A Mom's Symbol Ch. 03

It was Lily.

"Happy birthday, honey."

She stared before saying, "Thanks."

A silent, awkward pause visited.

"You were right, Alyssa."

She looked blankly at her mom. Lily's eyes teared up. They gradually grew hazier as the tears fell in drops.

"I d-don't know what I was doing, fuck. For the first time in two years, I feel completely awake. I can't sleep. How could I have done those things to James? Or your dad? I n-never wanted to be like my mom and look at me! I'm exactly like her," she said as her gasps periodically haunted her voice.

Alyssa felt sympathy as she took Lily's hand into her own and said, "It's never too late, Mom. You have to tell dad. James doesn't have to know. You'd still be his perfect mom, but Dad has a right to know."

"What if he doesn't love me anymore? Baby, I don't want to tell h-him."

"You have to. Deep down, you know you have to."

The mother grunted before putting her palms on her face, "I can't live without your father, sweetie. He's the love of my life. I never cheated without the absolute surety that he won't catch on. As for James--" Lily stopped. She didn't tell her daughter that James was aware about the deal. Alyssa also didn't know Lily intentionally left CDs of her in their bedroom for James to see. James knew about them both already. Lily felt even more guilty never telling the whole story to Alyssa. To be fair, it wasn't of her own accord. Alex ordered her to do it. She couldn't disobey then, could she? Maybe she could tell her now.

But she doesn't want to. A lump appeared in her throat. Alyssa would be furious with her. She'd lose her daughter's sympathy then. She'd probably tell Brandon immediately and just take them away from her.

Plus, disobeying Alex still wasn't something she was comfortable doing.

Lily carefully chose her own words, not giving anything away, "I'm doing this for him. It's all for James--"

"You're not, Mom. You know that. You're not doing it for James. You're using your son as an excuse."

"Don't you dare say that again," she said.

Alyssa leaned in and hugged her mom. She said, "It's true. Mom, think of James. Think of dad. You have to do this. For us. Please, wake up. Before they both find out about you or me and it's too late."

Lily inwardly sighed in relief. Her daughter didn't catch on.

The mother shook her head.

"I don't trust myself, honey. I tried stopping, believe me. Multiple times. He's given me ultimatums, but I've never once made the right choice. I can't. I fucking can't. I'm--just please don't tell your dad....or James."

She felt her daughter's hands on her face, trying to calm her down. Alyssa whispered, "Look at me, Lily."

She could see her mom flinch over the unexpected gesture. Alyssa rarely ever calls her by name.

The daughter continued, "You're the strongest woman I've ever met. Anything that I can do, you can too. I'll be there every step of the way. I'll tell you what. Stop now, and Dad never has to know. I promise I won't tell, but you have to stop seeing Alex. I'll handle him and make sure he never hurts James again too. I can transfer him. Or I can transfer James. I have enough connections to do either."

"You won't tell your dad?"

"No."

"B-but Alex. Fuck, s-sex with Alex...?"

"You can't do that. Ever. The minute you do, I'll tell dad all about this."

Lily seemed blank. She seemed in...grief. As if she was being forced to do the most painful thing she could imagine. The choke hold Alex had on her mom was unbelievable. Despite being faced with facts, love, and solutions, she was still hesitating. That's why this had to be stopped now. Before she loses her mom completely to that bully. Before the woman she grew up admiring disappears.

"....O-okay. Yeah. Let's do that. That's the right thing to do after all. Yeah, that's good. I'm h-happy for James." She didn't look happy.

But Alyssa knew more than anyone what she was giving up. She understood. It was gonna take time for Lily, nay, for the both of them to accept it. To be happy.

To be okay without Alex.

That will inevitably take time. She hugged her mom and reassured, "I know we can do it. I'm proud of you, Mom."

"T-thank you, baby. Can you... give me some time? I'll be fine. I just need....sleep. I'm so tired. Sleeping pills. I need them."

"I have some here."

She looked at her daughter and asked, "You can't sleep too?"

Alyssa smiled wearily and replied, "Ever since that morning."

That seemed to put a bit of life and pity in her mom's eyes as she heard her say, "Oh, baby. I'm so sorry for that. I never knew."

"It's fine, Mom. I'm okay. I feel great knowing I would never hurt James or Dad again, you know? Give it a few days and it'll take some load off your shoulders." She handed over some pills.

