Siblings with Benefits Lex Talionis Ch. 03

"Actually I'm here almost every day." Max said then looking at me asked;

"So what's your name?"

"Mark."

Max nodded then stuck out his huge hand.

"I'm Max."

"Oh we know!"

Part 4: A timely Intervention.

For the next three weeks I felt as if I was living out an episode of the Twilight Zone; Max Thompson, the man who had beaten me mercilessly for close to five years, was back in my life and I was doing everything I could to become his friend. During this time I was going to the Green bar two to three times a week and, true to his word, Max was always there and we would play pool. The second and third time I went back I won a few dollars each time, the next time, and at the urging of The Voice, I let Max take me for fifty dollars.

After a few visits Max and I began to sit down at the bar after we were done playing and shoot the shit. On my end I told Max that I was a student at PC and worked as a bouncer at a local club. I was going to mention Mitch's as well but The Voice had spoke up and told me not to; we didn't need Max stopping by there to see us, especially as we lived upstairs. Max on the other hand, after a few beers, most of which I paid for, became quite talkative.

I learned that Max had been a foreman on a construction crew for years, making good money, but had been laid off. After "something came up", as Max put it, he had relocated to Florida for a couple of years but the construction job he had down there dried up so he came back up to Rhode Island, where he was hired back by the guy he used to work for but at less money of course. He ended up laid off after a year and his unemployment had run out months ago. For now he was relying on odd jobs and some money from pool games at the bar.

I asked him how the hell he paid his bills, considering it seemed like he drank more than he made. Max told me that his girlfriend was on the state and they got good money for her three kids. On another occasion Max had talked about how he was damn good at his work but it was a bitch getting a job because he had a record. I knew exactly what it was Max had done time for, it was sitting right in front of him, feigning interest in his stories and trying to figure out exactly how it was I was going to get his fat fucking ass alone.

On that note I had to admit that although it definitely helped my cause, I found it more than a little disturbing that Max didn't recognize me. Granted I was seven years older and of course much bigger, I had also, once again at the Voice's urging, not shaved in weeks and was now sporting a thin neatly trimmed beard which threw my appearance off more. I also found it disconcerting that he had three kids at home that I'm sure he was beating. Yes I would be doing more than just exorcising my own demons by killing this animal, I would be doing the world in general a favor.

The most interesting thing that had happened while hanging around with Max occurred last Tuesday. I had come in to find Max arguing with some guy who apparently owed him money. I sat at the bar and watched as the guy, who I would figure to be about six feet and two hundred easy, continued to give Max a hard time. Finally Max pushed him and the guy hit Max in the face, and pretty hard. Max shook his head like a wet dog and, moving a lot faster than his size indicated, threw a right left combo that slammed the guy back into the wall, and then, picking him up by his shirt like he was a rag doll, Max tossed him over the pool table and onto one of the small bar tables breaking it.

"Whooo he's a strong motherfucker isn't he?" The Voice said. "Pretty fast too, for a fat guy." It was quiet for a minute then added; "Good, maybe he'll last a little while."

While at the bar I acted the way I felt that Max would want me to. I was cocky to everyone but him, bitched about pretty much everything and constantly made derogatory remarks about women. Last week I even brought Betty with me, I chose her over Cynthia because I would never want to expose her to that piece of shit. The Voice had also said not to show Max to Cynthia, but didn't give its reason.

Betty, as always had dressed pretty trashy and was hanging all over me. Like Cynthia, Betty had long red hair, big tits that she constantly flaunted, and would pretty much do anything I wanted. Hell for that matter she would pretty much do anything any guy wanted if she was fucked up on coke, which was a good portion of the time. Bringing Betty worked out well however; first off, when we got there she told me she had been there before and that there was a decent amount of coke sold out of there, mostly to the regulars. It also worked out well because when she started bitching about wanting to leave I told her she needed to watch how she talked to me and as far as I was concerned her slutty ass could go home without me.

Betty got pissed off, as I knew she would, and took off, which left me without a ride home but that was fine, I could always just take a bus. After Betty left I complained about her to Max, that you know, she was a great piece of ass, but a real bitch sometimes.

