February Sucks My Take

Someone had looked in my phone and saw I had listed under ICE my parent's number and called them. When I woke up the next morning my mother was sitting holding my hand, I looked into her eyes and there was a hardness there I had never seen before.

''Mum, Jim's dead and I killed him what am I going to do without him?''

She just looked at me and her expression softened.

''I don't know baby girl you'll have to work that out on your own. What made you do it?''

''I don't really know. It was Marc LaValliere and he asked me to dance and I was so flattered I couldn't stop myself. When he asked me to go home with him I convinced myself Jim would forgive me because he always let me do what I wanted to. I was such a fool I still think I could have persuaded him to forgive me but Marc sent him taunting emails with those disgusting videos. Jim couldn't live with himself after that and you know the rest.''

''Well baby you certainly fucked up this time, your dad said he never wants to see you again and we are going to try for custody of Susan and Mike because they won't even see you. As far as they are concerned you killed their dad and you know how they felt about Jim, he was their hero and you killed him. Please don't fight the custody hearing give them time and they may yet come around. The doctors say they are keeping you in for the rest of the week for observation and psychiatric evaluation. I'll come and see you again. Your dad and I will see to the funeral arrangements so don't worry about that. Goodbye for now and try to get some rest.

On Wednesday of that week, Celebrities Behaving Badly showed a special showing Marc and I having sex. They blurred the naughty bits but made sure that the faces were shown even zooming in so that there could be no mistaking who it was in the video. They gave out my name and showed a picture of our house but with no address. They made a point of pointing out that our actions led directly to Jim's suicide.

In the course of the programme, they said that researchers had uncovered two other suicides because of Marc's predatory game he played it seems he liked to go to night clubs pick out a married woman and seduce her in front of her husband. They said he did this on a weekly basis and had so far been responsible for at least twenty divorces. They said they were going to continue to investigate Marc's activities and would report their findings in a future programme.

000000000000000

Thursday afternoon Marc LaValliere's Mansion:

Marc was sitting in the breakfast room eating lunch when his phone signalled an incoming call. He lifted it and saw it was from the team manager Tom Rice.

''Hi Tom, what can I do for you?''

''Sorry, Marc but this isn't a social call The NFL had an emergency meeting this morning about your lack of morals and I'm sorry to say you have been banned from playing NFL football indefinitely.''

''What the fuck, why what have I supposed to have done now?''

''Didn't you see the Celebrities Behaving Badly program last night or read this morning's paper?''

''No what's this all about?''

''It's all about you picking up married women in front of their husbands and ruining their marriages. Well, it seems you picked up the wrong one this time and he sent the whole story to everyone he could think of including the clips of you taunting him while you fucked his wife. Not only that but he then committed suicide and had that sent as well. The Celebrities Behaving Badly research team quickly discovered two other husbands who had done the same and a string of divorces caused by your actions. The national press picked it up and you're on the front page. Sponsors have been phoning the NFL headquarters demanding your dismissal or they will cancel their sponsorship deals. You've been dumped for bringing the sport into disrepute effective immediately. I want you to come in, we have put together a generous severance package and to clear out your locker. Sorry, but it's a done deal, See you later.''

Mark looked at his phone like it was about to bite him, the bastard's they can't do this to him he's Marc LaValliere.

''I'll show them I fuck anyone I want and there's nothing they can do about it.''

Marc tried phoning his friends and teammates to arrange a night out but found he had been blocked by some and the others didn't answer. No one wanted to be associated with the man who had caused three men to kill themselves. He dressed in his best pickup attire and went to his favourite club. When he arrived two bouncers blocked his entrance.

''Sorry, Marc, you're banned by the management you'll have to leave.''

Marc went to three other hunting spots with the same result, not having any success he went to a pickup bar and used a prostitute instead. When he woke up the next morning his wallet and car were gone. A week later after a trip to the doctor's, he had to be treated for multiple STDs.

