Rewriting Yesterday

by Wright, Candice

  "Hello, Ryan?”

  I know that voice. Oh, my day just got even brighter.

  “Morning, Frankie. How have I managed to earn the pleasure of having an angel call me?” Okay, I’m laying it on thick, but I love hearing her laugh.

  “Such a charmer. Jacob and I are planning to order some food and spend the day lazing around by the pool and we were wondering if you guys would like to join us.”

  Is it my imagination or does she sound nervous?

  “Can’t speak for the others but I doubt they will turn you down. Of course, I will be coming. It sounds like the perfect way to spend the day. I can text the guys for you and let you know if they can come. What time do you want us there?”

  “Just come when you are ready.”

  I smirk to myself. Be careful what you wish for, Frankie.

  “Do you need help picking out a bikini? Because I don’t know if you are aware of this but I’m somewhat of a bikini expert,” I tell her, being my usual helpful self.

  What can I say? I’m a helpful guy.

  “I think I can manage, but thanks anyway.” She laughs wryly before hanging up.

  I pull up outside Starbucks and head in to place my order, relieved to find it relatively quiet. While I’m waiting, I fire off a text to Sam and Caleb, inviting them to Frankie’s. When they confirm that they can come and that they will meet me there shortly, I text Frankie and let her know. Taking my coffee, I smile at her reply of an emoji smile and a thumbs-up. Cute.

  After nipping back to the hotel and changing into a plain white t-shirt and some board shorts, I decide to just head straight over to Frankie’s. Neither Caleb’s car nor Sam’s bike is here yet, so I park right by the garage, leaving plenty of space for the others. I’m just about to knock on the door when it's pulled open and I’m yanked in by the front of my t-shirt and dragged into the kitchen.

  “Woah there, gorgeous. Did you miss me?”

  She looks cute as fuck in her short denim shorts and a red v-neck t-shirt, holding a super soaker that’s nearly as big as she is. That’s when I notice that she is soaking wet and dripping all over the floor. She shoves the water gun into my hands before grabbing a smaller one from the kitchen counter.

  “He is kicking my ass, the little sneak. If you can catch Jacob and soak him like he did me, I will bake you a whole batch of brownies, just for you.”

  How can I refuse an offer like that? I empty the contents of my pockets onto the counter so that my phone and crap doesn’t get wet, before checking to make sure the gun is full. Then I creep quietly through the house, following her wet footprints towards the back garden, turning to make sure she is behind me. I put my fingers to my lips and shush her when she starts to talk.

  “Be very, very quiet,” I tell her in my best Elmer Fudd voice. She rolls her eyes at me but follows behind, using me as a human shield.

  I head outside and make my way across the decking, stepping silently down the three steps that lead towards the pool. Walking close to the water’s edge, I look around me for any signs of Jacob. A shout to my left has me turning and firing towards him, but I miss by a mile because a certain little minx takes that opportunity to push me into the pool.

  The water is cool against my skin, a nice contrast to the soaring temperatures we have been experiencing. I swim to the surface and wipe the water out of my eyes, watching both Frankie and Jacob busting a gut in front of me.

  “You little shits! You set me up.”

  “You got taken down by a girl. Admit it, I am awesome,” she giggles, completely oblivious to the two hulking figures approaching from behind her.

  “Frankie, Frankie, Frankie. First rule of warfare is to never underestimate your enemies.”

  Sam nudges an unsuspecting Jacob into the pool while Caleb sweeps a screeching Frankie up into his arms before jumping into the water. Spluttering, she swims to the surface, splashing water into Caleb’s face.

  “You ass,” she splutters. I watch as she swims towards Sam, who is standing at the edge, watching. Her bottom lip starts to wobble, and I panic when I realise she is about to cry. Sam must notice too, because when she puts her hand out for him to grab, he bends to reach for her. What he doesn’t notice is the sneaky little minx brace her feet against the lip of the pool before she yanks him down into the water with the rest of us.

  That has Jacob cracking up, and it’s not long before the rest of us are laughing, too.

