Author's Note: Hey! Update time! Yay! Apologies for the delay, I would've updated at the start of the week but something happened with my computer and I lost 2000 words to this chapter - that's half the chapter! I could have cried, it was gut wrenching! It took me a day to get over it and start all over again. Any-whoooo shout-out to my two lovely reviewers ItsMeDenise & Guest thank you both so much I really appreciate it :D and thank you to the new story favs.
Anyway, I'm sorry for the delay. I promise I have been around. I've started rewriting the whole series from the beginning, I've got a long way to go still *cries* but anyway I'm gonna be taking turns in updating this and book of love and at the same time rewriting Nonofficial Love, etc...I also made new story covers for the series let me know if you prefer the new or the old. The pic of Kiefer in this one is from A Time To Kill I kind of picture older Ace to look like him (of course he looks like him...it's Kiefer, but you know what I mean...hopefully) but with blonde hair.
Warning: This chapter mentions a serious subject of rape, it doesn't feature but it is mentioned, so if you want to skip the part you can do not read the flashback part of the story. Chapter also features strong swear words.
I hope you enjoy this chapter. I think it's my favourite so far and it's a long one (well for me) 4011 words to be precise, the 11 words bug me though haha but that's just 'cause I'm weird...
Enjoy!
*Pop's Tyres*
"I'm starved!" Pop Merrill took his feet off his desk and sighed. "I'm gonna grab a burger, what do you want, kid?" He stood up and slipped out of his grease ridden overalls and then stepped over them.
Ace looked up from the engine of a busted Chevrolet and scoffed, "Pop, I ain't been a kid since nineteen-fucking-fifty."
"Yeah, well, when you get to my age...you're a kid!" Pop remarked and he slapped his nephew on the back as he walked passed him to fetch his denim jacket off the wall. "So do you want anything or not? I ain't waiting all day."
"Get me a plain burger, no lettuce, no ketchup - I hate that shit."
"You're really pushing the boat out, ain't ya!" Pop chuckled with raised eyebrows and slipped his jacket on.
"One of us has to watch what we eat, asshole," Ace said. His eyes lowered to Pop's bulging gut and he remarked, "The way you fucking eat fast food joints out of business...I'll be surprised if you pass sixty."
"Shit, kid, you're starting to sound like Lena," Pop sighed and he fixed the scruff of his jacket. "I get enough grief from that woman, so I don't need you sticking your big nose in my waistband."
Ace didn't respond. He stepped back from the car and slammed the hood down. "If you wanna get this Chevy fixed you're gonna have to tow it to Fairview. That's if I don't scrap it before you get back," he sighed with frustration. "Fucking piece of shit!" He kicked the bumper hard with his boot and the grill fell off. He had been working on the car for over three hours and still had gotten nowhere.
"Calm down, boy. I'm starting to see why Lena is worried about ya," Pop exhaled.
"What's Darlene pissing about now?"
"Ah, the usual women shit! Thinks you should settle down, before it's too late," Pop paused, "I keep telling her, 'Lena, the only thing that boy will settle down with is a bottle of whiskey and a deck of cards. That's just the way us Merrills are.'," he chuckled. "She still doesn't get it."
"Bitch is probably still waiting for you to give her a ring. What's it been? Fifteen years?" Ace scoffed and he sat himself on top of Pop's desk. "Broad needs a medal for putting up with you for all these years."
"Twenty years! And watch your mouth," Pop replied, he crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh. "And she can wait another twenty. 'Cause after the messed up shit that Junior - God rest his soul - and Val called a marriage, I ain't making the same mistake!"
"Lena ain't nothing like Val, Pop," Ace paused and he leaned back slightly and carried on, "she's loyal."
"Kid, are you saying I should marry the old gal?" Pop raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "Shit! I think I'm gonna pass out."
"Piss off, ol' timer. Maybe you should marry 'er!" Ace shrugged. "Finding a girl that loyal, is like looking for a hymen in a whorehouse...damn near impossible. I've had plenty of women and I've not once found a loyal one."
Although he once thought he had.
"You spend a lot of time in whorehouses?" Pop chuckled.
