Chapter 13

Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.

-Morticia Adams

Payton

“Promise me.” I demanded.

 

Max sighed and nodded his head without saying it aloud. The man was a stubborn mule. All I wanted was for him to play Bingo with me. That wasn’t too much to ask! Plus, I was wearing a stupid shirt that had ‘Team Alvarez’ on it; my mom insisted that we all wear them. The only exception was Max. It didn’t matter how much I argued that I was no longer an Alvarez.

 

“You will forever be an Alvarez. Just because your last name changed to Tremaine doesn’t mean you lost your identity in the process. Now wear the damn shirt.” She huffed, as we were walking out the door for dinner the previous week. At least the stupid thing fit.

 

We were bombarded by the youngest of the family as soon as we opened the door to the hall.

 

“Payton! Payton!” My youngest cousin, Molly, squealed when I saw her.

 

Molly belonged to my mom’s youngest sister, Joe. Joe married her husband, Steve, as soon as he’d gotten home from his third tour in Iraq. They’d met when she’d started writing him letters with the ‘adopt a soldier’ program where you write letters to soldiers who don’t have anyone else to write to them. They fell in love over letters, and formed a relationship that stood the test of time and distance. He’d been through an eight-month deployment with the marines, and married her as soon as he made it back home. Molly was their first, and at two years old, she’s the most spoiled of all the Alvarez kiddos.

 

She hit me like a wrecking ball, and I would have landed on my ass if Max hadn’t stopped my backward momentum with the wall of his body.

 

“Oof,” I exclaimed as I lifted her to my hip. “You weigh a ton!”

 

“You fat!” She exclaimed.

 

My brother chose that time to come up behind us and agree with the two-year-old terror. “That would be an affirmative.”

 

“Who’s dat?” She asked, pointing her finger into Max’s face.

 

I smiled at her. “That is Max. He’s my husband.”

“My Max.” She confirmed.

 

Joe came up to us in all her bubbly glory. She was such a barrel of laughs. She was more like a sister than an aunt. She was only five years older than my twenty-four. Joe was a mid-life crisis baby. Even though we didn’t live next to each other when we were growing up, we did speak on the phone. Even now, we never went more than a week without speaking.

 

“Molly Jane! You were supposed to be in the corner, missy.” She scolded.

 

She gave Joe the look I liked to call the ‘psycho stare’ and crossed her arms over her chest. The look she was giving was quite comical. She tips her head down and then looks up at you with a glare. It wouldn’t be so bad if she stopped doing it after a while, but you piss her off, and she’d give you that look for the rest of the afternoon.

 

“What’d she do?” I whispered to Steve who came up beside me.

 

“Told your mother to fuck off.” Steve deadpanned.

 

“Damn. Even I can’t get away with that!” I wheezed between laughs.

 

Steve cracked a smile, but was too busy surveying Max to spare me much more than that. They both were staring at each other, non-blinking.

 

“I did some asking around about you.” He said cryptically.

 

Max stared at him. Something passed between them, and Steve nodded and left without another word. What the hell was that?

 

“Come on, we’ve got a table over here.” She said before taking Molly from my arms and grabbing my hand to lead the way. I took Max’s hand in a death grip. The man wasn’t leaving my sight if I had anything to say about it.

 

My family was a brutal bunch, and with nearly half of them being former military, and another quarter of those being active or retired cops, I felt the need to keep him in my sight to ensure his health and safety. My family was a tight bunch, and they watched out for their own. Seeing as this was his first family reunion, I wanted to be there when he met everyone, just in case I needed to run interference.

 

“Who’s this hunka hunka burnin’ love?” Aunt Mary asked as we passed by.

 

I acted as if I didn’t hear her, and Max didn’t protest. He probably was a little overwhelmed. We had a little over one hundred and fifty people in attendance. Hell, I was overwhelmed, and I belonged to them. Kids were running around like the assholes they were, while their parents ignored them.

 

“If our kid runs up and junk punches someone like that, they won’t be able to sit for a fuckin’ week.” Max murmured in my ear as we witnessed the devil reincarnate do that very thing to my mom’s brother Sidney.

 

“Trust me; ours wouldn’t be one of those running around anyway. These people may be family, but I don’t even know half of them. Our kids will be better behaved than this in the first place.” I said with assurance.

 

My mother burst out laughing as she heard the comment I just made.

 

“Oh, please. Please enlighten us on how you will keep your child from turning into you.”

 

“I’m not talking to you. I can’t believe you made me wear this.” I said, pointing to my shirt and glaring at her.

