Skull Island

by T. Styles

  And yet the horror was far from over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  The fireplace crackled and the smell of burning wood sifted through the air in the lounge.

  Mason was propped on the sofa when Howard walked inside, with a look of confusion to go along with the fresh bruises on his face. But more than it all, he wondered did his father know his vile secrets.

  Secrets he wanted himself and Spacey to take to the grave.

  “Pops, what you…what you doing?” His jaw clenched tightly, causing his teeth to grind with fear. Does he know? Does he know about me? With no answer, Howard walked further inside and poured himself a glass of liquor. “I overheard Banks telling ma we running low. On alcohol.” He laughed. “I think they trying to say it’s your fault. That nigga Banks owes us though right, Pops?”

  Mason glared at him.

  For the first time ever, Howard felt his father’s hate steaming from his body. As a result, Howard felt queasy due to not eating, but drinking all day. It took everything in his power to build his self up to talk to him and now he was getting the reception he deserved.

  He knows.

  Howard took a deep breath with the glass clutched in his hand. “Can you believe Spacey trying to act like he hard? I could’ve killed that nigga if I wanted. He better be glad he’s still—”

  Mason got up, leaving his son alone.

  Devastated, Howard flopped on the edge of the sofa realizing a man he adored knew his worst shame.

  ****

  Walking down the hallway, Mason stopped where he saw Rosa, Tobias and Ives whispering. He always felt as if they were weird but so was everyone at that point. Not only that, his thoughts were so consumed with losing his son, that the last thing he was trying to do was figure out the Nunez’s secrets when his world was falling apart.

  He was about to walk to the beach when he saw Banks and Jersey whispering in a guest room. And when he saw the burgundy circles encompassing mounted bumps on Banks’ face, caused by him, it shocked him still. He hadn’t seen him since the fight and so was now faced with how badly he injured his old friend.

  Still, what was he doing with his wife?

  Banks’ hands were on her shoulders and she was looking up at him in a way she never had with Mason. Her entire attention seemed to be zoomed in on every word as if she was his lover, waiting on him to lead the way.

  Confused, Mason backed up and looked downward with thick long breaths. He was trying desperately to calm himself, to prevent making another brash move.

  It didn’t work.

  Letting his feelings take the reigns, he stormed inside; fists clenched and ready to fight again. “What’s, what’s going on in here?”

  They separated from each other quickly, a soft glow of guilt on their faces. “I’ll talk to you later, Jersey.” Banks said exiting the room without saying a word to Mason.

  Jersey took a deep breath and walked up to her husband. Arms crossed over her small breasts. “Are you gonna tell me why Spacey and Howard were fighting now?”

  Mason frowned. “Is that what’s going on with you and Banks? Ya’ll talking about the kids?”

  “I don’t know if he knows,” she shrugged. “Spacey told Banks they got into it over bowling. But I know it’s not the truth.” She tucked a small piece of hair behind her ear.

  “Then what’s going on with you and Banks?” His nostrils flared. “Why ya’ll in here alone?”

  “What you mean?” Her feet shuffled under her body.

  And suddenly it was as if someone had dimmed the lights and he was in space. He blinked and Mason took a deep breath, trying to stay in the present. Why was she ignoring him? “You know, I swore I’d never lay hands on you again. And I’m trying hard to keep my promise, but if you don’t answer my question you gonna make me drop you.” He stepped closer. “Please don’t make me do it. I’m trying hard over here.”

  She stepped back from his rage. “We weren’t talking about anything.”

  “So why the fuck is you looking up at him like, like you want something from him?”

  “Banks is easy going, Mason. And I just lost Arlyndo. He lost Harris and we get each other. That’s it.” She flopped on the bed. “I don’t understand why it’s such a big deal anyway. You don’t sleep in our room. You don’t talk to me.” She shrugged. “So what difference does it make if someone else consoles me a little around here?”

  The cameraman entered the doorway.

