Broken: Book One of the M Series Read online

He does.

  “Matthew, next to my father, please.”

  Matthew stands to the left of Caspar. I turn to Monica, taking another bite. “Monica, to Matthew's left, please.”

  She does.

  “Now, I'd like um... Ethan, Stephen and Evelyn directly in front of them, please.” They assemble and they all look at me.

  “Okay. I got it. Does anyone else?” I ask, killing the Snickers and taking my seat, “Anybody?”

  They look from one another and back again.

  “I'm sorry, I don't see a difference,” Tom murmurs.

  “Really? Look again.”

  Again they look, Marcus even getting right into their faces, causing laughter.

  “I'm sorry, I just don't see a difference,” Marcus chuckles.

  “Okay, try this. Monica? Would you walk from me to the wall and back to your spot, please?”

  “Okay.”

  She walks and takes her place again. Everyone shrugs and shakes their heads.

  “Nothing,” I ask, holding up my hands. “Look at the difference in posture. Daddy, Monica and Matthew are standing erect and poised. That screams training. And don't any of you find it odd that Monica is wearing jeans and the rest of us are in shorts or capris? I mean, it's ninety degrees outside!”

  They shake their heads.

  “Monica's always over dressed, Vicky. She doesn't like to show skin the way the others do,” Nathan says.

  I sigh.

  “Guys... they all have weapons. Last time I checked, ad execs didn't need them.”

  “What? Where?” Tom gasps.

  “On my ankle,” Monica frowns. “How did you see it?”

  “I'm trained to observe. Just like you are,” I smile. “Tell me, Tom. How many times has Monica come home and said, 'Babe, I'm having trouble with this account?'”

  “She's never said that to me. I don't know anything about products and what sells them.”

  “You are a consumer. You shop. You have opinions. You can't share with her, obviously, but there's nothing to stop her from sharing with you. And by your own admission, she never did.”

  “Did you know she was an agent?” Tom glares at Matthew.

  “Yep.”

  Tom looks at Russell next. “You?”

  “Uh, yeah; she was my partner.”

  Tom pales as he stares at his wife. “Shit, ‘I should have company,’ Stacy said.”

  “We decided I needed a female companion. So the ladies took a vote and decided who would accompany me.”

  “Yeah, Marcus, that's it! That what she said when you walked in looking all... shit!”

  “She was hot!” Matthew chuckles. Stephen and Thomas nod.

  “Yes, she fucking was,” Nathan grins.

  “Damn. I missed it,” Ethan frowns.

  “I'm still me, Tommy.” Monica smiles at Tom. “Don't be angry.”

  “How are you still you? You're not Monica Sumner Harvey, ad exec. You're FBI, for shit's sake! Is there anyone else here in the FBI?”

  “Tommy, come on. Why is this upsetting you? I told you about my father being a--”

  “Agent Sumner,” Daddy shouts.

  “Agent Sumner? Who is that? I have no idea who that is!”

  “I'm Sumner at work, Tommy. I have to be. It’s the name I started with. I couldn't change it once we married, but I wore my rings every day. Even in the field.”

  Tom shakes his head. “Is there anything else, anything at all?”

  “I was in training before I met you and I didn't think you and I had something at first. That changed really fast and I won’t be without you.”

  “That's not... I'm not planning to go anywhere, Monica; if that's your real name.”

  “Not funny, Tommy. Everything I told you was the truth and I've only held back my job info.”

  “I bet she's kick-ass at her job, too,” I murmur.

  Russell gives me a 'you have no idea’ look.

  I look sideways at Monica, and then turn to my husband.

  “Oh no. What?”

  “Nothing; I'm done for the day. I need to get out of here,” I murmur as I stand and run to the bathroom before my tears make an appearance.

  Chapter Fourteen

  One More…

  “Sweetie, open the door.” Tim knocks. “Come on, please.”

  I sigh and unlock the door.

  “They're worried about you, Sweetie, as much as I am. What happened?”

