Mean Girls of Maplewood Ch. 23

"Didn't go well?" Mooney asked still reticent but intrigued.

"Beat my ass with her fists, feet all a stomping on my leg trying to get at my nuts while Penny cried and apologized trying to take blame for the whole thing. Mom was gonna chunk her for beating on me but got a gander at Penny making the wrong assessment of that there situation. She left my auntie alone with me and a knotted up hickory switch beating my ass bloody with it followed by a belt. Called me a fucking sodomite and shit before mom snatched me up outta there. Penny just got yelled at for being a loose woman, but dad was waiting for his turn to whup me when I got home."

"Sorry."

"Never could get those titties out of my mind, not because I was a pervert either. They were just the first pair I'd ever seen Mooney. I been chasing that rabbit for a minute now and barely got close. Look all I'm saying that Sheriff likely got himself caught up the same way. Maybe he was living some kind of dream with this Leslie girl."

"So, what do you think we'll find when we get there?"

"I think we should be prepared for the worst if you get my drift. We got this shotgun in the car and might have to bring it out if his nose is open that much. Man just lost his daughter and his job; might not care about his own safety, if you get my meaning Jeb?"

"Shit, you might be right Jimmy." His foot mashed down on the gas as the police siren blared out making the cars in front of them pull to the side of the road.

************

"HEY, PULL OVER TO THE SIDE, COPS COMING DOWN THE ROAD!!" Antoinette yelled from the back seat as a patrol car came barreling down the interstate.

"I see them coming, don't backseat drive me!" Carlos snapped back as his brother Mike sat looking at a phone. They pulled over to the side along with a station wagon a few feet in front of them as police car sped by into the horizon.

"Wonder what's going on in this hick town?" Carlos commented watching for a few moments before pulling back onto the road.

"Who cares, we need to get off two exits down from here." Antoinette instructed ruefully before making a play for her phone. Mike however was too quick for the sixteen year old turning a shoulder with a raised elbow that fended off her attempt.

"That's my phone Mike; give my shit back!"

"Who's sending you nasty movies, huh? You ain't got no business with this crap; want me to tell?"

He'd looked at the muted clip of the cheerleaders assaulting Humbert a few times morbidly enthralled. The trio of family members were likewise ejected from Chelsea's room as she was ushered off for more tests. The elder family members took precedence over the proceedings charging them with getting lunch for everybody. Antoinette had other ideas.

"I don't care what you do, but I wanna know something and I need that shit right now. Don't you fucking erase it or I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"You ain't gonna kick nothing, and where are we going again?"

"We're gonna see a friend, but you two might have to kick his ass." The brothers exchanged glances as the car reached the off ramp.

Their younger cousin presented the suggestion of this quick road trip as something beneficial for Chelsea. The mission to get lunch for the rest of the family had come while the trio plotted unfortunately within earshot of her mother who mistook their intentions. She quickly snatched the fifty from her mother already making plans to help her sister out emotionally.

"Whose ass are we kicking? You told us we were gonna pick up a friend of Chelsea's." Mike looked up from the phone staring into the backseat at his cousin.

"Look, it's just checking up on somebody that Chel asked about, okay? I wanna make sure he's okay and everything, maybe get him to go back to the hospital with us."

"I don't know about this." Carlos commented.

"It's just a stop for a few minutes because maybe he don't know shit that Chel's in the hospital. I just gotta find out then we can go wherever you want to get lunch. Really no big deal guys, don't give me drama about this, okay?"

"What's his name?"

"Brad."

"Boyfriend?" Mike asked.

"I don't know, but she likes him, and I thought maybe we could get him to go see her. She brought me over here before, but he wasn't home."

"Do you know if he's home right now?" Antoinette tensed up at the perceived barrage of questions knowing she hadn't met Brad that time but knew of him around school. He was the town hero for winning a championship, then he just flamed out according to hallway rumors.

"I'm just taking a chance, alright?"

"Hey, why'd you say we might have to beat him up?" Carlos interjected, concerned.

"We're coming up on his house, chill Carlos!" Her will was almost indomitable as her older sister when she was chasing a goal.

It was a common trait amongst the women in this family their consorts, brothers and other male contingents just excepted. They knew she'd be as strong as her older sister if not more, someday. The car slowed to a stop on the side of Brad's home. His truck was in the driveway, but the place seemed deserted and lifeless for some reason.

