Sparked (21 page)

“Friggin’ idiot,” he spat. “I didn’t know she had her hooks into you that deep. Guess she’s more of a Murphy than I thought.”

Clayton bristled. Cora was nothing like her family and if it was up to him he’d show this brute exactly how different they were. But he didn’t want to start trouble.

“Could you just tell her I’m here, please?”

“I ain’t your errand boy,” Butch said.

“Do you mind if I come inside and find her then?”

“Yeah, I mind,” Butch said. “This is my house. You don’t own everything in town, you know.”

“Look, I don’t want any trouble, okay? I just want to speak to Cora.”

“Well, she don’t want to speak to you.”

“She said that?” He wanted to clock this guy. He fantasized about letting his fist drive into Butch’s meaty face.

“You got a problem out here, Butch?” The voice belonged to one of Butch’s cronies. A ruddy-faced guy named Ralph—also in their school year—who Clayton had always seen as particularly useless.

“What’s going on?” Another guy walked up. His name was Danny, and while Clayton had never had a beef with him personally, anyone who hung out with Butch couldn’t exactly be trusted.

“Look, I just want to talk to Cora.”

“Cora’s not here,” Danny said.

“And she wouldn’t want to talk to you if she was,” Ralph said. “She’s spoken for. And not by no Briggs, either.”

“I’ll come back later.”

“No, you won’t,” Butch said. “You don’t come back to this house, understand? And you sure as hell don’t talk to my sister no more.”

“Who Cora speaks to is entirely up to her,” Clayton said. 

Butch was in his face in a flash. It was actually remarkable that a man with his bulk could move so quickly.

“I’m the man of this house,” Butch said. “And if I say my sister don’t talk to you, then my sister don’t talk to you.”

Clayton glared at him, a thousand ugly phrases on his tongue. 

“Shouldn’t we let Cora decide that?”

That’s when the punch came, but it wasn’t from Clayton’s fist. The force of Butch’s blow hit him in the jaw and slammed him against the post holding up the porch awning.

Clayton lunged back, landing a blow on Butch’s chin. But almost as soon as he had, Ralph and Danny were on him too. Danny was pulling Clayton away, off the porch, while Ralph landed a weak punch to Clayton’s gut.

“Back off, Ralph,” Butch said. “This one’s mine.”

Clayton spit and blood splattered the porch.

“And now you’re making a mess. Cora’s gonna have a good time cleaning that up later.”

Ralph chuckled like a fawning parasite while Clayton struggled in Danny’s hold. The thought of Cora forced to her hands and knees, cleaning his blood, had rage spinning inside him.

“Don’t you dare involve her in this.”

All the humor left Butch’s face.

“I told you to get the hell off my property, asshole,” Butch said.

“Come on, man—” Danny said to Butch. “I thought we were going cruising to pick up chicks? If you sweet talk me, maybe I’ll even buy you a beer with all that dough I just won off you.”

But Butch wasn’t listening.

“Didn’t I, boys?” Butch asked Danny and Ralph. “Didn’t I tell him to go?”

“You did,” Ralph said, yanking one of Clayton’s arms away from Danny and whirling him to face Butch full on. “But rich boy didn’t listen. Too much money in his ears.”

Danny shook his head and walked back up to the porch. But Ralph still had a tight grip on him.

“You think just cause you have money, you can boss everybody around, don’t you?” Butch asked.

“Too weak to fight me on your own?” Clayton asked.

“Let him go,” Butch growled to Ralph. Ralph obeyed, releasing his grip and joining Danny on the porch.

Clayton raised his fists. Butch was big, but this wasn’t Clayton’s first fight. The men circled each other, glaring, each biding their time, waiting for the other to make the first critical move.

“Leave him alone!” 

He heard her scream like it was coming down a long hallway.

It was Cora, running toward them. She barely looked at Clayton, instead going straight for her brother.

“I said let him go,” she said. She pounded on Butch’s bicep, but by comparison she looked like a gnat. She turned to Danny. “Danny? Come on. Make him stop.”

“Butch—” Danny said.

“No!” Butch yelled. “He thinks he can come here, boss me around? He thinks he can do whatever he wants ‘cause he’s rich. You ain’t better than us, Briggs.”