  Mason looked back at him and ran a hand down his sweaty face. Why were they every fucking where? Filming. Watching. Catching the shot. It was as if they were trying to drive him mad.

  It wasn’t until that moment that he realized he was perspiring. “Banks is fucking with my head right now.”

  She frowned. “How?”

  “I don’t know, but, but I don’t trust him. At one point he was the only person I trusted in the world and now…now I don’t want him nowhere near me. My wife. My kids.”

  The cameraman walked closer eager to catch each word.

  Mason looked back at him and took a deep breath. “Until I figure shit out,” he continued, “Stay away from him.”

  “Tell me something, who are you jealous of, me or him?” She walked out.

  ****

  If he had gone to a doctor, Mason would be labeled legally insane.

  Still, it was easy to see why.

  Arlyndo, the son most like him was dead. He found his other son raping the son of his best friend. And then, his heart told him that Jersey and Banks were getting a little closer than necessary.

  Could they be having an affair?

  Sitting on the beach, he was on his final cup of liquor, the last cup in the house, when Bet walked outside. She was wearing a white see through sarong that showed the gold swimsuit she was wearing underneath. Her disposition screamed desperation and she didn’t care. She had hoped Tobias would be interested in a little pussy but his attention appeared to be with trying to get her daughter to talk to him, although she didn’t know how they fell out.

  “Mason, are you okay?” She asked, standing over top of him.

  He looked up at her and felt his dick jump in his jeans. Whenever anger consumed him sex was near and now was no different. She was basically showing him her body.

  He averted his attention on the ocean. “Just, just trying to…”

  “Get away from the cameras?” She smiled, sitting down. She was so close had he moved a limb they would be connected by flesh.

  He nodded. “So how are you and Banks?” His question was heavy with reasoning.

  She shrugged. “Banks doesn’t want me in his bedroom. He’s been acting weird ever since he spoke with Whoyawanmetabe and I don’t know why. So for now I’m just here.”

  He smiled. “You sound like me.”

  She took a deep breath and allowed the fresh air to traipse through her lungs. “Mason, are you still, are you still in love with Banks?”

  He laughed.

  She turned toward him. “I’d really like an answer.”

  He shook his head due to tiring of answering the question. Yes he loved him in a way he shouldn’t but he was certain the people around him knew already.

  “Banks was somebody I could always see, see myself in. I mean, even when shit kicked off, and the war started, I knew we would go through it together because, that’s the way it had always been. We got history and I felt like, like I could always count on him to be who he was. To be my friend.”

  “You talk in past tense. Why?”

  “Things changed.” He sighed.

  “Is that why you hit him the way that you did?”

  “I lost it. I guess everyone was right after all.” He shrugged. “My temper is off the hinges. And to be honest I don’t give a fuck anymore. For real, I’m tired of talking about it.”

  “You can talk to me, Mason. And I know, I know Banks makes it out that I can’t handle much but I can handle more than he gives me credit for. We haven’t even slept in the room to
gether since I cleaned his bruises. He won’t even let me touch him. Says he needs his space. And I need somebody to talk to. Will you talk to me?” She begged with her eyes and he looked away.

  “What about the kids?”

  “Minnie’s involved in this strange tug of war with Tobias. Spacey and Joey seem to spend a lot of time together and Shay and Derrick are close now although they try to hide it. So trust me when I say, I’m alone.”

  Mason looked behind him for the cameramen and buried his glass in the sand when he didn’t see one near. “Let’s go to the towel shack.”

  “For what?” She smiled.

  Let’s not play games. He thought. You been throwing that pussy around for days.

  “In case a cameraman comes.” His eyes said he wanted more and he felt she did too. “We going or not?”

  Slowly they both rose, eyes planted on one another. Once on their feet they hurriedly moved toward the towel shack. Now inside, they walked to the far back, where Mason used to sleep when Banks didn’t know he was on his island.

  Passion and lust were in the air. As thick as a dense forest.

