Anthony continued to sleep with Bridget. He thought if he kept doing it that terrible feeling would just go away. It didn't. In fact, it got worse. No matter how many times he touched her, no matter how good it felt, no matter how much better it got, Anthony still felt like crap afterwards. He still didn't know a lot about her. All he knew was her name and that she was in the 11th grade. They'd make it a regular thing to mess around. Only Tommy knew about them.
The last couple of times Bridget was supposed to meet with Anthony, she'd skip out. She'd leave notes in his locker to meet again, but sometimes she'd never show up. When they'd pass each other in the hallway, she'd act all squirrelly.
Anthony didn't know what her problem was. However, maybe it was best they stop seeing each other. The weight on his shoulders from sleeping with her lessened as their 'meetings' were less frequent.
Anthony got a call from Tommy to meet him at the local pond. The pond was hangout for everyone to go to. Whether it was to get away for a couple of hours or just to hang and look at the stars.
Anthony made the 4 mile walk from his house. Tommy was waiting.
"Tommy!" Anthony yelled walking up. Tommy met him halfway.
"Thanks for coming, man." Tommy said.
"What is it you couldn't tell me over the phone?" Anthony said.
"Yeah. That girl you've been seeing? Bridget is her name right?" Tommy said.
"Yeah." he said getting uncomfortable.
"Grey eyes? Milk white skin?" Tommy said getting a little nervous.
"Yeah. Why?" Anthony said.
"Dude! Oh my God! That's Marvin James's girlfriend!" Tommy said.
"What?!" Anthony said, confused. "Bridget said she was new."
"Marvin was going on about how he got this new girlfriend. And I just came from Garrett's house. He was there and he was heated! Said that Bridget told him she had been screwing you. I didn't think it was the same girl!" Tommy explained.
"Ah, shit! That's why she has been skipping out on me! How long have they been dating?" Anthony asked.
"A week. Maybe 2" Tommy said.
Anthony had been seeing Bridget for almost a month. He felt the cold run down his spine.
"Anthony, he is looking for you!" Tommy said.
Marvin James was a force to be reckoned with. He was 6'3 and 265 lb. of muscle and an offense linemen. When he stepped on the field, players of the opposing team shook. Anthony was already envisioning a trip to the hospital.
"I'm dead." Anthony said.
"Yeah...you are." Tommy said as he looked past Anthony. Anthony turned to see Marvin's car pull up. He and Bridget hopped out the car.
"Marvin stop!"she yelled.
Anthony turned to Tommy only to see a cloud of dust where he was standing. He looked up to see his friend sprinting towards the trees. Anthony turned to see Marvin getting closer. The closer he got, the bigger he got.
"Be cool." Anthony said.
"Son of a bitch!" Marvin yelled swinging the Louisville Slugger bat in his hand. Anthony dodged the swing.
"Marvin stop!" Bridget yelled.
Marvin took another swing. Anthony managed to knock the bat out of his hands only to me tackled by Marvin. Anthony felt pain in his abdomen as he hit the hard wood of the old dock. Hard hits felt different without the pads to protect you. Anthony laid helplessly as Marvin delivered punches to his face. Anthony wasn't use to taking a beating. It was him who usually the bully. This was painful and embarrassing.
"Marvin, quit!" Bridget yelled.
Marvin got off of Anthony and looked down on him. Anthony struggled to get to his feet. As a final blow, Marvin kicked Anthony in his stomach with such force that Anthony was sent flying into the water.
Being in the water wouldn't be a problem. That is if Anthony could swim.
He struggled to keep himself afloat. The pain in his rib cage was too great. He cried out for help but no one was around to hear him. He saw Marvin cart Bridget away. He yelled and screamed but, no. No help. He started to sink and took in the dirty water. He grew tired of flailing about. His lung felt like water balloons on the verge of bursting. Finally, his body gave up and Anthony just went under.
