Stanton Series Box Set: Stanton Series (Box Set)

by T L Swan

  My buzzer sounds. “Mr Murphy?” Ella asks.

  I buzz her back. “Yes Ella,” I reply.

  “Bridget is here for your lunch meeting,” she replies.

  “Send her in,” I buzz back.

  I’m taking Didge out for lunch. She’s flatter than flat and I am desperately trying to pick her up. She’s being strong for Joshua and I am being strong for her. Let me rephrase that. I’m acting strong for a lot of people but I am crumbling on the inside like a flake.

  The door opens and her gorgeous face comes into view. “Hi.” She smiles sadly.

  “Hey Marx girl.” I smile.

  She smiles and kisses my cheek. “Where are you taking me for lunch?” she asks.

  I smirk. “Anywhere you want,” I reply.

  She bites her lip as she thinks. “Can we go to McDonald’s?” she asks hopefully.

  I smile sadly. “We can,” I answer as I inhale deeply. Oh, I so don’t want to go there. “I’m eating a salad,” I reply.

  “Oh please.” She rolls her eyes. “Eating a salad in McDonald’s is like going to a hooker for a hug. What’s the damn point?”

  I smirk and shake my head. “Just let me finish up here. I won’t be long.” I start to shut down my computer and she sits at the desk and starts to scroll through her phone.

  “Is Ben here?” she asks.

  My eyes rise to meet hers. “No. What’s going on with you two anyway?” I ask.

  She shrugs sadly. “Nothing. We have hardly talked since Tash went missing. He blames himself. I blame myself. It’s a vicious circle.”

  I frown. “Have you tried to talk to him?”

  She shakes her head again. “The thing is, I am just so sad.” She blows out a breath. “I can’t even focus on anything, let alone think about a relationship.” She shakes her head again. “I don’t have the energy. Too hard basket.” She sighs.

  I nod as I continue to shut down the computer. “I know what you mean. Nicholas has been staying with me and yet he is the last thing on my mind,” I reply.

  “Shit,” she whispers. “We are a messed up bunch aren’t we.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “Unfortunately, yes.”

  My phone rings. It’s Ben. “Hi,” I answer.

  “Clear Joshua’s office,” he snaps.

  I frown. “Why?”

  “Just do it!” he snaps and then hangs up.

  I frown again as my eyes stay on the phone in my hand. That was weird. “Um, Didge, just wait here for a minute. I have to do something.”

  “Yeah, sure thing,” she replies as she goes back to her phone.

  I walk into the office to find Nicholas and Jesten talking to Brock as they scribble down notes. The three of them are bouncing ideas off each other about Coby Allender a lot lately.

  Ok, this is uncomfortable. “Guys, Ben just rang and asked me to clear the office,” I announce.

  They all look at each other. “Why?” Jesten asks.

  I shake my head. “I don’t know to be honest. Ben just rang.” I am cut off by the door banging open and Ross comes flying through the air onto the floor. What the hell?

  Ben storms in and picks up Ross and punches him hard in the face.

  “Ben!” I yell. “What are you doing?”

  He drags Ross up by the shirt and sits him in the chair and punches him again as hard as he can in the stomach. Ross gasps for breath and doubles over in pain.

  My hands go to my head. “Oh my god. What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ben?” I whisper angrily.

  “Get out, Murph and Nicholas,” Ben yells.

  Nicholas immediately stands and the other two, Jesten and Brock, who obviously know what’s going on, fold their arms ready for the show.

  “Start talking fucker or I will kill you,” Ben sneers.

  Ross starts shaking his head nervously. “It was just meant to scare him. It was never a hit.” He shakes his head. “I swear to you. It went too far—it was never meant to go that far,” he whimpers.

  I frown and my horrified eyes flick to Nicholas’s.

  “I don’t even know these fucking guys!” Ross yells.

  “Oh, so you ordered the hit on him.” Jesten smiles. “I can’t wait to watch this.” He smiles sarcastically.

  “What?” I stammer.

  Ben punches him again three times in succession. “Stop it!” I yell.

  “Adrian, let’s leave them to it, Nicholas says nervously as he grabs my hand to drag me out of the room.

