"Get up," Richard whispered. "Get up, go into the bathroom and then wipe your face off." Michael laughed as he pushed himself up. He laughed even harder when he passed Miranda.
"That’s it?" Miranda asked incredulously.
"Do you know how hard I’m working not to kill him?"
"Yeah, I think I do. I just don’t think I know why anymore."
A small crowd was starting to gather outside of Jessie’s room. Miranda shook her head. "Okay," she said, "which one of you wants to make yourselves useful?" She threw Jessie’s clothes into her bag and then gave it to one of the men. She went into her room and quickly gathered up her things, then gave that to someone else. She shook Jessie a little bit and then convinced her to stand up. She put her hand around her waist and then walked her out of the room, down the stairs and outside to the car. The two men with the bags followed her and silently loaded them into the trunk. "Thanks," she said, then started the car.
Richard ran out. "Where are you going?"
"I’m going to fix this. It’s too much, and if they don’t see it now-"
"What do you really think they can do?"
"What they should have done when we were all kids!" Miranda pulled out and drove onto the open road. She was halfway back to Boston when Jessie, whom Miranda thought had been sleeping, started to cry. Miranda pulled over and held her for half an hour before they set off again.
She got to Richard and Jessie’s house an hour later. She walked Jessie, now awake but unwilling to walk by herself, inside. She put Jessie to bed then searched for a phone number for half an hour before she gave up and dialed another number.
Lucy Bartolome Hendrickson answered. "Who is this?"
"This is Miranda. Hello, Mrs. Hendrickson. So sorry to bother you, but Jessie needs a doctor and though I have turned your place upside down looking for a name or number, I just can’t find it. Would you happen to know who it is?"
"What’s wrong with Jessie?"
Miranda thought she heard concern in Lucy’s voice, but she was unimpressed. "Other than that she drank half a bottle of Bailey’s and was attacked, I think she’s fine. But maybe we should have your doctor look after that, hmm?"
"Who hurt Jessie?!"
"Michael Abbot. Now, Mrs. Hendrickson, I really need that phone number."
Lucy hung up and sent a text with the doctor’s number. Miranda called and he was there within the hour. Miranda stayed with Jessie while the doctor examined her, because Jessie was too afraid to be alone. When he was done, he gave Jessie some warm milk to help her sleep. Once Jessie drifted off, the doctor pulled Miranda out.
"Did he rape her?" Miranda said as soon as the door was closed.
"No," the doctor said slowly. "But there were some lacerations, and she does have some bruising on her arms, wrists and hands."
Miranda shook her head. "What does that mean?"
"He was trying to, but she was trying to stop him. It is pretty impressive, considering how much she drank."
"When did you test her blood, doctor?"
"I could smell it. She’s very lucky you came when you did." He patted her on the arm. "She’s lucky to have you.
"Doctor, will you write that up?"
~~~
It took another two hours for Richard to return. Miranda had been afraid to leave Jessie alone.
"Where is he now?" she snapped as soon as Richard walked in. She knew she should feel sorry for Richard's ruined weekend, but she was tired of feeling sorry for anyone.
"I’m not sure. He left just a little bit after you did," Richard looked contrite, and she let him.
"I hope he gets hit."
"Someone else might get hurt then."
"That’s just a matter of time, isn’t it?"
She drove home. She burst through Alex’s door and was not surprised to see Lucy there. She was surprised to see the drawn expression on her face, and Alex’s cold glare.
"Sorry to interrupt," Miranda said in a monotone.
"Not at all," Lucy said, standing up. She was trim and not nearly as tall as her son, but her posture made her seem much more imposing. "Thank you for helping with Jessie today."
Miranda blinked. She was in a nightmare. "She’s like family. That’s what you do, right?"
Lucy looked away. "I’m going to go check on her now. Alex, I hope you’ll think about what I said."