"The way I get laid," Ace smirked. "Broads should be paying me."
*Motel*
"All right, I'm heading out. You stay here!" Rebecca told Adam whilst she checked out her reflection in the mirror in the bathroom of the motel. Her hair was wet from when she had washed it in the sink but she still looked a mess. Her head felt like it was splitting open and someone was hammering at it, the result of yesterdays drinking, she hadn't drunk that much in a long time and it had caught up with her. "Don't be leaving this room, you hear me?"
"I'll be bored, Rebecca," he replied with a frown as he looked up at the grey ceiling. He had been in bad form ever since Rebecca had dragged him out of the Bracowicz house with no explanation and forced him to walk back to the motel.
"You've got the television. I don't want you leaving this room. You'll get lost walking around town." She gave him a stern look as she grabbed her purse from the table. "I'll be a couple of hours. Stay here!"
"Okay!" he lied. He had no plans to stay in this crummy motel room, especially when there were places that needed exploring and adventures to be had. Rebecca kissed him on the forehead before leaving. Once he knew she was well out of sight he jumped off the bed and grabbed his shoes.
Rebecca's heart pounded at her chest as she took the key to her mustang out of her purse, but there was one small problem, she had forgotten where she had parked the car. "Shit!" she groaned. But now wasn't the time to retrace her steps; her head hurt too much and she had plans. The only thing she could do was walk and maybe the fresh air would help freshen her head up. She decided she would look for the car later.
It took her twenty minutes to walk to the house she had called home for twenty-one years. Despite a fresh lick of paint over the years it hadn't changed. She exhaled and flicked her cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with her shoe. She walked up the path and then stepped up the porch and rapped on the door. It seemed like a lifetime before the screen door opened.
"Yeah?" A teenage girl's head peaked around the door. And for a moment Rebecca thought she had transported back to the early fifties and was now looking at herself. It took her ten seconds to realize she was staring at her little sister Debbie. Debbie looked at her strangely, she had no clue who she was, it had been seven years and Debbie wouldn't have even started kindergarten when Rebecca had left town, they were both strangers.
Rebecca stammered slightly before speaking, "Uh, is your daddy home?"
Debbie frowned at her before letting out a sigh she turned her back on her, and Rebecca noticed the same thick brown curly hair that all the Chambers' girls had. "Pa, there's a strange woman at the door here to see ya." Debbie yelled out she turned to face Rebecca again and gave her a false sweet smile. Rebecca couldn't help but think that if she had stayed she would've taught the little brat a lesson or two in manners.
Rebecca heard footsteps coming out from the kitchen and she cleared her throat.
"Who is it, Deb?" Frank's raspy voice filled the air. Rebecca stepped back as the screen door fully opened and she was face to face with her father. He recognized her instantly and his mouth formed an O and he scratched at the full head of hair. "What do you want?"
Rebecca wasn't shocked at the hostility he gave her, it was what she deserved after all these years.
"I need your help, daddy."
Debbie, who still stood behind the open door, cried, "Daddy?"
"Shut your wailing, Deb. Go upstairs and phone your brother from the hall." Frank motioned to the stairs with a flick of his head. Before Debbie could protest he added, "Go. Now. Phone Frankie and tell him to get his ass down here right now," He spoke with the same tone and manner he had always spoken to Rebecca. Debbie didn't have to be told again and she let out a sigh with attitude as she ran up the stairs. Frank turned back to Rebecca and muttered at her to come on in.
She followed him into the living room. "Frankie's out of jail?"
Flashback - Christmas Eve 1956
Rebecca sat on the floor by the fireplace, she prodded the open fire with the fire poker and watched as some ash flew up the chimney, she then pushed her two year old brother Emery to the ground when he tried to run into the fire. She looked over at her mother, Judy, who was in a peaceful sleep, both of her arms were wrapped around a child each; 9 year old Chris and 6 year old Sheldon, both were sleeping tucked up and warm besides their mother. Rebecca's father, Frank, was currently sitting in his armchair listening to the radio, a bottle of beer in his left hand and a cigarette in his right, a pack of Winston's cigarettes sat on the arm rest next to an ashtray.