 

“Oh, I think y’all are so cute. You look adorable in it.” Steve said sarcastically when I sat down next to him.

 

I frogged him in the leg. “Do you know why I married Max?”

 

He looked at me suspiciously. “No, why?”

 

“So he could kick everyone’s asses that pissed me off.”

 

My most annoying great aunt, Sophia, came up to us just in time to hear my previous comment, and, of course, she had to throw in her two cents.

 

“So what are y’all wanting?”

 

“We’re hoping it’s a pony.” I said flatly.

 

Max’s beer spewed out of his mouth and all over my pants.

 

“What the hell, now I’m going to smell like beer the rest of the day.” I glared.

 

“Last night you told me that you wished that Yankee Candles would start making ones that smelled like beer. In fact, you also told me last night that the smell of beer on my breath made you horn-” He was saying before I threw my hand over his face.

 

Dad scowled. Steve and Bennett laughed. My mom and her sister covered their mouths to keep their laughs from escaping.

 

“Time to eat!” Bennett yelled.

 

Molly squealed her happy baby squeal, and streaked up to the front of the line grabbing a turkey leg that was easily twice as big as her own thigh, and came back to her seat, chewing happily.

 

My head whipped around, and I abandoned Max like the proverbial hot potato. I cut in front of my brother, who graciously allowed it with minimal bitching. The line quickly filled, and I didn’t see Max again, until I was getting in line a second time. He laughed as I squeezed in front of him.

 

“That wasn’t very nice.” He said, running his nose along my jaw.

 

“Your child makes me have these urges, and I have to follow them or I’ll die.” I teased.

 

My creepy distant cousin, Orlando, turned when he heard my voice, and allowed three people to pass him in line so he could stand beside me. I shivered and scooted closer to Max, trying to keep him as far away from me as possible.

 

Orlando was one of those people that just plain old gave me the creeps. All he had to do was walk in the same room, and I’d walk out. I remember one summer we were playing chicken wars in the pool, and he’d tried to get me on top of his shoulders. It was the third inappropriate touch that had me seeing red.

 

The man was a toucher, and, as of right now, if he touched me, I might puke my delicious Chicken Spaghetti up onto his perfectly pleated Chinos. He was also married to the bane of my existence. Lita.

 

Lita married him and, for some reason, thought that I wanted Orlando. Not to mention the fact that that would be incest and all. From the moment I’d met her, she’d been beyond bitchy.

 

“Hey there, Payton. Who’s this?” She asked sweetly, while eyeing Max over my shoulder.

 

My body tensed. “My husband.”

 

“I thought you were with that Rory guy. What happened to him?” She asked maliciously.

 

The bitch knew exactly what happened with him. My whole family did. For the past few years, every time I saw her she brought Rory up. She knew I didn’t like him. She also knew that I suffered an attack, and just the mention of Rory’s name brought back haunting memories. Not only that, she attended my freaking wedding!

 

My head chose that moment to start pickaxing the back of my eyes, and my back started a low throb that temporarily stole my attention from Lita, as well as Max’s. Which she didn’t like. Of course, to bring the attention back to her, she had to say something disgusting.

 

“Are you gaining weight?” She asked.

 

Max’s low growl proceeded her question. “Does it look like she’s fat? Fuck. Payton’s all belly, and it’s incredibly obvious. Stop being a bitch and move. You’re holding the line up.” He snarled.

 

I’d totally be on my knees right now, if I wasn’t in a public place that is. I smiled bright up at him, and then stuck my tongue out at Lita. Take that, bitch. The bounce of Max’s chest from behind me let me know that my tongue action didn’t go unnoticed by him. Not that I thought it would. You’d have to be a super spy to get anything past him. Hell, he knew me better than I knew me.

 

She practically hissed as she turned and moved up the line. My lip curled when I saw her skip over the deliciousness that was chicken spaghetti. There must be something wrong with the girl; she didn’t even fill the plate up. I mean, it’s a buffet, what person in their right mind wouldn’t fill it to the brim?

 

I smiled as I saw Max mound the spaghetti up until the plate started folding in on itself. Now that was how it was done.

***

I was getting death looks from my great grandmother as I called out my eighth Bingo, and decided now was the time to go see what the boys were up to. Grabbing my coat and my Bingo prizes, I went in search of my other half.

 

Stepping outside the front door, my eyes scanned the kids playing on the playground. I surveyed the area until I spotted him standing in a group of big, burly men. Those men were the ones I hoped wouldn’t kill him. Obviously, they hit it off and I had no need to worry.

 

I walked up just in time to hear Max telling the story about the roach I found in our bedroom the previous night.

