by Kaira Rouda
Piper shrugged and put the pill down on the table.
“I’m going to take a shower and try to sleep. I might actually need one of those tonight, Will,” Carol said. He was relieved she hadn’t yelled at him for giving Piper a pill, too.
Will smiled. “Yes, you do.”
Will and Piper sat down, refreshing her news feed and searching the web for more stories about the police raid. Finally, Will looked at his watch. It was time to convince Piper to take the pill. It was time.
“Look, honey, I think you’ve had enough of this for tonight,” Will said, closing the computer top. “Take this and crawl into bed. Things will be clearer in the morning.”
Piper scooped the pill up into her small hand and gave him a smile. “I’ll think about it, Dad,” she said. “Night.”
“Night,” Will said.
Finally, he could breathe. He could put his plan into action. He walked out the door and down the front steps to his car parked in the driveway and popped the trunk. Inside, all of the items were as he’d left them. The pillow, the plastic wrap. He carefully wrapped the pillow in ten layers of plastic wrap. He’d read online at the library that even plastic wrap had small holes that air could get through. Ten layers should mitigate that. Tucking the pillow under his arm, he hurried back up the stairs and into his house. He turned off the lights in the kitchen and walked to the couch where Marni slept peacefully, completely drugged. She was so cute, his first born. So precious. He loved her more than words.
He walked toward the hallway and past Piper’s bedroom door. He assumed she was asleep already and didn’t want to risk waking her up by opening the door to check. Opening the door to his bedroom, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He saw Carol lying in bed, her back turned to his side. He had loved this woman once, a tear springing to his eye. But now, all she did was bring him pain and sorrow. Lauren was forcing him to choose. He couldn’t have both. And even though he had once appreciated the structure Carol provided, Lauren had helped him understand he was actually living in a prison she’d created. Well, no longer.
Will crossed the room and stood beside their bed. The bed where they’d conceived Marni and then Piper. The bed they’d shared for more than twenty-five years. He pulled the pillow from under his arm and swallowed. He had read it could take up to five minutes to suffocate a person, so he needed to be focused.
He pressed the pillow over Carol’s face and began to push, climbing on top of her, straddling her body on the bed. His wife woke up, her hands started to hit him as her body bucked beneath him. This was to be expected, he’d read, but still he was surprised she was so strong. And agile.
Suddenly she rolled to her side, knocking him off of her, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the bedside table, knocking over a lamp.
“Help! Piper, Marni, call 9-1-1!” Carol screamed as Will scrambled to climb back on top of her, fighting to get the plastic-covered pillow over her face.
“Argh,” he heard himself exhale as he pinned both of her arms beneath his knees and leveraged himself fully on top of her, pressing down with all of his might. He felt her going limp and continued to press, knowing she could fake it. His arms shook with the effort, but he was feeling in control of the situation. Suddenly she bucked high and hard, smashing his head into their antique metal bed frame, ramming his forehead into a metal pole.
Blood poured down his forehead and into his eyes as Carol rolled out from beneath him and started for the door. Will knew he couldn’t let her leave this room. He stumbled from the bed, lunging at her as she reached the door, pulling her to the ground.
“Help!” Carol screamed as Will climbed on top of her and covered her mouth with his hand.
“It’s fine, shhh. I’m sorry, I love you, I just had a bad dream,” Will said, trying to use a soothing tone of voice to calm her down. This had all gone wrong, but he would fix the situation.
Carol kicked him in the groin and rolled out from under him, yanking the door open and running down the hall. Will jumped up and ran after her, wiping the blood out of his eyes. In the family room, Carol stood holding a kitchen knife, guarding Marni who was still asleep. Piper was by the front door, her phone in her hand.
“Piper, leave now. Call the police,” Carol said. Will admired how she looked so fierce, wearing nothing more than an oversized Crystal Beach T-shirt and her underwear. She really was special, he realized.
“Piper, honey, everything is fine. Mommy and I just had a fight. It was a bad dream,” Will said, crossing the room hoping to stop Piper from opening the door.
