Page 8 of A Vicious Rumor

"Out," I said back, slamming the front door and not waiting for his response. I started up the Jeep and peeled out of the driveway.

I loved driving, especially in the summer when I took the roof and doors off the car. It was the only time I ever felt free. No one on the road knew who you were. No one was paying attention to you. They all existed in their own little worlds, and you existed in yours. It was perfect.

The three of us in the Triad all lived relatively close to one another, but I still took the back roads to get to Scissors’ place to lengthen the drive. The back roads of Potomac were some of my favorite. It was sort of ironic how the rich always tried to surround themselves with people, yet, when it came to their homes, they tried to distance themselves as much as possible.

It meant that a great deal of the large lots the D.C. elite purchased just outside the city were left wooded, so you couldn't see their giant mansion up on the hill if you were just another person driving along the road. The most you might see was a fancy wrought iron fence, or in some instances, like Scissors’ estate, you'd see that and the small gate guard house.

I weaved the Jeep in and out of the twisting roads, looking up at the greenery that surrounded me. The large trees in this area seemed to form a canopy over the road, and I breathed in the fresh air. I slowed as I approached the gate house. The guard on duty recognized my car and opened the gate for me. I waved at him as I drove by, thankful that he didn't get out of the little house and try and make small talk. I just wasn't in the mood. I never was, truthfully.

I started the several minute drive up the long road that lead to the main house. Scissors’ home could only be described with one word: opulence. The house itself came in just under 55,000 square feet. It was so large that it made headlines when his father applied for the permits to build it, and the newspaper reported that it would be one of the largest homes in the country.

The stupid thing was so damn large I couldn't even picture the entire thing in my mind, and I wasn't going to try. It's styling screamed old money and insecurity, with white washed walls and large four story styled turrets that would have triggered Rapunzel.

When I finally reached the monstrosity, I drove my Jeep along the side road that circled the home and parked it in front of the East wing. The entire home was on a cliff that overlooked the Potomac River and Scissors’ quarters were on the far East side of the home. I wasn't sure if his parents were just never home or if they just didn't care that he threw famously raucous parties in his wing of the house.

Despite knowing Scissors since we were both freshman, I'd only met his mother a handful of times. Saying she was a trophy wife would have been an understatement. They say men's war is on the battlefield. Well, Mrs. King’s war was against age and fought at the plastic surgeon's office.

I looked to my left to see that Paper’s white Audi was already parked in its usual place. He and Scissors seemed to get along, but that was just the thing, Paper seemed to get along with everyone.

I climbed out of my vehicle and made my way through one of the archways that led into the open walkways that ran the length of the house. Turning right, I walked through one of the doors that led me into the East wing, up a large marble spiral staircase, down a hallway lined with windows and finally, to one of Scissors’ many rooms, this one in particular being a comfortable lounge space.

"What's up, loser," Scissors asked as I walked through the door.

"Not your dick," I replied, grabbing a Perrier from the nearby cooler and plopping myself down on one of the plush, black leather sofas. "Rumor going around was that you were quite a disappointment for your last date."

"A vicious rumor. You know better than most not to believe everything you hear." He paused as I gripped the glass of the bottle I was holding hard. "Oh shit, actually, what they said about you was all true!" He threw his stupid head of blond hair back and barked out a laugh.

I made a move to get up, but Lucas put his hand up. "If you could both cease with the childish antics, I'd very much appreciate it." He turned his attention to Scissors, who was still acting like he was laughing. "And Scissors, Rock's already broken one nose today. Let's not encourage him to set a new record."

"Two's not even close to the record," I muttered into my drink. Paper gave me a stern look, and I looked away, not wanting to back down to him, but also not wanting to engage.

"Right, now that the pissing contest is over, we can get down to business. I wanted to talk about our summertime operations," Paper said.

"I won't be here," I announced, and the both of them looked at me.

"Where the fuck will you be?" Scissors asked.

"The fuck you care?"

Paper pinched the bridge of his nose, his patience obviously wearing thin. I'd only seen him mad a few times, and the picture wasn't pretty.

"Please let us know where you will be headed, Rock," Paper said to me.

"Over the river," I replied back. "Anacostia. I'll be staying with mommy dearest."

Scissors was about to open his mouth, but Paper shot him with a death glare.

"Is there some reason you'll be away?" Paper continued.

I took a swig from my bottle. I knew I shouldn't push things, but I couldn't help myself. "Yeah. Cause numb nuts over here didn't do his job, apparently."

Scissors glared at me and Paper turned his eyes on him. "Scissors?"

Scissors threw up his hands. "Fuck, I'm sorry, okay? The nurse got to my father before I could."

"Yeah, well because Scissors was too busy being an idiot frat boy and hitting on girls after the fight, my father found out and now I'm being shipped off across the river, because he feels you all bring out the worst in me." I scoffed into my drink. "Which is sort of true."

"This complicates our summer plans," Paper said, mostly to himself.

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