The Lawes Girl

13

Oh! Her voice from the kitchen. It made all those tempting moment of calling her worth resisting. She was okay. Happy even. And now he was going to ruin it. Too late to leave. He should have listened to his father and his friend. He saw her. Next thing she was rushing out of the kitchen.

   Someone would think Quincy knew what his daughter was about to do. But all that happened was, the sun light bounced off the side of the knife and hit his eyes. Instantly, he saw the knife and moved to her side. Grabbing hold of her a few steps away from her intended victim. "What the hell are you doing here?!" She was so full of rage, she fought back her father's hold. "What are you doing here?!" Nick stepped back, hands up in surrender. He wasn't leaving. "Let go of me! Get out!"

    "Lucille you'll wake the baby." Madison stated. 

"I don't care. I'll rock him back to sleep." Her hair was everywhere as she pushed herself away from her father, he wasn't letting go. Nancy didn't quite know what to do. Mere moments ago, Lucille had pushed past her holding a knife. A knife. The other people in the room watched weakly. No one had seen her like this. So very very very angry. "Daddy let go of me!" The butt of the knife hurt Quincy's lower arm as she tried to pull his hands away. "Daddy let go of me please."

    "Lucille-"

"Get out!" Hearing her name leave his mouth was like acid on her heart. 

    "Lucille-"

"Shut up!"

    "Lucille stop." Madison couldn't stand it. All the hurt blending in with so much anger like she was never at all happy. Was Lucille not happy? She got her answer. "Lucille please." Marvin started to cry. Nick's eyes darted to the crib and back to her.

    "Daddy let go of me. P-please." Her voice cracked.

Quincy looked up at Nick. Thinking how safe Nick must feel because he's stopping his daughter from doing anything. He let go. And with the wild starved creature loose, Nick stepped back. Quincy thought... good, standing up straight. 

    Lucille swung the knife blindly. Her vision blurred with more than enough welling up tears. "How dare you! After what you did! How dare you come in here?!"

    "Lucille I'm-" He raised his hands over his face.

"Don't you dare say a word! You- you heartless monster! Get out of my house!" She swung hard and fast. With every intention of drawing blood. Which she did. Cutting through his right suit and shirt sleeves hitting his skin. Deep.

    "Ah!" He exclaimed, managing to get away before she could get him again.

    Geegee and Mattie gasped simultaneously as Lucille yelled. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"

    Nobody cared that he was bleeding. It was more of a pull on Charles' attention. Snapping him out of his earlier daze. He clasped his hand on Nick's shoulder and dragged him to the door. Nick couldn't speak. Bart's words came back to him. As right as Bart might have been, it was nothing compared to what just happened. She cut him. Deeply. On his lower arm. The blood was trailing down his elbow, soaking what was left of his sleeve, dripping to the floor. When did it happen? Charles pushed him out the door. "Bare in mind Mister Atkins, that no one knows what happened less than a minute ago. And if it were to happen again, no one in here would care what happens to you." He slammed the door on his face.

    Quincy waited patiently for Madison to put the baby to sleep. The little party ended with Geegee taking Lucille to her house and Madison taking the baby. Lucille had dumped the knife the moment Nick was gone, ran to her room and didn't say a word since. She tried to sob in silence. But Madison and Quincy heard her from the other side of the door. Quincy had to keep Madison from going in. Then he held her when she too started crying. Madison had felt helpless. But now she was angry. And he knew why. She closed the nursery door and walked past him, he followed. Down the stairs to the small dining room beside his office. He waited patiently for her to face him and speak. It didn't take long. "You knew he was around?"

    "You always ask that don't you? I don't have visions Madison."

"Answer the question."

    "I did." She planted her hands on her hips waiting for more details. "I knew he was in town. At least a few weeks ago. But when he never showed up before I didn't bother."

    "You were expecting him to go to her?"

"It was either he did or he didn't. And when he didn't, I thought he wouldn't." Her hands fell to her sides. "Get to the real question Maddy."

    "Why did you let her go?"

There it was. "I didn't see you doing anything."

    "Quincy, she could have killed him."

"So?" He shrugged. 

    "She was holding a knife. She could have hurt you."

"Have you ever seen her like that before?"

    "No. Have you?"

