Beautiful Disaster (The Bet) (27 page)

They belonged together. They were smart, jaded as fuck and the heirs of multi-million dollar empires. They had the world at their fingertips, the power to create or destroy calling out to them to do with it as they will. Matt knew that Nicholas had strayed away from their chosen path, their
destined
path all because he thought he was in love. The very idea was laughable. Honestly, people like them didn't fall in love. They seduced, they fucked, pure and simple.

It was as black and white as that and up until that fucking cunt came into the picture, Nicholas had been a master at the game. But Matt wasn't worried; they would have their time again, very soon. Everything would go back to the way it used to be and Nicholas would thank him.

"Thank you, Bates," he would say with that disarming grin, "Thank you for saving me from a life of blue balls and snot-nosed children." And then they would fuck like the world was on fire.

He took another hit of the joint, his third in the last hour and glanced at the clock on the wall, wondering what was taking Carlyle so long.

"Fucking little bitch!" Ah, speak of the devil. Matt turned his head at the disgruntled growl watching listlessly as Tony limped towards him. "I'm about ready to put a goddamn bullet in her skull and get this whole shit over and done with." He flopped down in the black sectional couch, scratching the side of his head with the G39. "Tell me again when exactly I get to go after Ellie?" he asked turning the Glock on Matt.

Matt rolled her eyes, pushing the gun away."The minute I have Nicholas in my bed, I told  you this already. Now, how goes the marriage bargain?"

Tony's scowl deepened as he played with the safety. "We haven't even gotten a response yet and I'm beginning to wonder whether you're fucking with me."

"Rela---" Matt was interrupted by the explosive shatter of glass coming from the foyer. Tony and Matt both shared a looked, wondering if it
were
Maddie being an idiot again.

"Bates!" Nicholas'
distinct vocals were heard all the way upstairs followed shortly by more shattering.

Matt jumped into action as fast as his drug induced mind would allow.

It was unadulterated anger
that coursed through Nicholas'
veins. He was cold, wet and very, very pissed off and with a steel bat in hand
,
he enjoyed taking his anger out on the expensive artifacts adorning Matt's home. The frosted glass door that had been part of the front entrance was reduced to shattered pieces on the floor and now crunched beneath his boots as he made his way into the mansion, a mansion that had once upon a time been his sanctuary.

Nicholas swung the bat and it connected with three lined vases set
on a small ledge in the foyer. T
hey shattered to the ground. Tulips and a pool of water lay in its wake.

"Bates!" The humor wasn't lost on Nicholas as he realized just how like Stanley Kowalski he sounded just today alone. First, bellowing out Ellie's name as though she were his "Stella" and now this. His life was one big fucking theater act and Nicholas couldn't wait until the moment the curtain fell, he was too fucking tired.

He lazily swung the bat from side to side, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. This was probably the most fun he’d had all day. Shit, he wouldn't mind going on like this for the rest of the afternoon.

"Bates---"

"Nicky!" Nicholas glanced at the grand staircase, the smile on his face haunting.

"Hey there, buddy." Holding the bat over his head, a hand at each end Nicholas stared at Matt, face devoid of emotion.

Matt, oblivious to the rage festering in Nicholas like a cancer, descended the stairs, elated to see that his friend had come, finally. 

"You okay man?"

"No," h
e replied, "but I will be." Noticing the swing of the bat a little too late, Matt wasn't given a chance to retreat as it smashed into his left arm. The metal bat rung, the impact of steel meeting bone vibrated with a sickening thwack. Pure agony seared up Matt's left arm and the savage scream that ripped from his throat didn't help ease the pain.

Noting the deadly gleam in gunmetal eyes, Matt staggered backwards as Nicholas advanced a languid gate that was all menacing. Matt held his arm through the debilitating ache, fearing if he let go it would fall to the floor, he nervously glanced at his best friend. "Nick…Nicky… let me explain---"

"No, I don't think I want to listen just yet." His overgrown fringe obscuring his vision, Nicholas shook his head to remove it. He swung the bat with so much force that he knew, the moment it came in contact with Matt's knee, that he'd broken the bone. That knowledge was like a warm blanket to his otherwise frigid being.

Matt shrieked and collapsed to the floor, the pain far too much for his body to handle standing up.

Nicholas stared down at him, indifferent to his pain. Cold, detached and teetering on the brink of his sanity, he wasn't bothered in the least by the ugly position of Matt's leg. "I warned you, didn't I Matthew? I fucking
warned
you not to fuck up my relationship with Ellie. You didn't listen to me. See what happens when you don't listen?"

"Shit, Nicholas …" Matt sputtered as he tried scooting away and failed.

Nicholas smoothly fell down on his haunches, he brought the bat in front of him
,
set both hands on the rounded head and rested his chin on the back of his hands. "Try breathing, the pain eases when you breathe."

"Ni…Nicky...I did it for…for us...."

"No," Nicholas shook his head, the weight of his gaze bore into Matt like lasers. "You intentionally set out to hurt me and mine just for your own selfish, depraved pleasure and now, I'm intentionally setting out to hurt you and you have no fucking idea how good it feels right now. When I'm done with you, I promise, you'll beg me to kill you."

The agonized screams did not register as he viciously yanked on Matt's broken arm, upon hearing the snap, bone dislodging from its socket, Nicholas released him. "I don't hate you for fucking our friendship over Matthew. I don't hate you for recording us in the cabin, because I know it killed you watching us together. I don't even hate you for getting my father up my ass again. I do however hate you for making Ellie cry. I hate you for making her doubt my love for her and for the small fact that she believes she can no longer trust me."

The drug haze did not dull the pain that threatened to have him fall into a faint and as Matt stared into Nicholas's eerily serene face he wanted the darkness to claim him so he wouldn't have to ever see that look again.