“Stay away from her, Will,” Carol said, knife held high.
Will shook his head. “It’s okay. Mommy’s just a little worked up, Piper,” he said.
“Piper, run!” Carol screamed, and Will watched as his youngest daughter opened the door and ran toward a policeman with his gun drawn.
“On your knees!” the officer yelled at Will.
“It’s all just a family misunderstanding,” Will said, hoisting his arms above his head like he’d seen in all the police shows.
“I said down, now!” the cop yelled again. Will thought he looked familiar, but couldn’t be sure with all the flashlights blinding him.
Will dropped to his knees.
“Ma’am, drop the knife,” he said, and Will heard the kitchen knife hit the wood floor.
“Are you hurt, honey?” the cop asked Piper.
“No, my daddy hurt my mommy,” Piper said as Will shook his head.
“No, that’s not it,” Will said.
“Shut up. Cuff him. Take him to the car.”
Now Will knew where he’d seen the cop before: in the park that day with Lauren. Shit. Officer Abelli. Of course it was him.
“Ma’am, are you hurt?” the cop asked Carol, walking past Will as two other officers yanked him up to standing.
“He tried to kill me,” she said behind him, her voice strong and clear. She was shaking. “He tried to suffocate me with a pillow. Oh my God.”
“Come on, scumbag,” said a cop pulling him hard down the stairs of his own house. Will thought he probably should call a lawyer. Contingency plans were important, he had realized too late. He hadn’t counted on Carol being that strong. He had no Plan B.
The flashing lights of the emergency vehicles surrounding his home had drawn a crowd of neighbors. He watched their stunned expressions as he was shoved into a squad car. He realized once he got himself out of this he’d probably have to move. Lauren would go anywhere with him, she’d told him that.
Now was a really good time to start making plans, he thought as they drove him off into the night.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Tuesday, December 2
DANE
He could get used to this, he realized, looking across the kitchen island at Ashley as she heated up their dinner.
Actually, he thought, I’m already used to this. He stared across the island again, amazed she was finally his girl. Tonight she was wearing a tight-fitting black turtleneck sweater and jeans that hugged her perfect butt. She couldn’t look hotter. She was the most gorgeous girl in the world. Ever since the day of the raid they hadn’t left each other’s side. That was the only benefit of that day. Everything else sucked. Collin was still in prison. The rumor was that he’d been arrested for selling a tiny amount of pot to the undercover cop. The guy Doug who kept trying to get Dane to find him drugs was actually a grown man, a police officer who was twenty-six years old and got off hanging out with high schoolers. Collin had felt sorry for him and bought him a joint. Once. Now his life was ruined.
Dane had met with the school counselor and convinced her that no matter what, she couldn’t let Collin’s mom read his common app essay. He had watched as the counselor deleted his friend’s words. NYU had retracted their offer of admission, of course, and Mrs. Wilson had gone on a warpath, threatening to sue the school and the cops for entrapment. Dane still couldn’t believe Collin was gone.
Dane had been ba
ck at school for two weeks and still watched for him, hoping to buy him lunch or sit next to him during econ class. He realized every day how lucky he was that he wasn’t the one who had found Doug the joint. It could have been him, if the guy had sucked up to him the way he did Collin.
Dane still couldn’t believe they’d grabbed five of his classmates in the sting. They were just gone, lockers and seats in classes empty. Some of them were close friends, like Collin, and some of them were just kids he’d been going to school with since ninth grade. Rumor was they’d all be expelled and have to finish high school earning their GEDs in alternative education facilities or online. They’d be ruined forever; especially Collin who was considered an adult, even though he’d just turned eighteen a month earlier. He still didn’t understand why Doug had done it. Dane had been nice to the new guy, too, relating to his outsider status and being kind because it was the right thing to do. He never suspected the dude was using him to bust his friends, trying to set them all up.
He hoped Doug felt guilty, but realized most likely he was being hailed as a hero. Nobody could understand it. In his dreams Doug’s eyes haunted him, and when the classroom door flew open, his name was the one read aloud in class.
