Trouble Read online

  “Let go, Russ,” Byron pleaded.

  “That was very sneaky of you to get your horny face on her.”

  “I’m not horny and I don’t like your tone,” he retorted.

  “After I’ve finished with him (he waved to Matt) we’re going to have another talk.”

  “Don’t do this Russ,” Byron warned.

  “Okay Tarzan, you tricked me back there. You became a hero at my expense showing off your cloned body. Don’t push me otherwise your carcass won’t be worth a dime.”

  “I’m not a clone,” he retorted.

  “Whatever. You do get around,” he said to cackles from his gang.

  “I don’t get around. I resent that,” Byron said. It was futile arguing. “Be reasonable Russ.” he said as he moved towards Matt with the switchblade.

  “What do you want?” Matt asked quietly as he came menacingly closer.

  “We are going to have a competition. I’ll race you to the cliff. The first one who chickens out walks away and the winner gets to keep Nat.”

  “It’s a crazy idea,” Natalie said.

  “It’s dangerous!” Byron said.

  “I like danger!” Russ said.”And to make it sweet, you will ride with him. I know you two don’t get along.”

  “We’re like brothers. We get along,” Matt said fiercely.

  Byron was thankful that Matt had stood by him in front of Russ.

  “This racing doesn’t sound good,” Natalie said.

  “The other alternative is for you to give her up right now and walk away from here.” He held the switchblade so close to Matt’s neck.

  The move came so suddenly that Russ seemed totally unprepared for it. Matt moved with reckless speed holding up Russ’s hand and cartwheeling his body around. He lay flat on his back on the ground with the knife in Matt’s hand.

  Russ’s friends reacted very slowly as Byron dived for Russ and took hold of the gun in his pocket. Before they could all rush back to the car to get their firearms he had pointed the gun at them.

  “Don’t try anything foolish. I know how to use this thing.”

  They all froze as Natalie, Matt and Byron rushed to the car.

  “You can’t run away from us. We’ll come for you,” Russ screamed.

  +++++

  “We can lose them in traffic?” Natalie said.

  “They have a faster car,” Matt said.

  “So what do we do?” Byron asked.

  “Let’s hope they don’t get carried away with being Clint Eastwood.”

  “Let’s hope so because I’m very good at using this,” Byron said brandishing the gun.

  “I hate guns,” Natalie said chiding Byron for the trigger happy way he waved it..

  ”And I hope I don’t have to use it.” He groaned as he looked back. “He’s coming very fast. If they start shooting I’ll have to shoot back.”

  “Don’t hit anyone,” Natalie pleaded.

  “I’ll shoot them all between the eyes,” Byron said. She gasped. “No I’m just joking. I’ll shoot their tires but only if they shoot at us.”

  Matt used the brake without slamming it on.

  “Oh my God. He’s going to rear end us,” Natalie screamed.

  “Can you guys let me drive? He’s got a faster car. Please trust me,” Matt bristled.

  He swerved violently into the next lane just as Russ’s car was within inches. That took them in the opposite direction.

  Russ slammed on his brake violently and he almost lost control as he followed them.

  His car was fast approaching at much greater speed. He was trying to put the front quarter of his car to the rear quarter of Matt’s car. Russ assumed that Matt was not familiar with this maneuver.

  What he didn’t know was that Matt had deliberately got himself in this situation. Russ’s vehicle was a little faster than Matt’s and made a swerve. Too late. Russ was slow in hitting Matt’s back end. He tried to straighten the car but he lost control and it landed into a ditch.

  They were preoccupied with their own thoughts. It had been a very dramatic day and it seemed as if the worst was still to come.

  “Let’s go somewhere for a while to think things through. They’ll probably try to get us at our homes.”

  “I’m okay with that. I’ll tell mum I’ll be late home.”

  “That’s okay with me. I’ll ring my grand dad and tell him I’ll be delayed,” Matt said.

