Chapter 5: Liars

Monday January 25

Last night had been an emotional roller coaster. The Alpha Male in me wanted to simply find Brandon and end his miserable life. It had been a close thing, and I finally had to force myself to come home, because the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to beat the living snot out of him.

What finally stopped me was the thought of what would happen if I were caught. The fallout could lose me my upcoming movies, and I’d already started spending my signing bonus from the next two Star Academy movies.

The other thing that stopped me was that both Brandon’s uncle and, if memory served, his dad, were well connected, and his uncle wasn’t happy with me already. I would imagine they could make things difficult in more ways than I was willing to deal with. I’d just gone through a mess for something I hadn’t done. I didn’t need to do it again for something I really did do.

When I got home, I found that Megan had sent me all her research. The fraternity in question was suspected of inappropriate behavior with their female guests. There had been three prior complaints lodged by girls over the prior two years, but there was never any physical evidence, so it became a ‘he said/she said’ thing. Many of the men in the fraternity were well connected, just like Brandon was.

Megan hinted that there might be more to this, since there may have been women who weren’t willing to come forward. That got me thinking: how could Tami accuse him after the fact? Yes, Megan could testify as to what she heard, but there was no physical evidence of a crime. I would need to talk to Ms. Dixon to see what our legal remedies might be.

Then my thoughts had turned inward to my role in the whole thing. I’d hired Brandon to be my PA and help with recruiting. Yes, he had been sent to me by Rigby Thompson and Associates, but I’d not had a background check done on him. It became clear to me that what I’d accused Teddy Wesleyan of had come to bite me in the butt. I’d chastised him for thinking everyone was out to get his money. I’d been too trusting. While Brandon wasn’t after my money, he was after me. Some people couldn’t stand my success. I hated that I needed to be on guard for this type of thing. I planned to have Caryn check on all our employees, including Kendal and Megan.

It also made sense to investigate recipients of money from our charities. The headlines almost wrote themselves: ‘Dawson Gives Money to Mass Murderer.‘

That realization, that I hadn’t done my due diligence, and the fact that Tami really didn’t have a way to punish Brandon, had me take a dive emotionally. I was instrumental in my best friend being raped. Add to it that he said the reason he did it was to take me down and unmask me.

I thought about my behavior afterwards. If I’d known, I would’ve have done anything I could for her. Instead I pushed her away, and used it to help get over the hurt of her final rejection of me during the summer. The sad part was that I realized it had worked: even now, with me knowing she’d been violated, I had no desire to be more than friends with her. I guess it was a measure of self-preservation. I couldn’t risk her being anything more than a friend.

I was finally honest with myself. Tami and I would never have our someday. If that were true, then I could move forward and just be friends with her. I felt my Alpha Male side want to still claim her, but I needed to start thinking of her like I did the rest of the Wesleyan girls. They were friends that I sometimes had fun with. If I was told that Missy had found a boyfriend, I would be happy for her. Tami deserved her happiness without worrying about how her best friend would react.

Almost as sad as Tami and me was how this had hurt Alan. I felt almost as bad for how I’d treated him as I had Tami. Jeff, Alan and I had been friends for as long as I could remember. If you’d told me that Jeff would be dead and I would hardly be speaking to Alan right now, I would have laughed in your face. Nothing could have caused me to be without my two best male friends.

Sometime around three a.m. I had finally gotten to sleep. It was hard to get up and run, but I needed to. The cold air felt good as I dropped into my thinking zone. I set a steady pace and let my mind clear.

I wanted to push all the emotion aside and decide what I wanted to do. I knew that I wasn’t ready to tell Tami or Alan about what happened yet. I also knew this was bigger than just Brandon, Tami, Alan and me. If Brandon was any indication of the type of man that fraternity was putting out, then something had to be done about them. I had a bad feeling that Brandon would have skated on his last charge of sexual misconduct if the two women involved had been just regular college students. As much as I wanted to get personal revenge, I wanted to make sure the others involved were punished.