“You hungry?” Ashley asked, turning to face him while still stirring the chili.
“Always,” he said. He wanted to kiss her, but her mom, her mom’s mom who had just flown in from out of town, and Mr. Tom Schultz, the assistant volleyball coach, were in the other room sitting by the fireplace. Ashley told him she wasn’t sure why he was over for dinner. It was nice, though, because he made her mom laugh, and that was a nice sound.
“Can you help me?” she asked.
Dane hurried over next to her and that’s when she pulled him down to kiss her, a soft sensual kiss that almost buckled his knees.
“I’m better now,” she said as she pulled away.
“I’m not, I think I need a little more,” he said, leaning in for another kiss, pulling her into him as her mom walked into the room.
“Hi, kids,” she said, as Dane blushed and Ashley stirred the chili. “Smells good. Almost ready? It seems to be getting warm in here.”
“Mom,” Ashley said, reaching for the white bowls above the stove.
“Here, let me get those,” Dane said, carrying the five bowls to the table. He knew his mom would be bummed he was eating here again, and she was treating him so great he felt guilty not going home to see her. “I’ve got to leave right after dinner, if that’s okay. My mom, you know.”
“How is your mom, honey?” Sarah asked him, tilting her head in that concerned way, the same way Ashley tilted hers. Dane was glad the two moms were starting to be friends, as long as they didn’t gang up on him someday.
“She’s great. It’s so funny, ever since she’s gone to this reinvention counselor and stopped drinking she’s so much happier,” Dane said.
“I didn’t know there was such a thing. I should probably get the number. Heaven knows I’m changing everything,” Sarah said, setting the table with napkins and spoons.
“I’m so proud of you, Mom,” Ashley said. “But you know that. I tell you every day.”
Ashley had told Dane about how her mom kicked her dad out of the house and filed for divorce. He’d made some confession at the hospital, told her mom something she wouldn’t repeat to Ashley but something so serious their marriage could not survive it. She knew she would ask her dad about his secret someday, but she sensed enough to know it was because of another person. But for now, she loved seeing her mom gaining weight, even smiling a little. And according to her mom, her dad was okay with Ashley choosing Stanford or Harvard.
Even Dane had received good news in his email inbox the night before. Berklee College of Music had sent him an email with the headline, “You’re In.” Dane hadn’t stopped grinning since. It meant he wasn’t a failure, it meant he could look his mom in the eye. It meant, if he wanted to give it a try, a college was open to having him. And, it meant, just maybe, he’d be in college in the same city as Ashley.
“And I’m so proud of you kids. You two are amazing, just surviving senior year, with college pressure, and drug busts of all things,” Sarah said, pouring water into the five glasses on the table.
“You know they didn’t even find any big amounts of anything,” Dane said, sitting down next to Ashley. “I feel so bad for Collin. He was just being nice to the new kid, and now his life is ruined. Over marijuana. It shouldn’t be legal, for cops to entrap kids like that.”
Ashley looked at him and smiled. He knew they were on the same page. “We all thought there was a shooter or maybe a bomb. I still have nightmares about that day,” Ashley said.
“It’s scary but don’t forget he was able to get kids to get him meth, cocaine, and LSD. That’s some strong stuff,” Sarah said.
“But it’s the wrong way to get drugs out of schools. It was the nice kids, like Collin, and even an autistic kid who thought Doug was his only friend. That’s just wrong,” Dane said.
“I’m missing the party,” Coach Tom said walking into the room. He had reading glasses on his nose and Dane thought he must have been trying to look older. Ashley’s mom had to be a lot older than the coach, even though she seemed timeless.
“How’s school going?” Tom asked Dane.
“Same ol’, same ol’,” Dane said. “We were talking about how awful the drug raid was, for everybody. The principal approved it. They didn’t tell the teachers, right?”