Lily slowly closed her eyes and nodded her head absentmindedly. She stuttered, "You're r-right. Yeah. Good night, baby."

"Good night, Mom."

_______________________

The sun rose and Alyssa woke up again. She heard a commotion downstairs and checked the time. It was 11:33. Alyssa ended up sleeping in a little late.

They were probably already starting the party. She smiled at the thought of James and her dad having fun. She stood up and fixed herself a bit in front of the mirror. She looked way happier. Alyssa felt like it too. Her mind felt lighter, without all the worries and doubts she constantly experienced the past two weeks. Because she stood her ground for her family. For love.

She went downstairs and saw balloons almost everywhere. Alyssa wryly smiled. Her dad thought she was still a child. Or maybe he wanted to make her feel like one--because she never got to do so out of responsibility for her family.

"Hey, baby. Happy Birthday!" She heard her dad greet.

"Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate this. On a side note though, I think you overdid the balloons, and I've seen 'Up' for about three times now."

"I beg to disagree, Alyssa. In fact, I think I outdid myself again," he said as he handed her a bunny-shaped balloon.

Alyssa's heart felt warm as she replied, "Wow. You're really pulling no stops today, huh?"

"It is your first birthday here in a while. I guess you forgot how your mom and I used to do birthdays."

Alyssa smiled cheekily at him.

"I could never."

Brandon grinned and led her to the kitchen and said, "I made you pancakes with a side of eggs and bacon. You slept in a little late, so I'll make a new one."

She refused and said she was okay with the original batch.

"You sure? It's gone pretty cold."

"Positive, dad."

"Whatever the birthday girl wants," he said suavely.

She started eating and asked her dad, "Where's James? And Mom?"

I don't know about your mom. She didn't seem too good yesterday too. She's still sleeping in, but she'll probably be awake soon."

He continued thoughtfully, "As for James....he's in his room. In fact, he made these." He pointed at the perfectly shaped eggs with a smiley face written with ketchup. Alyssa chuckled.

"Speaking of the devil," Brandon said.

James went downstairs and greeted her a simple "Happy Birthday." Alyssa mentioned the eggs and complimented how great they were, to which he nodded slightly in response. The sister was slightly disappointed that James still wasn't talking to her normally, but she understood it's a long process--and rightfully so. She was gone for seven years after all. That's still got to hurt, not to mention their verbal exchange yesterday. She was being too hopeful, thinking it can be magically resolved in a day.

It was, perhaps, wishful thinking in her part. A miracle she wistfully wanted to happen in her birthday.

"You didn't invite anyone, right? I only want to spend time with you three," Alyssa straightforwardly stated.

Brandon replied, "Of course not. I planned a pretty casual party. I know you hate loud ones, and I didn't want you make you feel uncomfortable."

He exclaimed right after, "Oh! I did invite one, but he'll leave whenever you want. Let's just let the guy eat a bit and we could go on and have our day. He's a good kid. You might even like him. He's James' friend."

Alyssa froze. She looked at her brother, who was blankly staring at their dad, face pallid. James didn't have friends, did he...? Who was Brandon talking abou--

Their doorbell sounded out and Brandon nodded. He said as he stood up, "That's probably him."

Alyssa slowly went with her dad to check her suspicions, her heart loudly beating until it was all she could hear. Brandon opened the door. The wooden door creaked and slowly revealed the man behind it.

It was him.

She shuddered. This was the worst fucking thing she ever thought could happen on her birthday. Alex stood at their doorstep, lightheartedly smiling at her oblivious dad.

"This is really t-the guy you invited, dad?"

"Hmm? Yeah. I met him at James' school weeks ago. I see him almost periodically in the morning too--every time I drive James to school. You guys know each other?"

Alyssa turned her head to look at her brother. James was standing there, frozen, at the sheer presence of his bully.

The sister denied the question, "I don't know him. Never met him." James told her all about his bully, but she shouldn't know how he looked like. Her brother couldn't know she met him three weeks ago. He especially couldn't know she fucked him on their parents' bed. James didn't know anything for now, and she'd go to any lengths keeping it that way. If her brother finds out, she would never be able to bridge the gap her words and her absence in seven years made.

He would never be able to forgive her.

She signaled the bully to work with her. He glanced at her and James before smirking.

"Yeah. I haven't met her."