That was when I realized I was glad I hadn’t told my mom. If she knew Brandon had raped Tami, there would’ve been no stopping her. She would have reacted like a mama bear protecting one of her cubs. After she killed him, I would be paying for lawyers and putting up bail money this morning. That also meant I couldn’t talk to anyone in the family about this. It also ruled out Kendal and Caryn. Kendal had ratted me out before when she thought it was for my own good. I didn’t have a track record with Caryn yet. Technically, she worked for my dad, which had always been Kendal’s excuse. My uncle had made it clear where his loyalties were, and I didn’t want to get my grandmother involved in something like this.

Frankly, I needed a third party who didn’t have a dog in this fight to help me figure out what to do.

As I pounded down the sidewalk towards my house, I dropped out of the zone when I saw a woman with two girls and a boy standing by the drive. When they saw me, they blocked my path down the sidewalk.

I told Duke to sit and stay; I was glad I had my Bo staff with me. Something didn’t feel right.

“Hi. Our car is low on gas and I need to get my kids to school. I was wondering if you could spare some money.”

Yep, I was being scammed. I might have fallen for it if the youngest girl hadn’t giggled. The other two were busy looking somewhere between scared and miserable.

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” the boy complained.

“We’ll figure something out, baby,” their mom said, just a little too dramatically.

I was sure it was to reinforce their dire need and to get me to be the white knight I normally was.

“I don’t have any money on me, but if you wait I’ll go get some,” I said.

I could see the relief come over the woman’s face. I got Duke and we went into the house. Mom and Dad were at the kitchen table with Peggy and Little David.

“There’s a woman out front who says she needs money for gas to get her kids to school and her kids are hungry.”

“Why didn’t you let them in? It’s cold out,” Peggy said.

“Don’t ever let anyone you don’t know in,” Dad said.

“Why not?” Peggy asked.

“We have no idea who they are,” I said. “It’s for all our safety.”

Dad got his phone out and called the police. If the woman really was in need, they would make sure she got the help she needed. I went to shower and get ready for school. When I came back out, I saw Billy with the mom in the back of his car, and the three kids seated up against the fence.

“Hey, Billy, what’s going on?” I asked.

“The mother has an outstanding warrant.”

“What about the little ones?” I asked.

They all glared at me. This was more than I wanted to deal with this morning.

“Child Services. I’m waiting for them to come,” he said.

“Are you guys really hungry?” I asked.

The two littlest ones nodded yes, and the oldest girl gave me a look.

“Is an egg sandwich okay?” I asked.

“I could use one,” Billy said.

I just shook my head and went inside. Mom and Peggy made everyone sandwiches and took them out while I ate breakfast and entertained Little David. I guess I wasn’t surprised when all three kids came back inside with them. Billy let Mom take responsibility for them until Child Services could arrive.

I had to get to school, so I would have to get the story when I got home.

The whole day was kind of a blur. All I could think about was what had happened to Tami and all the drama around it. I was so out of it that when I was hip-checked, I actually bounced into the lockers.

“Hey,” I complained.

“Earth to David. What’s been on your mind all day?” Tracy asked.

I guess I hadn’t very well hidden that I had something bothering me.

“I’ve had some stuff on my mind is all,” I evaded.

“Like?” she asked.

“How big will Pam’s butt really get?” I asked.

“Oh, really? You want to stick with that?” I heard Pam ask behind me, and then the familiar sound of a Taser snapping.

“You make it sound like a bad thing. Kim Kardashian became famous for her butt. Plus, there’s more of you to love.”

“Nice save,” Tracy whispered.

“Put your toy away and come here,” I said to Pam.

I think she carried her life in that bag, it was so big. How she could reach in and find anything was beyond me, but somehow she did it with practiced ease. She then came to me and I wrapped her in my arms.

“How’s my baby momma today?” I asked.

“Good, but answer Tracy’s question. We’ve all watched you today, and something’s off,” she said.

I’d promised myself I would never lie to Pam, but that didn’t mean I would tell her the whole truth.

“I heard some bad news about a friend,” I said.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Tracy asked.

