by Aven Jayce
“Enough! Stop being beasts! All of you! Jack, let go of her, now! Jules, leave him alone!”
“Don’t tell him who it is!” she shouts. “I’ll deal with him!”
“Uh, Jesus H. Christ.” I clutch the dresser in pain, turning to see an odd-shaped handle sticking out of my back.
“You’re going to the hospital,” Cove says.
“No.” I try to reach the weapon, seeing how painful a small tug is... “Oww! Fuck!” I drop my hand, taking short breaths. “I’m gonna kill that fucker!”
“No!” Jules commands. “You won’t! Don’t even think about it! I’ll take care of him!”
“Julia,” Sam’s deep voice calls from the bedroom doorway.
“I can’t believe you followed us in here!” she screams. “Get out!” She sprints toward him and smacks her palms into his chest. “How dare you!”
“You’re not marrying into this family. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
“Oh, I know!” She points her finger at his face. “I fucking know! You tried to kill him! You bastard!” She tries to clock him, but her hand’s caught mid-swing.
“This is a warning for him to disappear. That’s all.”
“A warning?” I yell. “I don’t do warnings, Sam. This was an attack and once I get this fucking thing out of my back, you’re dead. You don’t just stab me and walk away. You’re going in the ground!”
“Stop it! This isn’t happening! Don’t make me choose between you!” She displays a look of desperation.
I’m between a rock and a hard place. This is the first time the act of killing someone would destroy the person I love. “Princess,” I mutter.
Jack runs past her, striking Sam in the jaw. That’s my boy. He swings a second time, but Sam snatches his arm, pulling it behind his back. His face is pushed into the wall making a loud thud.
“You fuck!” I open my dresser drawer and take out one of my switchblades. “Don’t you ever touch my son!”
“What’s happening?” Daxton screams from the bedroom as Sophia darts to my side. “Mom! What’s going on?”
“Mark, put it away,” she orders. “Focus on yourself, not him. You’re not moving another inch until we get this knife out of you.” She examines the wound as I watch the scene unfold. Cove pulls Jack away and Sam’s pushed out of the room by Jules.
“This family destroyed my life,” he says to her. “I spent years living in fear when you were a kid... I quit my job in Reno because of a fucking Jameson. We’re just lucky I was so insignificant to Paul. He never bothered with me other than sending a guy to give me a souvenir of a fist in my stomach, a knee to my jaw, and a kick out of a moving car into a ditch. You walk away from men like this. You hear me. You walk away. You don’t fight them, trick them, or fucking marry one of them! I won’t allow it!”
They argue as Sophia feels the area around the puncture wound, trying to figure out if she can help.
“That’s all about you and Paul! You know nothing about me, about us, about Mark!”
“Why didn’t you tell me his name a year ago? I could’ve gotten you out of this then.”
“I don’t want out of this!”
“And when you finally said his last name my heart dropped into my stomach. I prayed he wasn’t related to Paul. And why the fuck isn’t there any information about his life online? That should be a massive warning to you!”
“Paul didn’t use Mark’s name in the company. He didn’t want anyone to know he had a son! Stop this, now!”
“Hurry up, Soph. Pull it out,” I say anxiously.
“I had to hire that detective to find out they were related. His name wasn’t even listed in Paul’s obituary. No one was. That’s fucked up!” Sam rages. “The detective found out because Mark was the executor to Paul’s estate!”
“You shoulda asked!”
“And you kept referring to him as ‘just a guy’ at first, and then ‘just a guy’ turned into ‘Mark,’ but you waited until a month ago to tell me his last name! Why? I kept thinking he forced you to keep quiet, that he knew who I was, and he was planning to kill me or harm you!”
“You’re fucking crazy! I’m not being used to get to you! That’s insane!” she shouts at the top of her lungs.
“Yeah, well if that’s not it, then ask him if he truly loves you or if he’s going to use your body and toss you away like all the whorish porn stars he’s fucked.”
“That’s bullshit!” I call out. “Soph, yank this thing out of me so I can move freely and break his face.”
