WARNING: This chapter and the next few are rated 'T'. Overall, it is mostly K+, but there are certain chapters that may sport a different rating. (this is the first) I'm sorry. (Please refer to slightly edited summary)
"I swear, Jamie Bennett, if nothing good comes out of this, I'll hate you for the rest of my life."
Jamie and Sophie sat at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping on a conversation between their mom and their soon-to-be father, which fortunately was not about them or their attitudes. Jamie looked down at the notebook in which he had scribbled additional information on the guy which he had elicited from his mother the previous night. "I think it's worth a shot."
Sophie grabbed the scruff of her brother's collar and looked him in the eye. Jamie wished he could wrench himself from her grip but that would cause too much noise and he risked falling down the stairs. "Look, we only have three days more before the wedding," Sophie seethed, in a low voice. "If we use up all that time trying to get him on our side instead of devising a way to ruin the wedding, then you're totally, officially dead."
"Ive got an idea," Jamie whispered. "What about I try to talk to him, and you go ahead with those plans of yours. Maybe it's best if I'm the only one who tries this."
Sophie released her grip. "Fine," she said. "But what about mom? She's sure to wonder if I'm not seen with that creep, since I promised her."
"Just tell her you're busy," Jamie responded. "I'm not encouraging you to lie, but it'll probably break her heart otherwise."
Sophie rolled her eyes as she got to her feet. "Sometimes I wonder why she's so weak." She tiptoed across the landing and quietly stepped into her room. Jamie went downstairs, taking tentative steps, going over in his mind what he had planned to say.
The two adults were seated on the couch and both looked up when Jamie approached. Mrs. Bennett wore a small smile though Mr. Bane looked furious. "What do you want, son?" he barked.
Jamie's heart rate accelerated and he hurriedly tried to calm himself before responding, "Er... I was thinking, perhaps we might..."
"You do know that I'll be seeing a friend later, right? Well, Jamie was thinking of taking you to the park in Burgess. You've not been there, I suppose? It's a pretty delightful place and I think you might be able to take this opportunity to learn more about each other," Mrs. Bennett hurriedly spoke. She turned to her son. "Is that right, Jamie?"
Jamie forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah," he said. Great save, mom!
Mr. Bane still had that look of contempt on his face but he nodded. "Very well," he said. "I look forward to seeing what's so intriguing about the park. At what time should I meet you there?"
Jamie glanced at the clock on the wall. "At ten, perhaps?" he suggested. "And we're not meeting there, we'll both walk there... together."
#
The two of them walked to the park in the summer heat, which wasn't so bad that morning. Jamie kept sneaking sideways glances at Mr. Bane who appeared to be quite interested in the buildings around him. Silence hung over them. Jamie was trying to think of something to say to break it, but there didn't seem to be anything. He just wasn't interested. And Mr. Bane didn't look like he was about to struck up a conversation either.
"Jamie Bennett!"
Both of them turned at the sound of Jamie's name being called by a familiar voice. Jamie was most surprised to see Emily running up to him, waving. He hadn't seen her in over a year. Apparently she moved to a neighbouring town to live with some relatives while her father stayed in Burgess. Emily's father had been a literary agent who had helped Jamie survive the publishing process. It turned out that Emily's desperation to help him was to actually help her father and herself. Her father had been thinking of moving out of Burgess to some other place where he could get a job, and Emily had not wanted to leave Burgess. However, she was compelled to, being a severe amnesiac. Her relatives out of Burgess had seen to her for about a year to help improve her memory.
"Emily!" Jamie exclaimed. "I thought you were..."
The girl smiled. "Yeah, but I came back yesterday. As you know, it can't be cured, and I'm just taking medication right now, but I'll be fine. I'm so glad to be back! Oh, and how is... it?"
Jamie beamed. "If 'it' refers to the book, then, well, it's out. I got a copy several days ago. Didn't your father tell you about it?"
"Is this a friend of yours, Jamie?" asked Mr. Bane, all of a sudden. Jamie had almost forgotten he was there.
The 19- year old forced a smile. "Yes, this is Emily. Her father is my literary agent."