  When Sam surfaces, she sticks her tongue out at him.

  “Sucker.”

  He lunges for her, making her scream with laughter. Grabbing her, he hauls her up before tossing her towards me.

  I catch her before tossing her to Caleb, but she is wise to us now and wraps her legs around his waist like a spider monkey. I roll my eyes, knowing damn well that Caleb isn’t going to throw her now that he has her hot little body pressed against him. I like this girl a lot, and even though seeing her wrapped in the arms of another man would cause most men to lose their shit, all it does to me is heat my blood. Suddenly, I’m glad that I’m in the cool water, especially while Jacob is around. I hope to Christ that the others are as okay with this as they implied, because I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk away.

  The rest of the afternoon passes by in a blur of water fights and lazing about. I don’t remember the last time I saw Sam or Caleb look as relaxed as they do now, doing nothing more than eating Chinese food and watching the sun go down. I have a good feeling about this. If Frankie’s willing, I really think the four of us can make this work.

  Chapter Twelve

  SAM

  I stand next to my computer, waiting for the rest of the email to print, wondering if we could have been wrong about Frankie. Four days ago, we have decided that we have judged Frankie too harshly. We all want her, and we have agreed to collectively get to know her and date her if that was something we could convince her of. Two days ago, after having spent the day with her at her place, it looked like something she might be into, but this… well, this changes everything.

  I grab the last of the printouts and head over to Caleb’s, where I know both he and Ryan are waiting for me. I hate to be the one to have to tell them that she pulled the wool over our eyes, but I guess it’s better that we found out now, before we all got sucked in deeper. Pulling up to Caleb’s, I grab my stuff and head inside, still trying to figure out if there is a way to deliver this information without Caleb going off at the deep end.

  Yeah, probably not.

  Shit, this is going to be bad. I rub my hand over my face and try to psych myself up for the conversation that’s about to take place but I’m still trying to process this latest information myself.

  “Hi, Sam. We were thinking of phoning Frankie and seeing if she and Jacob wanted to do something today. You up for that? We could get something to eat or, I don’t know, go to the zoo? Chicks dig that kind of shit, right? Sam?"

  Ryan’s head comes up when he realises I still haven’t answered him. Whatever expression is on my face must be bad, because he doesn’t try to make a joke. He just follows me as I head towards the living room.

  Caleb is coming from his bedroom pulling a navy-blue t shirt on over his head.

  “Hey, Ryan mention calling Frankie?” He stops when he sees my face. “What’s wrong? Is it Conner?”

  I throw the emails on to the coffee table and sit in one of the chairs, elbows resting on my knees, head down, and take a deep breath. When I lift my head back up, I notice that both are sat down now, too.

  “Frankie’s background check came through pretty much blank again, which just sent up more red flags, so I emailed her mother. I forgot all about it, to be honest, when we agreed to give her a shot, but I had a notification this morning, so I took a look. Frankie’s mother has sent a few emails, telling me that Frankie can’t be trusted. She says that I need to be extremely cautious around her, and whatever I do, I’m not to let her know that we are in contact with each other. She wants to meet up. Says that she has infor
mation that we would need to know about Frankie as soon as possible… so I’m heading there now.”

  “I’m coming,” Caleb answers.

  “Me too,” replies Ryan.

  * * *

  The address given has us pulling up to a house on a council estate on the outskirts of Birmingham. Nothing remarkable stands out, although it looks tired and worn so it’s clear that none of the half a million pounds she got from Joe went on gardening or maintenance.

  As we approach, the door opens revealing what can only be Frankie’s mother. Taller than Frankie herself, though not by much, with the same hair, albeit streaked through with wisps of silver. She offers a wary smile, and I know whatever she is going to tell us is going to be bad.

  “Hi, I’m Elenor. Come in.”

  We follow her inside to a living room that’s smaller than my kitchen and sparsely decorated in a peach colour, with a dated floral three-piece suite as the focal point. A large old-fashioned television on a rickety stand in the corner and a coffee table with mug rings across the surface are the only other pieces of furniture in here, and yet with us three men in here, we make the room feel cramped and uncomfortable.