 

“There she was, standing in her underwear on top of the dresser. She was screaming bloody murder. Then she went all Al Capone on me saying, ‘I want him dead. I want his family dead. I want his house burned to the ground.’ I had to explain to her, that if we burned his house to the ground that we’d be taking ours along with it. I swear to God, she practically slept on top of me that night.”

 

That big bastard! He’d promised me he wasn’t going to say anything. I mean, who wouldn’t have jumped out of bed the way I did and screamed? It crawled across my pillow! There was a motherfuckin’ roach on my motherfuckin’ bed!

Spotting a Nerf football on the ground next to my feet, I picked it up and let it fly. Then turned and ran. I looked over my shoulder just as it struck him in the middle of his back. He tensed, and then turned around, eyes fastening to my retreating body in an instant. I squeaked and brought my mind back to my task. I started huffing within the first twenty yards, but I sure didn’t stop. I probably looked like a freakin’ penguin.

 

I was running and laughing so hard that I dropped the tub of caramel popcorn, but I didn’t dare stop and get it. He’d catch me for sure. Dodging a toddling kid that I’d never seen before in my life, I chanced a look over my shoulder to see him bearing down on me fast. Max was big, but don’t let that fool you. He was as quick as a cat, too. I had a cheering section coming from the opposite side of the swings, and I gave them a thumbs up as I passed.

 

Knowing I would keel over if I didn’t stop, I circled around the merry go round and stopped, putting it between us.

 

“I didn’t mean to!”

 

“Spankings. Big fat spankings.” Max growled.

 

“Oh, don’t lie to yourself. You’d never touch a hair on my head.” I said.

 

Just as I said that, he vaulted the damn merry go round, and I screeched. He stopped in front of me, not touching and asked, “You going to run?”

 

Thinking it would be best to surrender, I opened my mouth to apologize when a dark sedan with tinted windows barreled down the street, blowing through the stop sign.

 

“Molly!” Joe called from the entrance to the hall.

 

Max and I turned, scanning the area. Steve was about forty yards away from us doing the same. My dad and Bennett had stopped what they were doing as well. Joe called for her daughter again when we all heard it.

 

“What mama?” Molly called.

 

I turned towards the sound of her voice and saw her near the parking lot with her ball. Then the little scenario played out in front of us in real time. The ball slipped from her grasp and bounced off her foot, slowly rolling into the street.

 

“Molly! No!” Steve bellowed.

 

“Oh, my God. Molly! Stop!” Joe screamed.

 

Steve and Max streaked across the open ground, both way too far away to stop what was about to happen. Others were running also, but it didn’t matter. No one was going to be able to get there in time. The only thing that was a surprise was the car didn’t break, swerve, or even slow down.

 

“Molly!” Steve begged.

 

It was the sound of his voice that finally had her turning, but it was too late. The car collided with her arm, spinning her little body around so hard and fast that she flipped two cartwheels until her limp body came to rest partially under a parked SUV. Steve and Max got there at the same time, both dropping to their knees beside her.

 

Steve reached down as if to touch her when I screamed at him. “Don’t touch her!”

 

I found myself pushing large bodies out of my way, taking little care in it as I dropped down to my knees beside her. I assessed the situation. I noted that her left arm was badly misshapen, and there were obvious scrapes and bruises covering a few patches of the exposed pieces of skin I could see, but luckily no blood. Her right side was underneath the SUV, head near the tire.

 

Joe made it up to us, and I gave Max a look that clearly stated to get her back, and not to let her see.

 

“Daddy, there is a blue and yellow medical kit in Max’s blazer. Go get it. Steve, I want you to place both of your hands on either side of her head, and don’t move. Hold her perfectly still.”

 

My fingers found the way to the pulse in her neck, and I was relieved to find a steady, throbbing rhythm. It was steady and strong, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Her breathing wasn’t labored, so I got back up to my knees and looked at Steve.

 

Just as my eyes locked with his, a wailing moan came from Molly. “Daddy!”

 

Steve’s eyes latched on to his daughter’s golden brown, and he smiled at her. “It’s okay, baby. Daddy needs you to stay still.”

 

Of course, being told to do something doesn’t work, and she started to squirm. “Don’t hold her head still if she wants to move. Just let her go, it might make it worse if you tried to keep her in place.” I explained.

 

“It hurts daddy. It hurts, hurts, hurts. Kiss it daddy, make it stop.” She cried. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and into her hair. She rolled too far to one side and jostled her arm, tearing another heartbreaking sob from her chest. “Mommy, peas. Hurts, hurts, hurts.”