I thought about it for a moment. I might need Tracy there to help comfort Tami when I told her. She knew what it was like to be forced to have sex with someone against her will.

“Maybe later. Right now I just need to figure a few things out,” I said with a sigh. “I promise if I need your help, I’ll let you know.”

“Is it okay if I come over tonight?” Pam asked.

“You’re always welcome. I have my workout with Cassidy at the dojo tonight. If you want, why don’t you invite your mom and come to dinner. You won’t believe how much Little David has grown. He’s starting to smile when he recognizes someone.”

Little David was three months old and starting to have a personality. He actually smiled at anyone that made eye contact with him, but he did recognize Peggy and my mom, who spent the most time with him. He also seemed to like Duke.

“Are you sure about dinner?” Pam asked.

I sent a text to my mom, and she sent one back saying we were having stew and there would be plenty. I showed the text to Pam and she nodded.

I left my two friends to join everyone for sixty minutes of hell.

At the dojo, I figured out who I could talk to. Of course it was when Cassidy was working with me with the Bo staff, and so she cracked me on the head. Damn, that hurt. Shiggy looked over and saw it was me, and went back to teaching his class. What the heck?!

“Pay attention,” Cassidy admonished.

“Bite me, Princess,” I said as I patted my butt.

Wow, that got a reaction. I grinned as I fended off her furious attack. The only thing I was better at than Cassidy was the Bo staff. I was able to keep up with Cassidy’s quickness because I worked out with a heavier one, and my hand, wrist and forearm strength had improved since I’d begun using one. It also contributed to my improvement at hitting a baseball.

I saw Shiggy shake his head and slowly walk towards us. I think he assumed one of us would be whacked soon, but I wasn’t on the offensive. I wanted to see what Cassidy had. Cassidy always had one goal in mind, which was to take down her opponent. It frustrated her that I played defense.

“Get aggressive,” Shiggy barked.

I instantly went on the attack. Cassidy had no choice but to give ground. When she stepped out of the ring, Shiggy called it. We went to the center again and Shiggy started us. This time I let Cassidy attack. When she saw me begin to give ground, she gave me a look as if she knew she had me. I saw her dad bark out a laugh when she got too close and I leg-swept her. Shiggy called it.

“I think that’s enough for today. Much improved, David. Would you assist me?” Shiggy asked.

“Sure, just give me a minute and I’ll be over,” I said.

I went to Fritz.

“Could I talk to you for a second?” I asked.

“Sure,” he said, and we walked away from everyone.

“I need some advice. Could we maybe meet tomorrow night?” I asked.

“Sure. Why don’t you come to Rita’s for dinner and we can talk afterwards.”

I went and let Shiggy use me as a crash test dummy for his beginners class. They were getting better. For some reason they enjoyed tossing me. I admit I had fun.

After my shower, I went to the kitchen and found Little David was being cranky. Peggy looked worn out.

“Here,” she said, and handed him to me.

“Hey, little man. What ya fussing about?” I asked in a soothing voice.

Our eyes locked and he seemed to relax as I gently bounced him up and down. He was soon sound asleep.

Pam and Lacy looked at me in awe. They’d just discovered my superpower: I was the baby whisperer.

“We have no idea why it works, but if you have a fussy baby, just hand them to David,” Mom said.

“We tried everything,” Lacy complained.

“It’s like everything else: it works better if a man’s involved,” I explained.

I shushed them so they wouldn’t wake Little David with any rude remarks. We had a crib on the first floor, so I took him and Duke to where it was so I could lay Little David down.

“Tell us if he wakes up,” I told Duke, and he seemed to understand as he lay down next to the crib.

I wondered what he would do when my baby arrived. Duke would be busy keeping track of everything.

I came back into the kitchen, and Peggy needed a hug.

“Rough day?” I asked.

“He just wouldn’t stop fussing. I felt bad when I went to class and left him with your mom. I hope he does better tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you eat something and go take a nap? I’ll watch him for you.”

I went and made a salad to go with the stew. Mom had made a tomato-based stew in the slow cooker. I watched Dad make drop biscuits while everyone talked. It felt good to be home and have a house full of friends and family. It reminded me of when Greg, Dad and I would cook together and discuss our day.