"Look kid what you need to do is put her in her place that's all." Max said as he finished his beer.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know." Max said, slapping the back of his left hand into his right palm.

"Yeah, that works?"

"Like a charm kid, and you know what? They all like it."

I stared into Max's blue eyes and noticed that they weren't as faded and watery like they usually were but were bright and all but hanging out of his head. With a sick feeling in my stomach I realized his eyes reminded me of Megan's. Between that and Betty's remarking about what went on there I was now pretty sure Max still did coke.

"There's our opening Mark."

"I'll have to try it." I told Max.

"Kids too," He said. "One good shot and you don't hear from them for a week."

Not trusting myself after that remark I looked away towards the other end of the bar. As I did the Voice whispered;

"We need to know if he's into blow, if he is I have a plan."

"So hey listen Max," I said turning back to face him. "Just between us, there any action here?" Max looked at me for a moment.

"What kind?" Max asked. "Women?"

I smirked at him.

"C'mon Max, I said action not aggravation," I paused and said quietly. "You know, anything besides booze get sold here?"

"What do you need?"

I hesitated as if I wasn't sure what I should say then shrugged and lowered my voice even more.

"You know, some blow, I get an itch once in awhile and that little redhead you saw will do anything for a couple of lines."

Max smiled at me.

"Tell you what kid, you've been pretty cool to me so I'll help you out; there's a guy comes in on Friday when most people get paid, I can hook you up."

"Decent stuff?" I asked.

"Pretty good, I mean I've had better but the price is good."

"Alright." I said. "I'll try to get by on Friday."

"Gotcha!!"

I went home and, grabbing a hundred dollars from my rent money, went down to see Carson's brother Keith, who hooked me up with what he insisted was the best stuff on the street bar none, totally uncut. Keith claimed what he gave me was worth more than a hundred, but hey they were friends right? I also had no doubt that Keith had been more than happy to help figuring maybe I was following in my sister's footsteps and would become his newest customer.

During the time I had been seeing Max I was sleeping less and less and was starting to get to that point that I was so wired I was beginning to feel as if I was really starting to lose my grip. When I was around Max I was eerily calm, but at any other given point was becoming a nervous wreck. No matter what I did I couldn't wear myself out. I had upped my work outs to two hours twice a day, to the point where I could barely lift my arms the next day but somehow managed to do it again.

I was also fucking like an animal, even by my standards, between Robin, Betty, Cynthia , and a couple of random pickups, I was scoring every night. The night always ended the same however, with the girl lying there sound asleep and me next to them wide awake. I was also drinking a lot more than usual, killing shot after shot at the bar, yet never enough to put me out.

I was rapidly approaching that agitated state that would normally send me to the sleeping pills before I lost control and got myself in trouble. I had told Mitch that I couldn't work Baby Head for a couple of weeks, he asked why and I simply shrugged and made up a story of how I had been fucking some married woman and her crazy husband and friends knew I worked there so I needed to lay low. Mitch rolled his eyes but said okay.

As if to prove I had made the right move, Tommy came by Mitch's to ask me if I had heard from Megan. I told him no and he shook his head sadly and said that he hoped she was okay. I looked at him and realized that although Tommy was decent to my sister and did care for her, it was him who had started her off on coke in the first place. Now here he was, straight for the last month and not a care in the world with mommy and daddy paying for everything.

I asked him to come outside with me then grabbing his nose, the one that had just healed from the beating he had taken from Carson, and with a twist of my wrist broke it again. Then hit him in the stomach so hard he puked. Standing over him I told him if I ever found out that he partied with my sister again I would make what Carson did to him seem like a vacation.

At this point it was Tuesday night and I planned on going to the Green Bar on Friday and setting Max up, using the cocaine to lure him to Mitch's on Sunday morning. The bar was closed Sunday and Monday, so I would have two days to figure out what the hell I would do with his fat dead ass. After the bar closed that night I came upstairs alone, as the night before I had fucked Cynthia so hard, and so many times she had ended up in tears saying her pussy hurt.

This close to getting Max I didn't want to get involved with anyone else, so I just figured I'd spend the night alone. When I went upstairs I went to the medicine cabinet planning on taking a couple of Ambien, but the Voice stopped me.