He expected that question. "No!" He exploded for the first time since... everything. "Because she wasn't played like that before. Wasn't pushed that far before!" Quincy's sudden outburst surpassed Madison's and even scared her. "Did you see the look on her face? Did it feel right to you?" Madison stared. "Answer me!" She jolted, shaking her head. "Her heart was breaking all over again. And I'll be dammed if I had stood by, like you and did nothing. And if I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't change a thing." Neither of them spoke for half a minute. "They grew up strong and independent without us. All those years of worry and we got back strong beautiful girls who didn't need us. My pride. Our pride. Only for someone to come into her life and try to break her."

   "She's an angry girl Quincy."

"So is Nina. And so are you. You may joke around but I see it in your eyes everyday. You hate that they grew up without you. You mourn the times you could have had. And just like you, they try to hide it too." He went into his office and closed the door behind him. 

    While sitting down to have lunch with his parents upon his mother's constant insistence. It hadn't gone unnoticed that he had shaved his beard and trimmed his hair. However, where Bryan was quiet about it, Renee brought it up. "You finally shaved. After carrying that thing for weeks what made you change your mind?"

    His newly acquired wound throbbed when he thought of her. And this time was no different. He'd been told the wound would leave a scar. It didn't matter to him. He had to get Lucille to talk to him.

    "Nicholas." Came the troubled voice of his father. In a matter of seconds, the answer to his wife's question came to him. And Nick knew it. Nick's gaze met his with defiance. Although if he had done as he was told, he wouldn't be having a scar. And if Bryan knew he had been attacked by the very person he went to apologise to then... Bryan would have something over him. And he'll make more than a joke about it. Bryan's fork clanked on his plate as he sat up straight, glaring at Nick. "Why?"

    Apart from being blamed for everything, he was also being scolded like a child. Everything surrounding himself and Lucille had a strange effect on him. He couldn't help noticing. If this continued, he would just stop coming home. After all he was only there because his mother asked. He could always refuse.

    "What?" Renee looked from one to the other. Nick's lack of expression wasn't helping. Why does he do that? "What is it?!" She spat. The mood going around finally catching up to her. 

    "He went to see Lucille." 

Her gaze turned to Nick, confused. "I thought you weren't supposed to go there?"

    Someone would think he wasn't 'supposed' to go to a party. "I did. I wanted to talk to her."

    "Oh my goodness. That poor girl."

Of course. "Don't worry. She didn't talk to me. Wouldn't let me speak."

    "When was this?" Bryan asked.

"Two days ago."

    "Why couldn't you just listen to me?!" Bryan snapped. 

"Because it wouldn't benefit me." Nick answered the question calmly.

    "Oh! And ruining her life would?" Renee asked. "You wanted to stay away, you should have stayed away. Why bother coming back here?" She turned to Bryan. "Did you tell him what happened? How they found out he wasn't coming back? How we were treated? The amount of apologising?" Bryan shook his head, staring at Nick. "It was embarrassing. Practically insulted by Nina and chased away by Quincy. Let's not forget how devastated Lucille was the whole time we were in there with her. Because of you."

    That hurt. He hadn't thought about it. Not about his parents but Lucille. He remembered how scared she would get before he reassured her. He swallowed. 

     "You wanted to do your own thing didn't you?" She chuckled. "I don't even- how are you so cruel? What happened to you? How did you get this way? There isn't even a spark of remorse on your face. Who are you?"

     Bryan placed his hand on her thigh. "Go upstairs." He said to her gently. "Please. Go."

     "No. I want to know because you were nothing like this. Who are you?"

     "Renee. Please." 

She stood up. "Don't go anywhere near Lucille. Or Marvin. Stay away from them. You've done enough." She stormed out. 

     In the new silence, Bryan turned to Nick with a sigh. Waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, "Are you happy?"

     "I'm leaving." He got up, his chair scraping the floor. He clenched his jaw and blinked rapidly on his way out of the room.

   Renee had offered an outing, but Madison declined. Again, she would find herself having to apologise for Nick's doings. Bryan expressed his disinterest in a very deep speech and an advice on why she too should stop apologising for him. However, she had convinced herself that she only wanted to know what happened from Madison's perspective. An apology would only be a little topping. Madison wouldn't even notice. 

   They ended up in Madison's personal hosting room where only her guests were entertained on occasion. Each settled with side stools and iced teas placed on them. The discussion went straight to the subject at hand. "When I heard, I just had to come over. How is she?" Forehead creased with concern. 

