A Working Man Pt. 03: End

"He didn't just fuck me, Phillip. He raped me violently. He beat me black and blue from head to toe. He humiliated me. He did things to me that I can never get over. He was a pig, and I hated him. I hated myself more, for the shame that I had let him do it to me, over a secret."

"If you were so beat up, why didn't I ever see it?" Phillip asked.

"I hid it from you. It wasn't that hard. I just had to pretend to have female issues, and you left me alone."

"So, I take it once wasn't enough?" Phillip asked.

"Right. Jesse disappeared for a while, but when he came back, he had photographs of us having sex. He used that to blackmail me more and more. The final straw was when he demanded I meet him in New York. I had to end it. I almost killed myself, but instead, I took your gun with me and planned to kill him.

"To do that, I had to lure him into thinking I was no longer resisting him. I let him think I was enjoying his company, but the whole time I was on the verge of throwing up. Finally, I got him alone in the park. I confronted him with your gun and shot him, except he'd taken the bullets out. He had found the Beretta.

"I ran away and came home to find the house empty, and you had left me. I was devastated. Everything in my world had fallen apart. My life was over. All those years of carrying the secret, for nothing.

"Please, believe me. I never willingly cheated on you. Jesse raped me, Phillip! He forced me! I had no choice!"

"We always have a choice, Maggie," Phillip countered. "You made yours."

"You don't believe me?" Maggie cried out in anguish.

He paused, watching his wife. "No, Maggie, I want to believe you. It all fits. It all makes sense. I want to forgive you. There's just one thing that makes it hard for me to believe you. Can you explain this one thing to me?"

"Yes, of course," Maggie said, growing hopeful. "What is it?"

"This," Phillip said as he pushed play on the video he had queued up on his phone.

Maggie was naked in the hotel room in New York. She was straddling Jesse's hips, with her back to the camera, bouncing up and down hard. You could see Jesse's cock sliding in and out of her soaking wet pussy. She was crying out in pleasure.

"Oh, God, Jesse!" she screamed, "Fucking make me cum! Make your slut cum again!" She then had the most powerful orgasm Phillip had ever seen in his life. He paused the playback and looked to his wife, his fury evident.

"Explain that, goddammit!" he demanded.

Tears rolled down her face as Maggie lowered her gaze and said, "I can't." At that moment, she knew that no matter what happened, her marriage was over.

"So, tell me, Maggie, what the fuck was this big secret that was so damaging that you destroyed everything to keep it hidden?"

Maggie nodded as if to tell herself that it was time to tell the truth.

"The secret is," she began, taking a deep breath, "before you came to the Roadhouse, I gave Jesse a blowjob in his car."

"A fucking blowjob?" Philip shouted. "All of this was because of a goddamned blowjob? Are you fucking stupid?"

"No," Maggie continued. "Jesse wasn't satisfied with a blowjob. He wanted more, but I refused to do it with him. I was saving my virginity for you, even after everything. I was going to wait and find a way to get you to love me. I would still marry you, and you would be my first.

"But, Jesse was drunk. He climbed on me and held me down. It was over quickly. The reason I wanted you to make love to me was partially to help me forget what Jesse had done and also because I was afraid he might have impregnated me."

She paused as her words sunk in, and Phillip's demeanor changed from anger to shock.

"It turns out, he had, but I lied to you and let you believe all these years that Terri was your daughter. She isn't. She's Jesse's daughter."

Out on the patio, Jesse smiled when he heard Phillip's tormented scream rip through the air.

Chapter 24

Phillip staggered into the bar and ordered a double bourbon and drained it, pointing at the glass, "Again!" he barked.

Maggie picked herself up from the sofa and walked into the kitchen. She saw the object on the table and picked it up, realizing what it was. She grabbed her phone and dialed 911. Five minutes later, uniformed police arrived and searched the house and grounds.

They found the broken glass, and, as they processed the crime scene, an all-points bulletin went out to be on the lookout for Jesse Milner, along with his description and that he was likely armed and dangerous.

As Phillip downed shot number three, he heard a voice from his past.

"Hello, Phillip," Jesse Milner said as he sat down on the stool next to him. "Long time, no see."

"You son of a bitch," Phillip snarled.

"Now, is that any way to talk to an old friend?" Jesse said with a chuckle. "Let's go for a walk. We need to talk!"

Phillip threw some bills on the bar, then growled, "Come on, let's do this." He walked out to the parking lot.

Jesse followed him. Suddenly, Phillip spun to face his adversary with a new gun in his hand, pointed at Jesse's forehead. Jesse stopped in his tracks and raised his hands, a distorted grin on his scarred face.

"You bastard!" Phillip shouted. "I'm going to fucking kill you!"

"No, you aren't," Jesse replied calmly. "You don't have the balls."

Phillip screamed in rage and lowered the gun. The instant he did, Jesse attacked, punching Phillip hard in the gut, doubling him over, dropping him to his knees.