"I'm coming with you Antoinette." Mike responded to the sound of her opening the door. She 'd intended to get out leaving them behind to speak with Brad Tucker, plead her case. He got the door opened halfway when she pushed on it wanting him to remain seated.

"I gotta talk to him by myself; it's personal but drive around to the front of this house in five minutes."

"Nah, I'm coming too."

"Fuck Mike, just listen to me for once; this guy don't know you and I don't wanna give him the wrong impression. It's just that he gotta little weird after he won a championship for our school." Carlos sat up behind the seat staring at his cousin.

"Brad Tucker; you're talking about the quarterback who won a championship for his school after a few decades?" Carlos was a sports buff and remembered the hoopla about the win for Maplewood high before the local celebrity seemed to drop out of sight.

"Yeah, but he's weird now."

"What's wrong with him?" Mike was concerned.

"How the fuck should I know? Chelsea is really into this guy and I figured him showing up would help her recover just that much faster."

"Hey, I'll go with you Antoinette; I wanna meet Brad Tucker." Carlos offered.

"Fuck no."

"Why?"

"Well I think he hooked up with Chelsea so if you wanna hear about my sister's pussy and other nasty stuff, then come along. He's probably boned her a few times, or something cause she always talking about him. So, we ain't talking about football or nothing." Antoinette was purposely boorish and vulgar knowing it would put off her cousins who looked green around the gills at her stupid explanation.

She took the opportunity to snatch her phone from his grasp pocketing it.

"Five minutes, no less." Mike sounded stern but she didn't care walking away alongside the house.

Unexpectedly Antoinette was confronted by the sight of Brad Tucker sitting on the front steps of his home as she rounded the edge of the fenced off property. The fence was high enough that she could rest her elbows on it as Antoinette studied his posture finding that he was going through it. She knew beforehand that he darted Red and probably used her sister as a jump off.

The angry sixteen year old had it in her head to confront him with the sex tape of his deceased girlfriend while chiding him over his absence from her older sister's bedside. She was ready to engineer an ambush with her cousins if he didn't comply, if only to fulfill a wish of Chelsea's and deliver this guy to her in whatever condition. Antoinette wondered if he were sitting there worried about her sister or grieving for his dead girlfriend, a monster.

"BRAD!!"

His head weakly bobbed up revealing prominent bags under his eyes and a visible five o'clock shadow. He was wearing a blue and white t-shirt, some jeans, and sneakers, but looked a mess. She wondered if he'd been drinking as he continued sitting there unmoving while she looked around his large front yard.

"There ain't no fucking dogs around here, are there?"

"My dad took them with him."

He answered back not even questioning her identity or reason for addressing him from the other side of the fence at the front of his home. This made Antoinette nervous, but she resolved to go through with her plan.

"I'm coming in Brad."

"Sure."

Antoinette found the front gate a little loose on the hinges, pushing it open gingerly scanning the yard before walking up the brick inlaid walkway to the edge of his front porch. Something crunched under foot and Antoinette glanced down finding what looked like the shattered portion of a cellphone case. Her gaze traveled further finding more bits and pieces of the aforementioned phone before settling on Brad, himself. The collar of his shirt was ripped as he looked up into her face revealing a swollen left eye.

"I'm Antoinette, Chelsea's sister."

"Oh hey, I came by the hospital but saw Patty running out of there panicking and everything; so I took her somewhere to calm down. I guess uhm, they released her sex tape too." The crestfallen sound of his voice and slumped shoulders gave her pause bringing her inner fire to a simmer.

"They did something to you, too." He nodded looking away from her face to a nearby tree and bit a shrubbery on the edge of his yard.

There was a homemade swing hanging from one of its branches that Red refused to sit in after he crafted it to impress her. Her statement was definitive as she followed his gaze to the swing.

"Tried to tell my parents about it, but dad didn't wanna listen. I just wanted him to hear me because I was tired of watching my mom cry. Maybe he just didn't wanna know that his son got it from some girls. I thought maybe he'd say it was some kind of stupid prank gone bad or something. He shut me down, but I wouldn't stop talking even when he started punching me. I wanted him to know; it wasn't him in that barn getting pegged all night."

"Shit." Antoinette took a seat beside him on the porch still cautiously regarding the jock.

