The television screen flickered, displaying the image that fueled Brandon’s rage. Lyse and Levi, hand in hand, walked out of the detention center, their faces radiating a mixture of relief and newfound strength.
The sight of their intertwined hands, their shared smiles, sent a jolt of pure, unadulterated fury and jealousy through Brandon’s veins. He could not stand it. He could not bear to see them happy, together while he was here, miserable. It was all Levi’s fault, everything that had happened was because of him.
His carefully constructed plan, the plan that was supposed to deliver Lyse into his arms and completely destroy Levi’s entire life, had crumbled. Levi’s miraculous exoneration, the revelation of Brett’s alleged involvent, had thrown a wrench into everything. He had been so close, so ticulously planned every detail, and now...nothing. It was all for naught.
He lunged forward, his hand connecting with a nearby lamp. It crashed to the floor, shattering into a thousand pieces, the violence of the act a small release for the tempest raging within him. He paced the room, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his mind consud by a maelstrom of anger, jealousy, and a desperate need for control.
He thought of Lyse, her beautiful face, her kind heart. He had been a fool all this while, lost her and was now convinced that she was the only woman for him. But she had chosen Levi, the very man he despised, a man who had stirred up the calm waters of his life and turned it to a turbulent storm. The thought of Lyse in Levi’s arms, sharing his life, was like a knife twisting in his gut.
He thought about everything that he had done to get his plans in place, his thoughts then drifted to his mother. The mory of their last encounter, the confrontation that had sealed her fate, resurfaced in his mind, vivid and disturbing.
He had gone to see her after the bombshell that Levi had dropped, desperate for answers, desperate for her support. He had seen Brett leaving the apartnt then and had felt a burning fla of anger in his belly.
FLASHBACK
Sutton opened the door, the expression on her face apprehensive until she saw who it was then she rolled her eyes and turned away from the door.
"Oh it’s just you." She said, her tone indicating that he was no one important.
Brandon stared at her back, and followed her into the room. He watched as she poured a drink from the sniffer and took a huge swallow.
"Is it true..." he whispered, "Is what Levi said true?"
"You are pathetic," she had hissed, her voice laced with venom. "If I did not know better, i would think that you are a Marlowe. A weakling. A coward just like them."
"Mother?" Brandon whispered, his broken voice mirroring his heart which felt broken to pieces.
"I have done all that I have done for you, you ungrateful shit!" Sutton exclaid loudly. "Everything I did, to give you everything I never had."
"But I never asked for that!" Brandon exploded in anger. "You did it for yourself, all for your gain. I have nothing to show for everything."
"I should have gotten rid of you the mont I realized that your parasitic body was growing inside ." She spat, her words venomous and cutting.
Brandon stared at her in disbelief at her words. He felt wetness on his cheeks and realized that they were tears.
"You are never be a real man," she had said. "It is a real sha, you are nothing but a disappointnt. At the first sign of problems you co crying to mommy like a big helpless baby."
Sothing inside Brandon snapped. The years of resentnt, the pent-up anger, the feeling of inadequacy all fueled by his mother’s endless demands, her controlling and manipulative attitude, it had all boiled over in that one mont. He saw red, a blinding rage that consud him entirely.
When he lunged at her and wrapped his hands around her throat, she had laughed. The drunken fus from her enveloped him.
"Have you suddenly grown balls, Brandon." She sneered, "are you going to kill your mother?"
Her eyes widened when instead of wavering and releasing her, his hands tightened around her neck. She had struggled, tearing at his hands but he held strong and eventually, her struggles weakened, her life slowly ebbing away. A silence had followed, a chilling stillness that settled over the room.
Brandon had first backed away from her body, horrified and disgusted with himself. But at the sa ti, a part of him had felt...relieved. Free. He had silenced the voice that had haunted him for so long, the voice that had chipped away at his self-esteem, the voice that had reminded him of his own perceived weaknesses.
Thankfully, he had co to the apartnt through the service entrance and he knew that side did not have functioning security cara. He scurried out without a thought about how to cover his cri, the only thing paramount in his mind had been to get as far away from his mother as possible.
After he got ho, the first thing he did was get into the shower and scrubbed his body raw, washing away the invincible signs of the taboo he had just committed.
When the police failed to co knocking on his door, he was able to take a deep breath and even see the opportunity which had presented itself to get rid of Levi and punish Brett. He had played the part of the grieving son, effectively fooling everyone around him.
CURRENT TI
Now, as he watched Lyse and Levi on the television screen, the mory of his mother’s death served as a chilling reminder of his capacity for violence. He was capable of anything, he realized, especially when he felt threatened, when he felt his control slipping away.
He knew he could not let Lyse and Levi be happy. He couldn’t let them live their lives together, oblivious to his pain, his desires. He had to do sothing. He had to reclaim control. He had to make Lyse his.
His plan may not have worked as well as he wanted this ti, but he could still co up with another plan, do sothing that would keep Lyse by his side.
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