I've always hated my brother in law, Greg.
He always seemed to carry himself with a certain amount of smugness, an air of being better than everyone.
In his mind I'm sure he was. Graduate of Harvard, successful business man, never wanted for anything. He didn't struggle like I did. Probably didn't even know the meaning of the word.
At every family event, center of the room, surrounded by his posse. Alan, Fredrick, Devon. They never left his side.
It was like he was even trying to one up his family.
"Hey Reggie!" He'd shout, calling me over. "Come talk to your brother in law a little!"
I'd walk over, reluctantly of course, drink in hand.
"You never finished college right?" He'd ask, smug smile, cheek to cheek.
"You know I didn't." I'd say.
"Right, right, yeah. I remember Maggie bringing it up once."
Maggie was my wife and Greg's sister.
"Some people aren't cut out for education." Devon said. "Can't hack it."
"Just wasn't offering much." I said.
Greg chuckled. "Sure it wasn't."
This was how most conversations between us went. Just Greg saying asshole things and trying to get a rise out of me.
Eventually, with Maggie's advice, I learned to just ignore him like everyone else. Leave him to his fellating friends and pretend not to hear him call.
It worked for a while.
Until a certain night.
My in laws had invited Maggie and I over for a dinner party.
They could be a bit stuffy, but mostly nice. I was dressed as well as could be managed, Maggie looked beautiful that night.
"Is Greg gonna be there?" I asked.
"Of course." She said, adjusting the clasp on her necklace. "Why wouldn't he be?"
"Nobody likes him."
She laughed. "He's family, babe. We're close knit. My parents wouldn't dream of not inviting their precious son."
The party was nice, relatively quiet for the amount of people there. Lots of nice chatting, good food, polite guests.
Except for Greg and his gang.
Off towards the bar, harassing the poor barkeep. Talk of wages and payment, how much they make in a year compared to him.
I had to say something.
I maneuvered through the crowd and tapped Greg on the shoulder.
I expected him to turn around, shit eating grin in place. Instead he turned, sternly burning holes into me.
In an instant, he shot his arm forward, nearly colliding it with my face. At the last second, he stopped. Less than an inch away he pulled his arm back and lowered it.
He began to laugh, his trio laughing with him.
"Gotcha!" He said.
I rolled my eyes and walked away.
Deciding I needed to cool down, I headed outside for a smoke.
The night air enveloped me and kept me level headed.
"Got falsed did ya?" I heard behind me.
I turned to see my father in law, Gerald, standing in the doorway.
"I what?"
"Ya got falsed." Gerald said, smiling in an odd way. "You're in the game now, bucko."
He turned and headed back inside.
I shook my head, confused.
'Crazy old fuck.' I thought to myself.
From the porch I could see out into the woods behind the house. Its many trees making a dark, seemingly impenetrable shroud.
The night was quiet. Not even animals were making noise. Not even -
Movement.
In the trees.
"Hello?" I shouted.
No response.
Then, more movement.
"The fuck..." I whispered to myself.
I turned to head back inside and collided with a figure.
"Oh, sorry I -"
I stopped mid sentence, my eyes adjusting to the person before me.
They wore a long, dark cloak. A jeweled red mask, dark gloves.
And in their hand, a knife.
I tried to run but was quickly grabbed by the figure and thrown to the edge of the porch. I hopped over the edge and made my way to the front of the house.
There, near the front door, was another figure. This one in a blue mask.
I turned and was faced with the red masked one, knife glittering in the house's lights.
The figure lifted the knife and I screamed as it came towards me.
Then, less than an inch from my chest, the knife stopped.
The figures began to laugh, removing their masks, I could see that it was Fredrick and Alan. From the bushes I could here more laughter.
Greg and Devon.
"Gotcha!" They all shouted in unison.
I could feel my face growing red. Whether it was in embarrassment or anger, I wasn't sure.
"What the hell is wrong with you all?!" I shouted.
"Oh come on." Greg said, everyone's laughter suddenly stopping. "Just a little falsing is all."
"A little what?" I said.
"Course he doesn't know falsing." Devon said. "He's not high class."
"It's just a game." Greg said. "Lighten up."
Angrily, I stormed off inside. Their laughter resumed.
I found Maggie and pulled her to the side.
"We have to get out of here." I said.
"What? Why? I'm having a nice time."
"Yeah, well, I'm not. I'm sick of Greg's shit. Did you know that he and his friends acted like they were gonna kill me? Knives and masks and everything. They're a bunch of fucking psychos."
Maggie sighed, angrily. "Goddamnit Greg. I'll go talk to him."
She walked off, leaving me alone in the room surrounded by nobody I knew.
I leaned against the wall, thinking everything over. Everything was in question now. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small black box.
Was it worth even proposing?
Is this what I wanted to marry into? A bunch of snobs that think they're better than me?
I loved Maggie but the night had taken its toll.
Minutes had passed and she still had not returned. Impatient, I decided to go find her.
After making my way through the rooms of the house with no sign of her, I stepped outside to look.
"Maggie?" I called out.
Suddenly, I felt a heavy cloth drape over my face. I struggled against it, unable to see and barely able to breathe.
I reached for my covered face, trying to find a way to breathe.
The person held on tighter and I flailed my fists, desperate to hit them.
A rope was tightened around my neck, holding the fabric in place.
Blindly, I reached around until I felt someone. I slammed my fist into them and grabbed hold, throwing them to the ground.
With them taken care of, I reached for the rope and untied fidgeted with it until it gave way. Pulling the fabric from my face, I gasped for air.
I collapsed to the ground and looked up.
Greg, Fredrick, Alan, and Devon surrounded me, shocked expressions on their faces.
I followed their gaze to the form on the ground.
Another person with a cloth around their face and a rope around their neck.
A woman.
In a dress I recognized.
"No." I said, crawling over to her.
Through the fabric I could see she was bleeding. She had hit her head on a rock.
"You pushed her." Greg said. "It was just a game and you killed her! You pushed her and you killed her!"
"No!" I shouted. "No! I didn't know it was her!"
I uncovered the body's face and looked into Maggie's dead eyes.
I weeped and held onto her.
"Call an ambulance!" I screamed.
Holding her in my arms, I apologized over and over.
Then, from behind, I heard laughter.
I turned to see Greg and his friends.
And in my arms, more laughter.
I looked down to see Maggie's smiling face.
"Gotcha!" She said.