"It's nice to meet you," Emily said, with her most radiant smile, extending her hand. Jamie expected Mr. Bane to merely glare at it like it was covered in mud, but surprisingly, he took it. There was no proper handshake, however, merely brief brushing of fingers. A thought struck the boy. He remembered Emily's weird ways and it turned out she was amnesiac. What about Mr. Bane? Perhaps he suffered from a disease, too. Jamie couldn't help thinking that was the case.
"We should be on our way," Mr. Bane said, turning to Jamie. He nodded at Emily and strode past them.
"Who's that?" Emily asked, curious.
Jamie almost laughed. "Long story," he replied. "See you later." He ran off after his soon-to-be stepfather.
The park soon came into view. Jamie surveyed his surroundings, noticing the streets and the people walking past, and as a furniture van drove past, a memory returned. He ran to catch up with Mr. Bane. "Hey, you know what happened to me here, about nine years ago?" He spoke in a rather excited manner which caught the man's attention. He merely grunted. Jamie went on to describe his freak sledding experience. Mr. Bane merely listened as they turned in at the park, not interrupting nor saying a word, but Jamie wondered if he was even listening. The boy paused for a moment as they crossed over to a park bench and sat down.
"And what happened after that couch hit you?" Mr. Bane asked.
Jamie looked at him, surprised that he was actually listening. "Oh, well, a tooth of mine fell out."
He could've sworn he saw the corners of the man's mouth twitch as though he was about to smile. The man turned and looked out over the park, studying his surroundings.
There was a moment of silence. Jamie finally heaved a heavy sigh and began. "You know, I wanted to talk to you about... about the way you treat us." He paused, but the man didn't say anything. Jamie frowned slightly. Why was he not telling him off? Was he in some kind of trance? The boy decided to just go right on and ponder on that later. "I know you expect us to be good kids with an abundance of moral values and good manners, but we're not perfect. And Sophie, well, she's kind of a rebel. It's pretty obvious. You shouldn't be too harsh on her."
"Children will never realise they're wrong if you're not harsh on them," Mr. Bane snapped. Jamie felt almost relieved, for he was on the verge of believing that he had taken the wrong person out.
"Not Sophie," Jamie said. "She doesn't respond to something like that. In fact, it instigates her to rebel even more. She hates being compelled to do something. She can actually be a pretty... sweet girl when you get to know her. Like, truly get to know her." Jamie felt sick in the stomach upon hearing those words flow from his mouth. Sophie, a sweet girl? He wished.
"Are you telling me what to do, young man?" asked Mr. Bane, without turning.
"Not at all," Jamie responded. "I'm merely suggesting. And I'm also just giving my opinion. I know my sister better than you do. And I know sending her off to that school is not going to change anything." That came out a little too harsh.
Mr. Bane turned and glared at Jamie, but the boy didn't care any longer. He pressed on before the man could get a word in. "You are so militaristic. You're not even related to us, well, not yet. You don't seem to care about us at all. You just want us to say and do the right things. Things that you think are right, but in reality, not all of them are. Our father never treated us that way!" Jamie blurted the last line out, and was surprised when Mr. Bane remained unfazed. Though he could see rage boiling up in the man's eyes. "And mom would never treat us that way. You can't be in control of everything."
"Why you..." Mr. Bane began.
"I'm nineteen and I'm no longer a child," went on Jamie. He couldn't stop himself. Wasn't he supposed to have a heart-to-heart talk with this guy? Like his mother wished him to? Well, if his mother asked, he could probably call it a heart-to-heart talk à la Jamie-Bennett-when-he's-in-contact-with-people-lik e-this-creep. "Maybe you should change your approach, then you'll be above reproach." Oh, he was rhyming now. Jamie wished he could just slap himself in the face right there and then. What was he rattling on about? He was ruining everything! Suddenly he was sure Sophie could've done a better job.
The good news was, he was glad he said everything he wanted to say. The bad news, Mr. Bane didn't seem to like it.
The guy, however, seemed lost for words. Jamie finally got to his feet. "I'm so sorry this didn't turn out right. But I..."
"Forget it," the man spoke, all of a sudden. Jamie was taken aback. Mr. Bane got to his feet and faced Jamie, reaching out and grabbing the boy's shoulders. He smiled, which creeped Jamie out even more. The boy tried to step backwards, but the grip on his shoulders was too strong. "I understood all you said. And this park is a delightful place. Now, allow me to take you somewhere with a similar ambience."