  “Somebody tell me what the hell is going on!” I snap.

  “Old mate here has had the red dreadlock dude at his house. I watched him on his driveway through his security vision pay him $1000,” Ben sneers. “What did you pay him for?” he yells again.

  My eyes glare at Ross. “Are you kidding?” I scream. “Are you kidding me? They could have killed him!”

  Ross shakes his head. “I swear to you, Adrian. I never meant it to go that far. They were just supposed to rough him about. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he pleads.

  I don’t believe this. Ross the weasel is behind the attempted hit. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

  Ben grabs Ross by his hair and pulls his head back. “You are going to pay pretty boy,” he sneers.

  “Ben, stop!” Bridget’s voice snaps out.

  Ben’s mortified eyes meet Bridget’s. “Who the hell are you?” she screams at him.

  The room falls silent and time seemingly stands still. Ben’s chest rises and falls with deep regretful breaths.

  “Who are you?” she whispers through tears. “Is this the real you? Is this who you are Ben?”

  I shake my head and hold my hand out for her as sympathy fills me. “Let’s go, baby,” I murmur. This is abysmal. I lead Bridget out of the room as I myself try to reconcile a side to Ben that I have never seen before.

  I don’t even know where to start with this one.

  Joshua

  I lie in the bed in the cell as I think of my beautiful Natasha. Even the memory of her lifts me from my darkened place. Her soft hair, her beautiful smile and dimples, the way she loved me and how much she hated horses. I smile at her hate of horses and then my face falls—my horses. I need to let Jasper go to a person who will love him as much as I do. It’s not fair that he be forgotten in all of this. My eyes flick around the depressing small cell, my new home. How do you adjust to this? I can’t. I can’t live here for the next thirty-one years. I’m supposed to be in Willowvale with Natasha and our children and my horses. It’s not meant to be like this—this was never how it was meant to end.

  “Hey, are you awake Fuck Off?” I hear the young kid across the hall call out.

  “No,” I reply flatly.

  “Are you going to get out of bed today?” he asks.

  “No,” I reply. Why bother?

  “Come on. Why don’t you come to the gym?”

  My eyes flick to him. “You saw what happened last time I went to the gym,” I reply. I got into a fight with three other men over nothing. I don’t even know how it started.

  “Come on. It’s nearly the end of May. It’s been a week since your court case, and you need to start leaving your cell.”

  I frown as I sit up in realisation. I was supposed to be getting married in three days. A deep sadness overtakes me as I remember Natasha‘s wedding dress. She would have been such a beautiful bride. All I have ever wanted for as long as I can remember is to be with Natasha on our wedding day. I sit on the side of the bed and put my elbows on my knees and my head into my hands deep in thought. I want to see you again baby. How can I see you again? My dark eyes flick around the empty cement room I am in—this isn’t living. I would rather be in hell than here… or in heaven with my beautiful girl. My mind drifts off into a dark place where I imagine myself meeting up with Natasha. I need to be with her and there is only one way to do that.

  I will be completely yours, Natasha, on our wedding day, in death as I was in life. I won’t let you be alone anymore… see you soon
, presh… I’m coming, my love.

  I stand and move to the bars of my cell. “Hey,” I call.

  The young kid looks up surprised, smiles broadly and walks over to my cell.

  My eyes meet his. “You know everyone in here. Can you get me something?” I ask.

  “Like what?” he asks.

  “Heroin,” I reply.

  He frowns. “What do you want that shit for?” he frowns. “You’re not a junkie.”

  I bite my lip as I think of the appropriate answer.

  “I can transfer a million dollars today for you,” I reply.

  His face drops. “You will transfer me a million dollars to get you some heroin?” he repeats. “How much do you want?”

  I lift my chin defiantly.

  “A lot.”

  I sit at the window of the visiting room as I wait for Cameron and the door opens and his smiling face comes into view. A sense of calm sweeps over me and I smile in return.

  “Hey mate,” he says softly into the phone.

  “Hi,” I smile in return.

  “You ok. What’s wrong?” Cameron asks.

  I shake my head. “Nothing, why?”