   "She's fine."

"Is she home?" Maybe she would stop there next.

   "No. Quincy sent her on a business trip. Part of getting her to calm down."

   "And the baby?"

"He's here. He's fine."

   "I can't imagine what it must have felt like for her."

Madison felt sad just remembering it. "She was angry. So very angry. I've never seen her like that. None of us had. I honestly thought she was over what happened."

   "You can hardly say that. It was terrible."

"Mattilda told me something later that night."

   "Oh? Your cook?"

"Yes." She adjusted in her seat. "Apparently, a few weeks after he was born, Nina went looking for Lucille in the kitchen and they both found her on the floor. She'd pushed some things off the table. So many broken... wrecked things all over." Renee clicked her tongue. Only made to feel worse. "She must have been really upset. She's probably just been trying to hide it."

    "I honestly can't imagine- I don't even know who he is anymore. He was such a sweet skinny little boy. A little sad. And he was bullied a few times. But this is just- I don't- he was always so good. Not that many friends but he didn't let it bother him. Now he just turned into something else. Never showing any emotion whatsoever. Cold and distant, sleeping around." She hissed. Knowing her point was lost somewhere. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry he's-"

    "No." Madison shook her head. "Don't do that. Don't apologise for him."

    "But-"

"No. This is his doing. And even the person most hurt by this doesn't want his apology... If he gives one. So don't." Renee nodded. So much for the apology going unnoticed. "How is he? I thought after that cut he must have-"

    "Cut?"

"Yes. The one on his arm."

    "What cut?" Renee's sadness was joined by confusion. 

"Lucille cut him." Why hide it? Who cares anyway?

    "What?" And now surprise.

"Yeah. When he came over, we were having a little party. The moment she saw him she just..." 

   Nick sighed as he walked out of the office building. Every attempt to talk to Lucille had been met with anger. She wouldn't let him speak. He'd gone to her house and she shut the door in his face again. He was sure the door would break with the amount of force she slammed it with. His first time to her office, he had been informed she wasn't in. It didn't stop him from seeing her silhouette. Her face buried in her hands. Since he couldn't get her to see him, maybe he'll ambush her. Great. Look what he's turned into. He found her in the park carry Marvin. His heart skipped a beat the second he saw them. And every time he thought of them it skipped again. They were a bit far off. And some woman stood beside Lucille holding a stroller. From Lucille's skirt suit he could tell she was going to have to get back to work.

   While she made faces at Marvin and Marvin laughed, he made his way to them. He hadn't taken more than three steps when she saw him, turned away sharply and urged the lady with the stroller to follow her. They got in her car and she took them straight to her parents' house. Where he wasn't allowed in. And when she came out, she drove past him without a look. His other decision to go see Marvin flopped when when the woman, he gathered is the nanny, kept him from going in.

    Then, he'd gotten to her office and all she said was, "Get out." He pulled his hands up in surrender and started to speak but again, "Get out!" He can yell too, he wanted to yell at her to listen to him, but he knew better. He'd done so much wrong and he didn't have the place or the right to force her to listen to him. The anger in her eyes. He watched her call security. Between ordering him to get out and shut up.

    And now, standing outside with the warmth of the sun on his face, he didn't know what else to do. But he knew he wouldn't stop trying. "Mister Atkins?" A man came up to him.

    "Yes?"

"This way."

    Noticing the ID badge the man wore, he could only assume Lucille had given in. It seemed unlikely but he hoped it wasn't. He followed the man back into the building. Unfortunately, he wasn't led to Lucille's floor. But a higher one. Which meant one thing. It was Quincy. He was led to a room. Dusty and empty, except for one chair that looked very uncomfortable yet clean. The man told him to wait a moment. And what he thought would be five to ten minutes at most turned into thirty minutes. The armless chair that looked like it might be wobbly suddenly looked good. He looked outside the room and noticed that there was no one there. Not a worker. What was this particular part of the building supposed to be?

    Thirty minutes turned into an hour. Moving around wasn't working anymore. He had to sit. On the chair. He didn't know what to feel. Not about the chair but about the situation. Being forced to feel uncomfortable and getting impatient. Is Quincy punishing him? Torturing was the word for it. What kind of family had he gotten himself involved with? Ah! But that backfired when he thought back to himself. 