"Maggie had more balls than you," Jesse said. "She at least pulled the trigger. You're pathetic." Jesse punched Phillip in the side of the head, and everything went black.

Jesse rifled through Phillip's pockets and found his phone. He tried to open it, but it needed a password, so Jesse grabbed Phillip's hand and pressed his right thumb down on the sensor. The phone unlocked.

He went to Contacts and scrolled down to the letter T.

Terri Anderson woke suddenly to the sound of her phone ringing on the nightstand. She pulled herself away from her wife and answered it with a whisper, "Hello?"

"Hello, Terri," Jesse said. "I'm a friend of your parents. I have something to tell you that you might find shocking."

"What?" Terri asked, growing alarmed. "Is this about my parents? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, it is about your parents, but nothing is wrong," He said. "At least not to me."

"What is it?" Terri asked as she sat up in bed, the sheet falling to expose her naked torso.

"Did you know that I dated your mother before she and your father hooked up?"

"No, who are you?" Terri asked.

"My name is Jesse Milner, and I'm your real father."

Chapter 25

"How could you keep that from me? From us?" Terri demanded of her mother. "You bitch! No wonder, Dad left you!"

"Terri, please," Maggie pleaded, trying to get her daughter to listen.

"Fuck you, Maggie," Terri said. "I won't call you Mom, as I no longer have a mother." Terri hung up, and Maggie collapsed on her bed. What more could go wrong?

The doorbell rang. Maggie tried to ignore it, but it rang again and again. She gathered herself together and looked out the window. An unfamiliar car was parked out front. Afraid it might be Jesse, she prepared to call the police as she came downstairs. She looked through the peephole to find an attractive blonde woman in a business suit standing on the doorstep.

She opened the door. "Can I help you?"

"Margaret Anderson?" the woman asked.

"Yes? What's this about?"

The blonde handed Maggie a manila envelope, then before she realized it, the woman took her picture. "Your husband filed for divorce. I suggest you contact an attorney. You've been served."

Maggie was at her wit's end. She tossed the envelope on the kitchen table without opening it. Just then, her phone rang again.

"What now?" she thought. She saw it was Terri, so she answered immediately.

"Hello, Terri," she said.

"Hello Mags," came the unmistakable voice of Jesse Milner.

The blood drained from Maggie's face. "What have you done with my daughter?" Maggie demanded.

"Nothing, yet," Jesse explained. Maggie could hear Terri pleading in the background. "And, if you want to keep it that way, you'll do exactly what I tell you."

An hour later, Maggie turned her car onto the gravel road that ran behind her parent's house. "Come alone, and if you call the police, I'll kill the dyke," Jesse had instructed her.

He had said not to call the police, but he didn't say anything about calling Phillip. She called his number and said a silent prayer that he would answer.

"You have five seconds to say what you need to say," Phillip growled.

"He has Terri."

"What?"

"Jesse has Terri. He said if I don't meet him, he'll kill her," Maggie explained frantically. "I'm almost there now; I don't know what to do."

"Call the police!"

"He said he'd kill her if the police show up. I believe him, Phillip. He's insane."

"Where is he?"

"He said to meet him at his father's old trailer," Maggie explained.

"They closed that park down years ago," Phillip told her. "They're all abandoned and falling apart."

"I don't know what to do, Phillip, I'm at the trailer park. Tell me what to do!"

"I'm at my mother's house. Don't go in. I'll meet you outside, and we'll go in together. I'm on my way."

"Hurry, please!" Maggie pleaded.

Her phone buzzed. "Oh, my God, he's calling."

"Answer it!"

Maggie switched to Jesse's call. "I'm almost there!"

"You're late! I told you I'd kill her."

"She's your daughter, Jesse," Maggie begged. "Don't hurt her."

"She's not my daughter," Jesse fired back. "You and Phillip made sure of that! She means nothing to me."

Suddenly, Terri screamed in pain. "You have thirty seconds, or I cut her again."

"Wait! I'm here! I'm here!" Maggie stopped the car and got out. "I'm coming in." Maggie mounted the steps and pushed on the door, which hung crookedly on its rotting hinges. It was dark inside the trailer, and it smelled of dampness and decay.

"I'm here, Terri! Mom's here, baby!" Maggie called out as she stepped inside. She could hear the terrified whimpering of her daughter and headed to it. As she came out of the narrow hallway, she saw them, illuminated by a battery-powered lantern.

Terri was naked and secured to a worn-out kitchen chair by zip ties. Her face was bruised and swollen. The worst injury Maggie could see was a pair of long cuts across her daughter's chest that oozed blood. Terri's eyes revealed the terror she felt.

Behind her, stood Jesse, with a long blade against Terri's throat. He looked utterly deranged as if he had lost all touch with reality. Foam collected in the corners of his mouth, and he was panting like an animal.

"Did you call the cops? Don't fucking lie to me!" Jesse yelled, the blade scratching along Terri's neck.