  I sit on the edge of the sink. “It's... I hate when I pick up something but today... these strong, beautiful, loving, caring women... there is so much pain everywhere with them. Monica is hiding something from her husband and I don't think I have another in me today. I still haven't started with Evelyn and she needs...”

  Tim nods at my shut off. He knows I can't finish that sentence.

  “I just need to quit for today and find some other time for them.”

  “Sweetie... this is your family now.”

  “I know. That's what's making it worse. This is not me, you know that.”

  “It is you. And your hormones,” Tim smiles then dabs at my face with a washcloth. “But it's also your job. Come on. Pick a woman and help her. It's only four o’clock; you may be able to help two more.”

  “But I don't want to.”

  He laughs. “When our son –”

  “Or daughter.”

  “Or daughter... says that to you, what are you going to do?”

  I smile. “Say okay and walk away?”

  “Yeah, right,” Tim opens the door and points. “Let’s go, Dr. Walmsley-Fields,” he says sternly.

  I glare at him. “I hate you.”

  “I'll make you feel better about me later, sweetheart,” he winks.

  I shake my head. Sighing, I cross the room with Tim on my heels. I notice they are back in the seats I asked them to be in when I started the session earlier. I also notice Joshua and Mandy are back, smiling and happy. I smile at them.

  “I'm sorry, family. Tim thinks it's the hormones.”

  “And,” Tim says behind me. “Pick one.”

  I sigh again.

  “Evelyn?” I call quietly.

  “I knew it. Just when I thought you would let it go.”

  “I can't. Evelyn, none of these people are competing for your father. They never were.”

  “What the hell?”

  “It's not Katherine's fault that she is not your mother. It was your father who made that happen and it was okay to be angry about missing him. But so did your brothers. Not as long as you did; nine years over three is a long time, but they still missed him. I think you should get it out once and for all. I don't think what brought you here is going to happen again, but still... calling Joshua 'daddy'... that's repression that's itching to come out. You should go ahead and explode, right here and now, and get it over with before it happens at the worse time.”

  A long pause, then Evelyn turns her head to the window and mumbles angrily, “Complete bullshit.”

  I blink. As Tim's about to say something, I put a hand on his chest.

  “Evelyn! Vicky's not –”

  “Russell? She's not talking to me.”

  Evelyn looks at her hands in her lap, toying with her rings. “In addition to me not being able to call him 'Daddy', I didn't even know he was my father until my mother told me on her deathbed. She said I had to go live with him now; that he and she had made a mistake and her death was how she had to pay for it. I know that's bullshit now, but to a ten-year-old girl...” she shakes her head.

  “What happened right after your mother died?”

  She shrugs. “I went to live with my father.”

  “And?”

  “It was he and I in this huge house... staring at one another, sizing the other up.” She smiles. “I made his life a complete hell.”

  I smile, “How?”

  “I got an idea of how fathers feel about their daughter's boyfriends at a very early age. Good luck with that, Marcus.”

  Marcu
s shakes his head and we laugh hard when he points to Matthew's ankle.

  Evelyn sighs and makes her way to her father; she sits on the table in front of him and crosses her legs, linking her fingers across her knees.

  “Please let me finish.”

  “Of course,” Stephen murmurs.

  Evelyn smiles, then after a very deep inhale/exhale rage crosses her face.

  “Amelia Joan Turner was no prize as a mother. You fucked up royally when you knocked her up.”

  Stephen scowls at his daughter but remains quiet. The others stare at their shoes. Tim, Lil and I watch Evelyn.

  “When I was two, she started telling me what a disappointment I turned out to be. At two! Katherine's wrong. She didn't love you, Daddy. She loved money. She wanted to be taken care of and she loathed Katherine for having the 'life' she wanted. I didn't know you were my father, but I knew about you and your family. Joan never shut up about it. And that 'friend', the so-called nurse that took care of her? She was her lover, Daddy. Joan was a lesbian and thought she deserved better than the hand she was dealt. Fucking you was a job. She was supposed to get pregnant and make you leave your wife and marry her.” Evelyn laughs. “She didn't figure you actually loved your wife and would regret the sex as soon as it was over.”

