Passage 67
Brittany came home with intentions of packing up a leaving as her aunt requested. Her Uncle Brett met her on the sofa eyes full of tears and puffy from crying. The police were still there asking questions and Brett looked dazed as he looked up at Brittany. Than it hit him what Chloe's last words were.
" Is it true you went to see James?" Said her Uncle in a high tone as he glared at her.
" Uncle Brett I am not a child anymore. You can't call the cops when I don't do as you and aunt Chloe says anymore." She thinking this scene was what was going on except aunt Chloe wasn't beside her Uncle.
" I always wondered why she started drinking so heavily. First I thought it was over Kaylee being discovered but I see you are the problem ." He barked at Brittany eyes full of anger now .
" I didn't forcefully hold the bottle to her mouth she did that all on her own. I'm tired of aunt Chloe always thinking I am wrong over me every choice I make ." Said Brittany now overwhelmed with this conversation.
" Well you won't have to worry about that anymore. Your aunt Chloe died today. She drowned herself trying to drink you out of her mind. She is gone all because of you." Screamed Brett as he stood as two officers stopped him seeing how bad this could get .
" What? She is dead." Said Brittany now shocked. Brittany stumbled backwards as she remembered the last conversation her and her aunt Chloe had. Sure she noticed her aunt was a little drunk but that had been a lot of late. She didn't think her aunt would accidently drown when she left her. She was just so mad her aunt was calling her bait and didn't have faith in her plans for James.
" Yes and she said you were visiting James. After all he did to this family . You were with him while she was dying . If you were here and not there with him your aunt Chloe would still be here." Screamed uncle Brett red faced in anger.
" I'm pretty sure if she was sober for two minutes of the day she would also still be here . You are always blaming me for everything since Kaylee went missing. I'm not the one who killed Kaylee ." Screamed back Brittany as the words hurt her as it flew out of her mouth. It was a low blow pointing out her aunt's recent habits that everyone pretended was under control . She felt like what she said hurt her more to say it then for her to hear it .
"But your visiting the man who did this to your cousin. Do You realize how messed up that is?im done talking about it.Just get out! Get out i don't want to see you ever again." Yelled her Uncle Brett .
Brittany nodded her head as she tried to go upstairs to grab her things. Uncle Brett rushed her blocking her path as she realized everything she had on right now was what she was allowed to leave with. She nodded understanding and turned and left the house she called a home since her parents died and her aunt and uncle took her in . She didn't think this would happen when she went to see James. She had visited him many times and her aunt always drank in the hottub she didn't know why this time was any different.
Meanwhile the Toosleys' had to return back to Camilla family home. Victoria was right Camilla did not come from money as her parents lived in a double wide trailer in a trailer park. When Camilla left she swore she would never come back to the place she ran away from when she was sixteen. But desperate times comes to desperate measures.
Her step father hadn't worked since the nineties and living off of a state mandated crazy check. Her mother was always finding ways to reuse things that broke in the trailer with a bunch of clutter and worthless trash with paint on it laying around. She got her money from a waitressing job where she constantly bringing home food they were going to toss out for being on the hotplate too long. She get one bag and fill it up some nights it be fries and burgers no one ate and sometimes it would be returned food for the order being wrong.
As long as Camilla could remember this was where most of her meals came from . Her mom had the same job she had in her twenties and didn't aspire to do anything else. Camilla's dad died when she was a teenager on an oil rigs accident. Back then her mother had a little money and decided to buy a double wide so she wouldn't have a mortgage. It was a home but after her dad died it was scraping by and eating cold left overs from the restaurants daily roulette of what was in the bag to eat .
Camilla had four older sisters and her youngest that still lived at home and had a baby on the way. When Camilla came home her old room was set up for the baby so her parents made her space in the shed in the backyard with an extention cord as a source of shared electricity and a camping toilet and sink and a battery operated gas heater camping shower hooked up to a water hose . All these items were outside of the small shed only separated by a wall of plywood by a wood fence for privacy.
This little project was her mom's idea for an off the grid tiny home idea. After she picked up a shed she saw on the side of a road one day . It looked like an old playhouse so the space was limited and paint was fading. Her mother always thought one man trash was another man's treasure. She was basically collecting junk to create more junk to clutter the yard and call it creativity.In between the trailer and the shed was a grill to cook on. It was basically bricks that was stacked on each other with an old oven rack . The entire yard looked like half finished projects.
Her mom rarely cooked on the stove and her new husband liked to barbeque everything. Harry her husband since Camilla was fourteen came to her mother as a on call electrician and never seemed to leave or the trailer working correctly since he fixed anything around there. Which made you question if he actually was an electrician at all.
