PRES: a bay falls high novel

by Kidman, Jaxson

  With each signature made, it was something my mother once owned that now belonged to me.

  I kept drinking.

  I kept signing.

  The lawyer’s name was ironically Preston.

  He was tall, skinny, wore glasses that looked clear so you almost thought he wasn’t wearing glasses at all. He expressed his condolences for my mother’s passing.

  As it turned out, my mother had this situation planned out long before she was diagnosed with ALS. She wanted to make sure everything she owned went to me. Without a question. He even told me she came to see him after her diagnosis and laughed with tears in her eyes that she felt she jinxed herself.

  That hit me in the goddamn heart.

  When I got back to the house that was now officially all mine, I had a stack of folders that I tossed to the kitchen counter.

  Behind me was still Barr, Kip, and Tinsley.

  I was responsible for so much now. Property. Buildings. Businesses. And people.

  All the while I was still trying to figure out how the hell my mother was dead. There were moments when reality didn’t seem like it was enough to accept. It was all there and made sense. She was sick. She was going to die. She did die. End of story. But that wasn’t good enough.

  I turned and Ti was right there, throwing her arms around me.

  I picked her up and hugged her tight.

  Barr and Kip joined us, hugging me from the side.

  It was too many people hugging me at once but I appreciated it.

  I threw my elbows out when I needed the goddamn hug to end.

  Barr and Kip backed off.

  I kissed the top of Tinsley’s head.

  I heard the front door open and slam shut.

  My father was at the house.

  The house?

  My house.

  He wasn’t alone either.

  There was a guy in a suit with him.

  He walked into the kitchen and stopped when he saw me.

  “Preston,” he said.

  The man with my father was holding a leather bag.

  “Can we get some privacy here?” my father asked.

  “No,” I said. “Nobody is leaving. This is my house now. My kitchen. Nobody is leaving. Unless I say so.”

  My father laughed. “You didn’t take long to settle in, huh?”

  “Anything we need to talk about, we can do it right here,” I said.

  “Preston, you’re not getting the house. Or anything else she promised you.”

  “Too late,” I said. “I signed the paperwork.”

  “Preston, this is my lawyer,” my father said. “Don’t make this awkward.”

  “How so?” I asked. “What happened to the father, son routine we had going?”

  My father curled his lip. “Don’t do this…”

  “Do what?” I asked. “Take what’s mine? You fucked things up. She took care of those things. Behind your back. While you were inside countless women.”

  “You son of a bitch,” my father said. “Don’t make me bury you.”

  “How are you going to do that?” I asked. “The papers are all signed. There’s nothing you can do but try to scare me. You wanted to buy that land at the ditch just to prove a point. You wanted to fight me. I had the chance to destroy you…”

  “But you didn’t, son,” my father said. “You’re weak. Like your mother was.”

  Tinsley gasped.

  Barr grabbed my shirt. “He’s working you.”

  Kip looked enraged.

  “What?” my father asked. “We can’t speak the truth here? She needed me to survive. I made the hard decisions. All the damn time. I gave into her once in a while. Like that fucking zoo that Sarah wanted. What a disaster that was. That land was worth much more. And that’s you, Preston. You’ll do the same as her. You’ll lose everything without me.”

  “I was waiting for this,” I said. “All the hugs. The tears. Playing your cards right. What you said at the funeral today. The set up. The flowers. The gathering afterwards. It was quite the show.”

  “That was for your mother,” my father said.

  “No, it wasn’t,” I said. “There wasn’t a single thing there she would have liked. It was all for you. Because you know she screwed you harder than any of the fucking whores you screwed while she was dying.”

  My father’s eyes filled with anger. His lips fluttered as they curled up, then down, then up.

  “I’ll go after you,” he said. “For everything. I’ll build a case and drag you through court for the rest of my life.”

  “Glad I’m young and fit,” I said. “I’ve got a long life to go.”

  My father laughed. Then he pointed to Tinsley. “All depends on what your dumpster whore has given to you.”

  I threw my elbow and knocked Barr out of the way.

  I dove at my father who didn’t even try to move.

  My left hand pulled at his tie as my right hand smashed against his mouth.

  He fell back and crumbled to the kitchen floor with a whining groan.

  I looked at my father’s lawyer and he stepped back, grinning.

  The front door to the house exploded open again.

  This time with police officers.

  “Right there,” my father’s lawyer said, pointing at me. “He physically attacked my client. That’s why I called. He’s been making threats too.”

  “What the fuck is this?” Kip yelled.

  He ran toward me and one of the officers put his hand to his gun.

  “Kip, stay back,” I said. I looked back at Tinsley. She covered her mouth as she cried. I looked at Barr. “Keep her safe.”

  Barr nodded.

  My father kicked himself back and leaned against the cabinet.

  He started to bawl his eyes out.

  “I just wanted to see my son,” he cried. “I wanted to hug him and tell him I love him. He threatened me. And attacked me. I didn’t know what to do…”

  I had two cops against me, one pulling my hands behind my back.