No flash car, no friends and no job Marc moved into a bottle and stayed there.

0000000000000

Linda:

Linda's life had turned to shit, after being disowned by her parents and children she had Been sacked from her job as a teacher for gross misconduct, she tried to contact her friends but was met with hostility and insults. (Everyone had really liked Jim) She tried to phone Dee but could get no answer so she called Jane.

Jane picked up on the third ring.

''Hi Jane, it's Linda.''

''I can see that what the fuck do you want.''

''What's wrong?''

''I'll tell you what's wrong, Phill left me after the stunt you pulled he thought I was like you and would have gone with Marc but I wouldn't have you see I actually love my husband. Now I have to convince him of that and try to get him back. Did you know Dee's in the intensive care unit, when Dave found out she would have done the same as you he beat the shit out of her and ran. There's a warrant out for his arrest I hope all this misery was worth your night of joy, now fuck off and don't call me again.''

Linda looked at her phone as Jane broke the connection and thought I have nobody what shall I do?

She looked into her refrigerator for something to eat and realised she hadn't gone shopping since that night and the milk was off and there was nothing in there to eat. She got her shopping bags and went to the local supermarket. She walked up and down the isles thinking something was wrong then realised it was because she was on her own, Jim usually shopped with her. She loaded up her cart and went to the checkout as she approached the store manager stood in front of her and said.

''Sorry madam the store reserves the right not to serve you now or in the future please leave.''

A security guard showed her to the exit, and as she left several other shoppers clapped and cheered. She got into her car with tears streaming down her face. As she put the key into the ignition she noticed she was down to a quarter of a tank. She thought that never happened before because Jim always topped off the tank at the start of the week. She pulled into their local service station and inserted the nozzle, it wouldn't work so she moved to the next pump, with the same result. She went into the shop to tell the attendant the pumps weren't working. When she got to the till she noticed it was Mr Fleming the owner. Before she could say anything he told her she was no longer welcome at his gas station and to buy her gas someplace else, he then turned his back on her and walked away. She had to drive over ten miles to find a gas station that would serve her. She arrived home crying most of the way and decided to order out, she chose Chinese and called the San Pan to order. After placing her order they asked for the delivery address and when she gave it they said they didn't deliver to that address and ended the call. Linda was seriously pissed by now and went to Dennys for dinner but after being ignored by the waitress for over ten minutes she took the hint and left. She finally got served at the drive-through at McDonald's and ended up with a big mac and fries for dinner that night. Over the rest of the week, she found she was not welcome in all of the stores she had once used and had to shop in the next town over.

Friday her mother called and informed her of Jim's funeral time it would be next Friday at 11 am if she wanted to come. This was all said in a matter-of-fact voice with no emotion at all and after saying her piece she just ended the call without waiting for a reply.

000000000000

The Funeral:

Jim's parents had flown in from Florida and were staying with Linda's parents overnight. When they heard the whole story Jim's mother broke down crying while being held by her husband. The church service was well attended by both friends and family including many of the shop owners who had refused to serve Linda. Linda sat in the first row on her own as first, the parson spoke about Jim's generosity not only to the church but to the community in general. How he always had time to spend with friends and those who needed a helping hand and that he would be sorely missed. There were other eulogies by many members of the community. The most moving was from Linda's father who said he was the son he never had and lamented the fact that he no longer had any children to carry on the family name. Sarah and Mike were there but never acknowledged their mother other than to scowl in her direction. At the graveside, many of the women present broke down and cried. When the time came for the family members to place a solitary rose on the coffin Linda was the last to do so but as she walked away Jim's mother walked to the coffin removed it and tossed it to the side. Linda ran away crying. When she got home she went straight to bed still crying and lamenting her actions that Friday night.

