The Betrayal
The ride was not only quiet but kind of uncomfortable. At least that was what Kevin was feeling as they finally made the turn into the campgrounds. There was this odd silence in the car, that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t manage to break. He understood why Nicky was so quiet, he had barely gotten any sleep at all, but there was no reason for the Doroughs to be almost detached it seemed. It was the first time Kevin had ever felt that way around Howie and that kind of made him sad.
Unless…
‘Maybe Nicky was right about Ariana and they had a huge fight about it before coming to pick us up?’ He thought to himself as he noticed the body language of both of his friends was anything but loose. He found himself glancing over at Howie’s wife who was looking out the side window even after the car had come to a stop. She was wearing sunglasses so it was hard to see any emotion out of her eyes but she made it seem like this was the last place on earth she wanted to be.
Howie got out of the car and slowly made his way around the back to get the backpacks and equipment out of the trunk which made Kevin give a nod to his little brother as he also climbed out of the car.
“Is everything okay D?”
Howie looked over at Kevin and handed him his bag, “Yeah, why shouldn’t it be?”
“I don’t know… you just don’t seem like yourself that’s all.”
“I’m just thinking about being suspended I guess. It’s a hard thing to get out of your head. Not that you would know what that feels like.” The vicious way he directed that comment to his best friend, had him really taken a back for a moment.
“Why are you mad at me?”
“I’m not mad at you…I’m just crabby. Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it.” He stopped talking when Nick walked around the back of the car to join his brother. Both Nick and Kevin were able to pick up the downward motion of his glance when he saw the blonde enter the picture.
“I wonder what that was all about?” Kevin asked his brother as Howie moved along to the place where they would set up camp for the night.
“Yeah…me too.” Nick suddenly felt his throat become dry as Ariana got out of the car and shot him a look. It was partway between flirting and sinister and it made the teenager’s blood run cold.
He suddenly started to panic, once again rethinking his decision to go along on this little trip. What if she knew? What if she knew everything? He forced himself to calm down, after all, how could she know? No, he was just being paranoid. Maybe she always shot him those looks and he never noticed it before.
Kevin handed him his bag, “You okay?”
“Yeah…I’m just tired.”
“Well maybe when we get everything set up, you can take a nap.”
Nick nodded but he was sure there would be no sleeping for him on this trip, especially knowing that Ariana made it a habit of carrying poison around. As if she could hear his thoughts, she turned to him and smiled, “Honey…can you help me carry this bag? It’s really heavy.”
Nick nodded and grabbed the bag from her, “Thanks baby.” She whispered close into his ear. A move which sent shivers down his spine. He also felt a friendly tap on his ass as she walked away from him. He took a few deep breaths and vowed not to totally stress himself out because this would be one long weekend if he let everything she said or did, stress him the hell out.
He had a lot to do over the next few days and one of those things was to go through her stuff. He already had a plan, the first time they all decided to go fishing or swimming he would pretend he wasn’t feeling well and stay behind. That would give him time to look through her bags and take pictures of the contents.
Nick found himself petting his jacket pocket, the place where he packed his digital camera. Once he took pictures of the actual poison in her possession, if she brought it with her, he could then show it to Kevin or Brian and together they would figure out what to do. If she didn’t bring the stuff with her, then he’d have to go to plan B, a plan he hadn’t come up with just yet.
He found himself glancing over at Howie and was kind of surprised to see Kevin’s best friend staring right back at him. When their eyes met, Howie immediately looked away and once again that unsettling feeling came into Nick’s stomach.
He began to approach D slowly but when Howie saw the young blonde approaching he turned and walked away. “Don’t mind him sweetheart.” Nick shuddered when he felt her hand on his shoulder. “He’s just in a mood this morning.”
As Ariana walked to her husband she winked at Nick, something that Kevin caught as he put together their tent.
“Nicky, come here and help me out.” He called to his little brother. Something was definitely not right and he didn’t much like it at all.
“What was that all about with Ariana?”
“She just told me that Howie was in a bad mood. He’s acting like he’s mad at me Kev.”
“Did you do anything? Play one of your stupid pranks on him or something?”
“No…you sense it to, don’t you?”
Kevin nodded as he watched Howie build his own tent. When he found the time, he would confront his best friend on what was going on. Maybe the two of them could go for a walk and get some firewood or something. Little did he know that Ariana was counting on that.
All day long while Patty was at school, she thought about what she would tell Nick when she saw him. It was an internal struggle, part of her just wanting to forget about doing what’s right and instead, hang by her man. The other part of her needed to tell someone about Charlie and that he might have done something bad. She went to Nick’s after she left Charlie last night and stood outside just trying to will herself to ring the doorbell. She just couldn’t do it though, so she turned around and went home.