Anthony felt a chilling darkness roll over him. For a moment, he felt at peace until he received a harsh shock. Anthony watched as the EMTs worked to bring him back to life. Before, Tommy had pulled him out of the water and yelled and screamed for anyone could hear him for help. The paramedics began the CPR which gave Anthony little life. As water left Anthony's lungs and mouth, blood accompanied the fluids. His spirit could feel the pain of broken rib and punctured lung. Also, he could feel the water regurgitate from inside his body. Anthony watched as he was carted away to the nearest hospital.
This experience was a terrifying one; being out of his body. Watching in horror and helpless, looking down on himself on the operating table. He was so cold, shaking at the situation. He didn't want to die yet he felt himself slipping away. He tried clinging onto what was left but something was pulling him farther and farther into the darkness. I'm not ready, he thought. He clawed and fought to stay with his family; hearing his mother cry and his little sister whimper. Soon, the darkness consumed him.
He was sure for all he had done that Anthony would be transported to hell. However, as he opened his eyes, a bright light stung. He blinked until everything was clear. He looked around to see his mother, father and sister standing over him. Anthony was given a second chance. He wouldn't waste it. He'd do right and be a good person at all costs if that's what it meant.
"Oh my baby!" she said. Anthony hugged her back. He held her tight and silently shed tears. His dad sat on the other side of the bed and put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
That night Anthony prayed to God and thanked him for his forgiveness and the second chance.
The next week at school, Anthony walked up to Brad Herringer during lunch. Brad looked at Anthony cautiously. Anthony extended his hand to Brad. He wasn't so quick to take the hand, but when he did, he shook it and nodded at him approvingly.
Anthony made a complete turn around. He did right. He went from a school bully to a great guy everyone could say they knew. However, Anthony wasn't so quick to trust people anymore. He felt like Bridget betrayed him. He gave himself to a woman that would never actually love him. He regretted all of the terrible deeds he committed, especially sleeping with someone out of wedlock. Anthony made a promise to be cautious of his ways and the people he allowed around him.
Rayna was under the bleachers with Kendrick Halls, smoking a blunt. Kendrick Halls wasn't the type of person she'd hang out with. He had a huge crush on her but Rayna hardly even acknowledged him. To get her attention, he told her he had the hook up on some weed. Rayna was all in if she could get a free blunt. To her disappointment, the blunt they were sharing was weak. The only thing that kept her from leaving was the fact that she refused to go home and deal with her mother while being sober.
"So, y'all moved today?" Kendrick asked trying to make conversation.
"Yeah." Rayna said blandly blowing out a puff of smoke.
"Ok. Who's gonna pick you up?" he said taking a puff.
"My brother." she said holding her hand out for the blunt.
"How long we got?" he asked handing it to her.
"Eh. Hour and 30 minutes, maybe." Rayna said taking a long drag.
"Good. You know, I really like you, Rayna." he said.
"Thanks" Rayna said taking another hit off the blunt.
Kendrick took the blunt from Rayna. "Are you free this weekend?"
"I don't think so." Rayna said.
"Well, if you get some free time maybe we could go to the movies." Kendrick said. "Since football season's over I thought you'd have more free time."
"Mm. I'll think on it." she said taking the blunt back.
Rayna was just then starting to feel the high the blunt just as the joint turned into a bud. She didn't feel what she wanted to deal with Tyra. "You got anymore?"
"I might. What will give me for it?" Kendrick said biting his lip.
"Excuse me?" Rayna said.
"I mean I'm just saying how bad do you want it?" Kendrick said shrugging.
"You ain't even got it do you?" Rayna said putting her hands on her hip.
"Only one way to find out." Kendrick said.
"Fine. I don't have much to do Saturday." Rayna said reluctantly. "I can have my brother drop me off at the movies around one."
"That's not enough." Kendrick said.
"What do you want?" she said slightly aggravated.
Kendrick pulled her close and leaned in for a kiss. He slipped his tongue in and let it play around in her mouth. Rayna pulled away disgusted. Thank God that wasn't her first kiss.
"What?" Kendrick said.