"We need to be like this Mark."

"Why? I'm fucking tired, I need to rest." I told it out loud.

I noticed I had been speaking to it out loud more and more lately, but what the hell, I didn't really have any other friends in my life right now.

"No Mark, what you're doing is getting ready. We're getting meaner, crazier, we're evolving Mark. When the time comes we will play for awhile then let the dog out. You need to be ready to let it have its way Mark."

I nodded in agreement. In the past I had feared snapping, now I looked forward to it.

"Oh yes Mark, we have something special for Max don't we?""

On Wednesday I heard from Megan for the first time since she had left. In the morning she had left a message while I was at the gym, simply saying she was in New York but was doing well and she was going to be coming home soon with a surprise for me. I replayed the message three times thinking that she really did sound good.

"Don't get your hopes up Mark. Even if she's okay how long is it for?"

"She'll be okay someday." I told it. "You'll see, things will be just like they were before."

"Whatever Mark, just think about Max for now."

Megan called Mitch's around nine that night looking for me, but I had stepped out to go get Cynthia and I some pizza and she had told Cynthia to tell me she would try to call back, but might not be able to use the phone again that night.

"Oh great, she's in the fucking joint."

The Voice was probably right, but surprisingly I found myself not that concerned. Right now all that mattered was that in four days I was going to get Max alone and show fate that I was more than worthy of everything it had given me. The Voice had been absolutely right; Max was a test and I planned on passing with flying colors.

Megan never called back that night, or the next day, so I was glad that I hadn't gotten my hopes up. I was also glad that when Denise had called me and asked if I had heard from her that I hadn't said anything. Denise was a mess these days as it was, I didn't need to wind her up with hope just to see her get crushed again.

Thursday I decided to skip the gym. I had been working out so hard that everything ached constantly and I couldn't afford to get hurt before I faced Max. I had however taken a ride down to South Providence and spent an hour sitting in front of the last house I had lived in with Max. Sitting there I let my mind playback some of the beatings I had received there, including my fingers being broken. As I sat there I heard the dog growling in my head. At this point I wasn't even picturing the attic or meditating. The Voice was right; I was evolving, my mind becoming completely in tune with the attic. The dog was getting ready.

I arrived back at Mitch's, leaving the downstairs door unlocked for when the Budweiser truck came to make its delivery to Mitch, who was in the office and went upstairs. I took a long hot shower then, tossing on a pair of shorts, picked up a copy of Aleister Crowley's First book of Law and started to read, hoping that I might get to the point where I could doze on the couch. After a few minutes the words were blurring and my eyes were stinging so I put the book and down and had just closed my eyes when there was a knock on my door.

I jumped up off the couch shaking my head.

"Christ Mitch," I snapped as I walked up to the door and unlocking it swung it open. "Can't you even unload a fucking..."

Megan was standing there.

"Hey little brother." She said quietly.

"Meg?" I asked not believing my eyes.

"Oh for Christ's sake, she's like a fucking boomerang!"

"That's me." Megan said then, putting her head down like a little kid who knew she was in trouble, asked;

"Can I come in Mark?"

"Oh yeah," I said shaking my head. "Yeah come on in."

I stepped back and Megan took a couple of steps in then, turning to me, put her arms out. I hesitated for a second then leaned into her and gratefully put my arms around her.

"Oh come on Mark, this bitch stole from us!!"

That's right I had forgotten about that. I pulled back and as I did Megan smiled at me and putting her hand out and touching my cheek said;

"Hey you grew a beard! It looks good on you."

"And you'd look better on a milk carton, Mark ditch her will you?"

"Mark?"

"What?" I asked.

"I said I like your..." Megan started then stopping frowned. "Damn little brother, your eyes look like they hurt! You haven't been sleeping have you?"

"No." I said then turning walked away from her.

I was glad to see her but at this point wasn't in the mood for anything and for once that included my big sister and her endless drama. I went over and sat down on the couch. After looking at me oddly Megan grabbed the suitcase she had with her and, after pulling it in the apartment, closed the door and came over and sat across from me on the couch.

