Kelley walked into his study with a grin on his face. He’d barely slept the previous night, despite his exhaustion. Once hadn’t been enough and he’d reached for Milana a few times until the sun rose and he’d gotten up for Kyzer.He walked over to the couch area and moved the one he and Milana had been on back to its original place. His tie was on the back of the other couch and it slipped to the floor against the wall just as he reached for it.Kelley moved the couch away from the wall and bent down to retrieve his tie. The wooden part of the skirting lay on the floor and he pushed the couch further away and picked it up. He looked at the piece in his hand, the edges a little jagged, like it had been cut out.He pulled his phone from his pocket and turned the flashlight app on and directed the light into the hole that had been hidden by the skirting piece. He lay flat on his stomach as he moved his phone and something caught his eye.Kelley stuck his fingers inside and it gripped the
The front door opened as Kelley walked up the two wide stone steps. “Welcome to Meadow Lake, Kelley.”“Ernesto.”Kelley followed him to his office and they sat down on the two sofas facing each other. Ernesto poured them each a drink, assuming that Kelley would want one. He didn’t really but he took it and emptied the glass.“So what brings you to my little town?” Ernesto looked smug and Kelley fought to keep the sneer from his face.“I want to know where Milana’s mother is,” Kelley said.“I see.”Kelley’s expression remained stoic and he could see Ernesto was thinking about his answer. It wouldn’t be a good answer, Kelley knew that too. Kelley shifted slightly and pulled the pistol from under his jacket.Ernesto’s eyes followed the movement and his left eye twitched as the pistol came to rest on Kelley’s thigh. “Where is she?”“She’s dead. She killed herself four years ago,” Ernesto said calmly.“You didn’t think to share that news with her daughter?”Ernesto shifted and Kelley’s han
It was a week later when Jesse called him. It was a go. Nobody talked about his little meltdown, instead they walked on eggshells around him. Lee and Mason hovered, worked out of his study and at night Milana occupied his mind with sex. It wasn’t a bad deal, except that they all watched him, constantly.Nobody told her that it was Ernesto that he had killed and neither did he. He kept quiet and he waited. He tried to be himself, it was hard, but he tried. It didn’t fool his brothers though. They knew something was up and Connor finally broke the ice.“I can’t really decide who’s the crazier motherfucker, you or Lee.”Kelley looked up from his laptop and Lee huffed out a laugh. “Kelley. Definitely Kelley.”“You stabbed your father over thirty times, how am I crazier than you?”Mason leaned back against the sofa and took turns to look at them. “Did you see that guy’s face? You caved his skull in with your bare hands!”“Soft in the head just took on a whole new meaning for me,” Kelley sa
Kelley’s father, Charles Alexander, was a hard man. He was cold and distant, or rather, that’s how Kelley perceived him. He was a man more interested in his money than he was his children. His sister, Marley, would say different. Their father doted on her and she really was Daddy’s little princess. Despite all that, Kelley was a top student, played football and slept at home every night. They lived in the upper north side in Yorkdare Bay. Their house was situated on the incline of a sloping hill, almost looking down at the rest of the upper middle class of the town. A castle on the hill with Charles Alexander as their King. Kelley was quiet and reserved when he was at home, avoiding the stern looks from his father and keeping away from his mother. At school he put on a smile, played the role he was assigned as the popular jock, the easy-going life of the party. Kelley wasn’t a talker and he hated the egotistical boasting of his group of friends and the fact that he pretended to be on
The conversation with Hanson stayed with Kelley for some reason. His words felt more like a revelation than a question to him, almost like something would test those bonds. He’d known these people for ten years, been a part of that circle for ten years. The more pressing question, though, was, who were the feel good people in their circle? Kelley had no idea what to make of Hanson’s sudden change in mood and it wasn’t his parents’ divorce. Finally really was the right answer. Kelley sat in his car in the garage, his father’s space empty, and sighed. He found his mother in the kitchen, staring out of the window, her eyes more bloodshot than the previous day. She turned around with an awkward smile when Kelley’s bag hit the floor. “You’re back … are you hungry?” She looked almost pleadingly at him to say yes so she could have something to do. “I am. How was your dinner?” Laura looked down briefly before straightening up and opening the fridge. “It was business as usual with your fat
It was nine pm by the time Kelley pulled into the garage, looking at the empty space where his father’s car should be. The foyer light was on but the rest of the house was cast in darkness. It was Marley’s sixteenth birthday that she was spending at a hotel in the city, a gift from their father. Kelley froze in the hallway and turned towards the kitchen. The bright moonlight illuminated the room with its large bay windows and he saw his mother sitting at the table, a glass of wine in front of her. “Mom?” Surprise laced his voice since his mother and father were supposed to be in the city with Marley. Tears streaked Laura’s face and Kelley went down on one knee in front of her, his hands on her knees. She laughed ruefully and sniffed as she slugged down the rest of the glass’s contents. “You look like him.” “What’s wrong, Mom?” “Too many secrets in this house. If I could go back I’d make a different choice. I had no idea who your father really was, but his brother was worse and her
Jesse Owens became Kelley’s only friend. He bartered a deal with the motel owner and Kelley got a room on the ground floor that had a small kitchen attached to it for a grand a month, payable upfront. The day after the incident Kelley withdrew another ten grand knowing that his cards would be cancelled that Monday.His dead phone told him everything he needed to know. His father had been serious about cutting him off and out of his life. He truly was on his own now. Jesse helped him to register a new phone and he saw Norah and Hanson’s relationship update on social media, one day after his fall from grace.Kelley had just enough aggression to play quarterback in football but he wasn’t a fighter by nature. He’d never needed to fight before. Jesse changed all that. He was an ex-marine who specialized in mixed martial arts.Kelley spent every day with Jesse at his dojo, training and helping out. Jessy never asked him for anything and what he had, he gave freely. Friendship and moral supp
Kelley sat in his Escalade and rubbed the raw knuckles of his hand. Hanson had passed out and Kelley had left him like that, blood on his face and spatters on the wall. He had seen red when he mentioned Marley’s name.Even if she was mean and rude, she was still his sister. He wasn’t driving to the house he grew up in though. He needed to see someone else first, needed to clarify a few things. He didn’t have far to go, just another four blocks from Hanson’s house.The empty garage told him that her parents weren’t at home so Kelley rang the doorbell instead of sneaking in like he’d done with Hanson. Kelley stuck his hands in his jacket and waited as he heard Norah yell at the dog.The door opened and Kelley turned to face her, her gasp audible in the quiet night. “Kelley … what are you doing here?”“Can I come in?”Norah opened the door wider and Kelley stepped inside, the house warm and sterile at the same time. “Are you okay? Your dad told mine what happened. What happened to your f