  The moment they were alone, Bet rushed up to him and kissed him deeply, tongue slithering into his mouth. It was a clumsy action that caused the air to rush from his body the moment their frames connected. But she was just so horny.

  If someone asked him before this moment, he would swear he had no clue she would react this way. But deep in his soul, he was quite aware that she longed for companionship. It was mixed in the natural scent permeating from her pussy and the coconut shampoo in her hair. It was mixed in the way her eyes always searched for attention whether it be from Banks, himself or even the cameramen.

  And despite having a wife desperate for attention himself, Mason chose to humor his best friend’s spouse by fucking her raw instead.

  Ready to push inside of her, there was a towel rack near and he shoved the linen to the floor. He lifted her up and plopped her on the table so that her pussy covered his bulging dick and her legs dangled around his waist. Tearing at her clothes he shoved greedily into her warmth as her head fell back in awe.

  Their mutual hate for Banks in the moment made this the most passionate sex either of them experienced in a long time. In and out of her body he went and before long their chemistry born a thin strand of oil that oozed out of her pussy and dampened the wood beneath her.

  Placing his lips against the crease of her neck, he breathed in deeply as if she belonged to him. She smelled like lust. Like disrespect. Like hate and he needed her more than he realized because of these things.

  “You feel so good,” Bet said scratching at his back with nails that dug deeply into his skin, leaving with them their secrets.

  “I’m fucking you better than Banks?” He asked through forced breath.

  “Better…better!”

  “You been wanting this dick, huh, you been needing this dick.” He said, feeling himself growing hot at fucking a woman that belonged to Banks. It was as if by being with her, he was fucking him instead.

  “I been needing this dick for a long time,” she said before kissing him heavily. “You feel so—.”

  “Mason,” Jersey said standing in the doorway. “What…what are you doing?”

  Mason pulled out of Bet’s wet pussy and turned around. When he realized he was still exposed, dripping with the juices of his best friend’s wife, he tucked his dick away. “I…it’s…”

  There was no use in lying and he knew it, he was caught.

  Jersey’s eyes fell on him and then Bet. “Oh my, God! Oh my…” She covered her mouth and ran out, stumbling in the sand in the process.

  “Jersey!” Mason gripped at the hem of his pants but fell over on his way to catch her. Instead he met the ground quickly.

  When he first entered his best friend’s wife it was due to the many emotions playing tricks on him. But now with Jersey holding a secret he knew would destroy him and Banks’ relationship forever, suddenly he realized the hate he had for Banks didn’t reach as deep as he thought. Now he understood that he secretly hoped their bond would return to normal. But if this got out it would be impossible.

  He had to stop her.

  By any means.

  But there was one problem.

  The alcohol he had been drinking earlier caused his equilibrium to be off. And so he crashed face first into the sand as he ran toward the mansion.

  But Jersey was quick.

  Jersey was angry and he was nowhere near the bearer of bad news.

  Picking himself up again, he hobbled back to his feet as he gave a faster chase. “Jersey!” He yelled bare feet covered with sand running through the hallways. “J…Jersey, please don’t tell him! It’ll destroy us! Please, baby!” Normally they rinsed their feet at the footbath by the front entrance outside of the mansion to avoid trailing sand inside, but there was no time.

  Mason was so loud as he tried to stop her, that all of the cameramen quickly rushed behind him eager to get the shot.

  ****

  Minutes later, Banks ran up to Jersey who was just exiting her room. “What’s wrong?” He held her by both forearms. “Are you hurt?”

  “Move out my way, Banks!” She rushed past him and headed for his bedroom.

  But he caught her and grabbed her again. “Please don’t do anything crazy. Remember the plan.”

  “Fuck your plan!” She yelled louder. “I’M SICK OF EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY IN THIS MANSION!”

  Banks blinked several times.

  When he glanced down, he could see she was concealing something in the front of her waist. He yanked her arm. “Jersey, fuck is happening? Talk to me! ”

  She wiggled out of his grasp as she stormed into his bedroom. Once there, she saw Bet standing in the middle of the room with a towel wrapped around her body. Her feet covered with sand. Guilt written all over her face.