Around the shed stood all Camilla mushroom and frog decor like a fairy garden in dirt and concrete. Brian had to sell his car to get spare cash and bought a clunker to get to and from work . Since his business was seized do to back taxes he was working for the company he helped start . It was a dramatic step down from CEO to errand person . The pay rate was lowest bracket and all the employees that he was mean too made sure they gave him their mail to take to the Currier as well as their coffee orders to bring back.
It was a fast fall from riches to rags. Camilla hadn't worked since she got married to Brian and she was forced to get a job at the restaurant with her mother. Camilla saw this as a loop she would be bound to be stuck in until the day she died. When she wasn't at work she was helping Emily around the trailer with the baby stuff. It was so bad that box fans was in every window since air conditioning is a rich persons luxury. This was the life she ran away from and now she was back like she never left this hell hole.
Now she had a teenage sister pregnet and no husband to be found. She was still in highschool and attending a special school for expecting mother's . Camilla remembers when she was sixteen and hitch hiked her way up to a friend's house and busted her behind working as a hostess in a high end restaurant to make ends meet. That's where Brian met her as he was on a date with another girl and she was his hostess. Back then Brian was starting out the last child and only son of a major franchise .
When Camilla married him he was well off and doing well in business. Then when she found out she couldn't have children and his business began to fall behind he borrowed money from the Zehetii's to maintain their business. When they were back in the good graces Victoria came to work for them as a maid. Well that was the story he told Camilla. He spoiled Victoria because she was young and very beautiful. She was also very discreet about their business.
Sometimes he would bring other maids in to act out fantasies where he was convinced he was the one who was sterile until Victoria ended up pregnant then he knew it was Camilla. Camilla and him tried for five years to have a child of their own but one never came. He even tried to convince Camilla to use a seragant mother so he could sleep around and she wouldn't allow it.
When Regina came to them Victoria was dismissed from their services and another made took her place. This time Brian kept her on birth control to prevent other children from becoming known. Soon he couldn't afford his special maid services and the maids became less frequent.
Meanwhile across the other side of town Regina went to Ryder's house to see if she could play double agent. She was going there to snitch on Roger and Victoria and ask Ryder for a room. He had the Bruno estates that consisted of eight rooms and a fully furnished pool house for guests like a apartment with a pool .
Regina banged on the door after ryder didn't respond to the door bell. Frank was old and moved slower than molasses. When he opened the door Regina's palms were red and hurting from all the knocking.
" Yes." Said the aged butler.
Regina bypassed him and went upstairs to go see Ryder as she had Alexander on her hip and she snapped her fingers at a staff member " make me and Alexander some lunch and send it up to Ryder's room ." She demanded like she owned the place. The staff glared at her like she was speaking a different language. " Go now!" She yelled as the ran off and she rolled her eyes and let herself in Ryder's room unannounced. Ryder was in bed with two woman and he scrimmaged to stop his actions as soon as he noticed Regina.
" What is this. Everyone gets laid except for Regina day." Fussed Regina as she held Alexander as the two woman ran only wearing a sheet out of the room as Ryder sat on his bed with a cover over himself .
" What are you doing here Regina?" He said looking around awkwardly . As he was upset and annoyed he was being interrupted during his rolling around with the two new maids he was interviewing for an important position.
" Oh please I've seen everything you have . Go get some clothes on and come sit with me over there. I have your maids making us lunch and delivering it here " she said seating herself in the area with a sofa and tables in it.
" You know I was on the middle of something before you interrupted me " he complained as he strolled naked to his walk-in closet to get dressed as Regina rolled her eyes how frustrated she was right now . She hadn't slept with anyone since Christopher .
" Well it must not be too important if you stopped on my account." She said bored at his complaints.
" You have a child in my room. I'm not going to do that in front of a toddler." Said Ryder as he sat down knowing Regina acted like this when she is upset. Ryder wasn't her first choice of council but right now she had no one else.
" Did you know Victoria and Roger got married?" She started as Ryder's eyes grew wide. As he nodded as he finally put it together in his head.
" No. I just thought my mother was on vacation. She comes and goes and she please's these days. I had no idea they were even seeing each other." Ryder said straightening his collar on his button up shirt now as he looked at Regina's intrusion a bit rude and inconvenient.
" I just stopped by Rogers office where the both told me as I walking in on them in a thralls of passion. Twice in one damn day I must be lucky."said Regina as she wished she didn't see either her mother and now Ryder doing unholy things .
Regina thought there must be something in the damn air . She wanted Roger but also wanted Christopher as well. Is she always going to want things she can not have. She reflected how messed up and unbalanced her life was right now .
" Your not freaking out over this little information I'm telling you. Why are you not freaking out?" She said confused thinking he be more upset about Roger marrying his mother.
" Why should I. It doesn't concern me . I was here trying to have some fun and blow off some steam and you came in to ruin my fun by telling me something you could have said over the phone. Why are you really here , Regina?" He asked not stupid to her motives.
" Why would you think I would have alternative motives to be here?" She said offended as the maids came in with food and Ryder grabbed some food waiting for Regina's explanation.