“No, we were as shocked as all you kids. I even had that guy Doug in my study skills class. Never guessed he was a cop, just thought he was a nerd,” Tom said, sitting down across from Dane at the table. The sun had set and the waves were crashing just beyond the sliding doors, adding to the mood of the evening. Everyone seemed to be on edge. “Speaking of prison, Will Parker is going away for a long time, I hear,” Tom said.
Dane didn’t say anything. He felt bad for Marni. He couldn’t imagine the trauma of the school drug raid and lockdown during the day and then having your dad try to kill your mom inside your own house that same night. Dane didn’t even know how you got past that. Somehow Marni had been going to school. He’d seen her there and made a point to be extra nice. In fact, he was extra nice to everybody except Blake, who was still pissed at Dane for obvious Ashley reasons.
“Well, they have to get all the facts. Right now isn’t it just ‘he said, she said’?” Sarah said sitting down next to Coach Tom. “I mean, without a witness, it’s his word versus hers. I just hope Carol has something, some evidence, just to be sure he gets sent away. It’s all so scary and sad. Anyway, it’s time to eat. Let’s focus on the positive blessings in our lives like this great chili,” Sarah said. “Dig in everybody.”
Everybody ate in silence for a few moments. Dane knew Ashley wanted to know more about Tom’s past, including why he was still single. Dane decided to jump in.
“Have you ever been married, Coach?”
“Tom,” Coach Schultz said.
“Tom,” Dane said.
“I was, actually, but not for very long. We were too young, too naïve, it was living hell from the beginning,” Tom said, winking before taking a big bite of chili.
“Yes, you kids need to take your time. Getting married young can lead to a huge mess, take it from me,” Sarah said, clipping off the subject like a bird’s wings.
Dane thought about that for a moment. His parents had married young, and they seemed happy. He thought it was more about the quality of each of the people, rather than some magical age. But what did he know about any of this? He was just a kid, with two great parents, and he was lucky to be going to college next fall and not locked up in the slammer.
He felt Ashley’s hand on his thigh and tried to focus on the chili instead of what he’d like to do with her in her bedroom. She wasn’t making it easy as she moved her hand up toward his crotch. He grabbed it and moved it to his knee and she started laughing.
MARNI
Marni
had agreed to meet Kiley on Main Beach near the lifeguard station after school.
She walked the two blocks from school to the beach, past the city’s downtown festively decorated for the Christmas shopping season. Her family would probably skip Christmas this year, she imagined. Her mom was spending all her time plotting her revenge against her dad, while she and Piper just coexisted with her. Ironically, this was the most alive she’d seen her mom since she could remember. Apparently near asphyxiation can do that to people, she thought. Marni stared in through the window of her favorite clothing store, taking a minute to readjust the straps on her backpack. It was a place she couldn’t afford to shop in, with sweaters costing what she would make in a month’s worth of babysitting. But she liked to dream about the clothes here, wandering through the store, touching the fabrics, imagining an outfit jumping from a mannequin onto her body.
She wondered where their money would come from now. How would they live in this town with just her mom’s salary? With the trial and lawyers’ fees, she knew they’d be broke.
She was going to college, though, one way or another. Student loans, grants, scholarships, or a combination of all of these things. Her counselor at school had told her she was a perfect candidate. But that was before her family exploded and became headline news. The counselor said it wasn’t about her, that she shouldn’t worry about her parents’ “situation” ruining her chances. But Marni wasn’t so sure. She knew stigmas stuck to families like ticks, not just to individuals. She was one of those Parkers now. She knew it.
Marni hurried past the store, reaching the end of the street and crossing busy Coast Highway. Kiley had told her to meet on the wooden boardwalk, but she was nowhere in sight. Maybe she should just catch the bus home, she thought. She knew Kiley had asked her here to talk about her mom and Marni’s dad, but Marni didn’t really want to hear any more about it. All Marni really wanted to do was move on, get out of this stupid town and away from her stupid, lying, freaky parents. She had a mom who tried to run their lives with different colors of marker displayed on the calendar and a dad who thought he was a teenager who went nuts and tried to kill her control-freak mom.