Frank looked up at the clock on the fireplace and sighed with annoyance, "I tell you that boy better not interrupt the nine o'clock newscast. Where is he? Your mother has been slaving away in that kitchen all day-"
"I helped, mom!" Rebecca cried out in annoyance.
"Shut it, where's your manners? Don't interrupt me!" He shot Rebecca a warning. "Now, where is Frankie? Is it too much for your mother to ask for a nice family supper on Christmas Eve for Christ's sake."
"I don't know where he is, daddy." Rebecca shrugged, as she placed Emery on her knees and started brushing his sandy blonde hair. As her mother and two of her brothers slept, she sat in silence with her father as he listened to nine o'clock news.
There was a knock on the door.
"Goddammit!" Frank spat as he stubbed out the remains of his cigarette into the ashtray and stood up from his chair. "He's three hours late and now he has manners? I oughta beat Frankie black and blue for knocking! Can't a man listen to the news!" He walked out of the living room.
Rebecca looked up from the floor. "I don't think that's Frankie, daddy." She noticed the blue flashing lights coming from outside in the cracks of the curtains and got up off the floor and walked over to the window and pushed the curtain to the side. Emery, who was sitting on his sisters hip, squealed in awe as he looked at the blue lights that come from the top of a police car.
"Is Franklin Chambers around?" She heard a voice ask her father from the front door. She placed Emery down on the floor and walked out of the living room.
"You're looking at him," Frank spat. Rebecca now stood behind her father she stared at the cop with a frown.
"Junior," the cop smirked a nasty smile. "Not senior."
"Talk to me with respect when you're in my house, pig."
"Watch what you say, Frank." The cop crossed his arms. "'Cause I don't think the towns folk will mind if I arrest two Chambers' tonight," he smiled smugly before he continued, "But, I ain't gonna give my boss the extra paperwork, not on Christmas."
"What'cha arresting Frankie for?" Rebecca cried out. The words slipped out her mouth before she could stop herself.
"Shut it!" Her father turned to her. He then sighed at the cop, "You got a warrant for the arrest? What's he done this time, huh?"
"I don't need a warrant," the cop stepped further into the hall and peaked his head round the living room door and then looked straight into the kitchen. "If I did, who'd they believe, anyway?"
Rebecca's blood ran cold, whatever Frankie had did, it had to have been real bad.
Her father watched as the cop stepped into the kitchen and looked around, he then turned to Rebecca and grabbed her arm tightly. "Go upstairs and see if your brother's hiding in his old room." She knew what her father wanted her to do just by the look in his eyes. If she was to find Frankie, she wasn't to tell a living soul, she had to help him hide. "I'll wake up your mother." He let go of his grip and walked into the living room, she heard him mutter, "This is gonna damn near kill her."
Rebecca looked into the kitchen, the cop had now gone down to the basement, before she made her way upstairs. Her body shook in fear with each step. Was Frankie hiding up there? If so was he hurt? Was he covered in someone else's blood?
She opened the door to his old room, that now belonged to all three of her younger brothers, but it was empty with no sign of Frankie anywhere. She heard a loud thud come from the master bedroom and she jumped in fright.
There were two reasons he could be in there, one was underneath the floor boards, bundled and ready to be used in an emergency, and the other was sitting loaded in her father's dresser. She hoped to God it wasn't the latter. She turned the handle and the door clicked open, her eyes first went to the dresser, it looked untouched, and then her eyes darted to the floor, the floorboard had been cranked open and inside was empty, the money was all gone.
"Shh!" A voice echoed from behind her and she turned around.
"What have you done, Frankie?" She gulped as her brother stepped towards her. She noticed his shirt was torn and he had scratch marks on his arms. "What happened to your shirt?"
"Rebecca, you gotta help me get outta here. Is the copper in the kitchen or in the living room?" He grabbed her urgently and shook her so hard tears formed in her eyes.
"What did you do, Frank?"
