Enemies and Playmates (10 page)

Lauren remained where she stood. She couldn’t keep walking away. Each time she did that, it was like saying this was okay. She took part in allowing her father to continue his abuse. Of her mother. Of all of them.

Lauren met her father’s stare. His cold anger radiated off him in waves. She forced herself not to flinch. “No woman deserves to be hit,” she said.

Alex closed the space between them. Kara quickly said, “Lauren, please go up -”

“Quiet!” Alex’s demanded. “Apparently Lauren feels as if she has something worth contributing here.”

Determined not to be bullied, Lauren stood firm. Putting as much confidence into her voice as she could muster, she said, “You have no right to hurt anyone.”

Alex chuckled without humor. He smoothed his Ballantyne cashmere sweater, brushed imaginary lint from his black wool Prada slacks. Finally he met Lauren’s eyes. “The treatment given is that which is deserved,” he said. “Therefore you are incorrect. I have every right.”

He held Lauren’s gaze for a moment longer. His eyes burned hot with fury. But something else burned there as well. That nameless emotion sent a chill down Lauren’s spine.

After a moment, Alex turned to Kara. “I’m tired,” he said. “You and I are finished with this subject. Do not bring it up again.”

Alex disappeared up the stairs. Lauren and Kara stood in the silent shadows until the bedroom door clicked closed. Then Kara let out a soft whoosh of breath. She said, “Thank you.”

So many unanswered questions. And it seemed they’d remain unanswered, at least for now. Lauren agreed to let it go, muttered a good night, and headed back up to her room. She climbed in bed and stared at the ceiling. Knowing she would never get back to sleep, she simply lay there, letting the scenes of her life play over in her mind.

***

Seated at the kitchen table, Lauren was halfway through her second cup of coffee. The caffeine was doing little to snap her out of the groggy half-sleep state she’d been in since being jarred awake a couple of hours earlier. The sudden slam of the car door in the driveway sounded like thunder in the silent room. Stephen fumbled with the back door. Lauren made no move to get up and help. His antics were the last thing she needed this morning.

Finally Stephen managed to twist his key in the lock. He stumbled into the kitchen, pushing the door closed with too much force. He didn’t seem to notice as the glass pane in the door rattled. A moment later he realized Lauren was sitting at the table. His eyes widened, then he chuckled. “Hey sis,” he said. “Didn’t expect you to be up.”

“Why don’t you go to bed,” Lauren said. “Dad got in a couple of hours ago and he’s in a lousy mood. Don’t give him any excuses to take it out on you.”

Stephen took a long swallow from the orange juice container. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve. “Since when does he need an excuse?”

That familiar knot tightened in Lauren’s stomach. She wasn’t sure if she should be more concerned about her mother or her brother. Sometimes all she wanted was to hide somewhere and let it all go on without her.

“Do us both a favor,” Lauren said, “and stay quiet and out of his way today.”

Stephen shrugged. “I need to crash anyway.”

Lauren felt relief as Stephen staggered from the room. That relief was quickly replaced by guilt. She should be doing more for her brother than shooing him off to bed. But she didn’t know what she could do on her own and didn’t have the energy to figure it out.

A dull thud came from the hallway. Lauren dropped her head in her hands, rubbed her eyes. No doubt Stephen was bouncing off walls in his attempt to get to his room. She was about to get up and check on him when a much louder thump was followed by glass shattering. She ran to the living room to find Stephen and one of the hallway paintings heaped on the floor. Shards of glass now decorated the side table.

Alex descended the stairs. He stopped at the bottom landing, pulling his robe tight and glaring at Stephen. “What happened?” he said. “And where have you been?”

“Don’t you dare touch either of them,” Kara said. She hurried down the stairs, her facial muscles tight, her eyes filled with determination. She glared at Stephen. “You go to bed,” she said. “We’re going to have a long talk later today.”

Stephen’s gaze dropped to the floor. His shoulders slumped forward as he trudged past his parents, up the stairs, and to his room. Alex’s eyes bore into him. Then he quickly spun around, the force of his rage directed at Kara. “Just what exactly do you think you are doing?”

Kara glanced at Lauren. She turned back to Alex, inhaled deeply. “I don’t want you hitting him anymore,” she said.

“My, you’ve suddenly developed quite a bit of courage.” Alex took a step closer to Kara. His voice was low but sharp. “Or is it stupidity? Have you forgotten your place here?”