"We were getting into it this morning cause I didn't wanna go talk to Sheriff Reed, give my condolences for Red. I couldn't because she did this to me and I ain't gonna lie; I deserved every bit of it Antoinette. I even tried to make him look at that sex tape on my phone, but he smashed it and clocked me. He's ashamed of me even though I won that fucking game for this town. He just up and packed everybody in the car . I don't know where he went, but I'm not there. Guess I lost my family cause I got assaulted."

"Well your girlfriend's gone, but you can still press charges against Leslie, I think."

Antoinette was conflicted not wanting to concede her own anger and his words seemed to imply that her older sister might've been a jump off.

"Leslie didn't do anything to me; it was April."

"Who's that?"

"The first girl I ever failed; but not the last Antoinette. I'm sorry about what happened to your sister. I really liked her, even thought about dumping Red a few times to date her, but you know how it would've been. After I talked to Patty, saw what Red did to her and everything, I just thought Chelsea would be better off without me around."

"She asked about you this morning."

Brad perked up at this bit of information, his eyes widening for a few seconds before he slumped again all while Antoinette watched. She wanted to say something but found herself at a loss for words. Things hadn't gone as she planned leaving the sixteen year old perplexed.

"Antoinette, I think your sister is better off without somebody like me around."

"Well, why did she ask for you this morning?"

"Because she don't know me, and I like her enough to keep it that way."

"You didn't do nothing to her; you act like you did some mess around here like those cheerleader bitches. I'm telling you that she asked for you by name Brad; don't you think you should go see her, even if its to let her down?"

"Maybe."

"So, are you gonna go see her?"

"I don't know Antoinette." He was honest, both feeling a morning breeze running through the air. Not used to encountering such difficulty with another person, the spoiled teen stood up facing Brad Tucker working up some anger.

"If you don't come see her, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Okay."

"Huh?"

"Okay, I understand you'll kick my ass and if I don't find it in myself to go there, I won't stop you. You can bash my brains out if you want because I ain't nothing but a fucking loser." Antoinette was blown away at his tacit confession, sitting down again beside the shattered jock.

"Did Red tell you that shit?"

"She told me a lot of stuff, but I never knew it was true until the night April got me all to herself for once. She hammered it home showing me how true it was; I ain't nothing but a godless sodomite. Ever since that night, I can't stop seeing her face, even when I take something to get the edge off."

"Who the fuck is April; I'm gonna pound that bitch." Her rueful retort signaled maternal instincts kicking in even as she unknowingly named the woman who'd assaulted her the night prior. Brad's eyes went wide as he turned in a panic.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER; SHE'LL MESS YOU UP REAL BAD!! SHE WILL MAKE YOU JUST LIKE ME ANTOINETTE!! PROMISE ME YOU WILL STAY AWAY FROM HER, PLEASE!! I DON'T WANT NOTHING BAD TO HAPPEN TO YOU!!"

"Get your damn hands off me." He hadn't realized his strong grasp on her bicep, but immediately released the girl.

"HEY, EVERYTHING OKAY?!!" Mike suddenly appeared at the edge of the house having climbed the fence and surreptitiously watched their exchange. Antoinette looked away from Brad finding Carlos standing at the edge of the yard just outside the fence. Brad looked at both men caring little whether he was in danger or not.

"Everything's fine, lets go." Antoinette stood up glaring at the jock who didn't meet her glance. Instead he looked at both men figuring rightfully so, they were family members as she backed off.

"I'm still gonna beat your ass if you don't go see Chelsea." She threatened as Carlos walked up the stone inlaid path to meet her.

"Yes ma'am."

"Uhm, hey uh, Brad Tucker right? I followed your championship run in the paper; good job getting that championship man." Carlos had simply meant to break the ice, but Brad straightened his back slowly standing up. Antoinette and her cousins quickly realized this guy was still in peak condition despite his situation as his gaze settled on Carlos.

"Hey, so you liked that game?"

"Yeah."

"Stay right there for a minute." All three of them didn't know what to expect as Brad disappeared inside his home for a few minutes returning to the front porch with a football.

"Go long."

He instructed Carlos motioning across his front yard towards the homemade swing in his front yard. Carlos happily cut to his left running deep into the large front yard as Brad threw the football to Antoinette's cousin before regarding her and Mike.

