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Part X

Coral had set her alarm early for the next day and woke up around six to start getting breakfast together. If she had enough time she would run to the market and get some fresh fruit to make some jams.
She quickly dressed, grabbing her keys and closed her door quietly, and without looking up as she turned, collided directly into Bizarre.
“Up early aren’t we?” he asked.
“Oh, sorry, didn’t mean to run into you like that. Yeah, I’m going to the market to get some fruit,” Coral said with a smile, but Bizarre didn’t seem to like that answer.
“Really now?”
“Yes, really,” Coral snapped.
“You don’t fool me Coral, I think you’re just waiting to get him right where you want him. Then you screw him royally, get your two faces in the magazines, and a nice wad of cash on top of it. Then you’re out of the crappy job business. You’ll be sitting pretty while his career crumbles.” Coral was seeing red and annoyed as hell that this guy was talking to her like that. Maybe she hadn’t been clear enough before. Or maybe she was just deluding herself into thinking that what she was doing was the right thing. Maybe it was time to go.
“I have no intention to do that at all. But I guess my word really means nothing to you, does it?”
“Really, it doesn’t, and I wouldn’t believe you as far as I could throw you. You may be here under the guise of actually being the help, but I don’t believe that either. You really must have done a number on him to get him to give you this so-called job.” Bizarre sneered.
“Well then, I guess we’re finished here, cause you can’t believe anything I say, and I’m not leaving, so, I’ll see you at breakfast.” Coral ducked around him and quickly trotted down the stairs, closing the door quietly behind her.

She jumped in her car and pulled out of the driveway, waiting till she was past the gatehouse before turning up her music. She shook her head at herself.
“I’M SO FUCKING STUPID!” she shouted at herself. Maybe Pearl was right. She should have just been a lawyer. She should have been. But it was too late for that now. She couldn’t change that.
She hit the button on her CD changer to advance to the next song and sang along with the words, she had to clear her mind.
“People worry about you, falling in love with me, they’re getting inside your head, everybody knows what everybody else needs, they say I’ll leave you lonely, baby that’s just not so, I’ll be holding on to you, till you let go.”
Dammit. With his friends there they were sure to convince him that she was up to no good. Its hard to fight a jury when they already think your guilty, and everything you do is only going to compound that thought.
“I need a night out of that house. He’s gotten too attached. I’ve gotten too attached.”

Coral went to the market, got the fruits and vegetables she needed and headed back to the house to get Turkey on the phone.
“So, who can you get, cause if I have to resort to one of Jackie’s choices I know I’m in trouble for sure,” Coral said holding the phone to her shoulder as she chopped strawberries.
“Yeah, I got somebody, and mind you, he is a lawyer friend, but lawyering is not his whole life. He’s another one, does the personal injury law, but he loves country music and he’s been dying to meet you.”
“Sounds good, what time tonight?”
“I’ll tell him eight, meet him at the grill?”
“Cool, I got to get going here, I’ve got bread to bake.”
“Love you sweetie.”
“Bye.” Feeling much better than she had since she left the house, Coral hung up the phone and went back to preparing breakfast.

At half past eight the maid arrived and set the table, beginning work on the laundry the guys had already managed to amass in the one day they were here. They chatted politely but Coral had other things on her mind.
She made the coffee, filling one large pot to place on the table. A fruit salsa for toast, bacon, eggs and finally, just as the guys were coming downstairs to the smell of food, she pulled the bread out of the oven and sliced it up, putting it on the table piping hot. Once everything was amassed in the dining room, Coral called upstairs to the rest of the guys that the food was ready. She offered breakfast to the maid, to eat with her in the kitchen, which she readily accepted.
Marshall was one of the last ones down to the table and when he didn’t see Coral he called for her to come eat with them. She got up from the counter and went to the door of the dining room.
“You need something?” she asked.
“Yeah, you to come sit down with us, come on,” Marshall laughed.
“The help, doesn’t eat with her employer, excuse me,” Coral said waspishly as she turned and went back to the kitchen. Marshall eyed the table and with his signature staring eyes and gripped the arms of the chair as he pushed it back and hurried straight into the kitchen.
“What’s this about?” he asked leaning on the counter at looking directly at her.
“It seems that your friend there Bizarre, because he’s so two faced, thinks that everyone else is also two-faced, and wasn’t so genuine this morning as he accused me, again.” Coral explained not looking at him. Her fork twisted in her scrambled eggs.
“Look, Bizarre is a jack ass, I know you, he doesn’t.” Marshall tried, putting a hand on her shoulder but she jerked away as if touched by fire. She stood up, shaking her head.
“Marshall, as much as I hate to say it, he’s probably right. You know. I mean, Turkey told me, I was getting in too deep here, and Pearl’s been doing something, Onyx has been getting involved, screwing around with the papers and everything. You know that as well as I do, that if something got leaked from one of my sisters, you would never know if it was me who said something or not. You’ll never be able to be sure that I wouldn’t say anything, and you could never trust me. So what does it matter?” Coral spoke very fast as she walked around the kitchen. Marshall followed her with his eyes and soon as he had a chance he spoke up.
“It matters because we’re friends Coral. I didn’t give you the job so you would keep your mouth shut. I didn’t ask you to stay here so I could keep an eye on you.”
“So why did you give me the job?”
“Because you needed it, and you needed a place to stay. I’ve been there before, and not to mention that your probably the only person I’ve met in a long time that hasn’t been out to get me.”
“You don’t know that I’m not,” Coral replied crossing her arms looking up at him. He looked away and then back at her.
“Yeah I do. I trust you. I don’t trust your sisters, I know they would do me in because they could.”
“No, you don’t know me. I’m not gonna argue about this. Um, I’ll be out of here at the end of the week.”
“No! You’re not leaving just because Bizarre says something to you. He doesn’t know shit about you, not a god damn thing.” Marshall gestured to the dining room.
“I’m leaving at the end of this week.” It was Coral’s final word and she went back to the counter, grabbed her plate and dumped the contents into the garbage before leaving the room. Marshall looked around and shook his head.
“You are a real fucking asshole, you know that,” Marshall spat as he entered the dining room. The rooms were almost connected, so everyone had heard everything in the kitchen.
“I was just saving you some problems man. You can’t trust nobody anymore,” Bizarre replied.
“I sure as hell know that, I can’t even trust my best friend to not start shit. Man, you can’t just leave well enough alone.”
“She’s gonna take advantage of you. Let her leave,” Bizarre snorted.
“She’s not leaving, because this is not over.” Marshall said with a steely tone.
“Mr. Mathers, there is someone here to see you,” the maid said tentatively.
“Huh?” Marshall asked turning to her.
“Hey man, got some bad news, the big bad sister is throwing a bargaining chip from hell at us.” Dre said as he sauntered in the room.
“Now what?” Marshall asked annoyed.
“This is what she’s going to send to the five biggest networks, the tabloids, the newspapers, everything she can think of, unless she hears from Coral and gets her to agree to something,” Dre said plopping down a stack of photos and a long written explanation to go with them.
“The bitch was having you followed.” Dre said as Marshall looked at the photos.

