Part 83 (1/2)
She turned and was gone. Cain put aside his shock for a more overwhelming sense of dread as he followed, closing the door behind him. Andrew Hollingsworth had struck again. Cain would kill him. This among everything else proved the man was beneath sc.u.m.
”Maryanne, wait. What are you doing here? Why did you leave the facility?” Cain stopped. What lay before him left no room for an explanation from his wife. No, this would require just the opposite. On the coffee table were the pictures, fanned out in grim display. Images of him with Simone, images with him holding Simone, images of him kissing Simone and the forbidden shots no wife should have to see. Maryanne paced. Her hands were red and inflamed from the way she wrung them tightly. She was crying again, shaking through the urge to sob miserably.
”s.h.i.+t,” mumbled Cain.
Maryanne stopped. Her glare was absolute heartbreak. It was then that Cain stood before the other side of the coin. Liberation would not come without its casualties.
”Daddy came to the hospital. He said, I didn't belong there and that you put me there to further your own l.u.s.tful needs. I told him he was a liar. I said I hated him and I was going to get better and we were going to leave Castle Rock, together when I was better. I told him I'd never have to see him again. I was going to try my poetry again, and you were going to be an architect. Remember, Cain, that's what we were going to do?” She looked down at the pictures. ”Before he showed me who you really are.”
”I can explain.”
”SHUT UP!” she screamed. Maryanne forced both hands to the side of her head, covering her ears. She shuddered deep and sucked in deeper breaths. ”Shut your f.u.c.king lying mouth! Daddy said you were lying to me. That you put me there so you could run away with another woman. That you were plotting against all of us. He said that he was the only one that understood me. Oh, G.o.d, help me.” Maryanne sat. ”Maybe he is.”
Cain took a step forward but the look his wife gave him stopped his feet as well as his heart. She shook her head no to him. There would be no opening, no justifications, no nothing.
”I've done things, Cain, bad things. I never did any of it to hurt you. I did it to hurt myself. But what you did, you did this on purpose.” She pointed at the pictures. ”You did this to hurt me. Didn't you?”
”I'm so sorry,” he said.
”Were you with her? When I called you, were you with her? While your wife was in a mental inst.i.tution fighting for her sanity, were you with that black b.i.t.c.h f.u.c.king her brains out?”
Cain shoved his hands in his pockets. He wanted to respond, but he couldn't hurt Maryanne any more than he'd already done. So he dropped his eyes. He stared at the photos. Each one told a story, from his smiling at Simone and her at him, to the bittersweet goodbyes they would share behind that dirty b.a.s.t.a.r.d photographer's lens. Each time he took Simone to bed, he felt no guilt. In fact, he felt justified in his feelings, urges, desires and longings for her. After all, he was owed the stolen happiness, right? He'd given up so much to gain Rachel's love, to earn his wife's father's respect. Wasn't it time for him to be happy?
”So you were,” Maryanne answered, responding to his silence. She wiped at her eyes. ”You hypocrite. You walk around here like the victim, and you're worst than all of them. You are worst than Gerald or Daddy. At least they don't pretend to be what they aren't. You hustled me from day one. Just like your f.u.c.king con-artist mother!”
”You're right,” he finally spoke. ”I'm not going to justify the affair.”
”d.a.m.n right you won't!”
”I'm not going to stand here and shoulder all the blame either, Maryanne. We turned away from each other long before there was a Simone. We both lost our way in this marriage. We both failed.”
”No. It was you.”
”Yes, Maryanne, me. I've tried to be what you needed, and you, you tried in your own way to do the same with me. It never worked, no matter how much we wished it would. We never fit,” Cain said.
”Go to h.e.l.l!” she shouted.
”Maybe I will. But this isn't just about our marriage. Your father's abuse is where the real problem is. He's using you to get to me.”
”Don't twist this around to make it about him!”
”It's true!” Cain shouted at her. ”Taking you to the hospital to get help was the only thing I've been able to do for you in this marriage that was selfless. Andrew is the cancer that's eating away at you. Blame me, hate me. I cheated and I did it before I knew there was a Gerald. I own that, not you, Maryanne. You have to get well, get solid again. You have to go back to the hospital. You know I'm right.”
