The Winter Storm, Part 12

“Rachel,” Mrs. Bennett said entering the living room. Rachel stood beside the fireplace pretending not to be watching as Jennifer sat on her stool writing away on the lines Miles had assigned. “Come along, it’s time for you to do some more work.”

Telling Rachel twice wasn’t necessary. She lowered her tired arms from their station keeping at her head and quickly joined her mother on the other side of the living room. Chores weren’t on the top of her list of fun activities, but nearly anything beat standing beside the fireplace with her arms raised. “What fun do I get to have now?” she asked.

Mrs. Bennett led the way out of the living room to the foot of the stairs. A bucket filled with soap and water rested on the bottom step against the wall. On the rim, a cleaning cloth was draped and floating inside, a yellow sponge peeked in and out of the water. Mrs. Bennett stopped next to the rail and gestured upward at the staircase. “Since you and Richard scuffed my stairs with your antics this morning, it seems only fair that you clean off the marks.”

Rachel looked up the stairs. There were a few scuffs, black and white marks visible on the steps, but none of them were large nor were they even on every step. As far as chores went, she expected it would be easy enough. “Sounds fair,” she said.

“You’re being awfully amicable,” Mrs. Bennett said. “Perhaps we’re finally getting through to you.”

Rachel shrugged and picked up the bucket. There was nothing she could say to her mother that wouldn’t come off as either facetious or patronizing. She climbed the first step and paused, glancing back at her mother. “I’ll start at the top and work my way down, okay?”

Mrs. Bennett nodded. “Just make certain those steps shine when you’re finished.”

“Yes, Mother,” Rachel said and climbed the stairs until she was only a few steps short of the top landing. She laid the bucket to rest and sat next to it. Though she would have liked to rest there a while she figured her mother would be keeping track of her progress and making issues if it wasn’t up to her expectations. Rachel reached into the bucket and rang out the sponge.

She had only finished scrubbing the third step when she heard the sounds of footsteps rising up from below. Her father climbed past her without a word. She was relieved at first, but as he went by she noticed the slim battery held in his hand. It was the one he had taken earlier from her phone. It was too much to hope he was simply returning it to her bedroom. Her thoughts ran wild toward his intentions and a panic quickened her heartbeat at the possible things he might discover if he invaded her phone.

A click, echoing out from her bedroom, propelled her into action. She dropped the sponge on the step and ran to her bedroom. Inside the doorway she stopped face to face with her father. He held her phone in his hands, the battery snapped back into place and the screen lit with life. For a moment she forgot herself and her situation allowing anger to boil over and control her actions.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Her voice echoed loud and trembled with the ghost of confidence she had thought lost for the weekend along with most of her clothes.

Mr. Bennett looked up from the lit screen. “Who were you talking to earlier?”

“That’s none of your business,” Rachel said. The back of her head pounded with the possibility he already knew the answer to his question.

“If you paid your own phone bill, I’d agree,” Mr. Bennett said, “but you don’t. Now are you going to tell me or should I press redial?”

“Why do you even care?” she asked. Anything to slow him down and give her time to think.

His thumb hovered over the button. “Because it’s quite clear you’ve been up to something and if it’s what I suspect, the sooner you tell me, the better it’s going to be for both of us.”

“It was just a friend,” Rachel said. She knew he didn’t believe her.

He pressed the button. Rachel gasped and grabbed at the phone trying to take it away from him. He put the phone to his ear and warned her to stay back with a wag of his free hand’s index finger. Her lips trembled with Julian’s name on them as she listened to the muffled ringing.

The ringing stopped and Julian answered. “Hello.”

Mr. Bennett nodded at Rachel as if he had expected Julian to answer. “Julian?” he said into the phone.

Rachel tried to control herself and remain calm while listening to Julian’s disembodied voice whispering from her phone. “Yes,” Julian said. “Mr. Bennett is that you?”

“It is.”

Julian sounded confused. “Why are you calling me from Rachel’s phone. Is she alright?”

Mr. Bennett stared into Rachel’s eyes. “I wasn’t sure who I was calling. I had thought you and Rachel were no longer a couple.”

“We’re not,” Julian said, “but we’re still friends. I hope that’s okay with you.”

“Of course,” Mr. Bennett said. “I’m sorry to have bothered you.” He ended the call before Julian could respond. Focused on Rachel, he asked, “Would you care to explain?”

“My personal life is none of your business,” Rachel said. A mixture of relief and anger emboldened her in the conflict. He didn’t know anything that really mattered and if she kept him focused on her relationship with Julian, he never would.

Mr. Bennett sat the phone aside on her dresser. “When it interferes with my professional life, it is entirely my business. Now what’s going on?”

Rachel said, “My relationship with the son of someone you do business with is not interfering with your professional life. How dare you accuse me of more crap like this when it ought to be obvious your real professional problem is the girl downstairs.”

“This isn’t about Jennifer,” Mr. Bennett said.

Rachel shook her head. “No, it’s not. It’s about Miles being led around by his dick and not seeing what’s right in front of him and about you trusting a stranger before you trust me.”

Mr. Bennett said, “I can understand why you’re angry, but that’s not an excuse for getting yourself mixed up with Julian again.”

“Mixed up?” Rachel crossed her arms in front of her and glared at her father. “What the hell are you accusing me of now?”

