Trust Me (64 page)

I
learned
through
calling
the
local
gossips
of
the
town; that
Buddy
had
graduated from
school
with
honors
and
was
living
in
London,
attending
University.
I
wondered
around
the
campus
asking
anyone
who
looked
my
way,
which
they
did,
if
they
knew
Buddy.
I
finally
found
out
where
he
was
living
and
went
to
his
flat.
He
shared
it
with
two
other
blokes,
who
were
thankfully
gone
for
the
weekend.
I
never
minded
groups,
but
what
I
had
to
teach
Buddy
was
for
his
benefit
only.
I
was
on
his
stoop
when
he
arrived
back
home
from
classes,
and
the
look
on
his
face
told
me
he
did
not
hold
ill
feelings
toward
me
for
what
my
father
had
done.
We
had
supper,
and
I
explained
to
him
what
I
wanted
to
do.
He
was,
of
course,
curious
but
cautious
and
when
I
showed
him
the
kit
of
gadgets,
I
had
brought
with
me
and
explained
how
each
item
worked,
he
became
intrigued.
I
arrived
on
Friday
afternoon
and
left
on
Sunday
evening.
Buddy
proved
to
be
an
excellent
student,
and
even
though
I
preferred
a
little
harder
sex,
he
learned
well
and
pleased
me
in
many,
many
ways.
I
believe
we
were
both
better
off
for
the
time
we
shared,
and
although
I
have
not
seen
him
since,
I
know
Buddy
is
still
out
there,
practicing
what
I
have
taught
him,
and
hopefully
he
has
found
a
wonderful
woman
in
which
to
please.
He
deserves
nothing
less
than
the
best,
and
I
offer
him
my
blessings
and
my
thanks.

Sandra
sat watching Creighton; his vision was fixed ahead of him, his jaw tightening and his mouth in a firm line. She had finished reading the chapter from Miriam’s book and glanced at him, trying to judge his reaction to what he had just learned.

“Are
you all right?” she asked. He was angry; she could feel it radiating around them, but she wasn’t sure to whom it was directed. Maybe she shouldn’t have read him the book, maybe she should have kept Miriam’s secret.

“Am
I naive, or am I just stupid?” Creighton asked in a very angry tone. Sandra stared at him in amazement.

“Neither
one; why do you ask?”

“I
had no idea any of that was happening, right under my very nose and Andrew? I can’t believe he was shagging the same girl I was and never told me. How could I be so blind?”

“It
wasn’t your fault. Miriam said she wanted to tell you, but Andrew threatened her; she was afraid.”

“No
she wasn’t,” he snapped, standing to pace the carpet. “She said she found the roughness exciting. I wasn’t rough with her, even when she came to London to meet up with me; I still couldn’t do all the things she wanted me to. Andrew did; he pleased her and treated her like a whore and she liked it. Bloody hell, I must have been the laughing stock of the neighborhood.”

“I
doubt it. If Andrew had said anything about you to the other boys, word would have gotten back to you and then to your parents. He wouldn’t have risked it.”

“Nice
try Sandra, but I’m not buying it. I thought what we had was special, but now I find out that I’m a foolish, ignorant arse. I can’t believe I never knew. I’m a bloody damned fool.”

“I’m
sorry I said anything. I should have just read the damned book in silence and never told you anything about it.” Creighton turned to her and sighed.

“Sandra,
I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to make you feel like any of this was your fault. I would have read the book eventually and found out for myself. I suppose it’s a good thing I withdrew my offer on the house.”

“What
does that mean?”

“I
could never move into that house now. The neighbors are the same as when I was younger; many of the farms have been taken over by the kids I grew up with, the boys who were shagging the same girl I was. We’ll be a joke if we move back there.”

“That’s
not true,” Sandra argued quietly. “Talk to Andrew; ask him if anyone knew you were even shagging her. I’ll bet everyone kept their mouths shut, except to brag on how great they were with her. It was typical high school crap; it happens everywhere. I heard the rumors that my sister was shagging every boy in school, but she was very discreet. It was the girls talking about her more than it was the boys; whether it was jealousy or disgust, I don’t know. It was probably the same with Miriam and if anyone knew you were shagging her, before her dad nearly killed you, then you were just another number among the many. Nobody knew how you truly feel about her.”