" Come on Regina . The same reason why you tried to pin the baby on me when you honestly didn't know who the father was . I'm not judging your whorish ways I'm just questioning the motive behind them. I may act like I don't care about much but it doesn't mean I'm too stupid to observe things around me. So out with it. What do you actually want?" He demanded staring at her.
" I want you?" She said deflecting the question." I've always wanted you. You and I had some really good and I mean very good times." She tried to persuade him.
Ryder wagged his index finger side to side as he made a" oh no no no "gesture
" We all knows that's not possible. Your my sister. Well half sister but still have the same blood running though our veins. I almost messed up on that opportunity to be a inbreed story waiting to happen and I'm not planning on revisiting it anytime soon. " He said as he laughed as he looked at her. Regina felt rejected and mocked at the same time.
" Fine. I got a letter about the paternity for Alexander." She admitted.
" And what does that have to do with me?" He asked eating more food off the plate meant for Regina .
" Your nephew will be on the street if he fails to be an actual Zehetii." She said aggravated she had to explain this to him.
" That's funny my nephew when you need something and my son when you are trying to trick me into feeling guilty for you well being you. Regina I was serious about marrying you before I knew that would be extremely messed up in the end. I wanted to take you in and take care of you , I realized I was nothing but a game to you. I do appreciate a good game and all but not when I'm part of it. Now you need my help to keep you and Alexander off the street from your indiscretion which I'm assuming you two are a packaged pair. " He said coldly as he sat back against the sofa looking at her face grow sour from his words . Ryder ate as he waited for her to empload.
" I'm your sister!" She demanded. " We are family . You of all people should help me as family." She said trying to convince him.
" That is true we are family. One big fucked up dysfuntual family might I add, but Considering we've only been family a few years tops and prior to that fact? Before than I was your puppet and a dedicated lover . Well we all were your lover at one point of time. You tend to do that a lot now I'm thinking about it now." He said as he smirked waiting for Regina to lose her temper at all these run around questions. One thing he could rely on was his sisters short fuse .
" Look I'm sorry that I did that to you and hurt you in the process ." She said as saying sorry felt like vomit in her mouth." I need you now as your sister." She pleaded.
" Are you actually sorry you broke my heart because last I remembered you also loved Gregory and Roger perhaps even Christopher. Christ Regina your heart is getting rather full of promises of love ." He said as he was actually over this conversation but running Regina in circles was actually amusing to him. " Besides what are we talking about here . A house some staff to serve you because we all know your incapable of fending for yourself. Maybe an allowance and a driver or availability of one." He said as he was adding up all the added stress she would be. " All for being just my sister." He snickered as he found it humorous to say out loud.
" Damn it Ryder I have no where else to go. Be my brother help me." She screamed as desperate tears formed in her eyes.
" There it is. Your pride. Your dignity on the line." Laughed Ryder.
" And?" She snapped.
" And I can't have you and a equally spoiled child up in her depleating my funds and mooching off of me. Yes you are my sister. Yes he is my nephew. But do you know what I am not?" Asked Ryder as he looked at her in waiting.
" What Ryder. You know I hate riddles?" Said Regina exhausted from this endless conversation.
" I am not your piggy bank. I'm sorry Regina I don't think it will be beneficial for me to support you in your time of need. But it was cute that you tried. Unfortunately the bank is closed and will be out of commission until further notice." He said with a half cocked smile on his face as her face dropped suddenly." Sorry not sorry." He added smugly.
" You sound like Roger now ." She fussed as she was made Ryder wasn't going to help her.
" I don't see how that is a bad thing. Maybe one day I can learn a few things from him. If that is all you came for you can leave. Please don't make it a habit of barging in my house and room.." He said casually." Thanks for ordering lunch i was getting really hungry with my new friends i made earlier." He said as he winked at her teasingly.
Regina got up mad disappointed in the plan not going her way. She had been told no alot lately and she didn't like it. Ryder had never told her no in fact she had him wrapped around her little finger ready to marry her until Roger ruined it with his telling him that she was his sister. Roger ruined it for Gregory by killing him and making it where she inherited nothing from their marriage of five years . If Gregory had lived ten more years she would have avoided all of this . Then Alexander being Rogers child didn't help. Regina was convinced Roger was causing the most problems in her life right now and she didn't like it one bit.
" Ohhhh wait." He said as she stopped thinking he changed his mind for a moment. She smiled in relief as she knew Ryder couldn't resist her. She smiled as she turned on her heels waiting for his recall.
" Send in my two new friends . I like to give them what I promised before I was so rudely interrupted ." Regina gasped at his request. What the hell did she look like his brothel madam .
He said as he snapped his fingers as the girls came in a few minutes later as Regina stomped out of the Bruno mansion with Alexander as he plan had failed her .
Regina didn't like this Ryder the one who told her no.