After dinner, Pam, Peggy and I went to my apartment. I put Little David in his crib. Peggy went to my bedroom to take her nap. The little guy must have been exhausted, because he didn’t even stir when I carried him upstairs.

While I did that, Pam turned my coffee table into a real table so we could do our homework. I needed to catch up. I wasn’t used to being behind in my reading. I had KIIS-FM streaming as background noise. It was one of the things I’d brought back with me from LA.

After almost two hours, Duke came to me and nudged me.

“You need to go out?” I asked.

He went to the crib.

“Looks like Little David’s up,” Pam said. “I’ll check him.”

I saw her check him and her nose wrinkled.

“You might as well get in some practice,” I suggested.

“I’ve never done this.”

“I’ll help you,” I said, and we put him on a blanket on the kitchen counter.

I’d learned the hard way with Kyle that taking a diaper off didn’t mean they were done. You only have to have pee in your face once to know that it’s good to have something handy to block it if needed. I’d perfected the blanket flip. Pam handled it better than I did my first time. I felt like I might throw up on Kyle when I did my first poopy diaper.

I heated up some formula and let Pam feed him. She was a natural, and even figured out to burp him. He was content on her lap, so she held him.

“What’s going on with you? I know you didn’t want to talk in front of Tracy,” Pam said.

I thought for a moment and decided that if Pam and I would be connected the rest of our lives, I would have to accept her as family and everything that entailed. She’d also been there when Mona was sexually assualted by Mike.

“On one of my recruiting trips, someone used a date-rape drug on Tami and took advantage of her.”

“That’s awful. I hope you plan to track him down.”

“That may be the easy part. I accused Tami of some things that obviously weren’t true. I don’t know how to tell her.”

“Be prepared for her to be mad at you, but the two of you have been friends for a long time. She’ll eventually come around,” Pam advised.

“I’ve been sick about it since I found out Sunday. I keep doing the ‘what if?’ game.”

“One of the things Dr. Hebert told me might help. Bad things happen. You might even be totally responsible for what happened. The key is to figure out what you’re going to do about it. I think her direct quote was, ‘Shit happens. Are you going to let that control your life, or are you going to move on?’”

“So I need to stop beating myself up and take control of the situation,” I said, and then smiled. “Tami once told me about the difference between ‘doers’ and ‘wanters.’ I think Dr. Hebert was saying the same thing, but in a different way.”

“She told me that it’s natural for your mind to need to go through the process of understanding what happened, but at some point you have to switch to become proactive in your future,” Pam said. “You can’t just stay in grief mode forever. It’s like what my dad did to us. We were both angry, and had to deal with all the feelings that went with it, but at some point, we had to move on. I mean, it’s okay for me to still miss my dad, but I can’t let all the emotions surrounding that control my day-to-day life.”

“I guess I must be mentally healthy then, because I still get mad when I think of him hitting you and using our baby as a tool for his vengeance. I’m glad you and I moved on.”

“That’s what you have to remember with Tami. I’ve talked to Tracy about her past and some of the horrible things that happened to her. She told me that you were one of the keys to her recovery. She did some very hurtful things. My guess is Tami might react badly. You just need to remember how far you and Tracy have come as friends,” Pam said.

“Thanks for the advice. I’m glad you’re there for me,” I said.

“We’re here for each other. I don’t know if I ever said it, but when you said you wanted custody of our baby, I was relieved. Your parents stepping up like they did was a huge relief. When my dad found out I was pregnant, all I could think of was that he would either make me raise our baby all by myself, or it would be taken away from me.

“I think I knew deep down that you’d fight for our baby. I look at Peggy and what she was facing, and how you and your family stepped up, at first financially and then with more substantial support when it became clear her home life wasn’t stable. If you’d do that for her, I knew you’d be there for me.

“I guess what I wanted to say is that while I’m scared of being a mom at seventeen, having you and your family’s support means the world to me,” Pam said.

“You do know that I like you,” I teased.

