Page 52 of Fury
Naked bodies. That’s what happened.
Brit curled up on the sofa, but Slash stood by the screen, peering into their expansive yard.
Pausing, Slash sipped the chilled wine, savoring the bouquet of flavors. “Where was I?”
“He dumped you when he learned you weren’t Amanda Maynard,” Brit said. “What’s your real name?”
“My legal name is Amanda Maynard. For the first sixteen years I was Melody Donaldson.”
Brit offered a sweet smile. “You can call yourself whatever, but you’ll always be Slash to me.”
Slash smiled in return. “I was a star soccer player for my high school. I also played on a travel team. I was hoping for a full ride on a soccer scholarship and had even considered playing professionally. Soccer was my life.”
“Okay.”
“Carrera’s mom was my travel team coach. Several parents were in a carpool rotation for the games. One time, my mom couldn’t take us, so my dad did.”
She hadn’t thought about this part of her life in a long time. Shuddering in a breath, she took another sip of wine.
“My dad met Carrera’s mom, and they started having an affair.”
“Did you know?”
“No idea.” Slash’s heart started pounding harder and she sat next to Brit.
“Take your time.” Brit held her hand. “I can see this is hard for you.”
“My parents got into a huge fight one night. My dad said he was leaving my mom for Carrera’s mom.”
“Oh, no,” Brit whispered.
Slash started trembling, something unfamiliar to her. She was always tough as nails, good on locking down her feelings, but as soon as she spilled her damn guts, a myriad of emotions came rushing back in.
“The next day, I got home late from school,” Slash said. “I found my parents and Carrera’s mom, shot dead. My mom killed them, then turned the gun on herself.”
Brit set down her wine, put her arms around Slash. Slash melted into her as tears pricked her eyes. She hated showing weakness, fought it every chance she got. After a beat, she broke away, set down her own wine glass, and rose.
“I need some water,” she said, wiping away a tear.
Inside, she drank some down and returned to the porch.
“The next few months were a blur,” Slash said. “It was tough. I was alone, although some of the soccer families took me in. I couldn’t pay the mortgage and I lost the house. I lived in my car for a while.”
Brit’s eyes grew large. “That’s rough.”
Slash held up her hand. Normally rock solid, she was trembling pretty good. “Carrera’s dad fell apart. He didn’t know his wife had been having an affair, then she gets murdered by my mom.”
“How do you know what happened to him?”
“Because his mom, Carrera’s grandmother, was the one who saved me. She says that God saved me and she was just doingHis work. When Carrera’s dad hit rock bottom, their family fell apart. Carrera blames me foreverything.”
Brit’s mouth fell open.
Silence.
After a long moment, Brit said, “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Yeah, so, you got the short version, but now you know why we hate each other.”
“Britain,” announced the security system, “a white van has parked in front of the house.”
“Thank you for opening up to me,” Brit said. “I respect and admire you even more than I already did. You’re a fighter and a survivor. I hope you know I will never share that with anyone.”
“Unknown people are approaching the front of the house,” said the security system.
The doorbell rang.
Slash smiled. “Thanks for listening., I do feel better, and I don’t care who knows. I wasn’t to blame, and I stopped hating myself a long time ago.”
As the women made their way inside, Brit said, “Maybe it’s time for Carrera to stop hating you too.”
