Chapter Two
Beth
Present day
Today was going to be a crazy day. Beth had so many things she needed to get done. Derek’s birthday party was next month. She had to make calls to ensure everything was scheduled. She did not want another mess up like last year - order Star Wars themed actors and get stupid clowns instead. Beth hated clowns! She still shivered just thinking about it. She would not have a repeat this year. Everything would be perfect!
Making her way to the kitchen, she turned on the coffee pot, waiting for the delicious life-force to brew. She couldn’t do anything until after her wake up beverage. Beth was that woman. You know, the one you never speak to until she had drunk at least one cup every morning. She was not a morning person. So coffee was a must; for the protection of others, she never missed her morning dose.
While she was waiting on the machine, she walked into Derek’s room. At first she just stood at the door, staring at him. She felt the normal ache in her chest, it had been present since the day he was born. He looked so much like his father. Actually, he was the exact copy of Devin Parks. Standing there watching her son sleep, she often wondered how life would have been so different if she had never ended things between her and Devin. Derek was starting to ask questions, actually he’d been asking for a couple of years now, but Beth didn’t know what to tell him. There wasn’t anything she could say that an eight-year-old little boy would understand. Every day she lived with the regret of her actions that night, even before she found out she was pregnant. Her last night with Devin created the miracle sleeping soundly in the twin size bed. For that, she would always be grateful. Hearing the coffee maker beep, she made her way back into the kitchen. She’d drink her first cup, then wake up Derek for school.
Sitting at the table, the first taste of heaven barely made it to her lips before her phone began to ring. Seriously, who the hell would be calling her, she wondered, as she reached for the device. Looking at the caller ID, she saw it was her mother. Great! Not the person Beth wanted to deal with, especially when she’d barely had her first sip of mojo. Beth contemplated letting it go to voicemail, but finally answered it on the fourth ring. Might as well get this over with. Like always, Beth was greeted with the prissy tone of the woman who birthed her.
“What took you so long to answer the telephone, Elizabeth? It is extremely rude to waste someone’s time while you have nothing better to do than sit at the table drinking that disgusting black tar of yours,” her mother droned on.
“Mother, I just sat down. I have barely even touched my morning coffee.”
“Well, anyway. Don’t forget, you and Derek are supposed to be at dinner tonight. Your father is having some of his colleagues over. I wanted to remind you. Do not be late,” her mother stated.
This was how it normally was when dealing with Helen Andrews. No matter how old Beth was, her mother treated her like a child. Always calling to order her to this event or that. Beth hated the show she was always forced to put on. It never failed, she was put on display like a tiger in a damn circus. Show up, act like the perfect family, then leave. She wouldn’t hear from either of her parents until another show was needed.
“What time is dinner?” Beth sighed.
“Do not take that tone with me, young lady. Be here at six o’clock - sharp,” her mother told her. “And make sure you and Derek are dressed appropriately.”
Ending the call after telling her mother they would be there, Beth drank down her cooled coffee and fixed another. At this rate, she would need several pots to get through the day. Drinking half of the newly made cup, she placed it on the counter and went to wake Derek.
With a light shake, she kissed his forehead, “Time to wake up sleepy head”.
He turned away from her with a grumble. She smiled. Yep, so much like his father.
“Come on buddy, last day of school. Then you have the whole summer to laze around,” she told him.
“Mom... just ten more minutes,” he begged, and tried to snuggle deeper into the covers.
“Nope, let’s go or you will miss the bus.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. Beth watched as Derek climbed out of bed and stretched.
“I’ll make you a bowl of cereal. Get dressed and meet me in the kitchen,” she told him as she walked out of the room.
This was her favorite part of the morning. She and Derek ate breakfast together every day. It was their routine.
Five minutes later, he walked into the kitchen and sat at the table. Beth poured milk into his bowl. They ate and talked about the day’s activities scheduled at school. Today would be a ‘Friday Fun-day’ for the last day of school before summer break.
Finishing their breakfast, Beth took both bowls to the sink and quickly washed them while Derek went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair. Once ready, they both walked out the door and down to the stop sign to wait for the bus. Beth never let him walk alone. This was another part of their routine. She knew one day, he would be embarrassed to have her walk him, but until that day, she would keep with tradition. Watching the bus drive down the street, she told Derek she loved him and placed a quick kiss on his head. As he stepped into the bus, she wished him a great last day of third grade and waved as the bus drove away.
Beth walked the short distance back home. She had a lot to accomplish. Work, laundry, and cleaning the house. It never seemed to end. Entering the house, she refilled her cup and got busy. So much to do, and so little time to do it. The life of a single parent.
Later that evening, Beth and Derek arrived at her parents’ house, right on time. Derek ran straight to his grandfather when they entered the living room, and started telling him all about his last day of school. But as always, Jonathan Andrews completely ignored him. He had no need for children interaction.
“Derek, come with me. Let’s go find your grandmother,” Beth called.
Derek came running back to her and they headed to the kitchen, certain that was where the house matriarch would be; and Beth was right. Her mother was in the kitchen ensuring last minute preparations were completed.
“Hello Mother,” Beth said, giving her mother air-kisses. It was forbidden to even touch her mother’s face once her make-up was in place. That had been the rule for as long as Beth could remember.
“Hello dear. Derek,” her mother was the picture of upper-class money. Dressed in Armani and not a hair out of place. Always the debutante.
Derek said a quick hello, but stayed quiet. She hated that her son disliked coming here. All children should want to spend time with their grandparents, right? Maybe if her parents weren’t so cold and distant, but Beth doubted that would even matter. Her parents lacked love, but she would never allow that to affect Derek. She had enough love for him to make up for what her parents didn’t. Even so, Beth knew it was going to be a long night.