“I’m not accusing you of anything,” Mr. Bennett said. “I think you’ve been angry, with me, with Miles, with Jennifer, maybe with the whole family. And I would understand if you’ve been lashing out at us because you feel like we’re not on your side.”

Rachel shook her head. “The skank on the stool downstairs tells you I’m in some sort of cahoots with Julian and you believe her just because I still talk to him. Never mind that I dated him for four years and we parted amicably. If I’m talking to him, I must be up to whatever nefarious plot she accuses me of, isn’t that what’s really going on here?”

Mr. Bennett asked, “Why did you call him this morning?”

“You’ve already decided why,” Rachel said.

“I’m giving you a chance to defend yourself,” Mr. Bennett said.

Rachel rolled her eyes. “You’ve got nothing but suspicions generated from a lying whore and I’m supposed to defend myself?”

“Why don’t you just answer my question and save the drama?” Mr. Bennett said.

Rachel huffed. “It’s not like you’d believe anything I tell you.”

Mr. Bennett said, “If you don’t tell me anything, I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“You could choose to trust me,” Rachel said.

“When you won’t answer a simple question?” Mr. Bennett asked. “Give me a reason why I should.”

Rachel’s lips puckered into a sour expression of frustration. “I’m your daughter and she’s a fifteen dollar an hour whore that keeps your son happy.”

Mr. Bennett took a deep breath and asked, “Why did you call Julian this morning?”

Rachel groaned and glanced out the window. The rain was falling slanted and she could see the trees leaning hard toward the ground across the street. It wouldn’t take much for them to topple, but they would resist to the very last so that if they did splinter and fall what remained would be best and strongest of the tree.

“To piss you off,” she said. It was her resistance to his storm.

“I want the truth,” Mr. Bennett said.

Rachel turned back to him. “Oh. In that case, I was plotting out Jennifer’s next accident. You know I was really hoping she’d drown with her car, but you know what they say about plans.”

“I’m not laughing,” Mr. Bennett said.

“Neither am I,” Rachel said.

“I want a straight answer out of you,” Mr. Bennett said. “Why did you call Julian?”

“Straight? Hmm,” Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know, I’m into guys not girls. Is that straight enough?”

“You’re asking for a spanking,” Mr. Bennett said.

“Strange,” Rachel said, “I don’t recall doing that. Of course, I don’t recall not doing my job either before you fired me for that. I guess I just get all mixed up and don’t know my head from my ass sometimes.”

Mr. Bennett grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her to the side of the bed. He sat down and tossed her over his lap, planting her head into her pillows. Rachel kicked her legs and tried to squirm free, but he wrapped an arm around her mid-section, effectively pinning her to him. He raised his hand and cracked down on her panty-clad bottom.

“I’ve— had— enough— of— your— bad— attitude,” he said, swatting her bottom to emphasize every word.

Rachel pounded the mattress in frustration. “And you think spanking me is going to help? You’re an idiot!”

Mr. Bennett stopped spanking and slipped his fingers into the waistband of her panties. With a side-to-side wriggling motion, he pulled them down off her bottom, until they slid down her legs to her ankles. He returned to spanking her with his hand, employing enough force to bounce her bottom into a fiery red.

He said, “I’ve given you chance after chance today and you’ve done nothing but throw them back in my face.”

“Yeah you’ve been real generous,” Rachel said. “Give me a one percent chance to stay out of trouble and then wonder why I don’t.”

Mr. Bennett said, “Not only have you lost all your clothes for the weekend, but I’m going to make sure you don’t sit comfortably for the next week. If you’d like to go for two, just keep smarting off.”

Rachel almost responded, but self-preservation kicked in at the last moment. Her bottom was starting to really burn for third time of the day and making her father angrier while he was spanking seemed like a bad idea. Still, the frustration of her situation burned inside her because she felt certain between the two of them she had the greater right to anger. Of course if he knew the full truth of the things she’d been up to with Julian, he would disagree more than he already did. She endured the wrath of his hardened hand in silence.

Mr. Bennett stopped spanking when he noticed he was having no effect on her. She had even stopped kicking her legs and grunting with the fall of his hand. He rolled her off his lap onto the bed and stood up, shaking his head.

“One way or another I’m going to find out what you’ve been doing,” he said. “In the meantime you can stand in front of the window, facing out, with your hands on your head.”

Rachel stared at him in anger. She wanted to tell him off some more, but it was a battle she knew she would lose. It was better to wait for everything to come together and then rub his face in how much he had underestimated her. She climbed up from the bed and stood in front of the window. The light reflected in the window and she found herself staring at her reflection. It seemed strange seeing the raindrops running down the cheeks of the girl in the window while her own remained dry.

Behind her, Mr. Bennett began pulling open drawers and ruffling through her belongings. She would have laughed if her circumstances had been different. How could he think her capable of such masterful planning against Jennifer and yet think she would be dumb enough to leave evidence laying around for him to find? The real evidence, the evidence he didn’t even know to look for, was on her phone and if she could get her hands on it for just a few seconds, it would be gone. She just hoped he wouldn’t think to go back to it before she got the opportunity.

The Winter Storm, Part 11

“We have a serious problem,” Mr. Bennett said.