  He frowns. “You have never rung me and asked me to come down here to see you, so I thought something may have been wrong. I was coming down on Saturday.” He hesitates as his eyes hold mine.

  “To visit me on my wedding day,” I reply.

  He nods as he bites his bottom lip.

  “Can you do something for me?” I ask.

  He nods. “Sure.”

  “Can you go and pick up my suit from the tailors please?”

  He frowns. “Which one?”

  “My wedding suit,” I reply.

  His questioning eyes hold mine. “What do you need that for?” he asks as his mind ticks over.

  I shrug. “I just want it.” I pause before I ask him the next question. “Can you pick up my wedding ring also?”

  “Yeah ok. I will swing by next week,” he replies casually.

  “No, now. Today,” I answer without thinking.

  He frowns. “Josh, why do you need your wedding suit and your ring now?”

  I bite my bottom lip as I think of the appropriate answer. “I just want them in the house before the wedding date, that’s all,” I reply. “If we don’t pick them up now I may never get them.”

  He nods sadly as his eyes stay glued on mine.

  Tears fills my eyes as I realise this is the last time I will see my beloved brother. We have glass between us and I can’t even hold him.

  “Josh, we are going to get you out of here. You just need to hold on, ok? I promise you we are working as hard as we can and we have leads, new leads,” he pushes out in a panic.

  I nod calmly.

  “Can you look after our mother?” I ask. “And Adrian, can you watch over Adrian?”

  He frowns. “Joshua, you can look after them. They need you. We all need you,” he whispers as his eyes glass over.

  “I love you Cam,” I whisper through the lump in my throat. “I want you to know that.”

  He puts his hand on the glass. “Josh, what are you thinking? You’re scaring me. Please don’t do anything stupid. You are down. It’s ok to be down. It’s just a very hard time. But hold on. We are going to get you out of here and then we can move to Willowvale and…” he pauses.

  “What Cameron? What can we do? Carry on like none of this happened. Return to normalcy,” I sneer.

  His tear-filled eyes hold mine.

  “Natasha is dead and alone because of me. I failed to protect her when she needed me the most,” I reply in a whisper.

  He shakes his head. “No, Natasha is with her father and she is watching what you do. She is still with you and I need you, Joshua. We all need you,” he pushes out in a rush.

  I put my hand up against the glass to rest on his and smile sadly. I need to get out of here before I lose my shit. “Just pick the stuff up for me today, please.” I stand abruptly.

  “Sit back down. I want to talk to you some more,” he pleads.

  I shake my head. “I’ve got to go,” I whisper through my hurt.

  “Got to go where?” he snaps.

  “Cam, don’t,” I whisper.

  “Do you want to see Amelie?” he asks hopefully. “She rang yesterday. She’s desperate to see you.”

  I turn back to him and frown. I would like to see Am one last time. I need to make peace with her. I nod. “Yes, please. I would like to see her,” I whisper.

  He smiles as he nods. “Ok, that sounds good. I will bring her down with Adrian on Friday.”

  I frown and then nod. “Ok,” I reply

  Natasha

  I sit scrunched up in the bottom of the wardrobe in the darkness. In my hands I have two hooks that I have unscrewed from the tops of coat hangers, my pitiful weapons. A strange car pulled up four hours ago. Somebody else is here in the house but nobody has come to my room yet. They are probably outside digging my grave. The taste of bile fills my mouth—I have never been so scared. I don’t know what they’re doing. I haven’t a frigging clue. The televisions are all showing different dates, Joshua has been arrested and now someone has turned up here. They must be going to get rid of me. I am no longer of any use. I put my hands over my face, oh god. Please let it be quick and painless. I re-clutch the hooks in my hand and practise swinging them at someone in the darkness. If I can just get their eye with the hook. Aim for the eyes. Why didn’t I take self-defence classes? I’m such an idiot.

  I hear the bedroom door open and the light switches on. I hold my breath in the darkness. No, no, no, oh my god.

  “Natasha,” the young boy calls.

  I stay silent as my breath quivers in fear. He opens the wardrobe door and turns on the light and frowns when he sees me. “What are you doing?” he asks.

  I screw up my face. “I’m scared,” I whisper.

  “Nothing’s happening,” he replies softly.