“Pearl, no, no, you listen. You are not sending this to anyone, you got it?” After Dre arrived Marshall had told Coral and she got on the phone immediately.
“No Coral you listen. The deal is, you come back here, you sign a contract saying you’ll go to school, and all the negatives get burnt up.”
“I’m not going to be blackmailed Pearl,” Coral snapped at the speaker phone. Marshall watched her and avoided saying anything yet.
“Then your little boy toy is gonna end up all over the news.” It was an aching silence as Coral weighed out her options. She wouldn’t sell out Marshall. She would not. He’d been too nice to her. She didn’t want to be a lawyer, but she didn’t want to do this to Marshall. She’d be fine. She’d have to be fine.
“Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll be back at the end of the week.” Coral said after a long pause.
“No way, you’re not doing that,” Marshall said suddenly.
“I’m not gonna let this happen. Pearl you got a deal.” Coral hung up the phone and left the room. But Marshall hurried after her.
“No way, I’m gonna let you sell out to her just to save my ass!” Marshall yelled, not even bothering to knock as he barged into her room.
“Look, you wouldn’t be having a problem if I wasn’t here. Now that I’m here, it’s fucking with your life and now it’s time to go.” Coral replied as she pulled her suitcases out from under her bed.
“So you should have your life ruined instead?” Marshall snapped.
“Hey man, maybe this is for the best, you know?” Dre asked as he stood in the door.
“You are not part of this conversation!” Marshall yelled and quickly slammed the door in Dre’s face.
“This is a closed conversation Marshall. I am going to San Francisco on Sunday and I’m going to sign whatever it is that my parents and Pearl draw up for me. I’ll get the negatives and I’ll send them to you, and that, that will be the end of it. You will have your privacy, and we both can get on with our lives.” Coral went to her drawers and started pulling out clothes.
“What kind of life is it going to be for you huh?” Marshall asked, and she stilled as she put some clothes into the suitcase.
“What is your life gonna be like huh? Going to school, for something you don’t want to do, working in your parents office, like a gopher, having them breathe down your neck every minute of the day. Having you go back to that bastard who fucked you over, because it makes them look good?” Marshall asked angrily. She didn’t move.
“It’s better this way.”
“For who?”
“For you. I walked into your life and I fucked it up for you. It’s time I get on with my life and you get back to yours. You need to rap and you need to get out of here.”
“You told me, that this mistake belonged to both of us, and that there was no reason for one of us to take all the blame for it.”
“That’s right, and I’m taking my blame and my share of the consequences.”
“You’re being a fucking martyr.” Marshall spat and she snapped up and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I’m the one who got my sister Pearl involved in this, she didn’t have to know about this, but I was dumb enough to involve her in it. Now I have to pay for that mistake, my mistake, that was not your mistake.” Coral shouted.
“Fuck it is. You are not doing that crap, you’re not gonna bend to their will, not now, not when you finally told them to go to hell and are doing what you want to do.”
“It is not your fucking choice! I’m gonna do this because it is what I have to do!” Marshall looked away from her and shook his head. They were quiet for a minute, the anger sizzling in the air. Marshall put his hand up, but didn’t look at her as he waved.
“You, you do, whatever it is you want. But just know one thing, you didn’t fuck up my life. And if you think having my face in the tabloids is gonna fuck up my life worse than knowing you’re with them, being forced to be somebody your not. Knowing, knowing,” here Marshall faltered, but he quickly picked up his words, “That you’re not here, then the only life your fucking up is your own.” With this Marshall turned and left the room.