Brandon smiled in response as he patted the young man's back. Now, her father was by no means small. Granted, he wasn't that tall either, but it seemed so much more noticeable when he stood right next to Alex. The athlete's stature towered over him--Brandon had to raise his hand pretty high just to pat the young man in the back; his head was only up to Alex's broad shoulders.

Alyssa remembered she was almost the same height as her dad, only about a few inches less.

She looked at the two very different men in front of her. Was that how she looked like side by side with the bully? She could only pathetically reach Alex up to his chest and shoulders? She was always kneeling, or in a very weird sex position otherwise so she didn't notice. She only knew Alex was big. She hasn't seen it showcased so clearly in comparison to other men before--she didn't expect to, especially not with her father.

In their house.

On her birthday.

Alyssa wanted to make him leave, but unwarranted dislike for the man will inevitably make James suspicious. That was the last thing she ever wanted. So she forced a smile and invited the man in.

Brandon suddenly said, "I just realized I haven't seen you in casual clothes. You look way fitter, Alex."

You should see him without them, Alyssa intrusively thought. She shook her head, extracting herself from the dirty fantasies her mind was coming up with by the second.

"I haven't seen you hanging out in our home too. You always say you visit, but I'm never there."

You should be grateful you weren't, Alyssa thought darkly again.

If he was, then her father will quite surely see his wife and daughter getting railed so good that they start screaming without care for their neighbors at all.

Alyssa sat back down next to James and asked, "Is he your friend?" She hoped her brother would tell her the truth so she can finally have a reason to kick the bully out.

James muttered after a while, "....yeah."

She let out a small 'oh' before turning quiet. James refused to tell her who Alex really was and she didn't know why. Was he threatening him in some way she couldn't notice? Alyssa couldn't say she knew he was lying either. She grew frustrated at her powerless situation. Fear started to spread and she couldn't breathe properly out of panic.

Why was Alex even here? Why did her dad invite him? Were they close? Fuck. What's going to happen? She could only guess what kind of depraved thoughts and ideas were currently going through the man's head. Alyssa didn't understand him. She sent the text. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Seeing him smile so brightly at her father was disconcerting. What kind of sociopath could smile at a man so sincerely while bullying his son, fucking his wife's ass, and humping his daughter's pussy?

What kind of iron nerves did he have? To do something so...disrespectful...and disgusting.....and hot?

Fuck.

She heard someone go down the stairs and instinctively looked.

It was Lily. She looked stunned when she saw Alex. She looked at her husband. Lily's never hung out with the bully while Brandon was there. The startled mother then searched the vicinity for her son. She found James in the corner, sitting on a chair with a blank and pale complexion. He was completely quiet.

"Hello, Mrs. Anderson. Your husband invited me. I'm thankful to be here."

The mother was silent.

Alex suddenly asked, "Sir, may I use your bathroom?"

"Sure! James, lead your friend there. It's down the hall so you might get lost--"

"I'll do it, dad. I'm the birthday girl after all. He's technically my guest," Alyssa interrupted, partially yelling.

Brandon was confused at her sudden explosive energy, but nevertheless let out a hum of agreement.

Alyssa couldn't hear anything but the sound of her own deafening heartbeat. She couldn't let James be alone with his bully, can she? Plus, she could ask him one-on-one what the fuck he was planning.

And that he needed to leave.

Distracted by her messy thoughts, she didn't see the glint in James' eyes.

Or her mother's for that matter.

Alyssa led him down the hall and when she was sure no one could hear them, she pushed him into a wall and trapped him inside her arms. She was so small in comparison to him that it looked hilarious. Like a cub trying to trap a full-grown tiger. Alex seemed to notice because he started chuckling.

"You think this is fucking funny?"

"I do, birthday girl. Don't you?" He asked.

"Not a single fucking bit. What are you doing here, Alex? I told you I wanted nothing to do with you. So does my mom by the way. I talked her out of it yesterday. Just be a man and accept it! LEAVE us alone, will you? Or are you here to blackmail us again?" She smiled derisively.

"Slow down, feisty. I never blackmailed you with anything. So 'again' isn't really accurate. If I'm not mistaken, I told you long ago I deleted my virtual copy. You were the one fucking me because you refuse to believe."

"What about the physical one?!"

He looked at her seriously, his thumb touching the corners of her lips before he spoke, "I told you it wouldn't be released. Ever."