Megan sat there quietly looking at me her hands on top of her purse which was in her lap. As she did I squeezed my eyes shut to clear them and, upon opening them, took a good look at my sister. Megan looked good, damn good. She was wearing a long one piece black sundress that looked amazing against her ivory skin, and her long dark hair was pulled back into a pony tail, which I had always thought looked adorable on her. Most importantly her arms were clear, her eyes appeared normal and she seemed calm as she sat there completely still watching me.

I on the other hand was far from okay. I was holding my hands together in my lap but could still feel them shaking. I also noticed that my leg was tapping rapidly up and down. I stopped it then, looking down again a minute later, saw I was doing it again.

Megan frowned and asked;

"You okay Mark?"

"No." I said simply.

"Well what's..."

I cut her off with a wave of my hand.

"You stole from me Megan!" I snapped. "You took my fucking rent money!"

"I'm sorry Mark" She said. "I just..."

"How the hell could you do that to me Megan? I had to spend a week hustling pool and still came up a little light." "You could have borrowed Mark." Megan began. "I mean Alex..."

"My sister shouldn't have taken from me," I told her my voice rising. "Don't give me that I could borrow shit!"

I shook my head in disgust.

"Bad enough you've done it to other people, but were supposed to be close Megan."

Megan looked at me sadly and nodded.

"I'm sorry little brother, I really am, I just had to get out, you were talking about clinics and I panicked."

As she spoke Megan reached into her purse and removing three hundred dollar bills reached across the table to try to hand them to me.

"Here Mark, I know it's late but..."

"I don't want Tommy's money." I said not putting my hand out. "What's done is done."

Megan looked at the money then put it down on the old scratched up coffee table someone had given me.

"So what's wrong Mark?"

"Besides my sister betraying me," I shrugged. "I don't know."

"I deserve this Mark, I really do, but you don't understand ..."

"Bullshit!!" I snapped and getting up began to pace back and forth across the small room.

"I'm sick of hearing about your tragic tale Megan! You don't think I hurt? You don't think I suffer? That I don't have that big fucking pit in the middle of me that's always there?"

I turned to look at her.

"But you know what? I get by, I study, I work and I function and you're no different from me, you just don't want to."

"That's it Mark, about time you told this skank how it is!"

"Don't tell me what I want Mark!" Megan snapped back. "I'm sorry if I'm not as strong as you are. Not many are Mark, you're different."

"You don't know the half of it."

"That's a copout Megan," I said pointing at her. "You're intelligent, beautiful and talented! What life took from you it gave back. Doug and Denise helped you." I pointed at the wall where the painting of Cerberus? she had given me was hanging.

"You could make a fortune painting, but you'd rather wallow in your own shit." I stopped then added; "And take others down with you."

"That's my boy Mark! You put her in her place!"

Megan stood up to face me.

"You have no fucking idea Mark! You don't, and as far as bringing others down, I told you to before to stay away from Tommy."

"Fuck Tommy," I said then slapping my forehead said;

"Oh that's right, that's what you do whenever you need to escape."

"He's none of your business Mark."

"You're my business Megan." I said then walking away from her began to pace again.

As I passed her I noticed that Megan looked pissed but she wasn't crying. She must be okay because for the last few months she had been an emotional basket case that would cry over anything. So far from the strong big sister that had helped me years ago.

"Big deal, she'll be fucked up again in no time."

"Apparently not anymore Mark," She said, her voice beginning to rise as well. "I wouldn't want to bring you down to my level."

At that last part she did sound as if she were choking up. I was facing away from her and, closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm down and turned to face her.

"Meg listen..." I started, but she continued to speak, her voice cracking from emotion.

"We can't all be as great as you are Mark! We can't all be the best of the best! Most of us inferior beings just muddle along doing the best we can. Sorry I'm not as good as you are."

With that Megan grabbed her purse and began to head for the door. Shit! I swore to myself, most of Megan's problem was guilt because she felt she didn't deserve people to be good to her because she kept hurting them. Whenever she would be straight it would only take some little thing to set her off again. Something like her little brother, whom she adored, throwing her out of his house. I couldn't let her leave like this.