God’s Pardon, Chapter 14: Tea and Insults

Something was in the air. Despite being sheltered from the storm, Xander sensed heaviness in the air. Tension, maybe. Trinity led them to a study. Bookshelves lined three of the walls, filled with spines that called out no titles. The far wall housed windows that consumed more of the surface but darkness not light came through the glass planes. Another storm approached from the ocean. Xander wanted to have been done before nightfall given the treacherous roads they had to take to get here. Hunter and him sat on a red leather coach in the center of the room. Trinity excused herself. Xander didn’t trust her, not one bit. After all, Xander doubted those in Chad’s employ stayed voluntarily. He understood how Chad operated. Xander once had filled Trinity’s and Jason’s shoes, being another one of Chad’s victims. Chad found leverage on a person, bullied them into submission with blackmail and threats. In order to keep the illusion, those like Xander stooped lower than scum in order to appear the mad god’s wishes. Fortunately for Xander, he recognized Chad built a house of cards not a prison. Xander blew down the straw house that surrounded and left. They hadn’t reached that point of understanding. Instead, they were enslaved and dangerous. That made him nervous.

Hunter must have sensed Xander’s apprehension; she reached over to lay a hand on his shoulder. She pressed down, massaged muscle. Xander turned towards her, meeting her gaze. Her azure eyes showed her brand of compassion. She nodded. He didn’t feel so alone, knowing they were in this together. “That girl wouldn’t take her eyes off you. Same can be said about that man.”

“I hadn’t noticed. Too busy looking for Chad’s punchable face.”

“How could you not? She worked for him on our last visit. Same with that man. I think he was the one— nevermind,” Hunter stopped, glancing away. Her hesitation struck a chord. He recalled her once telling him about a midnight attack. With some much transpiring during their last visit with Chad Evans, it had slipped through the cracks. That bothered him. How could he have forgotten his failure in protecting her. If he remembered and knew that might have been the same man, he would have introduced himself in the yard and dispense with his infamous brand of wrath. Sensing Xander’s curiosity had peaked, Hunter attempted to shut it down: “Don’t worry. It’s nothing.”

 “Hunter, I need to know.”

“Need to know what?”

“Don’t play stupid. Was he the one who put a knife to your throat?”

“Now, don’t turn this into something that it is not. I am not sure. It was dark and it was all of a sudden. Chad would know. He stopped him from seriously hurting me,” Hunter said. Xander stood from his seat, restless and even more liable to punch someone. Hunter followed suit, chasing Xander as he walked to the large oak desk before the windows. He lifted up a brass apple and tossed it up into the air before catching it. Hunter groaned. “You’re upset.”

“Of course, I am. Also, I have to believe Chad sicked him on you just so he can come in and be your savior. He wants you to feel indebted to him. He’s a master manipulator—”

“— I know that. Don’t treat me like some stupid girl. I’m not naive. I haven’t been for years now.”

“I’m only saying that Chad would never do anything out of the kindness of his heart. And I don’t care if Chad gave the order or not, the man still threatened you. And if that’s the man, I want to be sure he never get the stupid idea in his head again to hurt you,” Xander declared. He turned around, sitting on the desk’s ledge now. He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. Hunter turned her back to him, tossing her long brunette hair over her shoulder.

“I know that but— but Chad seemed especially angry towards him. Kind of like when you’re walking your dog and something excites him to the point he  forget their obedience and yank you every which way, the leash twisting around your wrist hard while you try to hold them back from biting whatever it wants to bite,” Hunter described. Her voice trailed towards the end. She drifted towards the fireplace. On the stone mantle’s a vase rested with no flowers. A black circular dot, almost smooth stone with centralized crevice. She tilted the vase over to peek inside before turning it completely around, dot facing against the wall.

“What’s that about?”

“A not-so-well-hidden camera. That’s all.”

“Chad’s here. He’s watching us afar. The room’s probably bugged. He’s a control freak after all,” Xander wondered aloud. Of course, Chad observed them. He probably sat in some control room in a cushy desk chair, attempting to pick apart their current mindsets to find any vulnerabilities to exploit. He purposefully made them wait; not only did he know Xander shared the patience of a toddler, he also wanted to study them. Xander approached the vase. He slapped it off its perch and watched it shattered in a hundred pieces. “Now he’s not.”

“He might have more cameras.”

“You’re right. Where are they?” 

“What are you going to do? Trash the entire room, destroying everything in sight on the off chance it’s a nanny cam peaking on us?” Hunter questioned. Xander coughed out a laugh. He wanted to dismiss that notion as silly but it had crossed his mind. That made it more comical to Xander. “I thought so.”

“He’ll show his face soon enough.”

“Wonder what’s holding him back.”