Alex raised his hand as if to slap Kara. But then he let his arm drop to his side. He murmured, “You and I will deal with this privately.”

His eyes lingered on Kara, cold and angry. Then he cast a glance at Lauren, some unknown emotion flickering behind his gaze, before he stormed upstairs and back to his room.

9

Lauren pulled off her cream-colored silk blouse and tossed it onto her bed with the rest of the rejects. Clad in her bra and panties, she continued to search her closet. Why was she having such a hard time dressing for this date? She and Jesse were only going to the beach. This shouldn’t be such a big deal.

A sweater would probably be her best choice. The temperature was supposed to reach the mid sixties but it would be cooler on the water. She yanked open her dresser drawer and rummaged through her assortment of sweaters. Too formal. Too bulky. Nothing seemed right. Now what?

She opened another drawer, found her purple, short-waisted sweatshirt with Tweety on the front, and pulled it over her head. Perfect for the beach. It was warm, comfortable. It was also not the least bit sexy. But it would have to do. She had run out of things to try on.

Choosing a pair of jeans didn’t put her in quite as bad a frenzy. Finally dressed and as ready as she would ever be, she went downstairs to wait for Jesse. The house was silent. Thankfully, everyone was sleeping in after all the pre-dawn chaos.

No way could she have gone back to sleep. Still edgy and unable to relax, Lauren wandered from room to room. Ordinarily she paid little attention to the things in her parents’ home. Now she realize how much stuff her parents had accumulated. A velvet sofa, antique pottery, ridiculous bronze sculptures. Everything from the largest piece of hand-carved furniture to the smallest crystal candleholder was picked for the statement it would make. Their life was all about appearances.

How nice it must be to live in a home where the furniture was purchased for comfort and the flatware didn’t require a separate insurance rider. Lauren had yet to see Jesse’s apartment but she couldn’t imagine he had much use for twelve-hundred dollar candleholders. Life with him would be much simpler, happier. A healthy environment for children to grow up in.

Lauren’s eyes widened as she realized the direction her thoughts were heading. The sound of Jesse’s car pulling into the driveway saved her from having to examine those thoughts too closely.

Jesse had brought donuts, a tea for Lauren, and a root beer for himself. She smiled when she reached in the bag and found her favorite, a blueberry filled donut. In no time she was comfortably settled in for the long ride to the tip of Cape Cod.

Jesse thought a moment. “About a year ago this one guy came into my office,” he said. “It was a Wednesday morning. I even remember the time. Eleven-thirteen.”

“He must have made quite an impression.”

“You could say that.” Jesse laughed, shook his head. “He looked pretty normal. Early thirties, clean cut, short reddish hair. He was wearing brown Dockers, a beige long-sleeved oxford shirt. Brown suede Timberland shoes. And he was carrying a pretty big black umbrella, despite the fact that it was sunny outside.”

“He spent about fifteen minutes grilling me about my client confidentiality, my ability to maintain secrecy while I worked, my credentials, etc. During this time, he positioned a chair halfway between the door and the windows. Then he turned it sideways so he could see both while we talked.”

Jesse took a moment to switch lanes and maneuver around two tractor trailers. Then he said, “He wanted to hire me to track down the commander of these aliens and find out their mission.”

Jesse laughed. “I told the guy I’d consider his case and get back to him. After he left, I made a few calls. Turns out the aliens following him were in fact his family members. He’d been recently diagnosed with schizophrenia. They were all worried but were in disagreement over how to go about committing him to a psych ward. His father and one of his sisters refused to drag the guy in against his will. Thought that would make his condition worse.”

“So what did you do?” Lauren asked.

“I went to see the guy the next morning,” Jesse said. “Told him the aliens were actually friendly and working with the government. They needed him for a classified mission to save the world.”

“His family prearranged everything at this private hospital. I drove him straight there, told him it was the secret headquarters. He walked inside happy as could be. Even saluted me at the door.”

“Nothing like a happy ending.”

Lauren suddenly realized how much she smiled when she was with Jesse. His easy relaxed nature was contagious. She impulsively leaned across the seat and kissed his cheek. The action surprised her as much, if not more, than it surprised him.

They passed the remainder of the ride easily, with steady, comfortable conversation. Almost two hours later, Jesse swung the Mustang into an empty parking lot in Provincetown. The beach in front of them stretched on for miles. Waves crashed effortlessly to the shore. The sky was a pale blue, a hint of the approaching winter. A slight brisk wind blew but the sun was warm and inviting.