"How am I supposed to fucking believe that?"

"I was hoping giving you the mind-blowing sex you repeatedly begged for was gonna be enough, honestly."

She paused for a second before saying, "Well, it wasn't."

"And I figured as much. So I came here to say goodbye."

She was dumbfounded. That was it? Was this the proper time to do it--during her fucking birthday? Plus, he wasn't fighting back at all.

Why did she feel slightly disappointed about that? Was she...hoping he would break her again and fuck her senseless?

She groaned inwardly. Fuck, okay. She was hoping, alright?

But she knew better after all. This was for the best. This is an ultimatum. She now only needed to say the word "leave".

Why couldn't she?

Alyssa felt a lump in her throat. He observed her and played with the tips of her blonde hair--the same way he did when he first roped her in with sex.

He teased with a smirk, "If you don't want me to leave, just say so. The birthday girl can have whatever she wants after all."

"No, leave. The birthday girl wants you to...leave," she said with difficulty.

"Alright."

He held the tips of her hair in his rough, callused palms and brought it to his lips, inhaling her scent. She shuddered.

"But I have a proposition."

"What more do you fucking want?"

He smirked and said, "Let's make this a proper goodbye, shall we?"

She tried calming down. Getting angry wasn't going to do anything. She asked, "And how do you...propose we do that?"

"I'll give you the physical copy."

She stared at him. She knew there was a certain price, but if it wasn't unreasonable. Alyssa was almost sure to agree. It was that important.

That copy needs to be destroyed no matter what. Only then can she rest easy.

"And I'll delete the virtual copy in front of you too."

She mocked him, "The liar exposed himself. I thought you deleted it, huh?"

"I did. In front of your mom. She was so busy begging to be fucked in the ass that she didn't demand it to be deleted from my trash folder too. I hadn't checked, but it is quite surely somewhere in my Recently Deleted."

That shut her up.

Breathing deeply, she stared up at him in the eyes. He looked back.

She slowly asked, "What's the price...?"

"Let me fuck your ass right now."

Alyssa fumed and said, "Are you fucking with me?"

He calmly retorted with a smirk, "No, but I am FUCKING you. If you want to get the physical copy at least."

Alyssa sneered, "This is blackmail. You know that, right? I guess you're not as fucking clean as you thought."

"You're wrong, baby. I never threatened to release it if you refuse now--I just won't give it to you. This? This is a deal. A trade. The tape is my rightful property and YOU'RE the one who wants it. I'm only demanding something in exchange, what's wrong with that? Plus, I don't care about the virtual copy and I can assure you, it'll probably disappear in my trash folder in about a month even if we didn't do anything about it."

That shut her up again. God, she could never seem to best him in an argument. Or anything at all. Her hands slowly came down from the wall, no longer having the energy to trap him.

"So, deal?"

Alyssa paused for a bit before saying, "And you'll delete it in front of me. Then, you'll give me the p-physical copy right after...?"

He bit his lips before replying, "I could give it to you during, baby."

She breathed deeply. It was a deal that's up for grabs. She could either take it or ignore it. The pros and cons weighed like a scale in her mind. She groaned.

Alyssa knew what she had to do. She knew what was necessary. She knew what the logical, independent, natural-born leader, feminist was going to do.

She was going to take it in the ass today.

"Shit, okay. You have the copy in that bag you're carrying?" She pointed towards the black sling bag.

"It's here," he grinned.

"Fuck! O-okay, fine, I'll take the deal so let's just get this o-over with. You can cum once and that is it, okay? You can't cum in my ass either. Just on my face or back--your choice, but never inside." She didn't even ask him to wear a condom. Alex unconditionally only fucks raw. She knew that fact more than anyone. Well, excluding her mom, or his other bitches for that matter.

You know what? No, she didn't know that fact "more than anyone". She's seen his sluts--they were all top-tier women who's been making love with his dick far longer than she had.

She's served him with them once. She's seen the sluts in action, inhaling his cock with their pretty mouths as she herself waited for her turn in a line like it was a fucking drive-thru. They looked barely human when they sucked cock. They looked like they lived for nothing but cock. Her mom would've most likely ended up like that in another year. In fact, she was fast approaching that state already.

She paced back and forth, muttering, "I d-don't know how to do this, fuck. I'll need some sort of excuse to disappear. Excuse. Excuse. Excuse...."