Miles sat back in his chair listening to the rain pattering on the patio outside the office window. The phone on his father’s desk remained prominently positioned between them though it was no longer hosting a call. Miles could see his own realizations from the call reflected his father’s stare— Julian Harper had somehow managed to duplicate nearly all the legal forms and policy notifications built into the Bennett’s software. For Harper & Son, it was a blessing just short of a miracle considering the young woman Julian had chosen to discipline had walked out on them, but the facts could only mean someone on the Bennett’s side had given Julian proprietary information.

Protracting a tired exhale, Miles shook his head. “You don’t think Jennifer...”

“Her or Rachel,” Mr. Bennett said. He rested his hands on the desktop and looked to the family picture sitting on the front edge of his desk. “I don’t much like thought of it being either of them, but unless you’re going tell me you did it, it’s got to be one of them.”

Miles sat forward. A deep desire for another possibility burned within him though he could think of nothing more plausible than the betrayal his father suggested. Ignoring the unpleasantness of reality would only make matters worse. He said, “We need to get to the bottom of this.”

“I agree.” Mr. Bennett nodded, taking his eyes off the picture and refocusing on his son. “However I doubt more spanking will yield anything from either of them. I suppose it might be worthwhile to check the call history on their phones.”

Invading the privacy of his girlfriend and his sister felt a bit too sleazy to Miles. Without knowing the details, the call histories would only lead to guesses and suspicions. They already had enough of both. What they needed were facts.

“I don’t see that helping,” Miles said. “We need a smoking gun to get the truth out of them.”

Mr. Bennett blinked at Miles and then chuckled. “For a moment there I thought you said ‘smoking bun’ and I was going to point out we already have two sets in the living room.”

“Too true,” Miles said, barely containing his laughter, “but like you said, more spanking isn’t the answer.”

The phone rang. Mr. Bennett answered it after the second ring, leaving Miles to contemplate how best to trick Jennifer or Rachel into confessing. His father straightened in his chair and seemed to take an intense interest in his new conversation. From the parts he caught, Miles realized it had something to do with Michelle and school. He shook his head, wondering how every female in the household could manage to land in trouble on the same day. His mother was apparently the sole exception, but the day wasn’t over yet either.

Mr. Bennett hung the phone up. “You aren’t going to believe this,” he said.

Miles chuckled. “My darling little sister has gotten herself paddled at school?”

“Not quite yet,” Mr. Bennett said. “Michelle has apparently uncovered the smoking gun you we’re hoping for.”

Miles blinked surprise. “What?”

“You might have listened to her a few weeks back and we could have avoided some of this,” Mr. Bennett said.

“I’m missing something,” Miles said.

Mr. Bennett nodded. “Apparently Michelle came to you with a story about Jennifer at the DMV.”

Miles groaned remembering the incident. “Right. She was trying to stand up for Rachel and make Jennifer look bad.”

“That’s not exactly right,” Mr. Bennett said. “She was trying to help Jennifer, but her timing was bad due to the whole blowup with Rachel.”

“Help Jennifer?” Miles shook his head. “How?”

“Apparently,” Mr. Bennett said, “Jennifer got herself mixed up with some character at the DMV. Michelle figured out this guy has a thing for blackmailing attractive females who are in danger of losing their license.”

Miles recalled Rachel’s words to Jennifer when they’d first arrived home. It had sounded like bickering at the time, but even so he’d had the immediate impression Rachel knew something he didn’t.

Nodding at his father, Miles said, “Things are starting to add up. After Jennifer’s accident last October, the judge threatened her license if she was cited again for anything during the next year. Rachel must know something because she was taunting Jennifer about covering up an accident report  earlier. I dismissed it as just more sniping, but it seems there is something there after all.”

Mr. Bennett leaned back from his desk. “If Rachel is aware of the incident we can probably get the details from her, but it seems we already have the answer to our other question. Jennifer probably isn’t selling off company secrets. All she’s hiding is the way this Brody character has been blackmailing her into accepting punishment from him to keep her license. It probably explains why she’s falling behind in her work too.”

“Brody?” Miles asked. He recalled the traffic officer when he picked up Jennifer downtown. The man had given him the creeps at the time and the way he leered at Jennifer was enough to make Miles want to slug the bastard, but he had restrained himself on account of the uniform. “I met that bastard this morning when I picked up Jennifer.” He shook his head feeling stupid and blind for not seeing the truth straight away. “I knew something was up between them, but I couldn’t figure what it was. So, he the one who spanked her today and not Raven’s Gym?”

Mr. Bennett said, “It would appear that way. I called Raven’s Gym earlier and while they confirmed Jennifer dropped off their update this morning, they denied punishing her. I thought they were just keeping it quiet for her, but obviously in light of this new information, they were probably telling the truth.”

“So how do we proceed?” Miles asked, looking to his father for leadership.

“We talk to Rachel,” Mr. Bennett said. “She’ll happily divulge whatever she knows about Jennifer’s situation and from there we can probably get Jennifer to spill what she knows about Rachel. If my guess is correct, they both know enough to hang the other.”

Miles nodded in agreement though he wasn’t certain Jennifer would know anything about Rachel selling out. It just seemed the sort of thing she would have happily shared with him, but then he hadn’t expected her to hide anything from him. “I’ll talk to Rachel then.”