 

Each and every whimper of pain tore something apart inside of me. This was my first child patient, and it was truly excruciating to hear, let alone witness. Her sweet little baby voice would haunt me for years to come. Ambulance sirens wailed eerily in the distance; we all tried to calm Molly as we waited for the ambulance to get here.

 

Steve had tears running steadily down his cheeks. Molly continued her chant of pain, and we all took deep breaths as the paramedics finally arrived.

 

The rest of the situation was a whirlwind of activity as they immobilized Molly, and then strapped her onto the baby backboard. She was riding to the hospital with her mother and father within four minutes of the ambulance’s arrival on scene.

 

My body seemed to give out as soon as the boxy shape of the ambulance disappeared from sight. I dropped to my knees and lost every single bit of the lunch I’d had. Max’s hands pulled my hair back, and I started to sob. Nasty, gut wrenching sobs that could be described as nothing more than good old-fashioned blubbering. Snot and all. I buried my face into Max’s chest and cried my heart out.

 

Logically, I knew she’d be okay. She was talking, and responsive. My head was a different story. My brain kept that sickening scene on repeat, and couldn’t stop the images from searing to my brain.

 

“It’s okay, baby. She’s going to be fine. She’ll have a bright pink cast that you’ll have to write nice things on. She’ll think it’s the best thing ever. Shhh.” He said as he rocked us.

 

I smelled my dad before he touched me or announced his presence. He smelled like oranges and leather, and the smell calmed my roiling stomach down significantly. He wrapped his arms around Max and I both; Max stiffened slightly, but then relaxed and allowed the touch.

 

“I love you, sweetheart.” My dad said voice trembling.

 

“What the heck happened?” My mom asked slightly frantic.

 

“Molly got into the road. The car hit her, and didn’t even stop!” Bennett all but yelled.

 

That got everyone’s attention.

 

“What do you mean it didn’t stop?” I asked him as I scanned for the dark car.

 

“That’s what I mean. Whoever it was didn’t even stop.”

 

“License plate number is 57H-G6H7.” Brandon, another cousin and former Seal, said from the street side.

 

A Texas State Trooper was questioning my brother as he tried to make sense of what we’d witnessed. Max surrendered me to my father, and we both watched as Max pulled his cell phone out and called someone. Once the phone call was done, he spoke with the Trooper, and then we went to the hospital and waited.

 

Four hours passed before we heard that Molly was going to be just fine. Aside from a mild concussion, surgery on her broken arm, and scrapes covering her face and arms, she was doing great. Her spirit was high, and she loved the funny nurses that worked on the pediatric ward. Her room was covered in fairies, which she absolutely loved.

 

We left the family smiling and laughing, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was seriously wrong. Max wasn’t acting right, as if something was wrong other than the obvious.

 

I finally got tired of his silence once we were lying in bed that night. “Tell me.”

 

The silence stretched out awkwardly, and I was just about to open my mouth again when he blew me out of the water. “O’Hare almost killed a freakin baby.”

 

“What?” I asked confused, and then understanding finally dawned. “That was her?”

 

I absolutely lost it. What sick person would run over a little girl on purpose? At first, I wasn’t aware that it was anything more than a horrible accident, but the more I thought about it, the more the details became clear. Granted, Molly was close to the road, but she wasn’t on it. She got hit on a flat road, which had a speed limit of thirty miles an hour due to the school that was located across the street.

 

I remembered the driver running the stop sign, and hearing the revving of an engine.

 

The driver was definitely not going anywhere close to the speed limit. “You have to do something.” I demanded.

 

“I already did. I don’t think it’ll be very pretty either.” He said thoughtfully. “We got some information right before the reunion. I was going to tell you when we got back, but, now, I think I’ll keep that to myself.”

 

“What did you do?” I asked.

 

“I won’t be telling you. Go to sleep sweetheart.” He said and snapped the bedside lamp off.

 

The room plunged into darkness, and I debated whether to ask him what he was going to do. However, I replayed what he said, and how he said it, and knew that he wouldn’t tell me no matter how much I begged.

 

I would just have to trust him. I would have to trust that he wouldn’t get himself killed.

 

What I could do was make love to him, and that was what I did. Soft and slow, I loved him, as he needed to be loved. I worked him until he was begging for release, muscles and tendons straining, and still held off until the last possible moment. We both peaked together, and I knew that that would be the last time we would have to spend some alone time together for a while.

 

It was only when I was nearly asleep that he finally spoke.

 

“Please don’t hate me.” He whispered against my hair.