  Byron knew his dad was hardly home so he wouldn’t be missed. But out of consideration for Juanita who was like a mother to him, he rang to say he would be quite late home.

  “There’s a mansion in Franklin Hills that a good friend of my dad owns. I’ve been there so many times. He’s hardly ever there. Let’s go and talk there for a while and then think through what we have to do.”

  “What if someone is in the mansion?” Natalie asked.

  “I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a trio of law abiding American teens stopping by for constructive discussions.”

  Matt shrugged as he took directions from Byron.

  They were all quiet each lost in their own thoughts.

  Then Natalie’s Galaxy rang.

  It was Russ’s number and Buzz one of his sleazy friends on the line. She put the call on the speaker.

  “Nat you really have to come. Russ is injured and wants to see you. He just wants to see you before he goes.”

  “He’s faking it. He thinks he’s some kind of a dying star,” Byron warned.

  “He thinks you’re his supernova to complete his fall.” Matt said wittily.

  “Stop it,” Natalie protested feebly. She thought about it for a while. “If he’s injured, there’s nothing much we can do as the medics will have taken him by now. We’ll report this later.”

  Byron’s Iphone buzzed. He put the call on the speaker. It was Quentin.

  “Hi Byron. Is everything okay? I saw that commotion in the car park.”

  “Everything’s fine at the moment. We managed to evade Russ.”

  “Where are they?”

  “At the moment in a ditch.”

  “We’re just going to Franklin Hills to talk about this and see what we have to do.”

  Quentin asked for directions and said he’d drop by later. He spoke to Natalie who felt much better afterwards.

  Chapter 15: Overcoming obstacles

  Matt and Byron swam in the large kidney shaped swimming pool. Natalie was changing and would come down later.

  “You love Natalie,” Byron said as he stood by the poolside looking down at him. He tried to make his voice as casual as possible.

  Matt suppressed the urge to groan in the water. Apparently this issue was not over yet. He had still not gotten over the loss of Natalie. There were still the festering wounds that had not healed. How was he to deal with this? Every time he opened his mouth, he seemed to get on the prickly side of Byron. Should he just remain silent and ride this out?

  “I thought we’d covered this ground already,” he said sounding as conciliatory as possible.

  “I guess I don’t know you that well which is why I’m sort of making one last check.”

  “I didn’t know you were guarding her so closely.”

  Byron squatted looking down at him. His face was tense. “I hear your dad’s a very rich doctor with a hotshot hunk of a son like you.”

  He didn’t know where this was leading and he didn’t like the tone of Byron’s voice, “And I guess you also heard that I was troublesome back there and got shipped out here.”

  “I still haven’t come to that chapter.”

  Matt came out of the water, “What are you trying to say?” His voice had a dangerous edge to it. “Ever since I got to know you, you’ve been on my back.”

  “I just want her to be happy.”

  “She’d have chosen you if she wanted you.”

  “I’ve accepted that she likes you.”

  “Why do I have to tell you what my plans are?”

  “You don’t. But think about it
. I comfort her when she gets bashed. I put myself on the line for her. I humiliate myself to save her dignity. You come along out of the blue to win her. You call me your brother. I want to walk away knowing you have good intentions. What’s so hard about that?”

  Matt was getting angrier; ”You have everything in life and a rich dad. You’re intelligent and handsome. You could have any other girl you wanted.”

  “Don’t be so dumb. I don’t want any other girl.”

  “At least make use of the Jacuzzi and all those things in your home.”

  Byron could barely control his anger, “You’re sick if you think that all I think about is the Jacuzzi and doing it to girls. I’ve never been so insulted.”

  “I’m sure those thoughts go through your mind sometimes.” Matt sensed that he was contributing very poorly to these tense discussions. His words had touched a raw nerve. Byron felt that most boys went through sexual urges but that their values of respect triumphed over their desires. He felt that Matt was unfair to imply that all he wanted was torrid sex in the Jacuzzi. These innuendos were too much for him to contain.