  “Please take a seat. You said you had some questions about Frankie. I’m not sure how much help I can be; it’s been years since I’ve seen or heard from her.”

  “Did you ever meet Frankie’s husband?” Caleb asks her not letting on that he is his son.

  “No, I've never met him. I don’t know where he even met my Frankie, but one day she went out and she never came back. We… We had some troubles when she was younger, and with very little money after my late husband passed, we didn’t always abide by the strict line of the law. I’m ashamed of it now, of course, but I had to feed my baby. The trouble is that Frankie liked it. She got some kind of rush playing the victim and pulling the wool over people’s eyes. Once I met Robert things got easier until he was made redundant and we found ourselves at rock bottom again. That’s when Frankie moved on from small-time scams to umm… other things.” She looked down with embarrassment, twisting her hands in a way that I had seen Frankie do when she was nervous.

  “What other things?” I ask, already knowing that I didn’t want to hear the answers.

  “She started targeting married men, sleeping with them and then blackmailing them because she was underage. I was disgusted, I tried grounding her, but obviously that never worked. I was at my wits' end."

  “Did you report any of this to the police?” No reports had popped up in my check.

  “No. I was worried Frankie would be taken away from me. I had already lost my husband. I couldn’t bear to lose her, too.”

  I look at Caleb and can see him vibrating with anger.

  “What happened after she left? Did you look for her?” Ryan asks, looking as sick as I feel.

  “A man knocked on my door, telling me that his employer was taking my daughter and planned to marry her. He just wanted me to sign a consent form, but I refused. He hit me and told me that he would hurt me if I refused. I said no because I was scared about what would happen to Frankie, but the man just laughed in my face and told me that he and Frankie were scamming this rich guy. When she married him, she was going to leave him and take his money and run off with the man who hit me. He then threw a cheque at me for five hundred thousand pounds saying it was a goodbye payment from Frankie. I never saw her again.”

  “Do you know what his name was?” Caleb grates out.

  “No. But I never forgot him. He terrified me but I don’t think he ever actually gave me his name. All I can remember is that he said he was this guy’s solicitor.”

  Malcolm? What the fuck is going on? Are Malcolm and Frankie in this together? Without another word, Caleb is out the door and stomping towards the car.

  “Thank you for your time.”

  “It’s no problem. Can you give her my love? Just tell her I forgive her and miss her?”

  I shift uncomfortably before nodding and follow Caleb out the door, with Ryan right behind me.

  Nobody speaks the whole way home, each of us entrenched in our own disgust and anger. When we enter Caleb’s apartment and make our way to the living room, his fury can no longer be contained. Ryan’s face is white as we watch Caleb flip over the coffee table.

  “That fucking, conniving little bitch. I knew it, I fucking knew it. The reason she hasn’t had contact with her parents is because the little bitch doesn’t want to share her cash windfall with them.” His chest is heaving, his anger like a physical entity in the room with us.

  Ryan stands and starts pacing. “Okay, it's bad, I get it, but she was a kid at the time. We have all done some fucked-up shit as kids. She obviously isn’t the same person anymore. It’s been nearly six years, Caleb. People change.”

  “Do they really change, though, Ryan? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like she has been playing a role, the greatest of her career. I’m guessing that with a payoff in the millions she found the incentive to keep up her flawless performance. Let’s not forget the fact that Malcolm was obviously in on this from the start. I wonder how much money he sold out his friend for. Hell, I’m betting he is getting a little extra something on the side.”

  I’m not sure what the fuck I’m feeling right now but fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help. Something that is bothering me, though, is Jacob.

  “Where does Jacob fit into all this?”

  “I don’t know, Sam. Hero worship, probably. It must get lonely at the top, but she would need company that she could control. I guess a damaged little boy with low self-esteem would fit the bill.”