Miranda froze as Lucy walked past her. She heard the front door close, and turned to look at Alex. She couldn’t look at him before. "How do you do it?" Miranda said, unable to speak above a whisper.
"Miranda, please understand-"
"I think I do. You just iced Lucy Bartolome. You just played one of the most powerful women in Boston. And you not only could do it, you did do it. Do you know what Michael did?"
"I’m sorry you had to be a part of this."
"You’re sorry I had to be a part of this? I’m sorry Jessie had to be a part of this! He was going to rape her, Alex! She fought him off, but he was going to win. And he got her drunk off her ass just to make sure. If someone hadn’t gone for a bathroom break at just the right time...if Richard and his friends hadn’t gotten bored when they did...no one would have noticed until it was too late. He would have raped a fifteen year old girl, and you are sitting there apologizing to me for my involvement! Prove you’re sorry and either put Michael in prison or get him into a treatment program or kill him, I don’t care, but fix this now!"
"He’s been in an outpatient treatment for a while now."
Miranda laughed as if it were the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. "Why is that? What did he do, bang up one of your expensive cars?" Alex closed his eyes, and Miranda stepped back. "Oh my God. He killed someone, didn’t he?"
"No—no. But he did hit someone. Michael was very lucky that he wasn’t hurt himself."
"Michael is very lucky because you make sure of it!" she shouted. "Why didn’t he go to jail?"
"It was his first offense—"
"That you know about!" She walked over and bent down so that her face was right next to his. "Fine, how badly was this person hurt? How much did you pay them off?"
"He and his family will be taken care of for many years to come," he said quietly.
Miranda cried, but not just because of someone else’s misery. She could not deny how ruthless and cold Alex could be. "That’s good. I’m sure you sleep better because of it. Don’t worry, Michael probably doesn’t even remember. But you didn’t do that to Lucy, did you? You—it has to be something about her, right? Because she doesn’t really care enough about Richard and Jessie to back off if it’s something about them. What is it Alex? What have you got that gets Michael off of a rape charge?"
"Miranda, don’t do this."
"I can report it," Miranda said, standing up. "I’m a witness. And so is Richard. If you make him choose between Michael and Jessie, it’s not going to take him long. And that doctor knows what happened to—oh, God!" She saw Alex shaking his head, unable to look at her. "You’re making him go away, too? How much did that set you back? Ugh!" She hit her hands on his armrest. He didn’t move. "Why are you protecting this son of a bitch? Don’t you think this is a little worse than bullying?"
"I am all he has left," Alex said simply. That was too much for Miranda. She’d heard that so many times when they were growing up. It excused him breaking a thousand dollar paper weight, it didn’t excuse hurting Jessie.
"I do not care! He doesn’t have anyone else because he is a miserable piece of garbage and everyone who can has run away from him the minute he got too close. Everyone gets away except me and Richard and Jessie! Even you and Lucy haven’t had to put up with the crap we have! If he hurts Jessie again…" She had to stop because she couldn’t stop crying long enough to get the words out. Alex stood up and held her. She knew how truly sorry he was. But she had to continue.
"You promise me," Miranda said once she could speak again. "Nothing else is going to happen to Jessie. Promise me."
Alex closed
his eyes and a tear spilled out. "I promise," he whispered.
"Okay," she said.
She wasn’t thinking. That was what was so strange to her when she remembered it later. She took Alex’s face in her hands and kissed him. She did so as if it were the most natural thing in the world. It was the first time she had ever kissed anyone. And he kissed her back. It wasn’t a dream come true, it was the way everything was supposed to be...
…Until he pulled away and walked out without looking at her. Miranda caught her breath and held onto the chair, before she sat down. He promised, she thought to herself, touching her lips. Jessie’s going to be safe.
She was still sitting in the study an hour later when she heard the front door. She narrowed her eyes, as she stood up. The study door opened and there was the devil himself. "I was just looking for Alex."
She was used to pretending that everything was normal, even though normal didn’t exist. "He must have stepped out, fortunately for you."