  Evelyn leans forward and looks Stephen in the eye. “You had a good woman, Daddy. The best I've ever known. And you almost fucked it all up just to get your dick soft. Was there something wrong with your hand? I mean, really... Katherine's the best thing since sliced bread, and she was knocked up with your child. How could you have been so selfish? In her shoes, I would not be so forgiving. There's no way a child of Russell's and his whore would spend one night under my roof, let alone Russell ever again, if he were to stay alive. I thank God every day that she doesn't think like me.”

  She takes a deep breath and turns to me.

  “When I was turning eleven, I couldn't take him anymore. He and I... for five months, he was driving me insane. I tried to do whatever I could to get him to send me away, anywhere, just as long as it was far away from him as possible. I don't know how, but he convinced his wife to take me in and help me when I told him I'd started my periods. Joke was on me because they started the month after I'd gotten there,” she laughs.

  I smile at her.

  “When I got there, this woman was warm and welcoming,” Evelyn says, turning to Katherine. “She even hugged me and said in honor of my entry into womanhood and being new in the family, I could have whatever I wanted for dinner for a week. Joan never even fixed me a hot dog. Gilda bought crap and I had to fend for myself. It's why I won't eat cold cuts now. I really hate that shit, but when it's all you have to eat...” she looks at the floor. “I didn't know what to ask for that week. I just said whatever and was so grateful there wasn't a dry sandwich sitting in front of me.”

  “What happened with your brothers?”

  Evelyn laughs. “They hated me; from sight. Especially this one,” she points to Marcus. “He wouldn't even look at me, let alone acknowledge me.”

  Marcus puts his head down, with his arms resting on his knees.

  “How long did that last? He obviously loves you now and has for quite a while.”

  “I don't know how long it lasted, but I know how it ended, with him and Matthew, at least.”

  “Oh God,” Matthew murmurs, gripping his mouth.

  I smile. “What happened?”

  “Well, Marcus promised Katherine to help me with math. He did, reluctantly. One day I was coming home from school and this boy, if you could call him that, approached me just outside my school. I went in the library and called home and told Maria I needed someone to pick me up.”

  All eyes go to Evelyn, except Marcus’, whose eyes remain on the floor.

  “I hung up with Maria and sat across from reception. I remembered I needed a book for a science project and the librarian pointed me in the right direction. I went over there and was reading the projects when this same boy approached me again. He was saying what he was going to do to me and I took off, but he caught me. He had my mouth in a grip and was reaching in my pants, and then he was gone.”

  “I walked in fuming. I was sitting at home waiting on Evelyn to come in so I could tutor her and get the hell out of there. Dad was coming that night and I did not want to be there. Maria said Evelyn needed a ride and I just took off. I thought she was messing around and I was about to rip into her for wasting my time. I walked around the library looking for her but I found her bag on the floor.”

  I shrug. “What sent those alarms off in your head, Marcus?”

  He takes a deep breath. “If you'd known Evelyn then... her and that bag... it was a love affair of its own. She wouldn't even put her books in it for like a month after she got it,” he chuckles, and so do all the natural Cannons.

  Evelyn shrugs. “Hey! It was the first decent one I'd ever had. It was pink and pretty with Hello, Kitty all over it. I really loved that bag!” We laugh hard at that.

  “Go ahead, Marcus,” I say, shaking my head.

  “I walked toward the bag, and as soon as I got to it, I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I turned and my sister was being dragged toward the men's room. I snapped and attacked him, screaming at Evelyn to go to the car. Security came and he was arrested. He was 16, at least, and he was going to rape her. I couldn't...” he shakes his head then looks up. “Somewhere in those tutoring sessions I started to care about her but I didn't realize it until then,” Marcus says, as he smiles at Evelyn. “She does that to you, you know.”

  I smile. “I'm sure she does. You're the third one who's said that today; though I'm sure more of you feel the same way.” I look back at Evelyn. “And Matthew?”

  “No, don't tell that story,” Matthew groans.

