“Tied to the tracks and the train's fast coming

Strapped to the wing with the engine running

You say that this wasn't in your plan

Don't mess around with the demolition man

Tied to a chair, and the bomb is ticking

This situation was not of your picking

You say that this wasn't in your plan

Don't mess around with the demolition man…”

-Demolition Man, Sting & The Police

I’m a man of action. I am fearless, I am courageous, I am heroic. I am… I am… well, to be honest, I’m scared shitless. But hey! Like Ed said, no guts, no glory. No pain, no gaaaaaaaaaaaain… one for all, and all for one! Riders on the raaaaaaaaaange! No guts, no glory! Oh, we’re taking a staaaaaaaaaaaaaaand! Ready to prooooove it again…!

*Ahem*

Sorry about that, I’m really nervous, and the Galaxy Rangers marathon was on the other day, and the theme song’s stuck in my head.

Well, here goes nothing.

15. Demolition Man

“Hey, girls. There’s… uh… a party at the weekend, and I was wondering if I’d see you there?”

I blushed hard. I knew this wasn’t a date, or anything like one, but it was a step in the right direction. My first step in the right direction. I was chuffed with myself, to be honest.

“Saturday, get there at nine, right? Ed called me and told me about it.”

“Yeah. So, you going?”

“Sure, I’ll be there. What about you, Li?”

“Well, I’m really not one for parties…”

“Oh, come on,” Ari exclaimed. “It’ll be fun! Besides, I’ll make sure nobody gives you stick, alright?”

Li nodded nervously. “Okay.”

I grinned, and suddenly my courage melted away, job done. I booked it, headed for the safety of school.

Tuesday. Sunday and Monday’s brief rain amnesty was shot to hell. I almost felt sick as I watched it pounding down on the windows, distracting me from my work with its guttural roar. As I watched it, I wished desperately to be allowed out. Although it was only two PM, the whole city was blanketed in darkness by the heavy cumulonimbus clouds, the same clouds that heralded the thunder and lightning that made me even more desperate to escape that stuffy classroom. I was getting stir-crazy.

As four o’clock rolled around, we could barely see outside.

“Alright, children, you are to go home straight away. Don’t dally, and be careful on the roads,” our form tutor said.

I headed outside, chatting with Ari.

“You’d better look after me at the party. I’m a terrible drunk, you know.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll be sober,” I said, shuddering at the memories of Tom’s wedding. “I’m never going near that stuff again.”
“Frankie, Frankie, Frankie… how can you say such a thing? That’s what you do at parties! Forget it, you don’t have to look after me. You’re going to be drinking with me!”

I gulped. She had that feral look in her eyes, the one that freaked the shit out of me.

“Uhhh…”
“Anyway,” she said, “I’ll see you later.”

Adam was depressed when I got home. I reckoned that it was to do with Mary, so I tried to comfort him, but he gave me an awkward look and told me to do my homework. Guess I can’t argue with that, I suppose.

Wednesday. I lay awake all night, listening to Adam try over and over again to reach Mary’s mobile, but to no avail. The phone would ring twice, thrice, and then it would go to answerphone. From this I knew that Mary was purposefully ignoring him, hanging up when she saw that it was still him calling for the umpteenth time. When she eventually picked up to scream at him, I listened through the handset in my room, barely breathing so as not to be heard.

“Forgive me? You forgive me?” she was saying.

“Mary, I–”

“No, Adam. I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. This is your fault entirely!”

“Mary–”

“If you think I’m just going to come back, you can forget it!”
Adam finally lost it.
“How is it my fault that you cheated on me? For a year?! You’ve destroyed this family, you- you- hussy!”

“You were a bad husband, Adam. Gary gives me what I need.”
“So, because I don’t buy you expensive jewellery at your whim or I don’t take you out to a spa every day or make you breakfast in bed on the weekends because I’m working for money to pay for the things you want, you decide that you’re going to wreck the lives of three children– your children! – by turning to that bastard and whoring yourself out for trinkets?”