“I can’t. What if I hurt you?”
“I’m already hurt!”
“It’s too dangerous. What if I make it worse? And I’m freaking out from this weed, and it’s two hundred degrees in here, and my head’s spinning, and my legs are gonna give out!” she whines.
“Jack, get your ass over here and yank this thing out of me.”
“Mom! What’s happening?” Xavier screams.
“Stay in the room, boys! Don’t come out!” she yells. “Cove, come help us.”
He walks over and examines the blade, moving my bunched shirt. “Shit, what is that? It looks like... it’s a corkscrew.”
“What? Jack, get this motherfucking thing out of me. Don’t waste anymore time! Just do it!”
He grasps the handle and places a firm hold on my shoulder.
“Ready?”
“Turn it... don’t forget to twist on the way out. Oww! Fuck!” My head goes down and I take deep breaths, setting my palms on the top of the dresser. He didn’t count to three; he just turned and pulled. “Thank you,” I gasp.
He sets it between my hands and Cove laughs at the size of the bloody thing. I realize Sophia’s spot on—we’re all fucking stoned out of our minds. That should not have hurt like it did.
“Wuss,” Cove says. “That’s shorter than a fork.”
“It could’ve damaged something. It’s two inches and it hurt like fuck.”
“It didn’t go all the way in, maybe an inch.”
“Damn, it’s not like me to feel so much pain from such an insignificant wound. I can’t believe how this batch of pot’s fucking with my head. It’s gotta be a different kind than I normally buy. My eyes are burning and my body feels like I’m trying to run in four feet of water. How’s my back? That thing felt like it went right through my torso. Is it all fucked up? A deep wound? Or is the weed seriously fucking with my senses?”
“It left about a quarter inch hole that’s oozing blood,” Jack says. “It’s kinda cool. Can I keep the weapon?”
“No!” the three of us say in unison.
“Gah!” Jules grunts outside the door. I can hear the anger and frustration in her voice. I’m ready to gouge Sam’s heart out for this, but Sophia grabs my arm and draws me back before I can do any harm.
“Dad, you need to leave, and I’m not referring to the hotel, I mean my life. I can’t say for how long... maybe forever.”
“I d-didn’t know what to do.” Sam sounds defeated and remorseful. “You can’t stay here. I thought I’d feel differently after meeting him, only I feel worse. This isn’t your life. You shouldn’t be involved with people like this... they’re... they’re scum.”
“Excuse me?” Sophia steps forward. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”
“We’re not scum!” Daxton shouts. “Mom, can we come out? I wanna kick this guy in the nuts.”
The four of us move to the doorway, seeing Jules with her hands on her hips, dishing out her usual badass attitude.
“How could you say such a thing? Leave. Leave, before something horrible happens. I won’t be able to stop Mark or anyone else in this suite if they come after you, including me. And trust me, I’m close to doing it.”
“Listen to yourself.” His head shakes pleadingly.
“You acted like a madman tonight for no reason except you’re resentful of someone who’s been dead for years. The choice you
just made may have cost you our relationship, forever. I know you’re jealous of Mark for taking me away from you, but I’m not a fucking little girl!” She rubs her forehead, looking worn out and in a state of confusion over the mess. “And no, you didn’t want to kill him, but you didn’t think twice about hurting him. You stabbed him in the back like a coward, for Christ’s sake!”
“Peanut—”
“Please Dad, don’t. You need to leave. Now.”
“No.” Jack steps forward, pushing past everyone and stepping right up to Sam. He crosses his arms with his jaw muscles twitching. “I’m gonna kill him.”
“Get your ass back in the bedroom,” I command.
Sam’s head jerks as Jules’ blade juts open, ready to plunge it into my son if he makes a wrong move.
“Jesus Christ, is this happening, or is it the pot?” Sophia starts to freak out. “Are all of you playing games with me? Is this a big joke to fuck with me when I’m—”
“Shh,” Cove hushes her. “Take a breath.”
