, Jen shoves Lindsay’s head from her hand so she can join Sir Jerk, still looking up from the lawn. Then Jen adds a kick to her in the ass which sends Lindsay sprawling face first onto the ground. HA! So much for dignity! She and Michael now look like twins with their noses out of joint, even though I’m not sure if hers is broken. It’s definitely bruised though and it’s taking everything in me not to give Jen a standing ovation. But first things first...

“Change the locks!” I order one of the guys.

I stalk over to my former tenants; his nose has started to bleed again. “Know this...” They back up a bit and I smile. “The shit that is your life has only just begun.”