“Felt;
I don’t have feelings like that anymore, especially after reading that,” he waved a hand toward the book lying on Sandra’s lap. Sandra closed the book and set it on the coffee table then looked up him.

“You’re
not a fool. You were smitten and you believed she was an innocent girl. You had no idea she was like that; you had no idea that she was using you like she used the rest of the local boys.”

“I
think what makes me angrier than her betrayal, is knowing Andrew and nearly every block I grew up with and called my friend, had been with her as well. I can’t believe nobody ever said anything to me.”

“Maybe
they were ashamed, or scared, especially after what happened to you. It could have been any one of them. Didn’t you say the boys started throwing rocks at the house, after her dad beat you? Maybe instead of it being pranks, it was the boys getting even with him? Maybe they were taking their anger and their fear out on the house, trying to scare him off.”

“I
know he moved back to Germany before I recovered,” Creighton said. He seemed to lose a bit of his steam as he thought back over the years. “He practically packed up and left during the night; it was so fast; not that I’m complaining. He was an absolute nightmare, not just as a father but as a neighbor as well. He once shot the dog of another neighbor who got loose and went onto his property. He said the dog was after his sheep, but it was raised around sheep; it wouldn’t go mental and try to attack another person’s livestock.” As though on cue, Creighton’s phone began to buzz and he picked it up off the coffee table, where he had put it when he’d laid down across her lap.

“Speak
of the devil himself,” he said, pushing the button, listening to the message from his solicitor. He didn’t look very happy when he shut the phone, but she wasn’t sure if it was from the book or the phone call.

“He
wants to make a deal, just as I knew he would,” he told her, slipping the phone into his pocket.

“That
should make you happy,”

“Not
anymore,” he said softly. “I’m keeping my decision to back out of the offer.”

“Why
would you do that? You’ve been working so hard on getting that place; you had so many plans for it. Who cares what happened ten years ago, it’s over and done?"

“How
can I move my new bride back home, knowing how people feel about me?”

“You
don’t know how they feel about you,” she sighed in exasperation as she tried to reason with the man. Sandra stood and walked to him, confronting him and his anger.

“I
live in a small town as well, remember? I know how people talk and I know what they say. It’s no different just because we live on opposite sides of the world. I’ve listened to gossip my whole life; remember what kind of sister I have? She wasn’t much different than Miriam and I can assure you it was never one boy laughing at another. They were always talking about her and the girls were the loudest. If anything; I’m sure they felt sorry for you, for caring about her, or they were afraid of what you would do if they told you they were shagging your girlfriend.”

“She
wasn’t my girlfriend,” he snarled bitterly.

“Isn’t
that how you considered her at the time?” Creighton frowned, locking eyes with her.

“Maybe,”
he said at last. “But because of her father, nobody dared to ask her out or take her to a movie; we were all afraid of him and with good cause. Maybe I did consider her mine for a while, but that doesn’t mean I told anyone about us.”

“Exactly;
it was the same with the other boys. They didn’t dare say too much, or tell each other where or when they were shagging her in fear of her father’s retaliation. I’m sure after what happened to you, they would have backed off her completely if she had stayed. They would have been terrified of being caught.” Creighton drew a deep sigh, running his hands through his hair and smiling a half grin to her.

“I
can’t believe you. You don’t know any of them, any of them, and you’re defending the entire lot. I think you’re defending her as well.”

“I’m
not defending anyone,” she insisted. “I’m trying to make you realize you’re not a fool. She said you were larger than most boys your age because of the work you did around the farm. Did you ever consider if the other boys told you they were shagging your girlfriend; they would have been able to withstand your reaction? I’m sure everyone one of them would have thought you’d have beaten the hell out of them.”

“For
the last time, she wasn’t my girlfriend and I would have beaten them senseless.”

“Do
you think that was why Andrew told her to keep her mouth shut? Was he as big as you or strong enough to fight you if he had to?” Creighton smiled slyly.

“He
was as weak as a newborn babe,” he said with a sarcastic tone. “He refused to help around the farm. He would gather eggs or slop the pigs, but he hated the smells and feigned allergies so he could stay in the house most of the time, working on model cars or watching the telly. Derek and I were the ones who helped our father with the chores.”