Rachel and Jennifer were standing on either side of the fireplace when Miles walked into the living room. The flickering fire light gave their naked skin an orange glow, while their shadows danced on the ceiling. Rachel still had the modesty provided by a pair of panties. Jennifer was completely naked and looking like she’d just sucked on a rotten egg, the lasting effect of a mouth soaping. They were both staring at him with their hands resting on top of their heads. It was clear neither of them wanted to be seen by him.

“Rachel,” he said, looking at his sister, “come with me. We have something to discuss.”

He escorted Rachel from the room and led her upstairs to his old bedroom. Once inside he closed the door, ensuring them privacy. Rachel stood beside his old bed, her arms nervously wrapped in front of her naked breasts. Miles took note of her discomfort and grabbed a pillow, giving it to her. She took it gratefully and hugged it to her chest.

“Don’t tell Dad,” Miles said, with a curt nod at the pillow.

Rachel’s lips curled upward in something resembling a smile. “The thought never crossed my mind. Does he even know we’re up here?”

Miles nodded. “We know about the accident.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Accident?”

“Now really isn’t a good time to play games with me,” Miles said. “Jennifer was in an accident and she’s been doing her best to keep it a secret, no doubt in part because she’s trying to avoid losing her license.”

Rachel shrugged. “Okay. So what’s it got to do with me?”

Miles stared at his sister hoping she would figure out that talking to him was a better option than playing silly games. She appeared oblivious. He held his hand out and said, “Fine, give it to me.”

Rachel blinked at him. “What?”

“Give me the pillow,” he said. “If you aren’t going to cooperate with me, there is no point in me being nice.”

“Wait,” Rachel said, squeezing the pillow tighter.

“I’m not playing around,” Miles said. “I want to know what you know about Jennifer’s accident and you can either start talking or you can give me back the pillow and we’ll take a trip out front and try to jog your memory with a few exercises in the driveway.”

Rachel gaped at him.

He said, “Make up your mind or I’ll make it up for you.”

“She rear ended Julian in the parking lot of Harper & Son,” Rachel said.

“Julian?” Miles asked attempting to blink away the stunning development. “Are you certain?”

“He told me himself and he even showed me some pictures from the accident,” she said. “I bet she was driving at least 30mph.”

Thinking back over the past two months, Miles couldn’t figure out how he would have missed seeing damage like that on Jennifer’s car. “Why didn’t I ever see the damage?”

Rachel shrugged. “Julian said he felt sorry for her and offered to pay for the damage even though it was clearly her fault. He even told her if she took a driving class down at the DMV he wouldn’t report it. I’m guessing she took it since she apparently hasn’t lost her license or has she?”

Miles shook his head. “How did you find out about this?”

“I ran into Julian at the college shortly after it happened. He hadn’t fixed his car yet and when I asked, he explained,” Rachel said.

“You should have told me,” Miles said.

Rachel scoffed at him. “Really? And what was going to make you listen to me? I told you and Dad all about Jennifer and neither of you paid any attention. I wasn’t about to waste my breath over something else I couldn’t prove.”

“You’re sure Julian paid for the damage?” Miles asked.

Rachel huffed. “Why don’t you just ask him yourself. All I know is what he told me. If you think it’s a lie, confront the source, but sooner or later you better open your eyes and see Jennifer for the bitch she is.”

Miles sighed and shook his. “Alright. You better head back down to the living room. And if you don’t mind, send Jennifer up here.”

Rachel nodded. “Alright,” she said and stood up walking to the door. She paused and handed him back the pillow before turning the knob and walking out.

A few minutes later, Jennifer arrived, looking relieved for the relative privacy of his room. Miles didn’t want her to feel relieved. “Stand straight and put your hands back on your head,” he said.

“Come on Miles,” she said. “My arms are tired and it’s just us.”

“Hands,” he said, pointing at her head.

She huffed at him, but raised her hands back up on her head. “Happy?”

“Not even close,” he said. “So not only have you been hiding another accident from me, but it turns out you hit none other than Julian Harper. I shouldn’t be surprised considering we discovered earlier Julian is in possession of proprietary information from our company, but I was really hoping you weren’t involved.”

“What?” Jennifer blinked at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Just like you don’t know who Brody is?” Miles asked.

“I told you he was some guy from my high school days,” she said.

“Right,” he said, nodding his head. “You just forgot to mention that he also happens to be blackmailing you for your license.”

“What would give you that idea?” she asked.

“My nosy little sister who I should have listened to weeks ago,” Miles said.

“Well she’s full of shit,” Jennifer said.

“She has pictures,” Miles said.

Jennifer scowled. “Let’s see them.”

“As soon as she gets home we’ll have a nice long look,” Miles said. “Right now, you need to start telling me the truth because if you don’t, I’m going to be making you miserable the rest of the afternoon.”

She rolled her eyes. “As if I’m not already?” Jennifer said, “I’ve been telling you the truth anyway. It’s not going to change no matter how much you want it to.”

“Fine,” Miles said. He grabbed hold of her elbow and dragged her along behind him, heading out his bedroom door and back down the stair to the living room. Jennifer followed without much protest, but when he paused to look into her eyes he could see she was worried about her immediate future.

“Wait in front of the fireplace,” he said.

Jennifer slowly walked to the fireplace. Rachel stood off to the right side watching. They scowled at each other as Jennifer took her place. Miles left the room and returned a few minutes later with a wooden stool from the dinning room and a clipboard with a pen from his father’s office. He dropped the stool in front of the fireplace next to Jennifer.

