Chapter 2 - The Two-Hour Countdown
Clarissa stood up,
turning to face the vultures at her table.
Alana’s face had gone from pale to a deep,
angry red.
Ellie was frantically trying to hide her plate,
as if the grease on her hands wouldn't testify against her.
"Clarissa!"
Alana stammered,
forcing a smile that looked like a grimace.
"You’re early!"
"We were just...
giving Dustin a little lesson in humility."
Clarissa looked at the fried chicken,
the food she had paid for with her overtime hours.
"A lesson in humility,"
Clarissa repeated,
the words tasting like ash.
"By starving a seven-year-old boy in his own home?"
"He was being difficult,"
Ellie cut in,
her voice rising in defense.
"He didn't want to share his toys with Mason."
"And he was talking back to Mom."
Dustin grabbed Clarissa’s hand,
his fingers cold.
"I didn't,
Mom,"
he whispered.
"I just asked if I could have some chicken."
Clarissa felt a wave of nausea roll over her.
She looked at the clock on the wall,
the ticking sound echoing in the tense air.
"It is 1:10 PM,"
Clarissa said,
her voice devoid of emotion.
"I want you out of this house."
Alana let out a sharp,
indignant bark of laughter.
"Don't be ridiculous,"
she snapped.
"Parker will never allow this."
"He is my son,"
"and this is his house."
Clarissa stepped forward,
her eyes locking onto her mother-in-law’s.
"This house was purchased five years before I even met Parker,"
"with the inheritance from my grandfather."
"It is in my name,
and my name alone."
"Parker is a guest here,"
"just as you were."
"But the invitation has been revoked."
Ellie jumped to her feet,
her face twisted in a sneer.
"You’re going to throw your family out onto the street?"
"Over a potato?"
"No,"
Clarissa corrected her.
"Over the fact that you are monsters."
"You have two hours."
"At 3:10 PM,
I am locking the doors."
"If you are still here,"
"I will call the sheriff and have you trespassed."
Alana stood up,
trying to regain her dignity by smoothing her expensive blouse.
"We’ll see what Parker has to say about this."
"He’ll be home from his business trip tonight,"
"and he won't be happy."
Clarissa ignored her,
turning her back on the table.
She picked up the grocery bags she had dropped,
the ones filled with food they would never taste.
"Dustin,
go pack your backpack,"
she said gently.
"We’re going to the bedroom."
As they walked away,
she heard the frantic sounds of chairs scraping and Ellie’s muffled sobbing.
But her heart was a stone.
She led Dustin upstairs,
locking the door to the master suite behind them.
She sat him on the bed,
opening a fresh container of yogurt and handing him a spoon.
"Eat this,
sweetheart,"
she said.
"And then we’re going to have a very long talk."
Outside the door,
the house was a storm of shouting and heavy footsteps.
But inside,
Clarissa was already planning her next move.
She knew Parker would call.
And she knew he would take their side.
Because that was the pattern of her life.
But patterns,
May you like
she decided,
were meant to be broken.