0000000000000

Two months later:

Linda was sitting on a park bench reliving the past ten weeks while feeding the ducks. She had no money problems as Jim's insurance for both the house, his life insurance and his insurance at work had all paid out accepting that he had been suffering from temporary insanity and not capable of making rational decisions. Leaving Linda with nearly a million dollars and a paid-for house worth nearly as much. As she was contemplating her future an old woman stopped in front of her.

''Your Jim's wife aren't you?''

''I was until I reined everything.''

''Why are you still alive you and that Marc person committed murder no matter how you look at it and you should pay the price. It's the only way you will ever get any peace.''

Then she just walked away, it had happened so quickly Linda wasn't sure if she had imagined it but it got her thinking. She pondered the woman's words all the way home. When she got in she phoned Marc to see if he was in and when he answered she rang off.

She went up to the guest bedroom (she couldn't sleep in the master bedroom as it held too many memories) and dressed in the same outfit as she had worn that night. She went into the master bedroom and took out the snub-nosed 32 with the hollow point rounds. Jim had bought it for her for when he was away and taught her how to use it. She opened the cylinder and noted there were only five rounds Jim had told her to always leave one empty so that the hammer wouldn't rest against a live round. She went to the gun safe and got another round and inserted it into the chamber.

Linda was now running on auto having made up her mind she just went through the motions. She put the gun in her purse and got into her car to drive over to LaValliere's mini-mansion. When she parked outside his front door she pulled the old-fashioned doorbell and waited. Marc opened the door and Linda couldn't believe the difference in his appearance. He was unshaven, wearing a scruffy sweatsuit and looked as if he hadn't washed in days, he also reeked of booze. He looked at Linda and recognition dawned and he stepped back a couple of paces.

''What the fuck do you want, come back for some more now your looser husband is dead?''

Linda advanced towards him holding the gun. The first shot took off his prick and balls, and as he lay writhing in pain the second shot went through his pelvic bone and destroyed his prostate taking out a large portion of his bowls as well. The third shot pierced his bladder and severed his spinal cord making him a paraplegic. The fourth and fifth shots were through his ankles to make sure he never walked again she didn't realise he was already crippled from the third shot. As she stood there feeling nothing the maid came rushing in took one look and fled.

Linda calmly got back into her car and drove home. When she got home she went inside leaving the door unlocked and went up to the master bedroom. She opened the side table drawer and took out a photograph of Jim holding the kids at one of their holidays. She wrote a short note and left it on the vanity unit. She lay down on the matrimonial bed clutching the photo to her chest put the gun under her chin and pulled the trigger. Her last thought was peace at last.

The maid called 911 and told the police what had happened Marc was taken to the hospital where they managed to save his life but he would never walk again. He would have to wear a callosotomy bag and be fitted with a catheter for the rest of his life.

The police went to Linda's house with guns drawn and found the front door open. They entered with caution and called out their presence with no reply so they searched the house. They found Linda on the bed her brains and blood covering the wall above the bed and the gun still in her hand. The officer attending was the same officer who attended Jim's suicide and connected the dots. He saw something in her other hand and opened it finding Jim's and the children's picture he also read the note Linda had left.

I die in the hope Jim will forgive me in the next life please bury me next to him.

Linda.

Despite being on the force for twenty years his eyes teared up and he had to wipe them away. He looked at his partner.

''That piece of shit LaValiere caused this he deserved what he got.''

000000000000

The Funeral:

Linda was laid to rest two weeks later not next to Jim but in the same plot holding that same photo. The only people to attend were her parents and her children.

000000000000000000

Alternative ending:

Linda lay on her bed clutching the photo put the gun under her chin and pulled the trigger but nothing happened. The gun had jammed something a revolver rarely did. She cried in frustration and threw the gun out of the window. She went into the bathroom got her sleeping pills and went downstairs to get a bottle of Vodka she lay on the bed after taking both and fell into a coma.