  The moment Bet saw Jersey, followed by Mason, Banks and three cameramen, she felt weak in the knees.

  This would undoubtedly be a show.

  Jersey stared at Bet trembling with rage. “How, how could you do something like that to another woman? What is wrong with you? What kind of person are you?”

  Bet’s two white palms faced her direction trying to hold her back. “Jersey, I’m so sorry,” she said, trembling. “It all happened so quickly and…and I fucked up. I wish I could take it back but I fucked up.”

  “Wait…what’s…what’s going on again?” Banks asked his fists planted in the crease of his waist.

  Jersey looked back at him, just as Rosa and Tobias Nunez walked inside. Both of them stood next to Banks.

  “Is everything okay, Mr. Wales?” Rosa asked.

  There were so many people inside the room it was tough to breathe. “Just go to your house, Rosa,” he said. “Everything is—”

  “Answer me!” Jersey yelled at Bet, reminding all why the crowd had assembled. At the end of the day she caught her husband with another woman and she wanted answers.

  Bet opened and closed her mouth. “I…I’m sorry.” She shrugged as weak tears trailed the length of her cheek, dangling on her chin like morning dew. “I really am.”

  Banks stepped closer to his wife. “Bet, what did you do?” He scratched his scalp.

  “She fucked Mason,” Jersey said crying. “I caught them in the towel shack.”

  Banks opened and closed his mouth. Slowly he looked over at Mason, heart tilted back upon hearing the news. “Is this…is this true?”

  “I’m sorry, man, I…I been fucked up for awhile and…and…there’s no excuse. I swear to God I wish I could take it all back but I can’t. I can’t, man and I’m sorry. Banks, please lets talk about this…alone.”

  Before Banks could respond Jersey whipped out a gun and aimed it at Bet. “Yeah…well…I’m sorry too.”

  Banks quickly pushed Bet to the side and everyone screamed as Jersey squeezed the trigger and Banks had received a bullet for his efforts.

  In that moment, Mason
’s life flashed before his eyes as he leapt over the bed to help his friend.

  The room was in complete pandemonium as two of the three cameramen tackled Jersey to remove the gun. They were in shock. After all, they thought they confiscated all weapons.

  It was cool though.

  Because one cameraman kept focus, and he got the, shot.

  ****

  Mason sat in the kitchen staring out into space. His eyes were so blurry from tears; it was as if he had gone blind. His entire world was rocked yet again as another fear was realized.

  Banks Wales was gone.

  He was still replaying the bullet Banks took repeatedly in his mind, as Whoyawanmetabe strolled up to him, hands tucked in his pocket just as cool as chilled water.

  Slowly Mason’s head rotated in his direction. “Now is not the time,” Mason warned with a deep throaty voice.

  He shrugged. “I think it is though.”

  Mason looked down, rubbed his reddened eyes and breathed heavily. “My friend is dead and you coming in here to say what to me right now?” He asked through clenched teeth. “If I were you I’d tread lightly because for real, I don’t give a fuck anymore. And that includes about living.”

  “I will leave you your time in a minute. As I honored the no camera policy for your son, I will do the same for your friend, for two days.”

  Mason could care the fuck less. He was trying to survive the next minute, let alone the next day.

  “I understand how it feels to lose somebody you love,” Whoyawanmetabe continued. “My aunt, that I was telling you about, she was the closest person in my life until she died and I met a woman. Because of my lady it changed the course of everything I did. She left me too though. But when I lost her I made it my business to learn different languages and I travelled the world.” His expression was far off.

  “Again, what the fuck do you want from me?”

  Whoyawanmetabe blinked several times and took a deep breath as he returned to the present. “You’re in pain, Mason Louisville. Use it. That’s all I’m saying.” Whoyawanmetabe smiled as he walked out the door.