  He punched Matt in the mouth and followed up with one to his stomach and to his chest.

  Matt didn’t flinch from the blows. He stood his ground. Some blood trickled from the side of his lips, “And don’t think I didn’t know what you were trying to do in the ramparts. You wanted to hurt me by kissing her again while I was coming up. You wanted me to let go. Well I don’t give up that easily.”

  “I guess what I’m asking is if she’s just a good lay for you. Using her and then boasting about it.” His voice was full of bitterness and anger.

  “After all this time, you think I’m just out to do it to her? You’ve made my life so miserable. You say hurtful things. Why do you keep hassling me?”

  “You haven’t answered my question.”

  The move was so fast that Byron did not see it coming. In one sweeping movement, he kicked Byron’s legs then thrust him to the ground with his elbow on his neck. Byron was no match for Matt who was very strong and could have hurt him really badly. “I can break your legs or your arms if I want to. Don’t ever talk like that to me. I’m not using her and I don’t want to put tadpoles inside her if that’s what you’re implying.”

  Byron struggled to breathe as Matt continued to pin him down.”You like this don’t you? Breaking my arms or legs and then perhaps another hug to make me lose my self-respect,” he said angrily.

  “I don’t like what I’m doing and I’m not hugging you! I wanted to be like a brother to you.”

  “While holding me down like this?”

  “Look at what you’ve done to me.” Some blood trickled from his nose and lips to Byron. “You hit me first. I held you down to stop you from hitting me and making me too angry to forget myself. Why do you dislike me?”

  “I don’t dislike you. I asked you a simple question because Natalie is like a sister to me and you humiliate me.”

  “You are violent. You punched me. I’m just so frustrated. You make me feel like I’m some rotten scum,” Matt said with a pained look as he let go of him.

  Byron dived for the reclining chair. He whirled around with the gun in his hand. He was shaking visibly.

  “You think you can go around breaking bones when you don’t want to discuss issues,” Byron’s face was livid with anger.

  “You hit me first and I lost my cool.”

  “You think you can come here from Indiana and mess around with her? Sow your wild oats and then boast about it on facebook or youtube?”

  “I’m not here to mess around with girls. And stop saying that I’m the hotshot son of a doctor. Do you want to know the truth?” Matt had stood up. “My dad hates me. He even told me that my birth was an accident. I’m not going to hurt Natalie if that’s what you think,” he said angrily. “You hate me so much. I just don’t know why.”

  “I don’t hate you.”

  “I thought you were my friend, a brother but you’re just like Russ. Before you shoot let me spell out one thing for you. I love Natalie!” he said defiantly.

  It occurred to Byron that Matt was so very much like him in temperament. It was as if he was looking at a clone of himself.

  He was ashen faced when Matt’s words sunk in. “Oh my God,” he gasped as he put away the gun. “I almost shot him,” he was mumbling to himself. He cradled his head. “I can’t believe this! Oh my God!” He was shaking uncontrollably and gasping for air as he rolled over.

  Natalie ran from the mansion as Matt turned him around hovering over him. He was hyperventilating. She held Byron tenderly, fanning him, her eyes moist.

  “He’s like a brother to me,” she said defensively to Matt.

  “He likes you.”

  “Sometimes I regret not being able to have a friendship with him.”

  “He’d like that I’m sure,” there was a slight note of bitterness in his voice. “He’s kind of obsessed with you.”

  Natalie looked sharply at him, “He understands that since he’s like a brother to me it’s hard for me to relate to him as a girlfriend. He’s accepted that. That’s fine with him.”

  What Natalie had not told anyone was that she was going through so many emotional issues especially with her parents’ divorce. She wanted to preserve the brotherly relationship with Byron because it helped her deal constructively with her own issues. He was going through his own challenges and was struggling through it. She did not want to complicate their lives with a romance that might get too hot for them to handle. Sometimes having only a little of what was good was the better option. Too much overflowing love from Byron could be destructive if she was not able to contain the tsunami like emotions.

