The 2014 R.L. Mathewson Chronicle Collection (5 page)

Part IV

              “Would you care for a sample?” the magical words were spoken by a woman with a warm smile and an oversized tray filled with what appeared to be mini cupcakes.

              “Yes, yes I would,” Jason said with the Bradford grin that usually managed to get him a few extra samples as he reached for a mini cupcake.

              He fucking loved grocery stores, always had and always would, he reflected with a satisfied sigh as he popped the cupcake in his mouth. There was just something special about a grocery store that drew him. Even as a child a visit to the grocery store had enthralled him. While his cousins used to bitch and whine about being dragged to the grocery store, he’d gone willingly.

              More than willingly.

              Where else could he simply walk around, enjoying the cool air, the scents of freshly baked goods, the tantalizing sight of freshly cooked rotisserie chicken, and enjoy free samples to his heart’s content as he considered all the delicious possibilities that the food spread before him held?

              Nowhere.

              Well, except perhaps at a club like Sam’s, BJs or Costco, but since he was on a lifetime ban at those places, he liked to pretend that they didn’t exist. Granted, he was also banned from every grocery store within a fifty-mile radius including this one, but that was neither here nor there.

              “Would you like another sample, sir?” the woman asked with an encouraging smile.

              “Yes, I believe I would,” he said, forcing himself to grab the chocolate mini cupcake closest to him and ignore the rest of the delectable treats calling his name since drawing attention to himself was the last thing that he wanted to do.

              “They’re on sale at the bakery department, a dozen for $2.99,” she said with a conspiratorial wink as she gestured for him to take another cupcake.

              “Thank you,” he said, returning her wink with one that was guaranteed to get him another free sample.

              So, when she gestured for him to take another cupcake he wasn’t surprised, but the man donning a white baker’s apron and carrying a fresh platter of mini cupcakes definitely surprised him.

              “Oh, my God……….,” the vaguely familiar man gasped when he spotted Jason as the tray in his hand suddenly dropped, sending mini cupcakes bouncing in every direction. “Th-they told me that you were banned.”

              “Charlie?” the woman hawking the mini cupcakes said with a worried frown, pausing mid-gesture for Jason to take another delectable treat. “Is everything okay?”

              Shaking his head frantically, Charlie stumbled back, muttering, “Bradford,” over and over again, looking seconds away from passing out. Deciding that it was probably time for him to leave, he returned his attention to the tray and reached for a cupcake only to find the tray gone.

              “What…..where’s my tray?” the woman asked, searching frantically around her cart as Jason stepped back and blended into the crowd that was now forming around them.

              As soon as he was free of the small crowd, he turned around and headed towards the “Do Not Enter” sign where he knew his cupcakes and the little traitors that had stolen them were hiding.

Part V

              “Where are the boys?”

              “Hmmm?” Trevor murmured absently, shooting another nervous glance over his shoulder.

              “The boys?” she asked, shifting another quick glance over her shoulder, still wondering where Jason had snuck off to so fast and if she should be worried.

              She nibbled on her bottom lip as apprehension coiled in her stomach, but just as quickly, she shrugged it off. It would be one thing if Jason had disappeared without a word at a restaurant, but they were at a grocery store. There wasn’t much he could do here to get in trouble besides trying to use expired coupons, she mused with another shake of her head as she focused all of her attention back on her husband.

              “They’re ummm, around here somewhere,” Trevor said, shooting another look around the produce section only to mutter a few obscenities about Jason when he didn’t spot his cousin.

              Frowning, and clearly wondering why he was more concerned about his missing cousin than their kids, she pulled her phone out with a muttered curse of her own and announced, “I’m going to customer service and having them page the boys.”

              Trevor’s expression became panicked as he reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her from taking another step.
“No, you can’t do that!”
  he whispered harshly, throwing another one of those nervous glances around them as though he was making sure that no one was listening.

              “And why not, Mr. Paranoia?” she asked dryly as she went to pull her hand free and continue with her plan, but Trevor wasn’t letting her go.

              “
Because they’ll know we’re here
!” he hissed, tightening his hold on her hand to stop her.