“Maybe he’s still stressed over the fact that I gave him the middle finger last time and walked out on him,” Xander commented. He raised the volume of his voice to the point he was almost yelling. “Maybe I hurt his precious little feelings and he’s feeling salty. The man’s a child.”

“You’re really betting there’s a bug,” Hunter whispered. Xander nodded. They both shared a smile together, trying to snuff giggles to not overdo the humiliation attempt. “You probably did! You probably made Chad cry under his sheets. So much so, his crazy wife confused him for their son and ended up breastfeeding him to sleep!”

“I can see it now, little Chad Evans nursing on a teat. He finally found what he had been left out from as a babe—” Xander started but the door opened. They both expected Chad Evans to be bursting in but instead, Trinity carried a platter over to the coffee table. A teapot stood in the center and surrounding were three cups and saucers. Trinity took a seat on a second coach opposite from the one they claimed earlier. She poured tea in all three cups before dropping some honey into hers.

“I promise you both, this is not drugged. See?” Trinity lifted the cup to her lips. She slurped some of the hot beverage eagerly before sitting back, letting out a relaxed sigh. She smiled towards the two. “I thought you both would want something to warm you up after being caught outside on his nasty day. Mr. Evans would not be pleased to know that I didn’t accommodate his guests.”

“I am also aware that Chad would force some poor girl like you to drug herself in order to get us unconscious. Thanks for the gesture but I’m going to pass,” Xander said.

“You’re paranoid. Makes sense,” Trinity exclaimed. She turned her attention now on Hunter. She motioned with her head, icy blue eyes appearing like marbles. “How about you? You look like you could use a nice cup of tea. Freshly brewed from my special stash.”

“I trust you,” Hunter conceded. Xander threw Hunter a look but she ignored him. She sat down beside the very tall teenage girl. Side-by-side, Xander really noticed the difference in height. Hell, Trinity only stood a few inches shorter than her but her proportions made her look normal from afar. If he didn’t know better, she could have been his daughter. Connor grew well over six feet and still was growing, though right now, he was in a juvenile detention center somewhere in the state.

“You like?”

“This is delicious. You have to tell me what brand this is.”

“I never thought I would see the day that you’ll act girly, Hunter,” Xander commented. He took the seat on the empty coach and crossed his arms. Deep down, he admired the surprising behavior Hunter engaged in. To him, it convinced him that she was reaching the point of normalcy. Normalcy, what was that? He had never stopped to ponder such a philosophical question before. His life had always been going at a breakneck speed. His grandfather once told him that you needed to stop to smell the flowers; when Xander pressed him on what he meant by that, he stated that you needed to sometimes enjoy the small things in life or you’d go mad. And guess what, Xander went mad.

“You’re right. My bad. I need to stay grumpy so I can rip Chad’s head off when he joins us,” Hunter joked; however, Trinity didn’t seem to take any humor from the statement. She stiffened.

Xander responded, “I got you covered. I’ll be the asshole. Someone has to.”

“You aren’t actually going to attack Mr. Evans, right?” Trinity now seemed nervous. She returned her cup to the platter and glued her eyes on the door, anticipating any moment that Chad would walk in and he might get attacked by his guests. Xander read that signaled that his hunch that Chad was present on the premise was correct.

“Listen, little girl. I don’t know how you got caught up with that man but whatever he’s doing, whatever he’s holding over your head. It’s not worth the suffering and the trauma he’s going to inflict on you. You’re too young to be caught up in a mess like this,” Xander warned the maid. She glanced down at her skirt, pulling it out farther by the ruffles. “I highly advise you to get a cab or something, leave and never look back. Because I can’t promise you what will happen when we discuss matters with Chad.”

“Rich coming from you,” Trinity commented.

“Why do you say that?” Hunter placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder. She shook it away but Hunter jerked it back, not liking the tone. “You don’t know us. And we don’t know you. But we do know Chad better than most and let me tell you firsthand, you can’t trust that man. He only cares for himself. And he takes pleasure in hurting everyone around him.”

“I’m sure he can say the same regarding the both of you.” Trinity stood to her feet. She took the beverage from Hunter’s hand. She didn’t make eye contact with either guest. Instead, she put away everything and stood up, dusting her skirt while taking a heavy sigh. 

“Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” Hunter stated.

“You two come to Mr. Evans residence. You badmouth him. You disrespect him. He might not be a great man, he might have his flaws like the rest of us but he isn’t self-righteous like the two of you are right now. I’ve spent the last two summers with Mr. Evans and he showed me more about the world and my past than anyone cared to before,” Trinity said. She only looked at the platter in her hands. She shook her head, obviously disturbed by their stance regarding Chad.

Xander grimaced. He already manipulated her into thinking he was a good man. “It’s a shame that he got to you too. Meghan worried about you and wanted us to go back for you. I don’t know what hold he has over you but trust me, you need to reconsider.”