  “I’ll be in touch real soon, Preston,” my father’s lawyer said.

  The police slapped handcuffs to my wrists and dragged me out of my own house.

  I looked back one last time to see Tinsley leaning into Barr as he had his arm around her. Kip stood in the doorway of the kitchen, staring down at my father like he wanted to kill him.

  I walked out of the house.

  Under arrest.

  And my mother was still dead.

  And I still loved Tinsley.

  And everything else going on…

  Maybe with some time alone I could figure out what the fuck to do about it all.

  Chapter 18

  “I want to talk to my son!”

  That was the voice I heard bellowing from the hallways.

  That was the last voice I wanted to hear as I sat in a room with no windows. Just four dark colored walls, a steel table in the middle, a single light hanging above that. The chair I sat in was made of steel. I was no longer in handcuffs as I sat at the table, waiting for whatever was next.

  It made sense now why I wasn’t thrown into a jail cell.

  When I asked what the hell I had been taken away for, it was simple. I punched someone. It didn’t matter if it was my father or my best friend, I punched someone. I assaulted someone. I attacked someone.

  In a way it was the most ironic thing I ever heard.

  My reputation had been built on punching people.

  The Rulz was formed and stayed strong based on the fact that if you got out of line near us we were going to beat you down to teach you a lesson.

  I guess the difference was those who took their beatings… they were honest to themselves.

  My father?

  Nothing about him was honest.

  Nothing.

  The door to the room opened and he came walking in with two officers behind him.

  In typical William Levilitz fashion, he was the one calling the shots. The two officers behind h
im had weapons. Actual guns. And they were the ones flustered by my father.

  “Leave the room,” my father ordered them.

  I looked at the officers and shrugged my shoulders. “Still think I’m the bad guy here?”

  “Now!” my father ordered.

  The two officers left the room and my father stood with his back to the wall. Arms folded. His left eye was puffy. That meant my punch had really done its job. One punch managed to bust his lip and make his cheek swell all the way up to his eye.

  Maybe the best punch I had ever thrown.

  “Now do you understand, Preston?” he asked, his voice suddenly calm.

  I ignored him.

  “You aren’t ready for this,” he said. “You’re too emotional for everything. You have a big heart. Just like your mother. Which is fine. But not in this business. One comment about your girlfriend and you’re punching me? What do you think happens out there in the real world?”

  I looked at my father. “Do what you have to do.”

  “That’s what you want?”

  “That’s what you want,” I said. “Not me. She knew all along who you were. She was stuck. Trapped. And instead of letting it ruin her, she set up a future that would destroy you. You thought you picked up some hippie chick to turn into a trophy wife… but you know what? You messed with a vicious bitch.”

  “You just called your mother a bitch.”

  “Yes I did. A bitch that I’m proud of. Because she took it all from you. And there’s nothing you can do about it. And the funny thing is… you can keep doing what you’re doing. You’re still wealthy. But you’re stupid. You can’t take a loss and walk away. That’s why you’re going to exhaust yourself trying to hurt me. When you can’t hurt me.”

  “You really think that?”

  I stood up and the steel chair scratched the floor. “I know it. Because the house is mine. In my fucking name. Not yours. And you entering the house… that was illegal to do. I have the security footage to prove it. You just opened the door and walked in. I thought you were an intruder. So I defended my house. Myself. I hit you.”

  My father curled his lip. “The heart of your mother and the balls of your father.”

  I shook my head. “Wrong again. My father has no balls.”

  He pushed from the wall and moved toward me.

  The door opened and the two officers entered.

  One got between us.

  “Will, you can’t touch him,” the officer said, facing my father.

  “I want him locked up,” my father said. “Assault. Throw everything you can at him. Let him sit and rot overnight before he can call his lawyer. Bend every fucking law you can. You got that? And if you get fired for it, I’ll hire you as security for one of my companies. Pay you twice what you make here.”

  “Hope it was worth it,” I said to my father. “Hope all that pussy was worth it. You lost her a long time ago. You lost me a long time ago. You have nothing and nobody. Except those who come with a price tag. Remember that the next time you’re inside someone. She’s only letting you there because of the money you left on the nightstand.”

  My father growled and pushed to get to me.

  “Will!” the officer yelled. “I will arrest you if you put your hands on me again.”

  “I said to take him away,” my father yelled.

  “Can’t do that,” the other officer said. “He’s free to go.”

  “What?” my father and I both asked at the same time.

  “Someone is here for you,” the other officer said to me.

  “Bullshit,” my father said.

  “Too late, Will,” the officer between us said. “Let the lawyers handle it now.”

  My father stomped toward the door.

  He stopped and looked back at me one last time. “You know what… this could be good for you, Preston. Teach you how to live. But you’re the one with the regret. Not me.”

  “How so?” I asked.

  “I was with her,” my father said. “I told her it was okay to let go. I said what I had to say before she passed. And do you know what she wanted? Her last, dying wish…” My father swallowed hard. “She wanted to see you. But where were you, Preston? Huh? You were hanging out with your friends. And that girl. That girl who has no family and no future and nothing for you. She’ll do nothing but drag you down. And I say that from experience as a man who married someone just like that. Your mother wanted to say goodbye to you and you weren’t there.”