"Your tongue felt like a dead fish." Rayna said.
"Then maybe I should my tongue in a different place." he said grabbing at her butt.
Rayna knew better. Kendrick was a low life and she was wasting her time. "No. Not even."
"Oh, come on. Ask any girl at this school. I put it down." he said.
"I have. All of them have said you're weak and can't keep it up. You talk a big game too bad you can't back it up." Rayna said.
"Girl, please!" he said.
"You ain't shit but a bum. Excuse me, I got better things to do." Rayna said grabbing her bag and walking off. She changed clothes and made sure any smell of weed and Kendrick Halls wasn't on here. Rayna sat in the library and waited for Tellis.
She sat in the passenger seat, staring out the window. "So, mom has the house sat up." Tellis said.
"Oh? How does the twin's room look?" Rayna asked.
"Nice. Your room is nice too." Tellis said.
"To whose standards?" Rayna sneered.
"I know. I know. Look, you don't have much longer. Your senior year will go by fast and you'll be out of there. Ben has a few more months." he said.
"He won't be free. None of us are. You should know that more than any of us." she said.
"Look, Mom just wanted to secure the future of the business. Her and Dad worked hard for the company. They just to be sure we'd take care of their legacy should anything happen to them." Tellis said.
"You know that's a damn lie. She forced you into the company. You being a teacher wasn't enough for her. And Kevin was so scared of Mom, he gave up what he wanted for her, too. I'm surprised she hasn't gotten to me, yet." Rayna said growing angrier. "Guess she got what she wanted."
Tellis sighed. Rayna was right. Like the snake she was, Tyra slithered her way into Tellis's and Kevin's lives forcing them to be what she wanted to be. Ben with his disability would never be sufficient enough to help out. Rayna was left alone only because Tyra got what she wanted. Two was enough.
"Just make the best of it, Ray. How's Ben?" Tellis asked.
Ben was doing just fine. Or that's what it looked like. His medicine had run out, but he was doing ok without it. No episodes. His last one was bad. He got violent with another student at school. Rayna was a little too late. Ben broke the poor boy's nose. And how was it taken care of. Tyra paying the school off to not punish her son. Her reputation more like. Rayna kept a closer eye on him. If Ben could fly off the handle and hurt someone, there was no telling what he could do.
Other than that, Ben was just fine. However, the side effects of the medicine were started to seep through the facade. Ben cracking was inevitable, Rayna knew. It would happen sooner or later, but he insisted he was fine. He tried so hard to make it without the medicine. He'd try so hard. But where there is trial, there is error.
That night at dinner, the whole family sat down to enjoy the new house.
"So, how does everyone feel about the new house?" Quinton said.
"I like it." Rayna said.
"I like the color scheme you did in the kitchen, Mom." Kevin said. Baby Andrea cooed as Tyra fed them a spoonful of mash while rocking Andrew with her other hand.
At least she fed them, Rayna thought. Rayna couldn't fathom why Tyra kept having children. She was nothing like mother. No mother would see their child as an imperfection.
"Rayna, we are going to conference this weekend. You need to watch Maya and your twin siblings." Tyra said.
"You said I could have Olivia over this weekend." Rayna picking at her food.
"Well, call her and tell her change of plans." Tyra said. Rayna grimaced and looked around at the table at her siblings whose faces read uncomfortable. Ben was sulking in his seat.
"How do you like the house, Ben?" Quinton asked trying to ease the tension.
"I like the old house better." he groaned.
"Oh. Well, you'll learn to like this house." Tyra said giving him a side look.
"Just like I have to learn to be normal." he mumbled. One side effect of withdrawal was irritability. Ben's version of irritable was snide comments. Another was red eyes which was seen clear as day by everyone at the table.
"Well, Ben don't you like your room?" Tellis asked.
"Do I have a choice?" Ben said.
"Not really." Tyra said.
"Well, Ben I'm sorry. We made a mistake in choosing for you. No one's perfect." Quinton said.