"I didn't do nothin', I swear to God! I didn't do anything. Not that anyone's gonna believe me, so you gotta help me get outta here." The two locked eyes and she didn't know what to believe. "Goddammit, Rebecca, just tell me where the pig is!"
"Living room. He's in the living room!"
He let go of her and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Good! That means I can get out the window and jump the fences." He urgently grabbed the bag he had thrown on the bed and ran to the window and slid it open. "I didn't do anything that she didn't want me to do." He climbed out of the window and onto the roof of the porch, she rushed to the window and watched as he jumped from the porch roof to the ground, he was then tackled to the ground by a cop.
She ran out of the room and rushed down the stairs, her mother was in the living room crying in hysterics and her father was yelling at the cop in the kitchen when another cop burst through the back door with Frankie in his arms.
Rebecca sat on the bottom of the stairs but she could still hear every word.
"What's going on, Rebecca?" Christopher asked as he stood in front of her, he held onto Sheldon's shoulders, the two of them looked scared and confused.
"Shut up, I can't hear!" Rebecca spat. She grabbed Chris by the collar of his nightshirt and pulled him down next to her, Sheldon followed and sat next to him.
"Shit! There's cops all over the house. You ain't got no fucking right," Frank Snr roared before turning to Frank Jnr. "Frankie, what have you done this time, boy?"
"Nothin', Pa." Frankie tried yanking his hands out of the cops hands and felt a blow to the head. "They got the wrong guy."
"Boy, you better watch what you're saying, when I take your ass to the station," the cop warned. "They don't do kindly to rapists in jail, son."
"Frankie, tell me it's not true." Rebecca hadn't noticed her mother had walked into the kitchen until she heard her voice.
The three of them watched as the two cops pulled Frank out of the kitchen, Judy, who held Emery, and Frank Snr followed from behind.
"Where are they taking Frankie?" Sheldon, who was too young to understand any of it, asked.
"He's going to jail." Chris answered as he watched Frankie get dragged down the footpath towards the police car and then shoved in the back of the car.
"Stop it, Chris." Rebecca glared, she took Emery from her mother's arms.
Rebecca now stood next to her mother and she noticed that most of the neighborhood were either standing on their porch or staring out of the curtains watching. She then watched the police car pull out and drive off with Franklin Jnr inside. Franklin Snr was causing up a stir in the front garden as he picked up a child's bicycle and hurled it across the lawn and it smashed into two. Rebecca wasn't sure if it had belonged to Chris or Sheldon. Her two youngest brothers burst out into tears at the sudden outburst, Chris stayed silent watching his father's every move. He wanted to cry as soon as he saw the remains of his once treasured bike, but he wouldn't show his father any emotion.
The Chambers' Christmas was well and truly ruined.
Rebecca couldn't cry, not in front of her mother, she wouldn't. She didn't know what was to happen next. All she knew was that there was only one person in the whole of town that she wanted to see...
Flashback...To be continued...
*Pop's Tyres*
Twenty minutes later and Pop still hadn't returned with the food. Ace was currently out the front tinkering with the engine of his car. The car was in perfect condition, but there was nothing else to do and he wasn't going to sweep the floor like Pop had asked, he didn't work for Pop anymore, he worked for himself.
"What are you doing?" A voice asked him from behind.
"What the fuck does it look like I'm doing?" Ace spat, he was in no mood to be dealing with any of Pop's customers. He turned his head round to see the stranger and was met with a boy. He lowered his eyebrows at the boy and then spat out his toothpick. "What do you want, kid?"
Ace was oblivious to the fact that he and the boy shared the same blood.
Adam shrugged a reply before peaking at Ace's Chevrolet. "Is that your car? I got the same one." He reached in his back pocket of his dirty jeans and pulled out a tiny toy replica of the Chevy. "See?" he smiled.
Ace paused, he looked down at the boy, dumbstruck by what was happening he couldn't think. He then snapped out of it quickly and spat, "Get outta here. This ain't no daycare."
"I'm bored!" Adam stated.
"Go find someone else to bug, you little shit. Didn't your parents ever teach you about talking to strangers?" Ace eyeballed the kid up and down. "Now, get outta here."