  My father left the room and I felt a swell of anger and guilt crush me.

  I lost my balance and bumped into the table. I tried to reach for the table and the two officers were there to catch me. I latched onto one of their arms tight, squeezing and pulling, trying to keep myself in one piece.

  “Come on, you’re out of here,” one of the officers said.

  “Who?” I asked. “Who is here for me?”

  “A woman named Claire.”

  * * *

  Claire stood at the front waiting area of the police station, pacing back and forth like she was guilty of something. Almost like a sinner walking into a church and looking around, wondering how long it would take for a bolt of lightning to strike their ass.

  When she saw me, she hurried to me and grabbed my wrists.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” I said. “What are you doing here?”

  I pulled my hands away from her.

  She stepped back, showing her hands, realizing getting too close to me wasn’t a good idea at the moment.

  Especially Claire.

  “Tinsley called me,” she said. “She was really upset. Crying her eyes out. She said you got arrested for attacking your father.”

  “Are you here because of me or because of him?”

  Claire nodded. “Okay. I deserve that. That’s a fair question to ask. Can we get out of here and I’ll give you a ride back home. We can talk on the ride.”

  “Okay,” I said.

  I left the police station as a free man. Which made me laugh to myself.

  That entire thing was for show.

  My father wanted to pick a fight that he thought he could win. He goaded me into physically fighting him at the ditch just to see what would happen. And I had him. I had the chance for that one last punch to end it all. And he threw that father loves his son bullshit at me. And I was dumb enough to buy into it. Even if I didn’t actually believe it, I bought into it. I saw most of this mess coming, but there was just something…

  “I want to clear the air on a lot of things,” Claire said.

  I rubbed my chin. “I’m not worried about the air being clear.”

  “I am,” Claire said. “I’m sorry about your mother’s passing, Preston.”

  I curled my lip. “Yeah. I keep hearing that.”

  “It’s the truth though,” Claire said. “There’s some stuff that just doesn’t make sense in life. That’s one of those things.”

  “Are you a doctor?” I asked.

  “What? No.”

  “Then why talk about it?”

  “Because it sucks,” Claire said. “You can hate me. You can call me every name in the book. You can grab the wheel right now and crash us so I get killed. I wouldn’t blame you for any of it. That’s the air I want to clear. I’m not going to try and win you over, Preston. It’s obvious Tinsley is madly in love with you. And I know you love her. I think that’s great. She deserves for once to have someone take care of her.”

  I gritted my teeth and looked out the passenger window.

  Claire paused for a little bit but then kept talking.

  “Look, I’m going to just say it. I was fucking your father for a while.”

  I slowly turned my head and stared at Claire.

  “Fuck it,” she said. “There’s nothing to hide. You knew it. Tinsley knew it. Everyone knew it. And I didn’t give a shit about it. We had an arrangement. We both loved other people who weren’t there for us.”

  “Your boyfriend o
r husband dying from ALS?” I asked.

  “Not even close,” Claire said. “He just lives far away. And he wants me to come live with him. But I can’t leave here. I’ve got commitments. So when your father and I met, it made sense. There was no bullshit around it. No flowers. No gifts. We would talk business and then…”

  I nodded. “Well that’s good to know. What’s it feel like to know while my father was burying himself inside you, my mother was losing her life? Each day losing herself… becoming this… this… thing… unable to talk. Unable to walk. Unable to really move. Just waiting for the moment to come when she knew she was going to finally die.”

  Claire drove, staring forward.

  I stared intently, watching her blink.

  A tear leaked from her right eye and ran down her cheek.

  I laughed. “That’s all you’ve got? Tears?”

  “He never talked about her once,” Claire said. “Or you. To me he was just this man and nothing else. And what’s done is done. I can’t go back and change anything. That’s the way life works. There’s only forward.”

  “Yeah, right,” I said. “Forward.”

  We were in silence for the rest of the drive back to my house.

  Claire’s one tear dried and that was the end of her sorrow.

  Was I really that mad at her? Probably not. She was rich and scummy just like the rest of the people in town. No problem stabbing each other in the back or fucking each other’s spouses, no matter what.

  “You care about Tinsley?” I asked her as she drove up the driveway and I watched the mansion I inherited appear from the horizon.

  “Of course I do.”

  “I mean it, Claire,” I said. “Do you really care about her? Like the way a mother cares for a child? I’m talking love. Not money. Not favors to her junkie of a mother. I’m talking real feelings.”

  “Yes, Preston,” Claire said. “I care about her like that. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have taken her in. I could have just shipped her mother to rehab and then written Tinsley a check to send her off into the world. I meant everything I ever said to her. I wanted her to come here with me to get a chance to breathe. To not worry about anything. And look how it turned out. Might have been the smartest decision I ever made.”

  “Thanks for getting me out of there,” I said as I opened the door to her SUV.