Cora’s face looked frantic—on the edge of something. She tossed Clayton a desperate look. Did she want him to stay or go? Whatever she was considering, he didn’t want to be the cause of her distress.

“I don’t want any trouble,” Clayton said. “I’m going.”

“Damn right you are,” Ralph said, but Butch was still fuming, pacing off his rage.

“But I’m taking her with me,” Clayton said.

“The hell you are,” Butch said. “She’s been putting on airs all week. This shit has gone on long enough.”

“She can do what she likes,” Clayton said. “She’s not yours to command.”

Butch yanked Cora back by her arm. “You’re not going anywhere, especially not with this asshole. You’re staying home where you belong.”

“Let her go,” Clayton demanded. “Let her go or so help me God I will have the police here in ten minutes.”

Butch stopped, looked Clayton right in the eye. “You think she’d last that long?” 

Clayton snapped.

Maybe it was the words. Maybe it was the sight of Butch holding her like that, his thick fingers pressing into her flesh. 

He felt the pull of something—so strong it was like it was calling his name. He hadn’t wanted to fight, but now he couldn’t stop himself. The desire to decimate Butch was too intense.

Clayton charged forward, closing the space between them, and hit Butch square in the jaw.

With that one blow, Clayton saw Butch’s eyes flutter back in his head, saw Butch stumble toward Danny, who caught him before he hit the ground. 

Clayton had wanted to hit him, but he hadn’t realized he’d hit him so hard. 

That’s when he recognized the heat gathered in his palm. 

No.

He hadn’t. He couldn’t have. Did he?

Clayton whipped his hand behind his back before anyone could see, before their heads even snapped back from Butch’s limp body to look at him. He hadn’t even glanced at the orb. But it felt larger than any other he’d ever made. Different too. Wrong.

And there was that awful feeling too, that feeling like he wanted to do it again, make the ball bigger. It was like he could feel Butch’s energy simmering underneath his skin, waiting for him.

He wanted to drain him. End him. Hold the shimmering contents of the man in his palm and let his friends watch as he used it to destroy them too.

Clayton closed his eyes, tried to focus. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t. He backed away from Butch before the desire to touch him again took hold.

Butch’s eyes opened, he started to sit up, still groggy. He was fine. He was going to be fine.

But Clayton was still holding part of Butch in his hands.

Cora turned her attention from Butch back to him, her brow furrowed, that same anxious expression on her face.

Oh God.

What was he going to do? There was no way to get rid of it. But he couldn’t show her either. Not here. Not in front of everyone. Not before he’d had the chance to tell her. 

Beads of sweat formed on his brow.

There was a bang at the door and Cora’s father stepped outside. 

Clayton could feel the intensity of the energy pulsating behind him. How big was it? He didn’t dare look.

“What the hell’s going on out here?” Huck Murphy said. Clayton realized he had never seen the man up close. He was big and burly, built like his son but weathered with age. The bedroom in back must belong to him. “Get your ass off the ground, boy.”

Butch struggled to his feet, his movements slow and woozy.

“Cora’s little boyfriend is making trouble,” Butch said, turning his back on Clayton.

Everyone’s attention had shifted toward Huck. Clayton knew he wouldn’t have a better chance. He tossed the energy ball hard against the old dirt road behind him.

As it flew through the air he saw that it was as large as a basketball. And he’d only touched Butch for a fraction of a second.

The sound of its impact nearly stopped his heart. Everyone turned to look. He tried to make his expression as even as possible.

“What was that?” Ralph asked.

“What was what?” Clayton asked.

“That noise?” Ralph asked.

“How should I know?”

Ralph stared at him suspiciously, but no one said anything.

“I asked a question,” Huck said, rubbing a worn hand over his worn face. “What the hell is going on out here? I’m trying to sleep.”

“Clayton isn’t bothering anyone. Butch attacked him for absolutely no reason,” Cora said.

“You reconsider our talk, girl?” Huck asked.

Cora paused, seemed to gather her strength and stand a bit taller. “No,” she said. “My answer is still the same.”

What was that about?

“Then I guess this little spat is none of my business.”

