The Anniversary

“Let go of me!”

Mike managed to push Toby away, Toby stumbled back before regaining his balance. Mike wheezed and rubbed at his throat. Then he sneered at Toby.

“The last I heard, Carl’s an adult. And I had nothing to do with it.”

“I never said you were there. I said you set them up.” Toby jabbed a finger in his direction. “You tried to kill my wife and my son.”

“You need to leave before I call the cops.”

“Don’t bother. Emil’s outside calling them.” Toby stepped away before he swung at his brother. “I just wanted to tell you first.”

It would have been better for Mike to confess what he had done but Mike would never openly confess. However Toby knew his brother and had seen the expression in his eyes. He had been involved and he was gloating.

It made Toby want to beat him to a pulp but he refused to lower himself down to that level.

“Mike? What’s going on?”

Toby turned. A pretty blonde girl in her late teens was in the doorway to Mike’s bedroom wearing one of his shirts. Her hair was mussed like she had been having s*x and her eyes were glazed over, the way they did when the person had been taking drugs. He could smell marijuana.

This wasn’t Candace but the look was similar.

“You’re Louise, I take it.” Realizing what this meant, Toby swung around on Mike, who was smirking as if he was pleased with himself. “You’re sleeping with your girlfriend’s sister? She’s only seventeen!”

“Age of consent in this state is sixteen.” Mike shrugged. “No crime here.”

“No, but it’s skirting it.”

Toby turned to Louise and advanced on her. Louise didn’t back down or cower. Either she was really under the influence or she thought she was being clever facing a furious father down.

The pieces were falling into place and Toby didn’t like the picture. It felt too strange to be true.

“So this is how it is, is it?” He asked, giving Louise a disgusted look. “You help your sugar daddy set up his nephew to be attacked? What do you get out of it?”

Louise shrugged.

“A thrill.”

“Come again?”

“Carl’s dirty.” Louise’s expression seemed to mock him. “I wouldn’t touch him with a barge pole.”

Toby was reeling. How had he not known that this girl was a racist? He hadn’t met her before but he was sure Carl would have noticed; his perception of people was usually spot-on.

Obviously not this time.

“Does Jason know you’re sleeping with a man old enough to be your father?”

“No.” Louise folded her arms and leaned against the door frame, crossing her long legs. “He doesn’t need to know.”

“But you’re still sleeping with both of them.” Louise’s expression said it all. Disgusted, Toby turned away. “You’re just as vile as my brother.”

“Well, you shouldn’t have married her.”

Toby stared at Mike, whose bravado seemed to be coming back.

“Excuse me?”

“You weren’t listening to your family. Mom and Dad told you not to marry her. I tried to tell you. Simone was going to drain you dry of the money she didn’t deserve.” Mike’s lip curled in an ugly sneer. “And Carl…well, I couldn’t have him hankering after Louise. It’s a good thing she has a jealous boyfriend who wanted to deal with him for testifying against him.”

Toby felt sick. He wanted to retch. His brother had set his sister-in-law and nephew to be killed. And the vile little girl Carl had a crush on had helped, maybe even joined in with the beating. It was a miracle they were still alive. He glanced at Louise, who was still looking pleased with herself.

“You’re lucky you’re a girl or I’d have smacked you by now.”

“Threatening a girl with violence?” Mike tittered. “That’s not like you at all, Toby.”

Toby swung around. Mike didn’t move so his fist hit Mike sweetly in the mouth. Mike fell back and hit the wall before falling to the floor. He lay moaning, clutching at his mouth. Toby rubbed at his knuckles, which were smarting.

“You, on the other hand, are fair game.” He glanced back at Louise, whose confidence seemed to be ebbing now her lover was down. “The police know your name and I’ll make sure they know you’re involved. And don’t bother calling Jason or his friends as they’ve already been picked up.” Toby shook his head in disgust. “You threw your life away for nothing.”

He turned smartly and strode towards the door.

“Have a nice life in jail, sweetheart.”

There was a slew of abusive language at his back but Toby didn’t turn around, simply slamming the door and muting the tirade.

*****

It hurt. That much Simone knew. Her head hurt. Her chest hurt. Her arm hurt. Even her backside hurt. Everything felt like one ball of pain.

It hurt even to open her eyes. Forcing her lids apart, Simone blinked as the hospital lights hit her retinas. She moaned and tried to raise her arm to cover her eyes but then a sharp pain sliced through up to her shoulder. Looking down she saw that her arm was covered in plaster, from her fingers to above her elbow. She wiggled her fingers and flinched as something further up her arm screamed.

“Simone?”

Simone looked up. Toby was in the doorway to her room. He looked like he hadn’t slept, his hair on end and his clothes all creased. He also looked as though he didn’t know whether to come into the room or not.

Simone couldn’t help it. She wanted her husband. Then the dam broke and she burst into tears. Immediately Toby entered the room and sat on the bed, pulling her into his arms.

“Hey, don’t cry, honey. You’re safe now.” He rubbed her back and gently rocked her. “No one’s going to hurt you.”

Clutching onto his shirt, Simone sobbed. It felt really good to have him holding her again, even though she wished she wasn’t in a hospital bed and her arm wasn’t slathered in plaster. She wanted to feel him properly, to know that he was really there.

Toby said nothing as she cried. He rubbed her back and rocked her, holding her as close as the IV drip and the cast would allow. Simone shut her eyes tight and fisted his shirt, ignoring the bite from the drip in her hand.

“Where’s Carl?”