"Sure..." Ben said sarcastically. "Everything's wrong with somebody. It's not just Ben."
Rayna remained silent. She felt guilty for keeping the fact Ben was off his medicine from her family.
"I painted a tiger today." Young Maya said.
"Aw, sweetie. That's nice." Tyra said without much interest.
"That's what it was supposed to be." Ben said. "I thought it was supposed to be mutant rat."
"Ben, that's rude." Tyra said.
"So, is my existence to you." Ben said.
"Ben, relax." Kevin said. Everyone saw that the other side of Ben was slipping in. Rayna saw in his eyes that he was gone again. Please don't do this to yourself, she thought. Rayna and Ben sat out on the balcony upstairs outside one of the offices.
"You know, Ben, putting you back on your meds would be a good move right now." Rayna said.
"Don't you ever say that shit again!" Ben shouted. Rayna slid to the other side of the couch. "I'm sorry. Side effects."
"I know." Rayna said.
"Rayna, what if I never get right?" Ben said softly, staring up at the stars.
"You will. I have faith in you." Rayna said.
"You're too good to me" he said turning to her.
"I'm your sister. I gotta do it." she said.
"I'll get right one day for you." Ben said.
"I told you before. Don't do it for me. Do it for you." she said.
"Rayna...promise me you'll always be there." Ben said.
"I got you, Ben." she said.
Rayna got out of the bathroom and was met by Tellis and Kevin.
"I thought y'all left." Rayna said.
"Rayna, we need to know." Kevin said.
"Know what?" Rayna said getting a chill run down her spine.
There was a long silence and Rayna knew what was coming up.
"Has Ben been taking his meds?" Tellis asked.
"We know how much you care about Ben. You'd be helping him and everyone else if you told us the truth." Kevin said.
Rayna folded her arms. She promised Ben. Then again it'd be stupid to hide something like this. Ben was slipping and it wouldn't be long before he would explode.
"Don't keep covering for him, Rayna." Tellis said.
"He tries so hard." Rayna said. "He wants to be like us but...I don't know how long he can hold on."
"How long has he been off?" Kevin asked.
"Ben's prescription ran out more that a month ago."Rayna said.
"You lying bitch!" Ben yelled.
They looked to see Ben in the doorway to his room.
"Ben wait!" Rayna said going to the door. Ben slammed the door in her face. She knew what she did was the right thing to do. She figured later Ben would see it as a blessing in disguise.
"He'll come around. We'll be staying late to talk business with Dad. We'll talk to him about it. " Tellis said.
"Ok." Rayna said worried.
Rayna was sound asleep until she felt hot and smelled smoke. Rayna opened her eyes to see her curtains in flames. She screamed when she tried to open the door but for some reason it wouldn't open. The fire alarms were blaring as she banged on the door.
"Help me somebody!" she screamed. "Get me out!"
Smoke was filling the room and soon the walls caught on fire. Rayna started to choke. The flames caught onto the walls. Rayna tried to pull on the door again but something was holding it.
"Rayna!" Kevin yelled.
"Get me out!" she yelled. Kevin rammed his shoulder into the door. Kevin looked to see a rope tied to the knob that was connected to the the stair rail. He fiddled with the knot before finally untying it. He pulled Rayna out as Tellis ran in with a fire extingusher. Rayna laid on the ground and looked around with her vision slightly distorted.
She remembered seeing Ben being restrained by her father before blacking out.
Ben was sent away to a hospital for the mentally ill. Ben couldn't be trusted to live with his family anymore. When he realized all that happen, he felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want to believe he actually tried to hurt Rayna, no one wanted to believe it. He couldn't forgive himself. When Rayna came to visit, he couldn't stand to look her in the eyes. Over the years, the regret grew heavy.
Rayna continued with her life, disregarding her mother. She shut Tyra out making her the reason Ben went insane. Someone had to take the blame.
It was the week Rayna was going to leave Texas to start her senior year at Wisconsin. She transferred there from UT and was ecstatic to get her degree in Sports Med. She was about to live her dream, but first things first.