Dinner and conversation flowed for the next two hours. Beth put on a fake smile and talked politics; something she hated. She often found herself looking over to where Derek was sitting with some of the other children. She would have much rather been sitting at that table. It wasn’t until she heard the mention of the Devil’s Henchmen that caused her focus to shift back to the adults in the room.
She knew the name. It was Devin’s motorcycle club. After he retired, his unit plus a few more ex-military men started an organization that worked with the state law enforcement on sensitive cases. For the most part, the group handled operations that the government legally couldn’t touch, at least not without causing a backlash of some kind. Devin functioned within the boundaries of the law, but mostly in the darker areas.
“The group just finished conducting an assignment along the border. The Mexican Cartel had a shipment planned to come through El Paso. The Henchmen were able to intercept it. They kept millions in unregistered firearms off the street and over three million dollars in drugs. Probably saved thousands of lives,” said one of the men at the table, but Beth couldn’t remember his name. She felt that all too real warmth in her chest. She was so proud of Devin. Even out of the military, he was still protecting the country he loved. Conversation of the Henchmen dropped as Frederick, the butler, entered the room and whispered into Beth’s father's ear.
“Excuse me for a moment. Frank, John - we have a visitor who would like to speak to us regarding another matter.” The other two men exchanged looks, and with Jonathan Andrews, they walked out of the room.
Beth glanced at the clock on the wall for the hundredth time. It was getting late and she could tell that Derek was sleepy. Beth tried to wait for her father to return, but he had yet to reappear. It had been hours since he left the dinner table. She had no idea what could be keeping him, but whatever it was must be important. Image was everything to her parents, and leaving his guests for such a length of time was very unusual for her father.
Deciding she would just go find him, she walked toward his office in the back of the house. Hearing a loud noise coming from outside near the gardens, Beth changed directions. Nobody should be out there at this time of night. Making her way to the glass double doors, she quietly pulled it open. She was immediately met with the sound of angry voices, mainly her father’s.
“I don’t care what problem you had. You were told to deliver the shipment and you failed,” her father raged. Beth had never heard him sound that angry before. A chill ran down her spine.
The man he was talking to started begging for another chance, saying he would get the shipment back. Beth had no idea what he was talking about. Shipment of what?
“No you won’t,” her father said. Just then, Beth heard the distinct sound of a silencer and watched the man fall to the ground.
“Oh my God!!” she screamed in her head. Her father just shot the man. He killed him. Beth frantically started walking backwards into the house. As she reached the door, her foot hit a planter and it crashed to the ground.
“What was that?” one of the other men said.
“Go find out,” she heard her father say.
Beth turned and ran into the house and down the hall, making it back into the dining room before anyone could see her. Just as she sat in her seat, the man her father had called Frank walked into the room looking around.
Beth kept her gaze on Derek, trying to pretend she had been in the room the entire time. Frank exited back out of the dining room and Beth breathed a sigh of relief.
She had to get out of here. She had to take Derek and run. Her father would watch the security tapes and know it was her outside, he would know she saw him kill a man. Beth knew her father had no love in his heart for her. She wasn’t delusional. The only thing he loved was money and politics. Beth felt like she was living in a bad movie. This crap didn’t happen in real life.
Beth calmly walked over to Derek and knelt down beside him. “Are you ready to head home sweetie?”
“Yes ma’am,” he yawned.
“Okay. Come on.” Beth pulled out Derek’s chair, then pushed it back in under the table.
After saying goodnight to the others in the room, Beth grabbed Derek’s hand and went to find her mother. Locating her in the kitchen, Beth quickly said her goodbyes and left the house without looking back.
She drove home as fast and as safely as she could. What would she tell Derek? Where would she go? Beth could only think of one person who could protect her from her father’s reach, but if she arrived on his doorstep, would he help her? Or would he take one look at their son and slam the door in her face? So many questions, but no answers. All Beth knew was she couldn’t stay in the home she had built for herself and Derek anymore. She had to run. The entire drive home, she anxiously searched her rearview mirror, praying that she wasn’t being followed.
Arriving at the house, Beth and Derek went inside. She locked and bolted the door behind her and turned to her son. It was time to tell him the truth. Just showing up at Devin’s would shock Derek and she didn’t want to do that.
“Derek, I need to talk to you for a minute. Come have a seat,” she told him as she sat on the couch and patted the cushion next to her.
For the next hour, she told her son about his father, about why he and Beth were not together. Derek asked questions and Beth tried to answer them the best she could, considering he was eight and some situations were hard for him to understand.
“Will I ever get to meet him? Will he ever know about me?” he asked with tears in his eyes. Beth’s heart was breaking. She did this. She hurt the two men in her life she loved more than anything - first Devin, and now Derek. But, she could make it better, she hoped.
“Actually, what do you say, we pack a few bags now and go see him?” she asked.
Derek’s entire face lit up. He jumped off the couch, “YES!!!” he screamed, “Get up! What are you waiting for mom? Come on! Let’s pack!”
Beth got up from her seat and they both rushed to their rooms. She needed to get them both out of here. Her father wouldn’t think twice about killing her or Derek. He hated her son because he was Devin’s. Her father was the reason she spent the last eight years alone, raising a little boy without his father. But, not anymore. Beth prayed that when she arrived at the Devil’s Henchmen clubhouse, Devin would help her, and once she told him why she was there, he would keep her and Derek safe. Guess there was only one way to find out, she told herself as she and Derek loaded back into the car with their bags; and drove away from the only home she had truly ever had.