"You can't tell me what to do." Adam crossed his arms. "This is a free country, you don't own the ground." He kicked at the ground with his keds.
"I own a shotgun. So beat it-"
"What in the heck?" Pop interrupted, he stood next to Ace, a paper bag to his chest and a cigarette between his mouth. Ace had no idea where he had come from. "You threatening little kids with shotguns?" Pop asked his nephew as he stared at the kid.
"The little shit's poking his nose around the joint,"Ace sighed as he took the cigarette from behind his ear and lit it. "Get it outta here before I tar it."
Pop couldn't keep a straight face as he asked Adam, "You looking for something to do, kid?" He chuckled and watched Adam nod his head. "Make yourself useful and grab that broom over there." He watched Adam rush to the broom in the corner. "Start sweeping, boy." He smirked as he watched the boy start sweeping the floor.
Ace looked at his uncle in disgust. "You going fucking senile, old man? What you doing?"
"I'm getting this floor swept, asshole." Pop sat himself down behind his desk and began to tear the paper bag open he brought out his freshly made burger and began to tuck in. "I seem to remember two little shits who used to bug me when I was around your age," he said with a mouth full of food, he then gulped it down and carried on, "You and your brother."
"Piss off, we're family. You keep letting little kids in here, this place is gonna turn into a fucking kindergarten." Ace grabbed an empty stool and sat himself in front of the desk.
"Ahh, shut up and eat your burger." Pop shoved Ace's burger to him.
Ace flicked his cigarette on the floor for the boy to sweep up. "You're full of fucking surprises, you know that?" He scoffed at Pop and began unwrapping his burger. He took a bite and then spat it out. "Can they ever do anything right in this fucking shit-hole?" He peeled the top of the bun off and noticed the sauce. "You ask for no fucking ketchup, there's always fucking ketchup. I ain't eating this shit." He tossed the burger onto it's old wrapping. "Shove it in the bin."
Pop chuckled. "That's a waste of a damn good burger."
"Well, eat it then. I don't fucking care." He reached into his jacket pocket and took two cigarettes out, he placed one behind his ear and lit the other. "I've lost my appetite," he exhaled.
"Shit, you're in a foul mood today, kid." Pop leaned back in his seat as he took the last bite of his burger. "What the hell is up, wit' ya?
"It's nothin' I wanna talk about," Ace replied, he took a deep drag from his cigarette and then let the smoke fill the room. He felt something hit his shoes and he looked down. "Watch what you're doing, punk." He shot Adam, who had just hit his shoe with the broom, a stern look.
Pop noticed Adam's eyes linger hungrily at the food on the table. "You hungry, boy? Take this burger." He pushed Ace's burger towards him and Adam snatched it up.
"You are turning senile! My ol' man oughta be turning in his grave," Ace sighed and he crossed his arms.
"The kid looks like he ain't ate in a week," Pop answered with a shrug. "I'm not like you or Junior... I got a heart."
Ace scoffed and looked at the ground, he shook his head.
"Yuck!" Adam spat. "Blood sauce!" He spat out the bite of burger he had in his mouth and dropped the burger in his hands on the floor.
"Hey!" Pop yelled.
"You little ungrateful shit," Ace spat and shot up from the stool. "Pick that up and then get the hell outta here. I oughta beat the tar outta ya."
The two men watched as Adam pushed the broom on the floor and ran off, the burger laid half eaten on the floor. Pop chuckled in disbelief - the kid reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite put his finger on who.
"Feels good to have a heart now, doesn't it?" Ace scoffed as he placed his feet on the desk and leaned back smugly.
Dun dun duh! Ace came face to face with his son and he had no idea, ahhhhh! I'm evil! I hope you enjoyed the chapter I had real fun writing it. I think my favourite part was Rebecca's flashback and I'm looking forward to writing more of it. This story is gonna feature Rebecca's family more and Who wrote the book of love? Is gonna feature more of Ace's dad and Uncle Pop.
Please tell me what you think in a review. Love it? Loathe it?
Next chapter features the continuing of Rebecca's flashback and something exciting may or may not happen at the end...