"No! You told me not to!" Maggie assured him. "I came by myself. It's just me, Jesse. Please, let Terri go. You have me now."

"Let her go?" Jesse laughed. "I'm not going to do that.Sit down! On the couch!" He pointed at the old sofa with the knife. Maggie moved slowly and sat down, hands raised in front of her.

"Ok, ok! I'm sitting. Calm down, Jesse. We can get through this!"

"The fuck we can!" Jesse laughed. "Take off your clothes! I'm going to fuck you one last time!"

"Jesse, please, let's talk. Put the knife down and," Maggie's plea was cut off when Terri screamed. Jesse had cut her again.

"Do what I fucking said! Take off your clothes, you fucking bitch!"

"Ok!" Maggie yelled. "Ok!" She began to strip out of her clothes quickly.

"Your mother is a slut! She fucked two men on the same night, back to back, at her Senior Prom!" Terri closed her eyes and trembled in fear.

"Please don't hurt me," she begged.

Maggie was down to her bra and panties.

"Them too! Take them off now!" he yelled. Maggie unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor, then stripped her panties off. "Now, sit back down!"

Maggie did as he commanded. Jesse quickly closed the five feet between them and slapped her hard across the face. She cried out and raised her hands defensively, but Jesse just knocked them away effortlessly.

Maggie saw Phillip's gun tucked into Jesse's belt and grabbed for it. It fell out and dropped to the floor. Jesse swung to punch Maggie in the belly, forgetting he was still holding the knife. She gasped and looked down at the streaming blood as it covered Jesse's fist. He pulled his hand back, leaving the knife poking out of her belly, as dark blood gushed from the wound.

Jesse retrieved the gun and stared down at Maggie. Blood flowed freely from the deep gash in her gut, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. She clutched at the knife, and blood seeped out between her fingers.

"See what you made me do, you fucking bitch!" Jesse yelled. "All of this is your fucking fault! If you had just loved me the way I loved you, everything would have worked out! Teresa would have lived! I wouldn't have gone to prison, and I wouldn't have had to do all this! It's your fault, you fucking whore!"

He pressed the end of the gun to Maggie's forehead. "What was it you said to me in New York? Goodbye, Maggie. Rot in Hell."

Jesse saw movement to his right and turned as Phillip fired his gun. The bullet hit him in the right shoulder, spinning him around. The two men stared at each other, with their hatred for each other etched on their faces. Phillip kept his gun pointed at Jesse. Slowly, Jesse raised his weapon.

"Don't do it, Jesse!" Phillip shouted.

"You don't have the balls!" Jesse yelled!

Jesse suddenly raised the gun, aiming for Phillip's face. Maggie pulled the knife out of her gut and drove it, with all her remaining power, into Jesse's back until it protruded from his chest. The stab caused him to lurch forward as he fired. Phillip pulled the trigger at the same instant. The two bullets flew past each other. One caught Phillip in the chest, the other hit Jesse between the eyes, blowing off the back of his head.

Jesse's dead body fell back, awkwardly, over what remained of the coffee table. Phillip slammed against the wall, then slowly slumped to the floor. Struggling to move, he crawled to Maggie, who was panting rapidly, her eyes rolled back in her head from the pain. Phillip reached her and tried to stop the bleeding, but there was so much blood. He could hear sirens in the distance, but he doubted they would make it in time.

He took his wife into his arms and held her tightly, rocking her back and forth. Maggie's eyes fluttered, and she looked up, recognizing her husband and the only man she had ever loved. She reached up and brushed his face tenderly, leaving a trail of blood. "M-my Phillip," she managed to whisper.

"Don't talk!" Phillip told her. "Just hold on, baby. Hold on; they're coming. You have to hold on!"

"Forgive me," Maggie said through gasps for air.

"I forgive you, Maggie!" Phillip said as he kissed his wife one last time. The smile on her face let him know that she had heard him.

And then she was gone.

Phillip cried out, a long, anguished wail that was fueled by pain, hurt, and absolute sorrow. Suddenly, police and rescue personnel filled the ruined trailer. The last thing Phillip saw as he faded away was Terri being cut loose from the chair and her diving across the room to hold him in her arms.

She called out to him, "Daddy! Daddy! Please, don't leave me!"

Epilogue

The sun cascaded through the leaves of the overhanging oak trees, illuminating the flowers next to the gravestone.

"Daisies were Mom's favorite," Joey said as he wiped away a tear.

Terri nodded and hugged her sister Pam tightly, wincing slightly from the discomfort. She struggled to speak, finally managing to say, "That's why Dad always worked so hard in the garden, to have daisies to make Mom happy."

Pam gave an awkward chuckle, "Dad was always working to make Mom happy."

The three Anderson children stood, huddled together, gazing down at the stone, which bore the names of Phillip and Maggie Anderson. Above their names was the Anderson family motto: "Hard Work Pays Off." As the last shovels of dirt filled the couple's grave, they turned and walked away.