"One bad apple spoils the barrel." -Ancient Proverb

Chapter Synopsis: We are introduced to Lyle, and boy is he interesting...

"It was very odd, Lyle is a very sweet boy when he interacts with either me or his sister."

Scene transition to Lola playing with Lyle.

"Lyle, do you love me?"

"Yay! I wuv you so much, mommy!"

"Hey mom, I'm going to school now."

"Ok, Alexa. Say goodbye to your brother before you go."

"Aw, see you later, Lyle. We'll play together after school."

I look at my watch.

"Oh dear. Leif, can you watch Lyle while I go to work?"

"Sure, Lola."

Lyle starts to cry upon hearing this.

"Oh, don't worry, baby. Mommy will be home soon. Until then, daddy will watch over you."

The wails intensify. The decibel level matched Lily's crying from when she was a child.

"I think Lyle has separation anxiety with you."

"Yeah, I hope he will outgrow it. Either way, I have to go now."

"Ok, goodbye."

I leave for work while Leif babysits Lyle.

"Aww, who's a cute little…"

He reaches into Lyle's crib. Lyle grabs his hand and tries to bite him. Leif claimed that Lyle was trying to sever one of his fingers off or infect him with rabies, but since Lyle didn't have any teeth back then, I thought Lyle was just teething on his finger.

Later that night…

"Oh, I'm glad you came back." Leif said exasperatedly "Say, Lola. Were you ever difficult as a child?"

"You mean aside from being a spoiled brat and beating up my twin sister on a regular occasion, no."

"Then why did Lyle throw stuff at me?"

"I don't know, we'll figure it out, together."

"As he grew up, he was a bright student, getting mostly A's on his assignments. The teachers even say he was one of the best students they've had in a long time. He even made some friends. But, as his school life excelled, his family life slowly deteriorated."

It is 2046. Lola and Leif are 36 years old, Alexa is 12 years old and Lyle is 6 years old.

"Hey, little bro. I got an A in my social studies class!"

"That's amazing, Alexa!"

"Yeah, it is, Lyle. The unit was about a Chinese philosopher named Confucius, who instilled a "golden rule". I believe it was "do unto others as they would do to you", or something like that."

"So, you're saying that if someone did something bad, they should receive punishment in return?"

"Well, that is a part of it, yes."

Lyle realizes something.

"Hey, sis. Can we talk in private?"

"Sure."

Alexa and Lyle enter her room. It's coated in a light purple. Mementos of Leif and Lola playing with her are displayed proudly on her nightstand.

"So, Lys, what did you want to talk to me about."

"I think our dad has done some very bad things to mom."

"WHAT?!" Alexa blurted out

"Shh, keep it down, sis."

"How is that even possible, dad has shown nothing but love for us!"

"That's just what he wants you to think. But I know the truth."

"Which is?"

"In order for us to be born, our dad raped our mom."

"No way!" Alexa said in sheer disbelief, not that we can blame her

"This is unforgivable to me, and there's only one thing that can make it right."

"What?"

"He needs to pay for his violation against our mom, and basic human decency. So…

…

…

…

"I have to kill him, that's the only penance suitable enough for it."

"Are you seriously suggesting committing patricide?!"

"Well, I was going to castrate him to teach him a lesson, but we were born from this despicable act, so death is his only redemption."

"No, I don't believe you, dad would never commit such a heinous act!"

"I know it's tough for you to accept, especially since he's treated you like daddy's little princess, but that's the truth."

"If it's because he hasn't showered you with love, I'm sure I can convince our parents to appreciate you more."

"They already appreciate me."

Lyle sighs and puts his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"My beautiful, but naïve sister. This isn't about love…"

…

…

…

"It's about revenge."

"No, I don't believe you! I'm going to find out the REAL truth!"

"Go ahead and try, but you'll reach the same conclusion as me."

Lyle leaves Alexa's room, leaving her to contemplate what just happened."

The next day…

"Mom, I have to ask you something."

"What is it, Alexa?"

"This is a bit uncomfortable to say, but…"

"Go ahead, you can ask me anything."

"Did dad… rape you?"

I was shocked that my 12-year-old daughter knew what the word "rape" was. Nevertheless, I regained my composure and asked this in response.

"Who told you that?!"

"Lyle did."

"Lyle?"

"Well, my daughter, what he said is completely untrue. We had consensual sex."

"Consensual?"

"Yes, we mutually agreed to have kids, and we both had sex in order for both of you to come into this world. Sorry you had to hear this at such a young age. I wanted to wait until you were a little bit older."

"Well, even though his claim is false, Lyle believes it to be true. He's so into his delusions that he wants to kill dad for you!"

"He wants to do what?!"

"I think he needs help."

"I totally agree, but first things first…"

"Huh?"

"My family's having a reunion, I think it's time for you guys to meet your aunts and uncles."

"Really?"

"Yep. And once that's done. We'll deal with our Lyle problem."

Preview

Ok, It's time. I try and find my brother within the cloud of people. I manage to eventually talk to him.

"Lincoln!"

"Oh no, what did I do to make you mad this time, Lols?!"

"Nothing, Linky! I just want to ask how the past 18 years have been."

"Oh, well. They've been good. I'm working on a project for my new job. I can't say what it is yet, but I'm super excited to show everyone once it's complete!"

Author's Note: Finally, the namesake proverb makes it's appearance! One Bad Seed got its name from this proverb. No one knows who first said it, as the speaker's name was lost to history, so it's just labeled as an ancient proverb. So, about Lyle...basically, you take all of Lola's negative traits and give her no redeeming qualities, then transplant that consciousness into a male body and you get Lyle. There is ONE redeeming quality about him, however. He loves his mother and sister unconditionally and would do anything to protect them. Other than that, he's basically an even worse version of Lola. As for why Lyle would tell Alexa about his plan... simple, he trusts her as his sole confidant.

By the way, it doesn't matter who the father is. If Lyle is born, he'd automatically assume that since he was born, his father would have raped his mother, even if that wasn't the case. He'd still be his delusional patricidal self...

Alexa's nickname for Lyle, Lys, is pronounced "lies".