  “Fucking hell, Caleb. He is just a kid who got dealt a shitty hand, so shut the fuck up.” I like the kid, so Caleb needs to control his little outbursts before I lose my cool.

  “Sorry, that was a dick thing to say. But Sam, I am hanging on by a thread here.”

  “Well, what do you want to do about it?”

  I watch him, seeing the wheels spinning, and part of me already knows that things are going to get ugly. The other part of me knows that Ryan and I will stand by him no matter what.

  “I think it’s time she got reacquainted with Mummy and Daddy dearest. That way she will know that we are on to her and her conniving ways.”

  Oh yeah, the shit is about to hit the fan.

  Chapter Thirteen

  FRANKIE

  Standing in front of the floor-length mirror in my bedroom, I smooth my hands down my dress and try to calm my nerves. On the outside I look confident but inside I’m a bundle of anticipation at seeing Ryan, Sam and Caleb again. Despite exchanging regular texts and the odd phone call, I have not seen them since the afternoon Jacob and I had them over the other week.

  I am drawn to each of them and I will be the first to admit that that’s probably not a normal response, especially considering my history, but it’s not like I have any control over it. Besides, who is to say what’s right or wrong anymore? I should have had a mother who loved me and protected me but instead she fed me to the wolves. Maybe it's karma's way of making up for the shitty hand I’ve been dealt. Perhaps I’m reading in to the situation more than I should.

  Sighing, I am acutely aware that I am out of my depth. I study myself in the mirror, happy with the floor-length gown that reminds me of fairy tales from long ago. The colour starts out as an off-white, which transforms into a blush pink colour that darkens slightly the lower it gets towards the bottom. Spaghetti straps attached to a tight-fitted bodice with a demure dip in the front leads down to a floaty organza material that is covered in lace butterflies in the same blush colour. A large kaleidoscope of three-dimensional butterflies weave their way around the base then slowly fracture away and head towards the waistline. My pink kitten heels are hidden under my dress, and the only jewellery I’m wearing is the charm bracelet that Joe gave me on my last birthday with him.

  My hair is up in a neat chignon and my make-up is soft and understated. I look like a princess. Tears prick my
eyes, but I fight them back. Getting lost in memories is not an option tonight but sometimes it’s hard to control them. Seeing me, many people would say I was pretty, beautiful even, but it still makes me feel uncomfortable when they compliment me. After all, I know that it was the pretty package that attracted the predator and tormentor from my past. Funny how nobody ever notices the haunted eyes. I guess it’s true that people only see what they want to see.

  Grabbing my clutch from the bed, I head downstairs to the kitchen, where I find Jacob struggling to fix his tie. He looks up as I enter and does a double take.

  “Whoa, Frankie, you look beautiful.”

  “Well, thank you, kind sir.” I curtsy for him before straightening up and adjusting his tie for him. He is in a dark grey suit and looking very handsome.

  “You look very dapper yourself. Thanks for being my date for this evening.”

  He looks at me for a second. Something flits across his face, but it’s gone before I can figure out what it is.

  “Are you disappointed that it’s not one of your boys?”

  He shuffles awkwardly, nervous about my answer. So that was what that look was for. Silly boy.

  “Not for one second. I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m proud to be on your arm tonight.”

  His cheeks flush before he bestows me with one of his beautiful smiles, dimples and all.

  “Anyway, they are not my boys,” I deflect, knowing Jacob can only handle short bouts of affection.

  “Sure, but you might want to tell them that,” he smirks.

  I hear a car horn outside, signalling that Steve is here to collect us, so I poke Jacob in the ribs for being cheeky, making him squirm before ushering him out to the awaiting car. Steve is already standing outside of the open door and holding his hand out for me. When Joe bought Steve a car that was adapted for him, I was a freaking mess, watching as he tried to fight back his emotions, his gratitude clear to see. Steve being Steve, he refused at first, but Joe made it clear that he wanted him to be able to get to me if I ever needed him, leaving him little choice but to say yes. That was just one of the many ways I found myself in awe of my very sneaky husband.