Michael stepped in and closed the door then leaned back against it. "Why, Miranda? What do you think he’s going to do to me?"
"What, exactly, do you want him to do you? To the untrained eye, it might look like you’re trying to get someone’s attention."
"That may be the case, but why are you so sure that it’s Alex’s?"
"Because you know you have Richard’s, and mine."
"How do you know I didn’t just want Jessie’s...attention?"
Miranda looked at the smile on his face and felt violently ill. "You’re right, I don’t," she said, forcing herself to keep her smile plastered on. "But I do know this." She walked up closer to him. "You ever try to get Jessie’s attention or anything else again, and I will kill you. I don’t care who’s protecting you. You can take that promise to the bank."
"Really, Miranda," he said, continuing to lean into the door. "You think you can take me?"
"I think you’d better make sure that you don’t get a chance to find out whether or not I can."
"Right," he sneered. "Because you’re all of, what, one-hundred twenty pounds? I’m shaking."
"Shake or don’t. But let me ask you something: if you were able to take me, how long do you think it would be before Alex finally did something?" A look passed over Michael’s face. It was the same look from that summer a few years ago. Miranda took a deep breath. "You know, that’s such a great idea, maybe I should be the one getting in your face from now on. Let’s see how long it takes for you to fight back. Let’s see how long it takes for you to win. And then let’s see how long it takes for you to finally get out of my life."
Michael took a deep breath too, and Miranda wasn’t sure what he was thinking. "No," he said finally, shaking his head as he took her in. "You’re not like that."
"Maybe not," she said, "but you keep pushing me, and I can be. Now, please, get out of my way." He looked at her. She looked back. He moved and even opened the door for her. "Yeah, thanks," she said, forcing herself to leave the room slowly.
CHAPTER 4
Miranda met Emily at Richard’s Christmas party. She thought she was gracious and sweet. She could see why Richard would like her; she really did want to know about the stupid Solar Car Richard was so obsessed with. When they told her that Michael was coming and she refused to leave, she understood why Jessie liked her. Miranda liked her too, and that’s why she wanted to make sure Emily left too. She wasn’t going to let Michael take one more friend from her.
Miranda glared while Richard offered Michael coffee and some food to help absorb all the alcohol in his system. She shuddered when she saw Jessie, of all people, pour him some coffee. No, that was just too much. She grabbed the coffee from Jessie and told Richard’s friends to stay with her.
She handed Michael the coffee. "Here. Sober up," she said.
He gulped it down black then smacked his lips. "Joining us for a little yuletide cheer? I didn’t think you went that way."
"It’s true, this isn’t my special holiday you’re ruining, and I’m afraid you missed Chanukah and Passover this year."
"It’s so hard to keep up with that irregular calendar."
"You have no idea how much it pleases me to hear that you don’t approve."
"That can’t be true," Michael said, and the way he looked at her, Miranda wondered how drunk he really was. "No one goes so out of their way to be nice if they’re not trying to get people to like them."
"Nice," she said, nodding a little bit. "Maybe I do go out of my way to make up for things I can’t fix. But what’s your excuse?" Then she left the room before he could answer.
~~~
Miranda visited Israel for part of the winter quarter. Her grandparents were getting old, and to her it was worth delaying graduation for a few months to see them. So she began classes in earnest the following spring.
That is when she saw poor Mitchell Graham again. He was kind to her even when he was in the middle of his self-deluded justification for leaving someone he was obviously in love with for someone he obviously didn’t care about. He hadn’t taken her advice but why would he? She’d told him to do the right thing, because at that point it could still be done. But she had a different definition of impossible than most other people.
When she realized that Jessie and Richard’s friend Emily was Mitchell’s Emily, she knew it was her job to bring them all together. But she could also tell that Emily, for all her pride and independence had been genuinely hurt by his stupid mistakes. Miranda had been happy to hang out with Emily while she soothed her heart with old television and some vegan ice cream bars.