  “I wanted so much to be his friend,” Matt groaned.

  “You can still be his friend. He’d love that very much.”

  “Now I’ve messed things up.” (“By hitting your brother” but he did not say that.)

  “You haven’t made a mess of things. I’m taking up your offer of the 2 weeks,” Natalie smiled.

  That’s awesome.”

  “Can’t you two get along?”

  “He doesn’t like me.”

  “What makes you say that?” Natalie sounded surprised. “He thinks highly of you and even defended you.”

  Matt was taken aback.

  “After we came back from the Station, he said he wished he had a brother like you. Someone to love and argue with; the sibling rivalry kind of thing.”

  “I guess we went too far today. I hit him.”

  “He provoked you but I really don’t think he intended to hit you,” She paused. “I think it’s healthy to talk things over and get things off your chest. I don’t think he hates you.”

  Matt looked away feeling embarrassed that he had been off handed in his responses and that he had treated Byron shabbily.

  “I guess in his own fumbling way he wanted to make sure that his trust was not misplaced.”

  Gradually Byron calmed down and breathed normally. He smiled at them as he got up slowly.

  “Nat can you give me a minute with Matt?”

  Natalie dived into the pool.

  “I misjudged you. I loved her so much I couldn’t let go. She chose you over me. I’m okay with that now,” He reached over and wiped the small trickle of blood on Matt’s lips. “Did I do that? I don’t know what came over me.” He smiled.”I’m letting go now.”

  Matt was visibly shaken, “You’re letting go?”

  “Yes, I’ve been kind of selfish. I’m now happy for her. I always loved her even when she was Russ’s girl and I always wished every day that they’d break up so I’d come into the picture. But when she chose you, I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t accept that she saw me as a brother. I’m okay now.”

  Matt was speechless. He thought of his selfish dad and was touched by Byron’s gesture.

  “And Matt,” Byron hesitated. “I’m so terribly sorry back there. I can’t believe I was going to shoot you. I lost contr
ol.”

  “Relax. I antagonized you. Sorry for pushing you down like that,” he paused. “I knew you were not going to shoot. You’d never shoot a brother,” he smiled.

  “Let’s shake to it,” Byron said.

  The dark shadows had gone as suddenly as it had descended.

  Byron went into the mansion to get a drink and to cool off in the shower.

  +++++

  Matt swam under water and then it hit him. He suddenly had the revelation that forgiveness meant letting go of all the dark shadows of hate and bitterness lurking in his mind. He thought of his grandparents who were always there for him. His grand dad said that he had a father in heaven who always cared for him, loved him and would never leave him. He suddenly realized the secret of forgiveness. One had to fill one’s body and soul with love. This love replaced the hate, bitterness and anger. One had to process this decision and then put it into action. He was doing that now. He felt a great weight coming out of his body and soul. He felt calm, relaxed and at peace with himself.

  In his own affirming way Byron had shown Matt the meaning of true love by letting go of the girl he loved so dearly in the world above anything else. That took real courage to do without feeling bitter and angry. He had replaced his wounded feelings with real love.

  Suddenly he was free. He was overwhelmed by this wonderful feeling of love.

  Natalie swam over looking quite alarmed because his eyes were red and tears glistened.

  “I’ve done it! I’ve done it!” Matt said excitedly. It was as if he was speaking to himself. “Oh my God, I’ve done it.” His eyes sparkled as if he had just found something of great beauty.

  She looked quizzically at him. She was perceptive enough not to say anything but allowed him to process his issues.

  “My dad. He said he hated me. That I was an accident, that I’d amount to nothing.” He spoke with a new revelation. “I’ve forgiven him.” He looked up into the sky and shouted, “I’m free!”

  She hugged him and felt happy that he had found his freedom in her presence.