  My face drops.

  “You need to come out in the room, so they can see you on camera. They haven’t seen you before. Nobody is going to come into the room.”

  I stay seated as I frown. Nobody’s seen me before so that means that here is the only monitor. I start to hear my heartbeat in my ears and I subtly put my hooks onto the carpet and stand slowly and walk out into the room. The young boy leaves the room and shuts the door behind him. Refusing to look at the camera, I sit on the bed and wring my hands nervously in front of me. What are they looking at? Are they checking that I’m going insane? Because I fucking am, and their plan is working perfectly. Act normal, act normal, I remind myself. I get into bed, turn my back to the camera and hold my breath as I try to calm myself down and after what seems like about an hour I hear the other car leave and the light in my room turns off. I get up and put my hands and forehead on the back of the door as I think in the darkness. I need to be home before my wedding in three days. Think. How am I getting out of here?

  “Listen Dad, I don’t know what the fuck you are doing up there. But I need help,” I whisper angrily.

  I shake my head in anger. Is there even a heaven? Is that a load of shit too? If he could help me I know he would. He would have got me out of here by now, and he would have told me what to do. I turn around and lean my back on the door and slide down into a sitting position against the door. I’m going to get home to Joshua and I’m going to wear my wedding dress on Saturday. But how? The moonlight shines through the window and under the bottom of the curtain I see something glimmer in the light. I frown. What’s that?

  I crawl over on my hands and knees and pull back the curtain to reveal a large sliver of the thick glass from the water jug I threw at the back of the door. I must have missed it when I picked it up. It is about four or five centimetres wide and about twenty centimetres long. I run my finger along the edge of it in the darkness… razor sharp.

  I sit in the darkness as my mind goes into overdrive.

  I have my weapon.

  Chapter
27

  I stand in the bathroom with the glass in my hand as I wrap a sock around the base of it so I don’t cut myself. I’ve thrown up three times this morning already with nerves and my leg is bouncing uncontrollably. Breakfast will be here in fifteen minutes and I’m going to do it. I don’t know what I’m going to do… but I’m going to do something violent and someone is probably going to die… hopefully not me. They have pushed me to the point of no return. “I’m sorry but you have forced me to hurt you,” I whisper to my reflection in the mirror to try and justify what I am about to do. I’m going for Carl. I don’t care if I kill him but I know I couldn’t live with myself if I hurt the boy. He’s just a kid trying to get himself through med school. But the downside of my plan is that Carl is bigger and more dangerous and way more fucking scary. Oh my god, oh my god. I put the glass knife on the basin and put my hands over my face. Am I really going to stab someone with that? I walk back to the wardrobe and put on another cardigan. I am wearing sweatpants, three pairs of bed socks, a T-shirt and three cardigans. It’s going to be cold if I do get away. Shit. I start to pace. Should I stay in the bedroom? No, I need to run out from the bathroom and take him by surprise. I look at my reflection in the mirror. “You can do this,” I whisper. “You can do this.” I slowly pick up the glass knife and wrap my hand around the base and I swing it through the air as I practise. No, it needs to be harder. Shit. I bring it up over my head and with all my strength I stab it down through the air. Fuck, this is a nightmare. With my heart beating hard in my chest I open the bathroom door with the knife in my hand and I wait.

  On cue the bedroom door opens and Carl walks in carrying the tray of food and I screw up my face in tears and run at him with my hand over my head. I bring the knife down hard into his neck and he screams in pain. Oh my god, I scream as blood starts to spurt from his wound and I put my hand over my mouth. He staggers back and falls and his head hits the bedpost and he is knocked unconscious. I put my hands over my mouth in shock. He lies still and silent with blood coming from the wound. I need to tie him up. I run back to the wardrobe and grab the belt from one of the cardigans and pull his hands behind his back and tie them together. Is he dead? I screw up my face as nervous energy runs through me. Run. Run. Run. With my heart racing I jump over his slumped body, out the door and lock it behind me. I race down the stairs two at a time to the front door and I grab the handle and frantically rattle it. Fuck, it’s locked. My eyes dart around and I run to the back door, which thankfully is open. I run out onto the deck and into the sunshine.