To her surprise, Miranda found that she loved some of the Thelonious Monk and Ella Fitzgerald songs Emily had played that night. Most of the Ella was so pretty that she sang to herself as she listened, but the Monk was overall perfect to help her focus while she studied.
On a Sunday in May, when Alex was away on a business trip in Asia, she was sitting in the living room, going over her notes for European History, 1945-Present. She had her iPod on and was bouncing her head to Eronel when she felt a rough tap on her shoulder. It was Michael. She’d thought he’d had a late night out and wouldn’t be up for a while.
She rolled her eyes and paused the music. "Yes?"
"I said, that’s really loud."
"Yeah, okay." She put the music back on and made it a little bit louder. Her eardrums could withstand a little abuse if it got him to leave.
"Turn it down!"
"Go into another room!" she shouted back. "I need to study. Go nurse your hangover somewhere else."
He grabbed the iPod. She sighed and sat back. She didn’t want to start a game of keep away with him, so she’d just wait until he’d had his fill.
"When did you start listening to grown up music?"
"When Radio Disney went off the air in Boston."
"Wow, Monk," he said, going through her playlists. "Who do you know that has good taste in music?"
"Emily," she said, snatching the iPod back.
"Right, Richard’s little friend. I didn’t know you knew her."
"There’s a lot you don’t know." She found her place in her book and started reading again.
"So enlighten me."
Scowling, she gathered her books and iPod. "I doubt that’s possible," she said as she walked out of the room and left the house to go to the library.
CHAPTER 5
Michael was not quite as tall as Richard but he was still over six feet. He was built like an Abbot: broad shouldered, thick-chest and strong. His hair was dark brown, like his mother Annabelle’s, but thick and wavy with red highlights like Stephen’s. And he had the long eyelashes of his grandfather Michael Senior, who had used them to his advantage on many occasions. Michael was very handsome if his face was still and emotionless, but when a dark thought crossed his mind, he had the appearance of a dangerous animal that would pounce on its prey at any point. People would usually back away if they were near him when this happened which had sadly been the case since he was
seven years old.
After he had that little episode with Emily in May, Alex had made it unusually clear that Michael had to leave for a long period of time. That day Alex had taken him to dinner at the club, after he’d bought Michael a new suit and shoes. The ones he’d had on that afternoon had been covered in spinach dip, thanks to that twit Mitch.
"The Surf and Turf, I think, but first the vodka martini," Michael ordered.
"Just the food, please," Alex said.
"Why’s that, Alex? I promise I haven’t even had a beer today."
Alex leaned in. "Then that makes what happened today even more unacceptable."
Michael was offended. "I’m still having trouble walking. Does anyone care that she hurt me?"
"She wouldn’t have had the chance if you hadn’t shoved her hand down your pants."
"She should keep her mouth shut about things that don’t concern her."
"Like what?"
"Like one more person over reacting to a little fun between me and Jessie."
"A little fun with a little girl! You could have been taken in for statutory rape at the very least."
Michael shrugged. "I thought she was sixteen already. Who can keep track of everyone’s birthday?"
"Don’t play dumb. If you touch Jessie again, I can’t help you, and more importantly, I won’t. And assaulting someone—one of Miranda’s friends, no less—in front of a crowd of witnesses is something I might not be able to help you out of this time."
The steak and shrimp arrived, and that was just as well, because Michael didn’t want to play word games. He was halfway into his food when Alex spoke up. "Do you understand what I’m telling you?"
"Of course, this is my last meal before you turn me into the police yourself."
Michael didn't look at Alex. "You know I’m not going to do that."
"Then you’re going to call in that would-be Sir Lancelot to finish me off? Or you’re going to do it yourself?"
Alex didn’t take the bait. "I made a promise to Miranda. She and her friends won’t go to the police as long as you leave."
The Family You Choose Page 5