She always thought she would marry Charlie and live the rest of her days as Mrs. Patricia Branson. The two of them would beat the odds and live happily ever after. Away from all the problems and obstacles they faced.
Nothing would have brought her more joy then to get Charlie away from his mother, who was horrible, but at least she wasn’t a homicidal maniac like her father. They used to joke about how they would tell their kids about their grandparents. “Well Scotty…your grandmother Branson was a crack head who sold her body for money and well your grandfather Nicosia was a killer and kidnapper.”
She was thankful that she has her mother in her life. God blessed her with a fantastic mother who apparently made horrible decisions when it came to men. She hated this new guy with a passion and the fact that they seemed to be getting even more serious just made Patty want to run away with Charlie even more.
She found herself wiping away a few tears when she realized that those dreams would no longer come true for her. There were too many questions where Charlie was concerned. He was a walking time bomb and to stay with him would be making a horrible mistake. Besides, once she confided in Nick, Charlie would never forgive her.
That’s all that kept going through her mind as she waited for three o’clock to come.
“Kevin!” Kevin senior turned to the sound of his best friend’s voice. He was in another world since saying goodbye to his children and heading off to work this morning.
“Hey Rob.”
“You seem distracted, is everything alright?”
Kevin nodded, “Yeah…just thinking about Nick.”
“How is he doing?”
“Much better now that all the boys are back at home.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, but they’ll be leaving again eventually.”
“Kevin…give the boy time.” He looked around to make sure no one was watching or listening, “We need to talk.” He pat Kevin senior’s arm and led him back towards his office.
Once in the office, Rob locked the door and walked over to his desk, taking a seat as he went, “What is it Rob?”
“The case your son is working on….”
That made Kevin senior sit down and sigh, “What about it?”
“He’s getting close to finding out Kevin…he’s a smart boy. I can only keep him going in circles for so long.”
“Why did you put him on that case in the first place?”
“Because at the time I didn’t put two and two together.”
“Let me take it over.”
“No way…that’ll only make him more suspicious, don’t you think?”
“He hasn’t made the connection yet though, has he?”
Rob shook his head, “I don’t think so, and if he has he hasn’t told me about it.”
“Rob, this is a mess! I thought this was all over.”
“Apparently it’s not and it’s gotten worse.”
“How so?”
“There was another killing.”
That made Kevin senior sit up straight in his seat. “Martin?”
Rob leaned back in his chair and placing his hand to his chin, nodded slowly. “They found him in his living room, hands tied behind his back and shot in the head.”
“When?” Kevin asked, trying to detach himself from the situation.
“Last night.”
“How come nobody called my son?”
“Because I lied and told them he was already gone…Kevin I was there myself and I stole this out of his hand.”
Rob handed over a small bloody piece of paper that was folded over. When Kevin senior opened it he felt a headache coming on because there on the paper was his home phone number and address. “Just like all the others.” He said giving it back to Rob.
“Yes, but Kevin…I think this time…”
“I’m not going back into hiding Rob.”
“Even if it puts your family in danger?”
“I’m done running away from my mistakes.”
“But Kevin…this isn’t going away…it’s only a matter of time before your son makes the connection. Maybe it’s time for you to tell them the truth.”
“Why? So they can hate and resent me even more than they do now?” Kevin senior stood up and started pacing around the room; he couldn’t believe this was all happening all over again. The first time, he was sure it was over…but now this. “I can’t do this to Nick. I can’t just take him away from everything he knows and loves. It’s more complicated now that Jackie is dead.”
“Kevin…I can’t keep hiding this forever, I mean my own ass is on the line for you.”
“For us Rob…you’re a part of this too, or did you forget that?”
“Of course I didn’t forget that, but I’m not the one who killed two people in cold blood…you are.”
“It was an accident.”
“No, it wasn’t. You know it as well as I do. It was no accident.”
Kevin tensed up as he walked over to his best friend. “How can you say that? I thought they were armed!”
Rob put his hands up in defeat, “Regardless…the damage has been done and it’s you that they’re after. You have to tell them Kevin, at least tell your oldest sons.”
“What? That I led a double life? That I had an affair with someone while I was with their mother? And then I killed her? No, I don’t think so.”
Rob walked over and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “Is there anyone left for them to go after?”
“Nope, just me…the one who actually did it.”
“Well, then we’ll just have to stop them before they get to you.”
Kevin moved away from Rob’s consoling hand, “Why bother? Maybe we should just let them kill me. My family is better off without me anyway. Kevin does a much better job with Nick than I ever could.”
“If you feel that way, why don’t you just go back into hiding?”
Kevin turned to face Rob and looking him in the eyes said, “Because I’m already dead.”
Rob just watched as his friend walked out the office door and back to work as if nothing had happened.