              “And that’s a problem because……….” she prompted, giving up on trying to pull her hand away

              “
Because you brought that bastard with you
!” Trevor hissed accusingly as he stepped back, dragging her with him until their backs hit the shelves lined with salad dressing.

              “Actually, he tagged along,” she felt obligated to point out as she considered her choices. Should she call Uncle Jared to come get Trevor and bring him to the mental hospital on Ferth Street, where he could recover from his mental meltdown with happy pills and electric shock therapy, or if she should just lure him there herself with the promise of chocolate cake and sex?

              “And you let him?” Trevor demanded, shooting her a glare full of disgust that had her narrowing her eyes on him and deciding that Uncle Jared could deal with the bastard.

              “Why wouldn’t I? It’s just a grocery store,” she pointed out through clenched teeth as she moved to yank her hand away from his so that she could go find her boys, grab a cake, head home, eat a slice big enough to choke a Bradford and call that cute divorce lawyer from that commercial she saw last week.

              “
Because it’s Jason
!”

              “And?” she said, really not seeing the problem.

              “He’s banned!”

              She couldn’t help but frown as she looked around. “From a grocery store?’

              “Yes!”

              “How exactly do you get banned from a-”

              “We need to hurry and find the boys and get them the hell out of here before they realize that Jason is here,” he said, sounding close to panic as he pulled her towards the seafood section.

              She was about to open her mouth and ask him what the hell he was talking about when she spotted the small group gathering around a man laying on the floor, curled up in the fetal position, sobbing quietly and mumbling, “Bradford,” over and over again.

              As she stumbled over mini-cupcakes strewn about the floor and tried to ignore the disturbing sobbing, she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she’d gotten herself into by marrying into this family.

Part VI

               “I can’t believe you let this happen” Haley mumbled, massaging her temples as she waited for her father-in-law to park the truck, still struggling to understand how this happened.

              “I thought she knew,” Jared said with a sheepish smile and a shrug.

              “We don’t have money for bail right now,” Haley said, not pointing out that they wouldn’t have the money to cover the lawyer either.

              Well, that wasn’t exactly true. If they set the bail for violating a No Trespass order they’d have plenty of money to cover it, but nothing with Jason was ever that simple. It didn’t help that he was a Bradford and that the family was well known by every Judge in the county. If Jason got caught violating the store’s ban they were screwed. At least he was, because she’d sworn the last time this happened that she would bust out her fists of fury on his ass if he ever caused her to have to make the walk of shame through the police station, again.

              “I’ll handle it since it’s my fault,” Jared said and she didn’t bother arguing with him, because he was on her shit list as well.

              “Yeah, it is,” she said, getting out of the truck as soon as he threw it into park. Before she stormed off to go kick her husband’s ass, she leveled a murderous glare on her father-in-law, which only made the bastard smile, bringing her rage to a whole new level.

              Narrowing her eyes on the bastard who was looking at her as though she was a cute little puppy instead of a seriously pissed off woman on the verge of doing him bodily harm, she said, “You can forget about those brownies tomorrow night.” With that she slammed the truck door shut and stormed off towards the grocery store, trying to figure out how she was going to get her husband out of this one.

              “B-but….he promised me cupcakes!” Jared yelled after her. “He tricked me!”

              When she didn’t say anything, he yelled, “I’m the victim here!”

              When she felt her lips twitch, she doubled her pace, intent on getting into that store and dragging her husband out of there before-

              “But I love you!”

              Shaking her head in disgust, mostly at herself for being so damn weak, she resigned herself to making the loveable bastard a pan of double fudge brownies with extra frosting later. It really should be a crime the way Bradford men were able to manipulate women, she mused as she stepped up onto the sidewalk only to jump out of the way seconds later when a woman came running out of the store, sobbing hysterically and hugging a metal serving tray to her chest.

              Frowning, Haley turned around to watch the woman half-run, half-stumble across the parking lot. Swallowing back her dread, she looked back towards Jared to find him gesturing towards the truck. “I think it might be better if I just wait in the truck.”

              Wishing that she could join him and pretend that this wasn’t happening, not again, she nodded numbly and forced her feet to turn her around and take her towards the store entrance. When the door slid open with an eerie
whoosh
, she stepped inside and looked around only to find the normally busy grocery store deserted.