Huck turned to Butch. “Do what you want, boy,” he said, then walked inside. 

Cora rushed over to Clayton, tried to tug him away as Butch sauntered toward them both. At the look on Butch’s face, he felt the desire rise in himself again.

He had to get ahold of himself. Had to calm down. Had to—had to—Jesus, what had he almost done? 

He hated this, hated feeling like he didn’t have even basic control over his own body.

Butch got closer, closer. Clayton struggled to quell the desire to use his power. But he could tell it wasn’t working. Everything around him felt alive, ready, like a gun waiting for him to pull on a hair trigger. 

He wanted it. He was hungry for it. His appetite hadn’t gone anywhere. Clayton tried to breathe, tried to focus, but Butch was getting closer, too close. What would happen if he touched him again? Could he stop himself a second time?

Just as Butch was about to take another swing at Clayton, Danny darted through the yard and pulled him away.

“He’s not worth it, man,” Danny said. “Hitting a Briggs? That rap’s not going to roll off like any other bar fight.”

Then Cora got between the two of them, putting her arms on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. For a moment, he was worried he would hurt her too, but his anger was pointed only at Butch. He could never, ever hurt Cora, lay a hand on her in anger. The very idea of it was sickening. She kept his gaze and he felt himself calm under her influence.

“We’re going,” she said to Clayton, holding his eye. Then she turned back to Butch. “We’re going.”

Before anyone had a chance to protest, she took Clayton’s hand in hers and led him back to his car.

Butch eyed Clayton with a fierce glare. “You come back here again and I’ll kill you. I swear.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Cora

As Clayton sped away from the house, Cora’s heart seemed to speed up, not slow down. It should be slower, slower, slower. But she couldn’t stop it. 

This was it. This was the last time she would be this close to him. Things had already gone too far. They didn’t fit in each other’s worlds. His fight with Butch had been the last push she needed. She’d left with him only so she could do this the right way.

“They’re awful, Cora,” Clayton said. “You’re not safe there. You can’t go back. I’m buying you an apartment in town.”

Anger flared in Cora. “You’ll do no such thing.”

“I can’t just let you go back there. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. Don’t you see that?”

“I’ve been living with Butch my whole life. I know how to handle him. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”

“How can you say that after what just happened back there?”

“You don’t understand how he is. He’s angry now, but by the time I get home, he’ll have cooled off.”

“That’s not normal behavior, Cora. It’s sick.”

“Well it’s mine to deal with, not yours.”

Clayton slammed his fist against the steering wheel and pressed the pedal harder.

“Why can’t you be reasonable for once? Why can’t you just let me help you?”

Let him help her? More like make her completely dependent on him for everything. Cora could imagine what it would be like. She’d get soft, learn to like the way Clayton lived, forget all about what it took to survive on her own. And then one day—one day he would go. How long would it last? A month? The summer? Then where would she be? She and Bethany wouldn’t even have the meager roof over their heads they had now.

“I’m not going to live in some apartment you buy for me, Clayton. That’s insane. I can’t be your—your mistress.”

“That’s not what it would be,” he said, and she could hear the edge of anger in his voice. “I would never—”

Maybe it was better this way, him so angry at her. Maybe she could goad him into breaking up with
her
now. Then she wouldn’t have to be the one. Would that be better? She wasn’t sure.

“You can’t tell me you don’t like the idea of it, Clayton. Someone there, just waiting for you whenever you wished?”

“For goodness sake, Cora. What kind of a person do you think I am?”

“I think you like to have things, Clayton. To own them,” she spat back. “Cars. Boats. Me.”

His expression hardened.

“Then I’ll buy the damn thing in your name. You wouldn’t be obliged to me in any way.”

“You don’t understand how it is, Clayton. My father won’t give my sister up without a fight and I can’t just leave her alone. They’d put her to work. She wouldn’t be able to finish school. Her life would be ruined.”

“But it’s okay to ruin yours in the process?”

“I can handle them. She can’t. I won’t leave her, Clayton. I just won’t.”

“Then you’ll fight them for custody. My brother is a lawyer, Cora. There has to be something we can do. No court would side in their favor if you told them how things really were.”