Kevin and Howie walked through the thick trees and bushes, searching for firewood. Neither of them said anything right away. It was as if both of them were gathering up the courage to speak but neither of them knew exactly what to say.
It was Kevin who went first, “So, I couldn’t help but notice there was some tension between you and my brother. What was that all about?”
Howie looked over at Kevin as he began to break off some twigs, stacking them into a pile in front of him. “Nick has a crush on Ariana and I’m a little uncomfortable with it.”
“Is that it? Howie, he’s just a kid and I think you’re wrong.”
“Oh really? Then why has he been following her around?”
“What are you talking about?”
Howie went back to breaking the twigs, not anxious to see the look on his best friend’s face as he continued, “Riri said that Nicky has been following her around and even threatened to try to break us up.”
“What? Howie that’s ridiculous. Why would Nick do that?”
“I don’t know, but he is doing that.”
“Come on…”
“Why would my wife make something like that up Kevin?”
“I’m not saying she made it up, I’m just saying she is probably mistaken.”
“She said he even cut school and followed her to the park the other day.”
Kevin let out a nervous and annoyed laugh, “That’s ridiculous.”
“Why don’t you ask him then?”
“Why would he…no offense D, but he doesn’t even like your wife at all. He feels uncomfortable around her.”
“Of course he’s going to tell you that.”
The anger was slowly building inside of Kevin, and he knew if he didn’t walk away from his friend soon, he would end up saying something he might regret. “I will talk to him Howie, but like I said…I think she’s wrong.”
Howie let out a deep breath. He felt bad about that, but in a way also relieved that he told Kevin what was going on. Deep down inside, he hoped that maybe Ariana was exaggerating. Sometimes she did that for attention. Perhaps this was one of those times.
“Maybe we should be getting back.” He said, after realizing that he had left his wife alone with Nick for maybe a little too long.
“Yeah.” Kevin agreed as they picked up the firewood and headed back to camp.
When Kevin announced that he and Howie were leaving to go get firewood, Nick decided it was best to go hang out in the tent and wait for his brother to come back. The last thing he wanted was to be left alone with Ariana. He mapped out in his mind, his plan once again. He had hoped that she would have gone with them, but she made an excuse to stay behind. It was probably too early to go snooping around anyway, he thought to himself just as Ariana stuck her head into his tent.
“Hey sweetie, mind if I come in?”
Immediately, Nick’s heart began to beat double time and he felt himself tense up, but he smiled at her despite all that. “Sure…be my guest.”
She walked in and sat next to him. “I just hate being alone out here. I could swear I heard something growling outside my tent.”
“It was probably just the wind…” He suggested as he stood up and moved away from her, it was a move that gave her great pleasure. So she made sure to follow him, this time taking a seat behind him and placing her hands on his shoulders.
“You are so tense…wow seems like you have some huge knots here. Are you stressed out about something Nickolas?” She tried her best not to burst out laughing.
“No…I um…maybe school I guess.”
“You’re far too young to have knots like this.” She started rubbing, purposely too hard to cause him some pain. “How are you getting along with your father these days?”
“Ow…you’re hurting me.”
“Sorry…just try to relax and it won’t hurt as much…so your dad?”
“We’re getting along good I guess.”
“I wish I knew my father…he died when I was very little…did you know that Nick?”
He shook his head as best he could and once again tried to move away from her grasp. “Yup, he died when I was very young, probably around 8 or so. He wasn’t my real father though. I never met my real father.”
“Oh.” He tried to sound interested but frankly, he was scared and in pain. All he wanted was for his brother to come back and he was grateful when she finally let go and he was able to move away from her, rubbing at his neck as he did.
“Sorry, if I hurt you.” She said winking at him. “Next time I’ll be a little more gentle.”
She delighted in the fact that he seemed like a scared little kitten looking for his big brother to rescue him. She decided to play with that for a little bit, why not? After all, this little brat took the fact that he had his family for granted. She would have killed to be a part of the Richardson family, but was never given the chance. “You look scared…are you afraid of me Nick?”
“No, just wondering what’s taking them so long. That’s all.”
“Are you hungry? I think I’m going to make something special to eat, you’re really going to like it.”
“What is it?”
“Burgers, but I use my own special seasoning….I buy it from a woman at a specialty store.”
She smiled at him and in that smile, he felt like he could no longer breathe. “I guess I’ll see you at dinner…make sure you bring your appetite.” She winked at him and left the tent as calmly as she entered it, smiling the whole way.
She laughed when she heard him retching, “This is going to be way too easy.” She said to herself just as her husband and Kevin came into view. Neither of them looked too happy and once again that made her smile. Surely Howie took the time alone to tell Kevin what was going on with his precious baby brother.
Now she just had to start the next phase of her plan.