“Sit down, “ He said, pointing at the hard seat of the stool.

“I think I’d rather stand,” Jennifer said.

“I don’t think I care,” Miles said, pointing at the seat of the stool. “Sit the fuck down and don’t make me say it again.”

Jennifer stared him in the eye for a long quiet moment filled with only the sound of the crackling fire behind her. She must have read the determination burning in him because she climbed onto the stool without further protest. He handed her the clipboard and pen which she took with raised eyebrows.

Miles said, “You are going to sit here and write, ‘Big, small or otherwise, I will not tell any lies.’ 500 times.  You are not going to squirm or make any fuss, you are simply going to write your lines and when you’re all done you can look forward to writing apologies to all of the clients you’ve failed over that last two months and after that, you will write a very long and thorough apology to Rachel.”

“What am I,” Jennifer asked, glaring at Miles, “a fucking five years old?”

“Throw me one more bit of attitude and I swear I’ll stick a bar of soap in your mouth for the entire time your writing too,” Miles said.

Jennifer rolled her eyes and said, “Geez.”

Miles turned on his heel and took a step in the direction of the kitchen.

“Alright, alright,” Jennifer said. “I’ll write your damn lines, but do you think I could sit at table or something?”

Miles turned back to her. “You’ll write right where you are and on that clipboard. Now are you going to behave yourself or should I go get the soap?”

Jennifer frowned at the clipboard. “I’ll behave,” she said.

“I don’t think I quite believe that yet, but we’ll see,” Mile said. “Now anytime you feel like telling me the truth about what you’ve been doing with Julian and Brody over these last several weeks, just start talking. Otherwise, keep quiet  and write your lines. Understood?”

“Yes,” Jennifer said with as much attitude as she dared.

Miles paced the floor in front of her and Rachel. “I am so disappointed in you right now,” he said. “A man, an uneducated slob of an excuse for a man, threatens to take your license away if you don’t let him spank you and you don’t even bother to tell me about it. How can I possibly trust anything you say after this?”

Jennifer paused in her writing and looked at Miles, chewing on her lower lip. “It’s not like that.”

Miles snapped his fingers. “Did I tell you to stop writing?”

Jennifer shook her head.

“Then why aren’t you writing. Can’t you write and listen at the same time. Is that too difficult for you? Am I expecting too much out of you? Let me tell you, I’ve got half a mind to drop you on Julian’s doorstep and let him do whatever he wants with you.”

“Miles,” she said, her voice pleading for sympathy.

“Are you ready to tell me the truth?” he asked.

Jennifer stared at him, tears welling in her eyes.

“I didn’t think so,” he said. He snapped his fingers and pointed at the clipboard in her hand. “Write.”

Jennifer raised the pen to the clipboard and resumed her lines. Tears spilled out of her eyes and she sniffled. She shifted her weight on the stool clearly being made uncomfortable by the warmth of the fire on her backside. She looked up at Miles.

“Okay,” she said. “I was in an accident with Julian and that jackass Brody has been blackmailing for his own sick purposes and I let him because I didn’t want you to find out about the accident, not to mention I didn’t want to lose my license. But that’s it. I haven’t given Julian anything except cash to fix his car.”

Miles shook his head. “We know he’s been getting the information from you. If you aren’t going to tell the whole truth don’t bother with any of it. Just keep on writing until the message sinks in.”

“I am telling you the whole truth,” Jennifer said. “Brody whipped the hell out of me this morning and just for his own pleasure. I let him because if I didn’t he would revoke my license and it’s just a few more days until he has to submit the final recommendation on my license. By this time next week it will all be over.”

“And what about your deal with Julian?” Miles asked.

Jennifer said, “The only deal I had with him is to pay him cash in weekly installments for the damage to his car. I swear there is nothing else. If someone has been feeding him information maybe you should ask Rachel. She used to date him. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if she had him set me up for the accident just to be able to use me to cover her own tracks.”

Miles stopped his pacing and stared directly at Jennifer. “What did you say?”

Jennifer pointed at Rachel. “I said she probably set the whole damn thing up to cover her own tracks.”

Miles stopped staring at Jennifer and turned his attention to Rachel. She wasn’t saying anything. She wasn’t even moving, but there was a glint in her eyes, reflecting the firelight. It flickered like pride and guilt waging a war for dominance. Miles looked away and then turned back to Jennifer.

He said, “Write your lines and keep your mouth shut. I’ll be back in a little while to check on your progress.” He left the room for his father office. Things were definitely more complicated than they had thought and if he had it right, there was more than enough guilt to go around between Rachel and Jennifer.

The Winter Storm, Part 10

Come morning break, Michelle sat at one of the open round tables in the school library’s quiet zone. She laid her Civics textbook open to the chapter of her incomplete homework and pulled out the two-page worksheet that questioned her knowledge of the U.S. Supreme Court. The large amount of white empty space on the pages said all that needed to be said about her knowledge or rather her lack of it. Perhaps sleeping instead of staying up reading and finishing her homework had been a poor choice.