"That's the game ball; he can have it."

Before either of them could say anything, Brad disappeared inside slamming the door behind himself.

************

"¡Mierda, he estado atrapado en este maldito lugar todo el día esperando una llamada de su rica madre! ¡¡Podría dejarla en paz de todos modos!! ¡No es mi culpa si ella se retira!" Rosa was livid talking to one of her friends with a phone pressed against her cheek as she stood over a hot stove making her young charge a meal.

After making an emergency call earlier in the day; the housekeeper received instruction to remain at the home until further notice along with a month's pay sent to her through cash app. It wasn't what she expected happy for the sudden windfall but irritated at having to babysit an entitled trust fund baby in Leslie Anne Kennedy. Before her friend on the other side of the line could respond, Leslie called out to her from the living room where she'd been laying, still glued to her phone despite Rosa's protests.

"Coming." Rosa answered back in a learned tone of deference taking a plate of sliced up fruit into the living room where Leslie sat feet tucked under her.

"Shouldn't you be off to your other homes Rosa?" Leslie asked as she sat the plate on the coffee table taking the time to pick up some used tissues and a half empty cup of herbal tea.

"Hey, it's okay; I'm gonna hang around and take care of you for a bit." Rosa deflected.

"You can leave me alone here; I'm not gonna do anything crazy Rosa."

"How do you know?"

"Huh, excuse me?"

"Well, you was just standing there in the kitchen with a knife in your hand like you was dreaming up something bad. How do you know that won't happen again if I go away?" Her logic was simple and hard to fight, but Leslie was insistent.

"Rosa, I'm okay now." Leslie had been reclining on her side for most of the day letting the housekeeper baby her for the most part, but now she wanted a moment to herself as the world shrunk in on her to stifling extreme.

"I stay."

"Suit yourself, I'm going."

"Where you go Leslie?"

"Wherever she takes me Rosa." Leslie nodded towards the front door to her home which was bordered on either side with these narrow frosted windows.

Rosa flinched at the very real female silhouette standing on the opposite side while Leslie turned down the television able to audibly hear a dispatch radio. The bell rang a couple of times followed by some heavy knocking as Leslie righted herself glancing at Rosa.

"Answer it." The knocking was insistent scaring the housekeeper who hesitated looking as if she wanted to bolt from the house. Rosa reluctantly walked to the door stopping just short of it.

"Hola quien es?"

"Open the door ma'am, sheriff's department."

Leslie Anne Kennedy offered no resistance upon being arrested, following instruction without word as Deputy Linda cuffed her. She didn't know what to expect thinking perhaps the girl would be a carbon copy of the former Sheriff Reed's own daughter. Deputy Linda suspected her gender was the reason she'd been assigned to pick up Leslie, but respected Mooney giving him the benefit of the doubt.

Her window was fast shrinking as she hurried the cheerleader out of her home placing her in the back of the patrol car. Some neighbors in the elite gated community were already out loitering with varying degrees of interest, some wielding camera phones. Linda's eyes were hidden behind some mirror shades as she scanned the sporadic groups hanging around as another police siren chirped, albeit briefly.

"Ah dammit."

Her former boss was already parked blocking her patrol car headlight to headlight. Deputy Linda could see her former boss glaring at her from behind the wheel. Despite her initial intention of getting in and out quick, confrontation was staring her right in the face as he slowly got out looking like three miles of bad road.

"What we got here; what're you doing out of the station?" Even though he looked trashed, his tone rang aggressive, an open challenge of her authority.

"I got business here." Deputy Linda fidgeted slightly resting both fists on her gun belt pretending her hands were on her hips as he stared from her face to Leslie sitting cuffed in the backseat.

"What business is that Linda?"

"It's official, I'm bringing her down to the station if you wanna talk."

She tried to find the middle road unsure if she should press the issue that he was no longer sheriff of Maplewood. The fact that he pulled up in a patrol car gave her considerable doubt. Deputy Linda wondered if Reed found a way to squeeze out of the mayor's grasp. She glanced down at Leslie for a fleeting second. The teen's head was already lowered peering into her own lap. Deputy Linda steeled herself preparing to tell her former boss how it was, but thankfully a second alarm alerted both of them to the arrival of Mooney and Deputy Jimmy.