Rising to his full height, Nicholas loomed over Matt and bringing the bat to his face, he swung with one arm. "She hates me now, Matthew, because of you, she hates me!"

"Alright, asshole, that's enough!"

This was the second time in all his eighteen years that a gun had been pointed at him, Nicholas mused silently seeing Tony's form from his peripheral view.

"Drop the bat!" It fell from Nicholas's hands and clattered to the ground. Maddie, battered and bruised, stared at Nicholas from Tony's side, her blue-green eyes brimming with fear.

"Oh man, I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass!"

"Put the gun down and give it a try." Nicholas quietly challenged.

"Slow your role Bat Boy
. Y
ou’re not as strong as you think you are."

"Like I said, put the gun down and try me."

The safety clicked off.
Tony practically bounced in place. "Think I won't do it?"

"I dare you."

Everything happened so fast that Maddie wasn’t even aware of it until she heard the resounding blast of the gun and Nicholas’s body falling backwards. A surge of adrenaline was the only thing pushing her as she tackled Tony to the ground and wrestled the gun from his hands. She used whatever God had given her to fight him, her nails scratched, her hands smacked and punched and her teeth dug mercilessly into tender flesh and bit down.

The gun skidded away in their scuffle and Maddie struggled to her feet to grab it. Her hands shook terribly, her heart like the thunderous hooves of horses in her ears. She aimed for Tony, closed her eyes and fired. The recoil nearly took her arm off and she yelped, dropping the gun. Her eyes flew open at Tony's scream and she prayed to God that she'd hit her mark as she warily watched him a few feet away, blood oozing from the gaping wound in his right calf. 

She didn't waste a second longer as she ran for Nicholas; she fell to her knees at his side. The blood was everywhere now. It slicked the marble floor, coated her hands, warm, gooey as she anxiously fished through his pockets for a cell phone.

"Oh God, please…please…please..."She repeated the mantra under her breath as tears pricked her lids. She wanted to retch, her body shook furiously
as she
finally
found
the phone.

Tears fell from her eyes, down her nose, gathered at her chin before finally falling, mingling in with the pool of blood she sat in. "Pick up...pick up...pick..."

"Emergency, 911?"

"Yes, my friend’s been shot. H-he needs an ambulance!"

"Oh God, please hurry! There's so much blood!" Through her tears, Maddie sounded borderline hysterical, the dispatcher had to tell her to keep her cool several times during the call. "Hang in there, Nicky the ambulance is on its way. Please hang on...". She chocked on a sob when she felt the continuous flow of his blood pulsing against her hand.

"You know they aren't going to let you off the hook, right?" Maddie’s head spun in the direction of the strained voice. Tony sat on the floor, his ashen face contorted in a grotesque mask of pain as he held a hand over the wound Maddie had wisely delivered.

"Shut up." she murmured, turning her attention back to Nicholas.

"You---you think just because you played the ‘hero' the cops are going to let you get away? They'll question you and they'll find out about the drugs, the prostitution, the lies, and your pregnancy. Everyone’s going to find out about your sorry little life and they’re going to hate you."

"
Shut up
." She said through gritted teeth.

Tony had always been a master manipulator, now he put those skills to use. He would get Maddie to help him escape. There was no way in hell he was going to get caught in this situation. He knew his words were having the desired effect when he saw the crease of fear and doubt form across her brow.

"Everyone's going to hate you, Maddie. Ellie will find out about our little plan and she'll never forgive you for trying to break up her relationship with Nicholas. And your Gran, Maddie, what do you think she'll do when she finds out how big of a whore you are. You might as well take that gun and blow your brains out. At least then you'll die with some dignity, even if we both know it's a load of shit." His tone was not kind. Every word he spoke seared through Maddie like battery acid.

On her knees beside the prone body of the man who would never love her back, Maddie’s entire being shook, Tony's condemning words like a battering ram. They were all true. If the truth ever came out, she would be an even bigger social outcast than she was now.

But, Maddie thought suddenly, would it not be her cross to bear if and when those sins finally came to light? What was the agony of being ostracized and reviled if not a fitting punishment for all her indiscretions? Retribution needed to be paid in order to receive salvation. Wasn't that what her Gran had always preached? 

"Come with me, Maddie, and I'll protect you from these bastards. I'll keep you and the baby safe. It'll only be for a while and then we'll come back for what we want, what we'd planned. Come on, Maddie, let's get out of here."

As Maddie heard the distinct wails of sirens off in the distance, a cool sense of tranquility swept over her, putting a stop to her tormented thoughts. And as though another person took over her being, she pushed the blood soaked gun to where Tony sat. "Here, I think it's about time you took your own advice, Tony."

Tony's lips curled in a vicious snarl, his scowl prominent as he clasped his hands around the Glock and aimed at Maddie’s head. "Self-righteous bitch."

Click. Click.Click.

The cacophony of the sirens silenced what would've been the resounding blast of the gun had there been bullets in the chamber. Maddie opened eyes she'd slammed shut in dreaded anticipation of the bullet splitting her flesh open. It never came. What ensued was the pounding of booted feet hitting the ground as the EMT's and cops filled the foyer of the mansion.

"FREEZE!" The police officers aimed cocked guns at Tony, who guiltily held the Glock in his hands, still aimed at Maddie. When he threw the gun and attempted to run, the cops descended on him, like predators on a defenseless prey. Desperation fueled Tony and despite that he was wounded, he fought like a demon out of hell. Flailing, snarling, pure adrenaline had him throwing off three men before they finally tackled him to the ground. One had an unrelenting knee pushing down between the corded blades of his shoulders while another smashed the side of his face to the marbled floor. When they were through they slapped the cuffs on him and read him his rights.