Ignoring the buzz of students taking refuge from the cold corridors, she thumbed through the pages of her text, searching for answers. Scribbling nonsense on the pages might have saved her time and effort, but it would only delay the inevitable with an “F” gaining her the same results as empty pages. The constant clash of fast-falling rain against the wall-sized window beside her sent dueling messages. Her subconscious urged her to take her time and remain patient while her nerves encouraged a more fast-paced approach. As a result, the masculine hand that appeared on her shoulder, squeezing into her tense muscles, nearly found itself ran through with a disposable ink pen.

“Hey!” Cody said, withdrawing his hand.

Michelle glanced over her shoulder and said, “Oh, sorry. I’m kind of busy right now.”

He planted both his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back into him until her head rested against his six-pack. “Weren’t we supposed to have a private interlude?” he asked.

Michelle groaned and tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to extricate herself from his hold. “That was before you kept me up all night with your whining.”

He slipped his hands down the front of her blouse until they cupped her breasts. With his forefinger and thumb, he pinched at her nipples through the thin materials of her blouse and bra. Resting his head beside her face, Cody said, “You were begging me. Remember?”

“Stop it,” Michelle said. She slapped at his hands to no avail. Her eyes darted around the library as she prayed no one was watching. The masses all appeared oblivious, but she noticed enough smirks and glances to realize she was the center of attention. Her only relief was the absence of Nick.

“You don’t want those pics anymore?” Cody asked. It was a poorly veiled attempt to renegotiate their deal.

“Do you have them?” Michelle asked. She was betting he didn’t. If he did have them, it was going to complicate things. Cody, like his brother, lacked any sense of ethics. She needed the pics and he knew it well enough to use them against her if the opportunity presented itself. For her plan to work, he had to have the pictures at a time when his only access to her was via cellphone. If he had them already, matters were about to explode in her face.

Cody let go of her breasts and retrieved his phone. Waving it in front of her face, he said, “Maybe. Do you have the ones you promised me?”

She sensed he was bluffing. The tone of his voice, the taunting of his phone waving around, the quickness of his hot breath on her neck, all of it told her he was baiting her. “Oh, I’ve got mine,” she said, “but first, let’s see yours since you’ve already got your phone out.”

He pulled his phone away and said, “I didn’t say I had them. Brody sent me a text a little bit ago though and he swears I’ll have them by lunch. I think that’s good enough for a preview of yours, don’t you agree?”

Michelle smiled, relieved that she’d read him right. “You’ve already got plenty of previews from me and you’re not getting anything more until I get what you promised.”

Cody pushed his phone back in front of her face. The display held one of the supremely zoomed and fuzzy photos she had sent him the night before. It was just possible to recognize it as a naked nipple, but it could have belonged to anyone for all it showed. She forced herself to blush knowing that Cody would expect nothing less.

“These aren’t exactly mag quality, babe,” he said.

She swallowed the laughter threatening to burst forth from her gut and leave her rolling on the floor. If he only knew the irony of his statement, but of course  if he did, he would never turn over the images she needed. “I promise you’ll be satisfied with the full images, but you aren’t getting them until I get what I want.”

Cody chuckled and lowered his head next to her cheek again. “Babe,” he said, “I won’t be satisfied until you’re down on your knees sucking me dry.”

‘I wouldn’t suck you dry if I was a vampire,’ Michelle thought. She said, “I only give as good as I get.”

Cody put his phone away and laid his hands on her shoulders once more. “Why do you want those pics so much anyway?”

“Don’t tell me they don’t make little Cody stiff,” Michelle said.

He leaned down closer to her. “Oh yeah,” he said, “but who needs pics when we could do the real thing, just you and me.”

“Easy boy,” Michelle said. “I’m not street trash. If you don’t think I’m worth the wait, maybe we should call the whole thing off.”

Cody’s grip tightened on her shoulders. “I can’t help it, babe. You make me not want to miss a thing,” he said and slipped a hand down from her shoulder to tickle the top of her breast.

Michelle leaned forward, revolted by his touch. More to herself than him, she said, “Funny, you make me feel the exact opposite.”

Cody brushed her hair back from her ear and licked it. “What did you say, babe?”

She shuddered and twisted, looking at him over her shoulder. “I said, you’re full of shit.”

Cody snickered. “I love it when you talk dirty.”

Michelle frowned at Cody, wondering how in the world she was going to get rid of him when every insult she threw his way went right over his head to the point he thought he was being complimented. She was so engrossed in her thoughts and trying to avoid his roving hands that she didn’t notice the approach of the school librarian, until he was a shadow over the table clearing his throat. She whipped her head around and caught her breath seeing the disappointed frown on Mr. Purdue’s lips as he towered over her. Cody stood up straight trying to be the taller man, but it was painfully obvious to Michelle that he was neither taller nor a man.

Mr. Purdue said, “Unlike Cody, I am not enamored with your filthy language. Perhaps I can impress upon you the benefits of more appropriate language after school, say around 3 o’clock this afternoon?”

Michelle blinked trying to comprehend the meaning behind Mr. Purdue’s words. He was well known for saying things in a manner that rivaled Shakespeare in its lack of clarity. At the heart of her confusion was whether or not he was asking her if she wanted to see him after school or telling her that she was going to being seeing him after school. Optimistically, she opted for the former and said, “I really shouldn’t be dallying around after school today. I mean with the storm and all my parents might worry if I don’t go straight home.”

Cody put his hand on Michelle’s shoulder. “Yeah, and I’m not too fond of my girl spending time alone with freaks.”