She gave me a sly grin. Peggy came out of the bedroom.

“I overheard what you two said. I agree that you and your family are amazing.”

“Well, I like you too.”

Peggy looked at Pam.

“Trust me, that’s a good thing. I usually get him to either do stuff or give me things, once he admits that,” Pam said.

“I wonder what we could get him to do for us?” Peggy asked.

Duke picked that moment to tell me he needed to go outside. Unfortunately, that broke the mood. When Duke and I returned, Peggy had Little David and was walking Pam out of my apartment. Mr. Happy was very confused.

Tuesday January 26

At lunch I received a text, and pumped my fist in the air.

“Why are you so happy?” Wolf asked.

“We’re number one,” I said.

“Well, duh. Until someone else wins State, we are,” Tim said.

“No, my movie’s number one. Star Academy won the box office battle for the third straight week. We did $18 million. The Revenant, the Leonardo DiCaprio movie, was second at $16 million, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens did $14 million domestically. I guess that overseas sales are doing about twice as well,” I explained.

“Is that a big deal?” Gina asked.

“It’s huge. A big studio picture doesn’t guarantee success at the box office. They spent something like a hundred million to make the movie. I mean, big movies sometimes lose money. For example, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix allegedly lost $167 million, despite $967 million in global revenues. Of course, that may be due to creative accounting to make sure people weren’t paid on their back-end deals.

“What I was told was that we needed to hit around $400 million in global sales to make money. It looks like we’ll do even better than that,” I said.

“So that makes you a big deal?” Tracy asked.

“I thought I already was,” I teased as I looked at my crotch.

Gina pulled out a cloth tape measure and started to wrap it around my head.

“Checking to see if I have a swelled head?” I asked, both perplexed and amused.

“Exactly!” she said with a smirk. “I think we better measure all the guys to make sure you’re not rubbing off.”

She started doing just that, calling out measurements to Cassidy, who dutifully wrote them down.

Yuri looked excited.

“I have another head you can measure, if you want,” he said while batting his eyes.

All it earned him was a disinterested look from Gina and a poke in the ribs from Jan.

I ignored the remaining comments about my swelled head and the disparaging remarks about my manhood.

“It’s important for an actor to be associated with a financial success. It’s especially a good thing if it’s your first movie,” I said.

“So, how rich are you?” Phil asked.

I just shook my head. My half brother was an idiot sometimes.

“The internet says he’s worth five million,” Wolf said, checking his phone.

I just flipped them all off. It was a good thing they were all my friends. I was sure they would tease me about my money, but it would be just that, teasing ... or so I hoped.

After school, I found Lily looking upset.

“Hola, Lily.”

“Oh, hey, David.”

“What’s up? Is something wrong?” I asked.

“I know you have your thing with Cassidy. It’s no big deal.”

“Hang on. Let me go tell Cassidy that I’m bailing, and I’ll take you home,” I said.

Cassidy just gave me a look, but nodded when I told her that I needed to talk to Lily. Lily didn’t seem too excited about me giving her a ride. On the way to her house, she just looked out the passenger window. When we got to her house, she jumped out, but I followed her.

“David, it’s nothing, really,” she almost pleaded.

“Come on, Lily, give me a break here. You know I have to be the knight in shining armor and solve all your problems.”

She tried not to, but I got a little smile and then the patented sigh.

“You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” she asked.

“Nope, so you might as well just tell me what’s wrong.”

She let me into her home. It was a small ranch that was a little dated, but seemed well taken care of. She led me to the kitchen and poured us both a glass of iced tea. I sat down and waited her out. She fussed around straightening the kitchen, and finally joined me at the table.

“Did you know I don’t have a mom?” she asked.

I was embarrassed that I didn’t know. After I’d saved her life, she had approached me with more than a little hero worship. At first I tried to push her away, because she’d run with the same crowd I had in middle school that had gotten me in trouble. I wanted to put all that behind me at the time, and ‘all that’ included Lily.