Mary screamed in rage, and suddenly the line went dead.

I sat in stunned silence for a minute, until Adam, back to his demure old self, said, “Frankie, I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Not even trying to pretend, I whispered, “You knew?”

“Yes…you too, Mark.”

I heard a muffled ‘shit’ and then a click as Mark put the phone down.

“Christ… Adam, I’m sorry.”

“Frankie, you don’t need to be. I’m just glad I got that out, is all.”

I got out of bed and went into Adam’s room.

He sighed as I opened the door, and then patted the bed beside him. He looked like a wreck.

“Frankie, sit.”
I sat.

“The truth is, I rushed into this marriage because it was the right thing to do. I was fifteen at the time. Fifteen, Frankie. Younger than you are now. See, I met Mary in high school. She was three years older than me. One day, we got drunk and fooled around. Worst came to the worst, and she got pregnant. Her family were pro-life and, because of that, her father demanded that I marry her. I was in love, so I complied. Don’t get me wrong, Frankie, I love my children, but...”

“I understand, Adam. Does Mark know?”

He nodded.

“L–Last year.”

When I looked at his face I saw tears streaming down his cheeks. Seconds later, the door opened again, and this time Mark ran in, crying. Adam hugged him tightly as they both cried at Mary’s betrayal. Once again, I felt like an outsider, watching bitterly as they shared the bond that I had never truly known. Without another word, I left, hating myself for being overcome with jealousy in this most desperate of times.

Since there was no point in trying to sleep now, I thought long and hard about everything that had happened, and wondered whether I should be going to a party. It felt wrong to enjoy myself when others were so miserable. When Adam asked me about it at breakfast (Mark may have told him), I told him that I would feel guilty.

“Nonsense, Frankie. You did nothing wrong. This is Mary’s doing, not yours. Perhaps you could take Mark with you? This has hit him hard, and I think it would help him.”

“Okay,” I said, “But only if you’re really okay with it all.”
“Of course. You kids have fun.”

Thursday brought no change in the weather, the grey skies emulating the mood of our little broken family. Mary, I knew, was not coming back, and that would be devastating to the twins. They were nine, nowhere near old enough to be put through this kind of hell in my opinion. I couldn’t imagine the effects it would have on Mark. He was the reason that they married in the first place, and he knew that. His dad was only fifteen years older than him; I knew kids with siblings older than that. I shuddered to think what he must have been going through, and I realised that Adam was right. The best thing to do was to take him to the party, help him at least dull the ache for a while.

Friday, and the grey clouds hanging over our heads, both figurative and literal, decided that they hadn’t pissed on us enough and unleashed a new, furious downpour. Adam realised that he and Mary hadn’t made a prenuptial agreement. There was no limit on what Mary could claim, and only court proceedings would tell. Mark and I, however, remained unaware at the time, choosing to look forward to the promised party on the weekend. Although it had been put out of my mind by the tragedy that had unfolded, I remembered my plan and ran it over in my head. Little did I know that the rabbit hole went a lot deeper than I thought…

“…You do know what this will do to your current, ah, arrangements, don’t you?” the man in the black suit said to a distressed Adam over a cup of coffee. “You are no longer a viable option for Francis.”

“What? But he’s just started–”

“You are no longer a viable option. I am sorry, Mr. Bellamy, but your situation has been judged unstable.”

“Can’t you do something to help me out here?”
“I am sorry, Mr. Bellamy. The matter is simply out of my hands.”

Adam sat in silence, head in his hands.

“How do I break the news to Frankie? Or Mark?” he muttered to himself.

“If you don’t mind, Mr. Bellamy, I shall take my leave.”
The big man stood up from the table, opened the door, and disappeared into the blustering winds and lashing rains.

I'm sorry to get your hopes up, but I'm not really sure about continuing this yet. I just needed to get this out to see if I could bring back the spark. You've all been wonderful to me, and I'm sorry to mess you around like this.