              Half-filled carriages were abandoned all around her, plastic bags were strewn about on the floor, pennies and quarters littered the floor around one cash register while at another a bottle of Pepsi rolled ominously across the floor. She started to head towards the produce section when she heard it, the muffled sounds of someone sobbing.

              “Oh God, not again,” she muttered, not sure that she could go through this again.

              She-

              “Hi, Aunt Haley,” Sebastian said with a nod, appearing out of nowhere with his brother Johnny right by his side, both boys wearing frosting covered grins as they headed for the door at a leisurely pace as though the ominous tension in the store was just a figment of her imagination.

              “Is Uncle Jared out there?” Johnny asked, gesturing towards the parking lot and making her wonder how they knew that he was there.

              “We’ll just go and sit with him,” Sebastian said, whistling a jaunty tune that had the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end.

              She loved Trevor and Zoe’s kids, truly she did, but sometimes they just scared the hell out of her. Now, being one of those times.

              “Oh,” Johnny said offhandedly as he stepped aside to let his brother walk through the front door, “you might want to untie Uncle Jason.”

              Almost too afraid to ask, she asked, “Why is he tied up?”

              With a careless shrug, Johnny waltzed out the door, throwing over his shoulder, “We needed someone to take the fall.”

              Oh, that couldn’t be good………

VII

            “They’re just kids!”

              “They’re demons!” Jason shouted, struggling to get free and forcing Trevor and Jared to take him to the ground and hold him there.

              “I think I need a drink,” Haley said, resting her head in her trembling hands while Zoe sat there beside her at the table, trying to pretend that the last three hours never happened.

              “Can we go watch TV, Mom?” Sebastian asked, sounding a little bored.

              Zoe looked up to find Sebastian and Johnnie standing in front of her, holding a family size bag of potato chips between them, seemingly unaware that their favorite “Uncle” was currently struggling to break free so that he could wring their necks.

              She opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. She just, she just couldn’t talk right now, not with the terrifying images still floating around in her head. She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself, wondering how this happened. All she did was send her husband and sons grocery shopping and now…..

              Now she just wanted to break out her stash of chocolate, curl up in bed and pretend that the last four hours never happened. She just wanted to-

              “Mom, the police are here!” Sebastian yelled from the living room, destroying her dreams of an escape.

              Knowing what was coming and that there was absolutely no way that she could avoid it, she got to her feet and headed to the front door where four police officers stood, holding a small stack of envelopes.

              “Good evening, John,” she said, forcing a small smile.

              “Sorry to do this, Zoe,” John said with a wince as he handed her the envelopes.

              “It’s okay,” she said, taking the envelopes. “Do we need to go to court?” she asked, not sure that she could handle another trip in front of Judge Burns this year.

              “Not this time,” Tom, another officer they were well acquainted with, said.

              “They’re willing to drop the charges as long as you and the rest of your family stays away from the store.”

              “Wait…….,” she said, giving her head a little shake, sure that she’d misheard him. “Me?”

              “I’m afraid so,” Tom said with an apologetic smile.

              “But I didn’t do anything,” she groaned, already knowing that there was no point in arguing.

              “You were at the store during the……….
incident
,” John said, clearly searching for a polite way to describe what happened earlier today.

              “And the boys?” she asked on a defeated sigh as she looked through the envelopes in her hand.

              “Lifetime bans.”

              While most mothers would probably argue that they were just children, she knew better. Her boys were just too damn smart for their own good and until she figured out how to help them learn to control their Bradford urges and their tendencies to terrify everyone, she was just going to have to deal with-

              “Umm,” Tom said, clearing his throat, clearly uncomfortable with whatever is was that he needed to say. “The owners wanted to know if it would be possible for the boys to tell them what they did to the computers so that they could have them fixed.”

              “Oh no,” she said, closing her eyes in defeat, because she knew what was about to happen.

              And sure enough……

              “I’m sure that we could fix it,” she heard Sebastian say from her right just as she felt movement to her left as Johnnie added, “For a price.”

              And just like that, her boys proved that they were without a doubt…..

              Bradfords.