Page 81 of Like You Know
Loud banging and glass breaking made me jump. I brandished the poker in both hands, swiveling around. The sound was coming from all sides, and I didn’t know which way to face, where the danger was coming from.
People flooded into the house. They came from all directions, shoving past Calvin through the front door, climbing through broken windows, rushing in from the bedroom. Some were women but most were men. They all wore casual clothes and wielded guns and menacing expressions.
I counted at least a dozen. Where had they even come from? How did we not hear a car coming up the drive? Did they creep up through the woods? Did I lead them here?
Too many questions to even process flashed through my mind.
Mom was suddenly standing, her back to mine. I leaned against her and swung the poker in a wide arc. The two mean dudes closest to us just laughed, pointing their guns at my head.
They had a point. What the fuck was I going to do with my stick against their guns?
I still held on to it though. It felt like the only thing giving me any strength in this fucked-up situation.
The intruders easily disarmed Calvin, outnumbered as he was, and one of the men shoved him. He stumbled and caught himself on the edge of the table, sending one of the dining chairs clattering to the floor.
Raine walked into the cabin calmly, her wedged heels thudding on the wooden floors. She was in blue linen pants and a loose white shirt with a chunky necklace, her hair neatly styled in a low bun—an ensemble that paired perfectly with her smug, beatific smile. It was as if she’d been on her way to brunch with other obscenely wealthy women of a certain age and had just popped into this remote, crumbling cabin in the woods on her way.
She paused just inside the door, took in the scene, and wandered over to the dude who’d shoved Calvin. Swinging her arm wide, she smacked him on the side of the head.
The armed man, who was twice her size, just stood there and took it.
“Do not lay a hand on my son,” she said, authority heavy in her voice.
“Sorry, ma’am.” He hung his head, looking miserable and frightened at the same time.
“Are you OK, Cali-boy?” she cooed to her grown-ass son and caressed his head as if he were a toddler.
Calvin jerked away, disdain and hatred clear in his eyes.
She just folded her hands in front of her. “You’re mad at me, I know. But, darling, I’m very disappointed in you too.”
She looked at him expectantly, slowly raising one eyebrow. Calvin just kept glaring.
My arms started to shake from holding the heavy poker up in front of myself.
“Not ready to apologize then.” Raine sighed. “I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess, considering the lengths you went to in order to run away from home.” She chuckled. “And here I am ruining your fun.”
Was this a fucking game to her?
“Now, come on, get your things. It’s time to go home.” She smoothed the front of her shirt, unaffected by the deadly weapons in the room or how fucked up this situation was.
“How did you find us?” Cal asked. He sounded defeated.
Raine released one harsh laugh. “I thought you’d learned your lessons a long time ago. There is nothing you can hide from me. I know everything there is to know. I am everywhere, and my will is absolute. Now, you’re trying my patience, and I really don’t want to have to punish you.”
Cal winced. It was the slightest little tic in his face, but I caught it. He’d suffered at the hands of this woman.
“Having you as a mother is punishment enough,” he spat. “I’ve been living in purgatory my entire life.”
“Watch your mouth.” Raine suddenly looked furious.
“No!” Calvin yelled, and she seemed genuinely taken aback. “I am a grown man. All I’m trying to do is build a life with the woman I love. And your reaction to that is to kidnap her? To show up here with armed goons? What the fuck is wrong with you? This isn’t normal! I can’t live like this anymore!”
“We do not acknowledge that word in my world. Have you forgotten the basic principles of BestLyf already?”
“Normal! Normal! Normal!” Calvin shouted, going red in the face.
“That’s it. I’ve had enough.” Raine was starting to go red too, her perfect mask slipping. I could really see the resemblance now. An identical vein in their foreheads popped out as they shouted at each other. “I told you when you came to me yesterday that I was willing to let that woman live.” She gestured vaguely in our direction, making a disgusted face. As if the mere mention of my mother tasted rotten in her mouth. I bared my teeth at her, gripping the poker tighter despite my shaking arms. “I’ve always been a reasonable parent, Calvin. I was willing to let you keep her as long as you understood that your place was by my side. But now I see just how far this insubordination has gone. How deeply she’s dug her claws into you. She’s corrupted you, my boy.”