    Two hours and forty five minutes since he was brought up to the room. He had slacked his tie, removed his suit and done three lines since then. A door opened finally. He heard heels clicking. New hope again. Only dashed when it wasn't Lucille. "This way Mister Atkins." He got up and followed her. Not having enough time to put himself back together before they stopped before a new door in a different side of the same floor where people were. And were looking at him and he rushed to look presentable. She knocked once. Maybe Lucille was in there. Without waiting for a response, she opened the door. "Sir, Mister Atkins." She stepped aside for Nick to pass as Quincy nodded, looking at Nick. She closed the door, leaving them alone. 

   Nick waited. Uncomfortable in his own skin, while Quincy just watched him. It felt like forever to Nick but only a few seconds passed before Quincy nodded at one of the three chairs in front of him. When Nick was seated, Quincy sat back in his chair. "What are you doing here?"

   "You sent for me." He had a new appreciation for good chairs. 

Quincy let out a short scoff. His eyes smiled but his mouth didn't twitch. He understood what Nick meant. But he didn't care to rephrase or correct. And that made Nick shift in his seat.

   Suddenly that wobbly chair was haunting him. Quick! The right answer! "I came to see Lucille." That felt better.

   "Why?"

"I know what I did. It was horrible. I want to fix things. I want to make it better. I need to apologise." Not a word from Quincy. "Mister Lawes, I'm terribly sorry for what I did to her. I know she hates me. But I wouldn't stop following her and trying until I do apologise to her in the best way I can. She knows I'm stubborn that way. And this time she doesn't care. But until I'm probably arrested for violating something. I'll keep trying." Still not a word from Quincy. "And then there's Marvin. I came back for him. I want to be there for him. For them."

    Silence. Before he could keep going, "Dinner. A week from today." Whatever else he had to say was for Lucille. All Quincy wanted was to see sincerity. And he heard it. Not for Lucille's sake. But for Marvin's. 

    "Will Lucille b-"

"You should leave now."

    Nick laid down on the couch in his office with a sigh. The events of the day still had him reeling. The aches he had gotten from all that uncomfortable sitting was starting to subside. The door was opened. Bart walked in. "B." He called out when he saw him.

    Bart look around then focused on him. "Where have you been for the past four hours?"

    Five hours, but who's counting? It dawned on him that he didn't have to stay in that room for over two hours. And yet he had. How the hell did that happen? He chuckled. "I was detained." He rested his forearm over his eyes.

    "Cause you missed quite a lot."

"Oh yeah? I moved a few things around."

    "Great. That just makes it all better." He said sarcastically. "Dude, first you skip town for months." Nick didn't want to remember that. "Then you come back and skip work for weeks. And now that you're supposed to be back, you're barely here."

    "And?" Bart glared at him. "I know what I've been up to. And you've handled things well in my absence."

    "That's not the point."

"No. The point is, you're too lazy to keep doing it yourself." He sat up with a groan. "It's okay kiddo. I'm here." He smirked. "I'm here now."

    Bart chuckled, shaking his head. "Shove it." He strolled to a small table where half a decanter of scotch stood with four glasses set on either side. 

    Nick laughed. "I thought you were leaving."

"I need a drink first."

   After weeks of looking over her shoulder, Lucille finally relaxed. Sure that Nick would no longer bother her. Since he was so good at leaving, he should stick with it. She sighed with relief. No sign of him in days. It was over. It had to be.

   Madison lowered her gaze, wide eyed. "Dinner."

"Yes." Quincy stood by the chauffeur holding the car door open for him to get in.

   "Tomorrow night Quin." She pointed out.

"I'm aware. I set the date."

   "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I forgot."

   "Is this like- are you planning something? Because Lucille will be very upset."

   "She'll get over it. Don't worry."

"How can I not? I'm not even worried about Lucille. It's Nick. Nina's flying in tonight. Lucille cut him. Nina will kill him."

   Quincy smiled at her as she spoke. "I'll keep her in check."

Madison scoffed. "I'll like to see you try. Those two get so involved in each other's lives. If you keep Nina from talking, Lucille will talk. They're like some sort of hydra." Quincy laughed. "They'll eat you alive and I get to watch this time."

   "Great." He chuckled, moving close to her. "Great Maddy. Revel in it."

   "I am." She kissed his cheek. "I will." Her eyes met his as she smirked.