  “Joan had given me some earrings that were her mother's. Katherine had bought me another pair to wear while she had those professionally cleaned. I took them off in my bathroom and set them on a shelf behind me.” She points at Matthew. “This one comes in and tells me how ugly I was and that girls stink.”

  “I've since changed that opinion,” Matthew smiles.

  Evelyn chuckles. “He started ranting about a game or something –”

  “Hello? Who shops for earrings and forgets to buy a Super Nintendo for their hardworking son?” Matthew laughs. “You know how many chores I had to do to earn that thing?”

  I roll my eyes at Matthew. “So what happened?”

  “He grabbed an earring off the shelf and dangled it over the toilet. I reached for it and he dropped it; right in the water. I was about to reach in and get it when he flushed the thing. Next thing I know, Marcus was in the bathroom and kicking his ass.”

  “She was screaming like someone was killing her. I ran straight in and found her trying to attack Matthew and failing miserably. I got her away from him and asked what the problem was. She told me, screeching like a banshee, what he had done and I beat the hell out of him.”

  “You got a lucky jab or two, Cramp.”

  Marcus glares at Matthew, tilting his head, “You sure about that?”

  Matthew swallows hard, “Not anymore.”

  “After,” Marcus sighs, “I told Matthew what he’d done and what the earring meant to her.”

  “And he soon apologized to me and he hugged me, promising to never be a shit to me again. We’ve gotten along ever since.”

  “What made you turn around with your father?”

  “Joshua.”

  Joshua looks up at Evelyn, “Me?”

  She smiles at him. “This is one time I wish you had Marcus' memory.”

  “Why? What did I say?”

  “Daddies are great. They give you sisters you didn't know you wanted,” Marcus chuckles. “Joshua fell in love with her first.”

  “When he said it, I was teaching Joshua how to double knot his shoes. He'd said they kept coming loose during 'candy time'. He kept tripping and never got any candy.”

  “Candy time?” />
  “Candy time,” Joshua smiles. “I remember. Someone would throw candy in the air and the others would have to grab it before it hit the ground. What you caught, you kept. I never got any until Evelyn showed me how to double knot. Then I started wearing those damn loafers and that shot it to hell again. God, we were so stupid!”

  Everyone bursts into loud laughter. Evelyn continues when the room quiets.

  Evelyn looks at her father. “So where did that leave me, after your regrettable sex? It left me with a bitter woman and her lover, ranting day in and day out about the bullshit men put you through. I heard Joan and you; that argument when I was turning seven, where you told her you and she was a mistake.” Tears start to flow down her cheeks. “You also said –”

  Stephen leaps forward and takes her hands drawing her close, cutting her off. “No, love, don't say it.”

  “What did he say, Evelyn?” Lil asks, glaring at Stephen, and then mouthing an apology to me.

  I shake my head. ‘Jump in whenever,’ I mouthed back.

  Evelyn detaches herself from Stephen and wipes her face. Russell sits next to her and holds her, while Marcus rubs her back.

  I look at Marcus. “You know, don't you?”

  “Unfortunately,” he nods.

  “What did you say?” Thomas shouts at Stephen.

  “You told her that you wished I had never been born, that if you could have, you'd made sure I was taken care of before...”

  “Before what,” Joshua shouts.

  “Before the first trimester was over,” Evelyn whispers.

  Everyone, including Tim and I scowl at Stephen, who turns red.

  Mariah gasps at her husband, “That's what took you so long!”

  Marcus nods again. “He apologized repeatedly for the infidelity, but then Evelyn told me what he'd said about her. I wanted him apologize for that comment as well, although, to be fair, he did apologize immediately when I finally told him why I was holding out.”

  Evelyn sighs and looks at her father. “I love you now, Daddy. I think I loved you then but I was just so angry about the whole thing. I really love that you had the nerve to ask Katherine to take me in; to be a mother to me. Too bad it's not biological, but I guess we can't all be perfect.”

  Stephen is about to say something but I stop him when I notice the look on Katherine's face. She looks at me and I nod. ‘Go ahead’, I mouth.