Page 49 of Vengeful Reign

“Stop right fucking there.”

“I know what you’re fucking playing at. I know what you were planning to do. See, my wife would do anything for her family, but what you forget is that this here…” I wave my wedding ring in his face “…makes me a part of her family. Did you think you’d get the cops here, tell her that they’d take her son to jail and that if she didn’t give you what you want, they’d toss him in jail?”

He gasps as if I figured out his stupid plan. I knew the second my wife wasn’t in the office that he wasn’t planning on arresting my son. He wanted to force my wife to behave andsubmit. “No one but me makes my wife behave and submit. No one.”

“I wasn’t…” I grip him around the throat, squeezing tightly. The stench of piss fills the air quickly. “So, you did have to go.”

“Please don’t kill me.”

“I’ll consider it if you tell me the truth. What were your plans?”

“I wanted her to have sex with me.”

“You shouldn’t have told me that.”

“You said if I told you the truth—”

“I’d consider letting you live. My wife is going to finish out the school year and so are you. You’re going to act like nothing happened, and if I catch you even glancing in my wife’s direction, I’ll gouge out your eyes with an unsharpened pencil and enjoy it. Understand?”

He nods and I release the fuck, letting him fall in his own piss. “Stay away from my family.”

I leave the office and see my son waiting for me with his things. “Let’s go get some ice cream.”

“Can we pick up John?”

“Absolutely.” I call his school and tell them I’m coming to get him. Once I arrive, he’s in the office with a smile, a smile that my wife fostered. “Jack, Caleb.”

“John, we’re getting ice cream. Do you want to come with us?”

“Cookies and cream?”

“If you want.” He starts rocking back and forth, clapping his hands, and I wrap my arm around his shoulder. “Come on, buddy.”

“How was school?”

“No school.” He’s still having a difficult time, but we’re trying to branch out from the house and give him a little more freedom. He’ll never get the life our other children will, but we’ll do everything we can to make him happy. Caleb is one hell of a buddy to his uncle.

“I don’t like it either, Uncle John.” I take John’s book bag and sign him out.

“Mr. MacNamara, I just want to let you know he’s improving. Slowly, but we’re seeing progress in his test scores. I wanted to give this to you.” She hands me a math test, and I see his grade. He scored an eight out of ten. Tears fill my eyes. I just threatened to murder a man, but I’m about to cry like a little bitch because my brother can do basic math at almost seventeen years old. “Thank you. My wife will be so thrilled.”

“Congratulations.” We have been working so hard with him over the years, but unfortunately some things won’t stick. Nora works with teams, and we have our home full of people to teach John, but his mental growth has leveled out. A part of me wonders if he suffered from my father’s physical abuse or if it’s because he’s lower functioning on the autism spectrum from a level three to now more of a level two. I love my brother, so it doesn’t matter. I’m just happy to see him smile. These moments bring me peace.

We get home just as my wife and our two other children arrive at the house, and she’s scowling at me. “What’s wrong, my love?”

“Momma Nora,” John shouts, hugging her a little too aggressively. I have to remind him to be gentle all the time since he’s grown to be nearly as tall as me.

“Too hard, John.”

“Sorry. We had ice cream.”

“What did I say about the secret,” I whisper to him.

“Oh…” He giggles.

“Go get cleaned up while I talk to Jack,” she tells him. “Caleb, give me a hug too.” He smiles and gives her a hug. He runs off, and I know I’m all alone to face her wrath.

“Did you pull John out of school again?”

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