The police arrived and entered the house carefully as she had a gun when they found her they called an ambulance that took her to the hospital. After a stomach pump, they left her to sleep it off handcuffed to the bed. When she woke up she realised she had failed and would not be reunited with Jim and went into hysterics. She had to be restrained and sedated, and when she woke up again her mother was there and the police were called, When they arrived she was charged with attempted murder and moved to a secure ward. She tried to commit suicide twice more whilst in hospital. Once saving up her meds after pretending to take them and taking them all at once and again by trying to bite out her wrist. It was decided she was unable to stand trial owing to her mental state and was sent to an institution for the mentally disturbed where she was kept sedated for her own good. She had weekly visits with the psychiatrist who said she was making progress but it would take time. She was visited by her parents every Sunday and she was finally allowed to be moved to a minimum security hospital for the mentally ill.

The visits here were much less formal taken in the garden whilst drinking coffee or having the occasional picnic. The children started coming with her parents and she started to act like her old self even being able to talk about Jim and the good times. Each night she would clutch the photo to her chest and say a little prayer to Jim begging his forgiveness before falling asleep. Each night she had the same dream, she would pull up in front of their house and go to the front door but the key wouldn't work. She would then knock but get no answer so she would look in through the windows and see Jim sitting there. She would go back to banging on the door and screaming his name, she would then wake up crying before going back to sleep.

This night was different, she pulled up outside the house and went to the door, the key didn't work but when she knocked the door opened and Jim was standing there he extended his hand and she took it. He led her into the house and gave her a hug saying the words she so longed to hear.

''I forgive you, Linda.''

The next morning a nurse doing the rounds found her still clutching the photo with a smile on her face, she had passed in the night. An autopsy found she had suffered a massive stroke and died instantly.

Her funeral was attended by her parents and children only, she was buried in the same plot as Jim.

0000000000

Three years later:

Addition to both endings:

Kate was a beautiful woman standing 5'8'' with flaming red hair and an hourglass figure. She was now a truck driver working for her father she used to be a stay-at-home mom married to Paul Gautier a French national, with two young children. That was until she met LaValliere at a club in town when she returned home the next day Paul and their children were gone.

After Kate left the club with Marc and Paul found out he went straight home and packed enough clothes for himself and the children. He then collected the children from the babysitter and drove straight to the airport and got the first flight to England and from there to France. By the time Kate got home her family were changing planes at Heathrow.

Paul and the children deplaned at Charles de Gaulle airport where he hired a car to take him to his uncle who owned a vast vineyard in Burgundy. His uncle was delighted to see him and after Paul told his story invited him and the children to stay. Paul was an accountant so he had no trouble finding a job locally and they settled down with his uncle. Once settled he contacted Kate and started divorce proceedings. He allowed his children Facetime with their mother twice a week and said when they were old enough to understand he would give them the option of moving back to the US.

Kate went to pieces and lost her job so couldn't afford the mortgage and as there was negative equity she lost the house too. She went to stay with her parents who were very disappointed with her but she was their daughter so supported her. Over time she went to work for her father in the transport business and decided she wanted to drive as it is one of the professions where you are on your own most of the time. She passed her CDL for eighteen-wheelers and did local runs for the first two years, after this, her father let her do interstate runs and she was now doing coast-to-coast runs.

It was on one of these runs she saw Marc in his electric buggy driving down the sidewalk. She was taking a layover as her load wouldn't be ready for another couple of weeks. She was sitting drinking coffee when she saw him and couldn't believe her eyes, there was the reason she was on her own with no family and despised by almost everyone she knew.

0000000000000

Marc:

Marc had dried out in hospital and was forced to come to terms with his injuries. He moved to another state and started again, he bought a small single-story type ranch house and had it converted for wheelchair access. He started to insert himself into the community downplaying his past as overstated by the press. He soon started going to charity events and became a model citizen giving generously he even started coaching teen football he became a customary sight in town and people looked up to him. He lived just two miles from the town centre so commuted in his buggy most days. He had adapted and was living a happy life.