Fortunately, she hadn’t been deterred by my aloofness. Her need to pay me back for what I’d done for her had her help me with my websites and social media. She had quietly done yeoman work for no pay and little recognition. I’d finally figured out that she was serious about being my friend. I’d also gotten my head out of my ass and started paying her. I even worked it out so Frank would hire her. He and Kendal had only good things to say about her.

For as much as she’d done for me, I couldn’t believe I didn’t know her family situation.

“I didn’t know that,” I admitted.

“I used to tell people she died, but the truth is she just left us; five years ago today, as a matter of fact.”

“I’m so sorry. What happened?” I asked.

“They were all liars,” she hissed, and began to breathe hard.

I became worried.

“Who were?” I asked gently.

“Everyone. My parents, my brother, my relatives ... all of them. Sharon was the one that finally told me.”

She was talking about Sharon Riley. She’d been at the party when Lily had stopped breathing and she was part of the old crowd I no longer hung out with.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I was twelve at the time, and Sharon was my best friend. I’d gone to her house after school like always. Both my parents worked and had made arrangements with the Rileys to let me go to their house until my mom got off work and picked me up. That was fine with Sharon and me, because it gave us more time to be together.

“But that day was different. The time for my mother to come get me came and went. Mrs. Riley called and couldn’t get ahold of anyone, so I stayed for dinner. It was almost ten o’clock before my dad came and got me. He was upset, but he wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”

Lily just looked off into space, lost in her own thoughts. I waited, but it didn’t seem she was going to finish her story, so I’d finally decided to ask when she began again. Her voice was just above a whisper, and she talked in a weird monotone.

“I knew something had happened to my mom when I got home and my brother and my aunt were waiting for me. My dad just left me, went into his office, and shut the door. My aunt sat me down and told me that my mom and dad were having some problems, and she had decided to go away for a while.”

Lily’s eyes locked with mine, and I could see the sadness. I wanted to reach out, pull her into a hug, and do whatever it took to make that look go away.

“I went to the phone and called my mom’s cell number. I needed to hear it from her. Of course she didn’t answer, so I left a message. Ben told me everything would be okay, that Mom and Dad just needed to work some things out, and she would be home soon.

“I went to bed and just stared at the ceiling. The next day I refused to go to Sharon’s house, because I wanted to be home when Mom came home. We had a little hill at the entrance to our subdivision, and I waited there for her. Each night my dad would come home and find me sitting there, waiting.

“I would go with him and ask him a million questions, but all he would tell me was that she’d be home soon. I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t talk to her on the phone. I must have left a hundred voicemails, because it was soon full. Then two weeks later, her cell number no longer worked.

“Sharon finally had had enough and made me come over to her house for the weekend. She said I needed to get my mind off my mom leaving and have a little fun. Her parents let us watch HBO until all hours of the night; I fell asleep in their family room with Sharon. She had her arms wrapped around me, and I felt safe and finally got a good night’s sleep. I think they were all relieved that I seemed to be my old self,” she said.

She gave me a crazed look.

“I fooled them. I was the liar. I stepped out onto their front porch, and when the door closed, I began to scream. I threw a tantrum; I stomped my feet and shook my fist at the sky. I screamed and screamed and screamed. I couldn’t stop.

“I’d gone out front because my dad was there to pick me up. He ran from the car and tried to wrap me in his arms, but I struggled and kept screaming. No one would tell me where my mom was. Mr. Riley came out and wrapped both my dad and me into a hug to try to hold me.

“Someone called 911, and soon the paramedics were there. I heard one of them tell my dad and Mr. Riley to hold me still. The last thing I remember was looking up as they placed me on the gurney, and then whatever they had stuck me with finally worked and everything went dark.

“I woke up in the hospital and found they’d restrained me. My dad looked like a different person. He looked broken, and I could see his face was tearstained. I called to my dad, but my throat felt like I’d swallowed ground glass. I must have made a croaking sound, because he looked up. He told me everything was going to be better. It was just another lie.

“They made me stay in the hospital three days. I was assigned a counselor who would do home visits. She just made things worse. When she told my dad that she thought I needed to be put on drugs, Dad ended my sessions.