Mr. Purdue turned his head slightly from Michelle so that he could look more directly on Cody. “Slavery was abolished  more than a century ago. Perhaps you should join us and study some history this afternoon. It could be a novel event for you might learn something, though I’m reticent to set my expectations so high.”

Refocusing his attention on Michelle, Mr. Purdue continued, “There is no need for your parents to worry, I am quite capable of telephoning them. I think an hour or so after school should be sufficient to give you pause before using such vulgarity on campus in the future.”

Cody rolled his eyes and stepped forward, inserting himself in the small space between Michelle and Mr. Purdue. “Get over yourself,” he said. “You’re not even a teacher and even they know better than to mess with me and my friends.”

Mr. Purdue stood his ground and looked lazily into Cody’s bold eyes. “Mr. Larson, I may not be able to assign you detention due to the administration’s infatuation with sports and winning, but Ms. Bennett has no such protection and I highly doubt you have sufficient clout to affect otherwise.”

Cody puffed his chest toward Mr. Purdue and said, “You’re a dick.”

“Perhaps,” Mr. Purdue said, “but this is my library and you are breaking my rules as well as disturbing the other students who are here to study. I suggest you exit now before I’m forced to call your coach and have him escort you out. No doubt your jock reputation would be forever tarnished having been caught in a library.”

Cody turned his back to Mr. Purdue and looked down at Michelle. “Come on, babe,” he said, “let’s get out of here and leave the nerds to their books.”

Michelle looked up at Cody, but she couldn’t help noticing Mr. Purdue standing behind him and the look in his eyes. Even if he wasn’t a neighbor and friends with her parents she wouldn’t have wanted to side against him with Cody. That she had homework to attend to and felt the need to apologize to Mr. Purdue only helped secure her conviction to stay behind despite the possibility Cody might decide to renege on their deal. She said, “I’m sorry, but I really have to finish this homework or detention will be the least of my worries.”

“Suit yourself, babe,” Cody said. He turned his back to her and pushed his way past Mr. Purdue, stalking toward the exit. Most everyone watched until he was out the double doors and gone from sight.

The passing bell rang, signalling the end of the break period. Michelle stared at her nearly blank homework pages and tears began to well in her eyes. It was beginning to feel like nothing was going to go right for the whole day. She slapped her book closed and noticed Mr. Purdue was still standing over her.

He said, “Let’s talk.”

Michelle looked from him to the double doors and watched her peers filing out. “About?”

He turned his head to the doors and waited until the last of the students exited and the doors slammed shut. “What’s going on with you? A month ago you wouldn’t have given an ape like Cody the time of the day let alone let him practically molest you in public.”

“It’s complicated,” Michelle said. “I’m going to be late.”

Mr. Purdue walk to the opposite side of the table from Michelle and sat down. “For Civics with Mr. Wolfe and it appears you’ve not finished your homework.”

“You’re not going to tell my dad are you?” Michelle asked. She knew from past experience he wasn’t the sort to run and tell her parents every little thing, but there were times when he felt it was just too important that they knew about things. She hoped this wasn’t one of those times.

“What would I tell him?” Mr. Purdue asked. “All I know is you are socializing with pond scum, not finishing your homework, and using language unbefitting a young woman your age. While I’m certain your father would discipline you for all of those things, I think it’s more important to understand what has brought on this sudden change in behavior first. Of course if you won’t talk to me, I suppose I haven’t much choice but to inform your father.”

Michelle considered her options. She could tell lies and half truths in the hopes she could satisfy his curiosity without endangering her well-being or she could tell him the truth and hope he would understand. He knew enough of the players that if anyone was going to understand what she was doing and why, it was going to be him. Though she might have decided differently had she given it more thought, she chose to trust him with the truth.

She said, “You know my brother’s girlfriend, Jennifer?”

Mr. Purdue nodded. “She attended here the same time as your sister.”

“Right,” Michelle said. “And I assume you also remember Cody’s brother, Brody?”

“Only too well,” Mr. Purdue said. “Cody is a joy by comparison.”

“A few weeks back, I was at the DMV for my driving test and I saw Jennifer there, talking with Brody,” she said.

Mr. Purdue said, “Nothing all that unusual, unless you’re wondering, as I sometimes do, how an imbecile gets a job at the Department of Motor Vehicles. I seem to recall he failed Driver’s Ed, twice.”

“Ironic doesn’t really cover that, does it?” Michelle said, shaking her head. “Actually the part I found unusual is when I mentioned to Jennifer I had seen her, she denied ever having been there.”

Mr. Purdue shrugged. “Maybe you were mistaken. It could have been someone with her hairstyle or similar facial features. If you didn’t talk to her on the spot, you can’t really be certain.”

Michelle nodded. “I’d have been inclined to agree with you and would have let the whole thing go except a short while later I overheard Cody talking to his brother in the parking lot about a girl named Jen and how she was so desperate to avoid losing her license she would do anything he asked of her.”

“I can understand how your curiosity would have been piqued,” Mr. Purdue said, “but eavesdropping can lead to no end in misunderstandings and incorrect assumptions.”

Thunder rattled the library’s windows causing Michelle to look out at the gray world of falling rain outside. The gray was illusion, she knew color was everywhere, requiring only the slightest attention to detail, but it was easy to get lost in the simplicity of clouds and rain.