“Except,” Jack says, “if I did, if I killed you, Sam, then I’d be hurting Jules. I wouldn’t do that to her. I’m still dealing with the loss of my mom, and no one should experience something like that. Which is why I can’t believe you’d want to take the man she loves away from her. You fucking jackass. And let me tell you something,” he looks back at me, bites his bottom lip, then turns to Sam and continues, “scum are people who are worthless. They’re the lowest of the low, men who beat the shit out of women, pimps and pedophiles, rapists and animal abusers—they act like big brave men, but they’re nothing more than pitiful cowards. They’re the men my dad defends us from. He’s not the scum. If anything, you should be thanking him for keeping your daughter safe. He’d do anything for her...” He pauses and places his hands in his pockets, having good reason to act superior since he’s the only real man in the room. “As a Jameson, I can tell you we enjoy our liquor, a little weed, and have a good appetite for fucking, but we’re not scum. We live for each other. We’d die for each other. And if you can’t handle that, then you can go straight to hell.” He walks past him, knocking shoulders, and stating he’ll be in his room if we need him.
Sam gives us the once-over before dropping his gaze and heading quietly down the stairs, not saying a word after being schooled by a sixteen-year-old.
The entryway door closes and Sophia rushes to see her boys.
“I’m so sorry.” Jules wraps her arms around me, causing a shudder of pain when her hand touches the puncture wound. “Oh, Jesus, Mark. What did he do to you?” She raises the back of my shirt and I lower my head, starting to feel dizzy and slightly paranoid. Okay... a lot paranoid.
“You alright?” Cove asks.
“I don’t know, are you?”
“I think I am, but you’re the one who got stabbed. Fuck, someone should’ve stayed straight tonight. My hearing’s all fucked up. Everyone sounds like they’re screaming, and then voices are muffled like I’m wearing earplugs.”
“I think we were screaming. At least I was,” Jules says. “What the fuck? I can’t believe this happened, and Mark, you look pale.”
I walk into the bathroom, unsteady on my feet and nauseous, the taste of salt and greasy meat still lingering in my mouth. Cove joins me and we splash cold water on our faces; the two of us looking at our mirrored reflections, patting our flesh dry while emitting short-lived, agitated laughs, and brief headshakes.
“That could’ve been the end,” I whisper.
“Not even close, man. We’ve still got a long time together as a family.”
“Yeah, I suppose it’s good to get stabbed in the back every once in a while, especially by your fiancé’s father. Makes you realize you’re marrying the right woman.”
“Makes me feel like white-trash,” Jules says from the doorway as Jack sneaks past her.
“Dad, this website says you’re going to die if you’re stabbed with a corkscrew.” He holds up the iPad.
“That right?”
“Yeah. It says toenail fungus can kill you too. Do you have that?”
“Come here.”
“Another stitch job?” He walks over, standing next to me without a fuss.
“No, not this time.” I look at him admiringly and offer my warmest smile, my hands firmly gripping his shoulders so we’re connected as one. “You should know I spent years trying to impress my dad... Paul. I’d do anything to hear the words ‘I love you,’ come from that man. Even once would’ve been enough. But he never gave me that. Many times, I tried to be just like him so he’d notice me... now... all I want is to be like my son.” I lift his chin as tears begin to shimmer in his eyes. “I love you, Jack.”
I THEE WED
LET’S FUCK
SHE’S BEAUTIFUL.
I stand next to the bed, admiring her nude body with a lily in my hand. The stem twirls between my thumb and forefinger, causing the flower to spread open and a petal to float gently down to her nipple. Her hands are above her head as she stretches and yawns in the early-afternoon light, and a loving smile appears when I set the lily on her stomach.
My shoes and sport coat are removed before I slide by her side, taking her cheek in the palm of my hand and gifting her an affectionate kiss. Our tongues dance and teeth tug at one another’s lips, producing arousing moans befitting the blustering wind outside the window.
“Who knew I’d end up with a soft spot in my heart for another person,” I whisper.