“Meghan’s far from a good judge of character. I liked her but she was off the rails.”

“And she liked you and showed concern,” Xander repeated.

“Meghan was a meth head, a junkie, an ungrateful bitch,” Chad’s voice boomed from the door. Chad snapped his fingers and Trinity went to him, the tea set clanging like a bell on a cat’s collar. He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t listen to these two, Trinity. They are blinded by hatred. They too were ungrateful for the hospitality I’ve shown them over the years. The favors I’ve done for him.”

“Chad.” Xander stood immediately. He took a step towards Chad but then saw the maid frightened, alarmed. He stayed back. Hunter joined his side.

“I have expected you two would show up here at some point. Now because you deceived this poor girl with your malice, I’m going to excuse her so we can speak in private and handle this situation like adults. How does that sound?” Chad spoke with a different tone than usual. Of course, the adults in the room saw through the guise. Trinity, on the other hand, perked up. She nodded, fluttering her eyelashes. Xander wondered if she had developed an attraction towards the older man. She was young, chock full of hormones, and probably never had a steady hand in her upbringing. He wanted to reach out and slap his hand off her but resisted the temptation. He wasn’t here to save the girl, only to keep a promise or two.

“I’ll put this away and check on dinner.”

“Good girl.”

“This sickens me,” Hunter commented. Trinity didn’t seem to hear, pushing the study’s door with her back before whisking off with that silver platter. Chad stopped for a moment, turning his head slightly as if he was checking her out. “She’s only a child.”

“She’s at the age of uncontrollable sexual urge, a lot of fucking and a lot of heartbreak. You know what they say? If they’re old enough to bleed then they’re old enough to breed,” Chad answered. Xander wanted to vomit in the potted plant in the corner of the room. Sure, the lass had the build of an adult but her face showed her youth. Perhaps a younger man wouldn’t see the child inside but when you grow older, it becomes more and more obvious to see. Some men, even some of his peers, didn’t seem to understand the vast difference in experiences that they held and young adults. They were naïve to the machinations of their elders, too trusting. “Xander, you looked like you were actually disgusted by that comment. Of all the people here, you should have built up an immunity to such a reaction.”

“I don’t know, Chad. You’re right about that. Maybe I shouldn’t be one to judge. After all of my sins, after all the years of serving in the role of the abuser, I shouldn’t be appalled that there are other predators out there. Hell, Calli must have only been a few years older than the girl is right now,” Xander explained. He paused for a moment for self-reflection. He desperately tried to avoid the self-hatred such reminiscence served up but he choked it down. He withstood the weight that pressed against his chest, the soul crushing weight of the guilt he accumulated. He had to endure. He had to do better. He sighed. “But maybe my years in your company made me see the error of our ways. Fuck, that girl is old enough to be either of our daughters. For some reason, that speaks to me. Yeah?”

“Now it’s time for me to be disgusted. To think you’ve become sentimental in your old age. Shit, not even I could have predicted such an outcome. You used to be my nemesis. You used to stand on the same ground as me. A predator, you say? That what we are and I’m for one, fucking proud of it,” Chad said. He approached Xander until only inches separated them. Xander fought back the urge to snap and maul the man. The temptation became almost impossible to resist when Chad reached up and lightly patted Xander’s cheeks. He snorted a laugh before he turned to Hunter. “You neutered him. Bob Barker would be proud that you neutered and spayed your pets, cousin.”

“Don’t listen to him, Xander. He is jealous that you’re on the road to redemption.”

“Don’t listen to me, Xander. Listen to your new master. Does she give out a sniff of that rotten cunt? Is that what has gotten into you? Are you pussywhipped?”

“You don’t speak about her like that.”

“I take that as a ‘strong no’. See, at least you would have had some of your urges satisfied. Right now, you’re a ticking time bomb. You’re letting all that darkness build up. Eventually you’re going to need a release and then, bam. You’re in prison for a rampage that will be talked about for decades until the next freak shoots up a playground,” Chad analyzed. He smartly placed distance between them. He even went around the desk in order to put an obstacle in Xander’s way. Too many times in his life had he met face-to-face with St. Anger.

“I’m not going to goaded into losing my temper, Chad. I came here to speak to you. Man-to-man.”

“No, you came here on an errand. You’re Kate’s errand boy.”

“I’m a friend.”

“You have no friends, Xander. Stop fooling yourself,” Chad countered. He dropped down into the executive chair, kicking muddied boots onto the desk. Someone else would clean it up later, most likely the poor girl caught under his spell. “But I will be glad to discuss the matter with you.  After all, it is a great starter for what’s to come. I love seeing you trying to play gallant but by the time this little experiment is over, I’ll have you back being a monster.”