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“Tell her, Malcom. Tell her all about who you really fucking are.” My tone is deadly and quiet. I motion to Mom, urging Malcom to come clean. Now’s his chance to be the stand-up guy he’s convinced everyone he is.
But like the coward he is, his lips don’t part to begin confessing. I look over at Mom to see her hands still shaking, and confusion paints her done-up features.
“Where should we begin, Malcom?” I wait a beat before continuing. Clearly, he won’t say anything. “My college years? How about that, Malcom? Those were supposed to be my best years, but no, you wouldn’t allow that, would you?”
I stare directly into his eyes, my shoulders rising and falling quickly with my every breath. The dam that’s held these words and feelings back all these years is failing. His face is hard and filled with anger. He tries to hold my gaze, thinking he’ll silence me with a threatening look.
Not a fucking chance.
“What is he talking about, Malcom?” Mom’s words are rushed, scared even.
Malcom offers no explanation. His eyes never leave me, and he doesn’t acknowledge that my mother has asked him a question.
“Tessa O’Connor,” I push out through gritted teeth.
As soon as her name is in the air, Malcom charges me for real. I use my arms to block his attack. I use my forearms to force him back. I’m not a scared boy anymore. Pushing me around will be much harder now. He stands his ground but doesn’t come after me again.
“Who is Tessa? Oh my gosh, that’s the girl from the news broadcast today! What happened to her, Andrew? Tell me, tell me now!” Mom shrieks, her voice filled with panic. She stalks toward me quickly, passing Malcom without a glance.
He tries to grab her arm, but she shakes him off before coming to me. Her eyes are full of dread, and I think about sparing her for one brief second, but I quickly dismiss the idea.
She hasn’t earned that kind of protection from me. Maybe if she’d done a better job of protecting us as children we wouldn’t be here right now, standing in my parents’ library with my father’s house of secrets ready to crumble all around him. Brick by brick, grave by fucking grave.
“Christopher killed her, and Dad covered it up. He threatened me to keep quiet.”
Her quick gasp is the only noise in the room except for Malcom’s labored breathing.
“Christopher was driving my car that night when he ran her over on the side of the road. He ran her down like an animal! Christopher pushed her mangled body off the side of the road and called Malcom to help him get rid of her. Dad got rid of my car and told me if I ever told anyone, he’d say it was me driving and make me take the fall.”
Mom’s hands cover her mouth, her eyes wide. She turns to face Malcom. Dropping her arms to her side. “Is this true? Is what Andrew’s saying true?” Her voice is barely a whisper.
I swallow hard, bile rising in my throat. I’ve never said those words out loud before to anyone. I’ve relived that night over and over and over a million times since then. I’ve been living in my own little hell, just trying to find a way to fucking escape.
“Of course, it’s a fucking lie!” Malcom rushes out, trying to block her from my view as he steps in front of her.
Mom side steps him to find my eyes. “Tell me why. Why did Christopher kill that girl?”
I shrug, throwing my hands in the air. “Because he’s an evil motherfucker, just like your husband. He’s the son Malcom always really wanted. I tried one more time after graduation to get them to do the right thing. Tessa’s family deserved closure. The guilt was eating me alive. That’s when he told me if I ever spoke of it again, he would make sure Andrea and Adalyn never knew a moment of happiness, and it would be my fault. I never brought it up to him again. I’d do anything to protect them from him.”
The weight of bearing that burden all these years eases some with my admission. I feel lighter even though there’s still so much more. Things I’m still trying to process, but I know without a doubt are true.
“Oh, quit your fucking whining, Andrew. If you could have just been a man, I could have had that relationship with you. No matter how hard I try, you’re soft. You’ve always been soft!” Malcom’s words send my heart rate skyrocketing.
“Tell her what else you’ve done, Malcom! Tell Mom about being the ringleader in the embezzlement scheme with Christopher and Jonathan Swank.”
His eyes go wide. He doesn’t know just how much I’ve uncovered about him. I don’t stop. It’s time to air it all out. Mom will know everything, and soon, the rest of the world will, too.
“Oh, shocked I found that out, huh?” I laugh. I’m just getting started. “Yes, Mother, he got the whole thing started. When Swank got scared and wanted to back out, Malcom and Christopher had him killed.”
Malcom lunges to take a swing at me, but to my surprise, Mom grabs him. He turns and throws his arm out wide, making contact with Mom, and she hits the floor with a thud. I go to help her, but she pulls herself back up to her feet before I can get to her.
The look on Malcom’s face is priceless, so I take my opportunity to continue. “There’s so much more. I’m not even to the worst of it yet.”
I move toward him quickly, and I shove him with one hand hard in the chest. He clearly didn’t expect it, so he loses his balance, and his ass lands on the chair behind him. The look of shock on his face is perfect, but my stomach churns when I think about everything else he’s done that I know of.
Mom holds her head. This is a lot for her to process, but she’s kept her head in the sand far too long. Her kids have suffered for her lack of interest in what was going on in all our lives. There was a monster right here in this house with us all these years.
“Andrea overheard the call Christopher made about wanting someone dead. She started digging around after Swank’s body was discovered.”