“I did.” She grins, smelling the flower. “What a nice surprise this morning. I thought we only had red ones in the hotel right now.”
“A mix of white and red just arrived in the lobby.”
“Sweet. I bet the bouquets look like candy canes.”
“I ordered them special, just for you. I know you miss having the white ones in the corridors.”
“I like the red too.” She sniffs the petals and runs the flower down to her pussy. “Are you being nice because you want something?”
I nod and start to unbutton my shirt. “Hell yeah, yesterday was bleak. I could use a good fuck.”
“Not yet.” The flower taps my hands. “You were so good last night, but not ‘til after the ceremony... how’s your back?”
“Fine.” I press my stiff cock against her side, not giving up. “My dick wants inside. Let me massage your clit and make love to you.” My fingers tiptoe up her thigh, separating her lips and touching her wet pussy. “Mmm.”
“Shame on you.” My hand’s pushed away and her legs snap shut. She’s not giving in.
“You can’t blame me for wanting to fuck when you’re spread out nude in our bed.” I rest my head on her pillow and place my arm across my chest, holding her close. Her hair’s messy and mascara smeared, having crashed at three in the morning.
“Tell me the truth. Is your back really okay?”
“It is. Did you see him run off after he stabbed me? He knew he was in the wrong. Most men don’t act like pussies, they stand their ground and defend themselves. They won’t admit they’ve done anything wrong, but he knew. He was fully aware that mistake could cost his life. He fucking ran.”
“Well, I can’t believe he came back... he followed us into the suite. And my mother told me on the phone last night that he’s heartbroken over this.”
“Good.”
“I know.” She gazes at the ceiling with her forearm over her head. “Is that the first time?”
“What?”
“That you let someone go.”
“Who said I let him go? He’s still dead.”
“Mark, be serious.”
“Alright, it’s like Jack said, I thought it, only he was man enough to step forward and say it... hurting Sam would be hurting you.” I kiss the back of her hand once, twice, then rest it next to my face to smell her skin. “And I won’t hurt you... except when I’m an ass and cuff you to a chair, but you should be getting used to that by now.”
“How
could I not expect that from such a hot-headed, controlling, man-imal,” she laughs.
“True. But just remember, your dad’s fucked if he hurts you or anyone else. I can handle a corkscrew in the back, nothing else. He’s not touching any of you.”
“He won’t.”
“After seeing him run off like a baby, I know you’re right. Fuck, I can’t believe I didn’t pull it out of my back right then and there and stick it in his neck.”
“You didn’t know what it was. I didn’t either. I only saw his arm swing forward and the ice bucket drop. I’m just glad I was tagging behind you.”
“Hey, did you want something when you did that?”
“Just another kiss without Cove and Sophia watching. The one you gave me was way tame.”
“Like this?” I kiss her lightly, making a smooch-smooch noise.
“Yeah. That sucks.”
“How’s this?” I roll on top of her, hold her jaw, and press my lips to hers, giving her a long, wholehearted kiss.
“Better... and thank you. You’ve killed for me, but this time you stepped away because of me. That’s pretty fucking cool. It truly is love.”
I unzip my pants, uncomfortable from being confined and needing to reposition the brute. “You’re driving me mad. How about oral? No fucking, just give me head and I’ll finish what we started yesterday when my hands were cuffed... I love eating you out.” My tongue swipes my lips, taking another crack at having some pussy fun.
“Nope.” She zips me up. “What time is it anyway? Eleven?”
“I’m on my lunch break so it’s twelve-thirty.”
“What?” She pushes me off and jumps out of bed. “You’ve been at work all morning? And you didn’t call and wake me? And the wedding! Oh, my god! I was supposed to meet Sophia at noon so we could fix one another’s hair.”
“I just saw her. Told her you were probably still asleep.”
“I can’t believe I slept this late!”
“You needed to after such a long night.” I sit up and straighten the bed, watching her move frantically about the room, grabbing a dress from the closet and clean underwear. “How about the black lace pair? I like those.”