Maryanne laughed. She laughed so hard more tears fell. She shook her head through her pained laughter, her eyes red and raw. Finally, the laughter eased and her eyes fell upon her husband once more. ”Oh, sweetheart, you're good,” she said bitterly. ”I'm not going back to the hospital. I don't need you. I don't need Daddy. What I need to do is get the h.e.l.l away from you both.” She rose, walked around to the coffee table toward the door. Cain quickly countered by sidestepping into her way. Maryanne slapped him hard, driving his back molars through his tongue. ”Get the h.e.l.l out of my way!” she hissed.
It was then he saw her bags packed. ”Where will you go?”
”Oh don't you worry. I'm rich, spoiled, and a little crazy. There are plenty of places for me to go.”
”No!” Cain went after her. Maryanne picked up her purse, and then took the handle of her suitcase. He stood between her and the door. ”I don't want to hurt you, but I won't let you hurt yourself either. Let me help you. Don't do this. Not now. Together we can figure out how to help you through this.”
Maryanne stared into his eyes, unblinking. For a moment the hard lines of anger slipped from her beauty. For one brief second, he saw how scared and lonely she was. Her vulnerability tore at his heart. He was no longer in love with her, but he cared for her deeply. She was his wife after all.
”I never want to see you again, Cain,” she said softly, but plainly. ”I'll file for divorce. Don't ever try to contact me. I don't know if I ever loved you. I know I can never forgive you or myself. Good luck with Daddy. You'll need it.” She then grabbed the handle of her suitcase and pulled it toward the door. Cain stepped aside and watched her walk out of his life.
”Where the h.e.l.l have you been?” Keith's voiced boomed. James Madison stepped off the elevator. He wore sungla.s.ses, but the bruises to his face were unmistakable. Keith frowned. ”What happened to you?”
”I fell,” James mumbled, his head turned away. ”Come with me. We're late.”
”Wait.” Keith pressed a hand to James's chest, stopping his retreat. ”What the h.e.l.l you mean you fell? Looks like you were beaten.”
James Madison knocked Keith's hand away. Was he mad? Keith didn't understand, and didn't give a s.h.i.+t because he was dealing with enough. The last thing he needed was some out of character tantrum from his attorney. Besides, down the other end of the hall was the office of Sue Bailey. Beyond the doors waited Simone. He would have charged forward, but he needed James to confirm that the protection order was truly dropped. He didn't trust the sneaky b.i.t.c.h to not be setting a trap.
”Out with it. What the f.u.c.k is going on?”
James removed his sungla.s.ses. His left eye was discolored a darkish purple with the top of his lid swollen and puffy. Keith's impatience lessened as he saw the evident pain his friend and co-conspirator was in. ”Tell me what this is about?”
”It's like this. I spoke to Sue. Simone is willing to meet, but you have to keep your cool. Let's hear them out first. Don't speak. Let me do all the talking, and then I have somewhere else you will need to be.”
”No dice,” Keith snipped. ”While I was waiting on you, I got a call from the office. The partners have been called to an early meeting. Andrew Hollingsworth will go before them this afternoon.” Keith checked his watch. ”This couldn't have happened at a worse time. I got Cain Gatlin on it, but still I have to be at that meeting.”
”If you can't make this meeting, then you have to sign some doc.u.ments. Stuff that I forgot to get your signature on.” James swallowed, again, avoiding Keith's eyes. Keith looked him over suspiciously. There was something to this mood. His phrat brother was always confident and deadly manipulative. He never lost his cool. But Keith knew so little about his personal life. What kind of trouble could James be in that had him looking like he spent a night with Mike Tyson?
”Are you sure you're okay?”
”Don't agitate her. Keep your cool. Let me handle this meeting. And, yes, for the last time, I'm fine.”
”James?” Keith pressed.
James forced a smile. ”Haven't I always had your back?”
Keith shrugged. ”f.u.c.k it. I can handle Simone. This s.h.i.+t is crazy, man. I just want to get her a.s.s alone. I guarantee you I can cut out all this bulls.h.i.+t.”
The door to Sue's office opened. ”Mr. Livingston? Mr. Madison? Will you both come with me?”
”You cool?” James asked.
Keith straightened his tie. ”Yep, cool.”
The door eased open. Cain listened to the muted sounds of another's approach, as they grew solid with purpose. He didn't bother to look up. He knew of Andrew's arrival the moment Maryanne walked out. With his face in his hands, and his elbows to knees, he sat in his chair and waited.
”You brought this on yourself, son. Taking my daughter to that place, going after that woman in New York and conspiring with Keith Livingston against me? Don't deny it.”
Why would he deny it? Cain Gatlin was beyond denial now.
”Maryanne, where is she?”