Tellis was helping Rayna bring her bags down.
"And, you're stuff is on the way up there?" he asked.
"Yeah. By the time I get there it should be there." she said coming down the stairs.
"We'll miss you." little Andrew said. Rayna smiled and picked her up.
"Aw. I'll miss you too." Rayna said giving him a kiss.
"We are so proud of you, honey." Quinton said hugging her.
Tyra came around the corner. "Where are you going? You don't have to be at the airport for another 2 hours."
"I'm going to visit Ben one more time before I leave." Rayna said coldly.
"Honey, you shouldn't have to burden yourself with all that. Just go..." Tyra said.
"Oh, you know a lot about burdens, don't you?" Rayna said. Tyra frowned. Rayna hugged her family goodbye, except Tyra, and made her way to the hospital.
She waited patiently in the waiting room for her brother to come in. When the door open, Rayna saw Ben. He had bags under his eyes. The medicine they had him on so far had suppressed his episodes. It also took from him his ability to be actually happy. The grey walls of the facility were depressing and exhausting to look at. His bed didn't feel like a bed. Sleep didn't come easy. Nothing was easy.
He slid into the seat and looked up at his sister. She grabbed his hands. "Hey Ben." She put on the brightest smile for him.
"Today's the day you leave, isn't it?" he said.
"Yeah. But, the first holiday I get I'll come see you." she said.
He sighed and nodded refusing to make eye contact with her.
"I'll miss you." he said.
"Oh, Ben. I'll miss you, too." she said kissing his dry knuckles.
"You'll still be here for me?" Ben asked trying look her in the eye.
"Even when I'm gone I'll still be here for you. When you get better, I'll fly you out to Wisconsin to stay with me." Rayna said.
"It's been five years, Rayna. I'll never get out of here." Ben said broken.
"Yes, you will."Rayna said reassuringly.
"How is everybody?" Ben said.
"Everyone's great. We're all waiting for you to come home." Rayna said.
"Not everybody. Not Tyra." Ben groaned.
"Everyone that matters is waiting on you." she said. Ben pulled his hands from her and shook his head.
"You shouldn't lie to me." Ben said.
Rayna didn't know what to saw. She wasn't lying but the last thing she needed to do was to put him in a bad mood. "The twins have gotten so big." Rayna took out her phone and showed him a picture of them.
Ben turned away from the picture. He couldn't bare to look at the family he stained. Rayna pulled her phone away. This visit wasn't going to be a good one. She would hate for her to leave on his bad side.
"What are you doing recreation wise? How's piano?" she asked.
"I hate piano." he growled.
"I thought you liked piano. You know that one song Aunt Gee would play anytime we came over to the house. Everytime she played the song, you'd smile as she sang to us." Rayna said.
"I hated that song." Ben said.
"But you asked Aunt Gee to teach you the song." Rayna said confused.
"No I didn't. I hated Aunt Gee." he said getting irritated.
"Oh. Well, remember the beach house in Galveston. We'd..." Rayna was cut off by Ben slamming his hands on the table.
"I hated that house! I hated Galveston! I hate our family! I hate everything about all of you!" he yelled.
"Ben, relax." Rayna said.
"You can't tell Ben what to do!" Ben said flipping the table. Rayna saw in his eyes that he was gone again. She lost him. He rampaged. Babbling about everything he hated. The eyes rolling, the head moving like his neck was loose.
Rayna tried to calm him down but the damage was done. Orderlies came in a sedated him. Rayna was escorted out of the room. She talked to the doctor to find out that due to this episode his visitation privileges were to be suspended.
Rayna was hurt having to leave Texas the way she did. After all these years, she had never made Ben mad. Time passes and his episodes got worse, more violent. Anyone making a visit with him was no where in sight. Everyone seemed to have lost hope in Ben, except Rayna of course.
Rayna had to continue to live life without seeing her brother. She had to go on without Ben for a while. And this wouldn't be the only time she would have to go on without him.