Turning back to Mr. Purdue, she said, “You’re right of course. I immediately assumed they were talking about Jennifer because of her horrible driving record and I remember Miles saying something about her potentially losing her license if she was cited again. It all fit together and the more I thought about it the more convinced I was that Brody’s Jen was Jennifer.”

“But you were wrong,” Mr. Purdue said.

Michelle shook her head. “I wish I had been. I followed her, because I couldn’t shake my suspicions, and she went straight to the DMV and Brody.”

“Did you inform Miles?” Mr. Purdue asked.

“I tried,” she said. “He didn’t want to hear about it. It was bad timing because Dad had just fired Rachel for not doing her work and Rachel was blaming Jennifer which left Miles thinking I was siding with Rachel and trying to cast doubt on Jennifer with a ridiculous accusation.”

“So then you decided to do something stupid to get some sort of proof for your brother.” Mr. Purdue said.

“Exactly.” Michelle nodded. “Well, I didn’t think it was too stupid at the time, but maybe I could have come up with a better plan.”

“If you tell me you had sex with our steroid king to get proof out of his brother, I’m going to have to blister your butt and tell your father,” Mr. Purdue said.

Michelle nearly choked. “As if!”

Mr. Purdue wiped invisible sweat from his forehead.

She said, “I would sooner lay with a dead fish than Cody. I made a deal with him, pics for pics.”

“Pics?” Mr. Purdue raised an eyebrow.

“Sure,” Michelle said. “You see, Brody has a thing for tying up girls and whipping them with a leather strap while they’re dangling from the ceiling of some warehouse downtown. He blackmails a few every month for their license and apparently thinks he’ll never get caught because he records the whole thing with a digital camera.”

“No doubt Mensa will be beating down his door when they hear of this clever scheme,” Mr. Purdue said.

“More like the local police, but first I need those pics,” Michelle said.

“As soon as you learned of this, you should have reported this to an adult like your father or me or even called the police,” Mr. Purdue said. “Brody is mixed up in criminal activity here and if you’re not careful you could find yourself on the wrong side of the law for just knowing about this and not reporting it right away.”

“Nobody is going to believe me without proof,” Michelle said.

Mr. Purdue appeared to think for a moment and then asked, “When are you supposed to get these pics?”

“This afternoon if Cody comes through,” Michelle said.

“Alright,” Mr. Purdue nodded. “Now what pics are you exchanging for these?”

“Nothing that matters.” Michelle shrugged.

“I doubt that,” Mr. Purdue said. “Cody might have the intelligence of a rock, but he wouldn’t trade those sort of pics unless he thought he was getting something pretty valuable in return.”

“He thinks he’s getting something valuable, but he isn’t,” Michelle said.

Mr. Purdue frowned at her. “What does he think he’s getting?”

Michelle looked down and blushed. “Nudes of me.”

“What?” Mr. Purdue shouted.

“It’s not like I’m really giving him that,” Michelle said.

“What are you giving him?” Mr. Purdue asked.

“I found these pic online,” Michelle said.

“Porn?” Mr. Purdue’s eyes seemed ready to explode out of their sockets.

“They’re of a man,” Michelle said.

“And you don’t think he’ll notice it’s not you?” Mr. Purdue asked.

“I sent him some previews,” Michelle explained. “I zoomed in on them and blurred them a little so you can’t really tell what they are, but the imagination fills in the blanks.”

Mr. Purdue shook his head. “The boy really is an idiot.”

“I promised him the full monty after I get the pics of Jennifer and Brody,” Michelle said.

“And you really think he’s going to come through without seeing yours first?” Mr. Purdue asked.

Michelle nodded. “I think he knows he won’t get anything from me unless he comes through first and since he doesn’t think there is any harm in it, he’ll do it with just the threat of trashing my reputation if I don’t follow through.”

“I see,” Mr. Purdue said. “And I presume you have an endgame?”

Michelle smiled. “Of course. I’ll send him the full pics while he’s at practice and leave an anonymous message with the office about him having porn on his phone. I think his reputation will be sufficiently sullied by having ‘gay porn’ on his phone that anything he says about me will be about as believed as the Easter bunny.”

“I probably shouldn’t know about that part,” Mr. Purdue said while chuckling.

Michelle glanced at the clock on the wall behind the counter. “I should probably get to class.”

Mr. Purdue looked at the clock as well and said, “I’ll give you another fifteen minutes to finish your homework since that why you came in here today and your time was taken up by Cody talking to you in a no talking section. I should have tossed him out straight away, but I thought you were receptive to his company.”

Michelle blinked at him. “Seriously?”

“Fifteen, not a minute more and I’ll give you a pass,” Mr. Purdue said.

Michelle smiled. “You’re the best.”

“I’ll still be expecting you for after school detention,” he said. “Cody or not, I won’t tolerate vulgar language from you or anyone else in my library.”

Michelle nodded, still smiling. “I understand.”

Twenty minutes later Michelle arrived in her Civics classroom and handed Mr. Wolfe a note from Mr. Purdue along with her completed homework. She glanced at Nick in the desk next to hers as she took her seat. He looked vaguely surprised and almost disappointed. She whispered to him, “Looks like you won’t be seeing my panties today.”

Nick shook his head and said, “Believe it or not, I’m glad.”