Jamie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Where?" he asked.
Mr. Bane smiled again. The smile looked odd and out of place on his face. "You'll know soon enough, but I'm sure you'll love it." He was taking on the tone Mrs. Bennett used with her children. Jamie was confused and creeped out.
But perhaps this was his chance to give the guy a chance.
"Okay." Was his reply.
They returned to the house, where both got into the black car. Jamie waved goodbye to his mother, who was watching from the window. As the car drove off, Jamie sneaked another sideways glance at the man. He was still smiling, but there was something off about his smile. Jamie glanced at the reflection of his house in the rear mirror, watching it grow smaller and smaller until they turn at a corner and it disappeared from sight.
They drove on for about half-an hour. Jamie was getting restless. They were travelling to a part of Burgess he was not familiar with. "How long more before we arrive?" Jamie asked. Mr. Bane had lost his smile, and was wearing a rather calm and collected expression which was also odd, as his signature expression was an angry, frowning look.
"Maybe another fifteen minutes," he replied, shortly. No chidings, nothing. He didn't tell Jamie off for questioning him while he was driving or threaten the boy in any other way. "But I guarantee it'll be worth the long journey."
Jamie nodded and looked out the window. They passed several factories, some houses, plantations and warehouses. Jamie had never been to that part of Burgess before. He hoped Mr. Bane knew where he was going.
All of a sudden, a thought struck the 19- year old and he would've reprimanded himself severely had he not been filled with a new worry. What if Mr. Bane wasn't all he seemed? What if he was driving Jamie somewhere before disposing of the boy? Morbid thoughts raced through Jamie's mind. Mr. Bane could drive him to the end of Burgess, throw him out of the car and return to the house, where he would tell Mrs. Bennett that Jamie had lost his temper and wanted to stay with a friend till the wedding was over. Or he could stop at someplace and dispose of the boy permanently, like those thriller movies and novels Jamie had watched and read. He began to panic and wondered why he had not thought of it before.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go somewhere else," he said, firmly. "If you could just turn back and head back to Burgess."
"We are still in Burgess," said Mr. Bane, calmly.
"I mean, back home," Jamie said, his voice rising. "Like, right now!"
Mr. Bane smirked and kept on driving without a word. "Are you deaf? Turn back! I have to get home!" Jamie yelled, at the top of his voice. The streets they were driving through were deserted.
Finally Jamie freed himself of his safety belt before he lunged forwards and grabbed the steering wheel, attempting to turn the car around and head back home. He caught Mr. Bane by surprise and for a moment the guy did nothing, merely yelled out in shock and the car turned partially. But he soon realised what was going on, and shoved Jamie off the wheel, hard. The boy banged slightly against the side, while Mr. Bane turned the car back and drove at an alarming speed. Jamie knew it was no use trying to open the door and get out that way, he could injure himself. He tried to throw a punch, but the man was fast. He grabbed Jamie's outstretched wrist with his left hand and released the grip on the steering wheel momentarily to twist the boy's arm. Jamie cried out in pain and Mr. Bane delivered a strong blow to his head which made the boy see stars. As Mr. Bane was struggling to regain control of his car, his next punch was sloppy and Jamie managed to evade it and began fumbling with the door, his head throbbing and his vision blurring. The car was not going that fast anymore. He could just jump out.
The car swerved suddenly to the right, and Jamie, without the safety of the belt, was thrown towards Mr. Bane. He steadied himself and managed to unlock the door of the slowing vehicle and climb out in a hurry.
"Grab him!"
Jamie turned in shock, able to make out the blurry silhouettes of two other men running out of a warehouse nearby, towards him. The boy scrambled to his feet, trying to run, but his head throbbed badly, slowing him down. A moment later, he felt a pair of hands clench around his neck as one of the men grabbed him in a stranglehold. Another blow was delivered to his head and everything went black.
I'm so sorry about the sudden change in rating. But it would come sooner or later, as Jamie is growing up. Anyway, different chapters may have different ratings (please refer to edited summary) and I'll mention at the beginning of a chapter if it is not rated K+ or lower. I apologise again.