This is the follow-up to "Toxic Family? No Attraction" that many requested. New readers might want to go back and read that first. This is lengthy and complete, so hopefully no one will request anything more. It is also very BTB at the end, but has a good amount of NC, GG, and some ff.
This story picks up right after the prior story, except for a brief background snippet.
Like "Toxic Family," this is a completely different direction than that exceptional series, "Toxic Attraction," written by Don Silver. Be advised that
nothing
in this story foreshadows anything in future chapters of Toxic Attraction. This is a completely different story line.
One comment in my prior story said "This side-story could be considered a 'fork' of the original tale with a big difference: this one is made for the BTB fans, while the original has been built for the cheating-cuck fans." Let's hope you readers will agree.
Thanks goes to Azrael for helping develop the plot, and RoleplayLiterate for her review and suggestions. Most importantly, thanks to Don Silver for permission to write and post this story.
A few notes to head off some complaining: Trader Vic's is no longer in the Palmer House Hilton, I know. But it should be. I put it back there. Also, you can't see the lakefront from the Omni, so please humor me.
The boy just came home from his first day in middle school to see a yellow notice stapled to the singlewide's door. "Eviction Notice." He'd seen enough of these over his brief life.
Hungry as any teen is after school, he opened the door and went inside only to find his mother's legs up in the air with her back on the kitchen table and the fat greasy landlord huffing and puffing while plowing away on his Mom.
Feeling the fresh air on his bare ass, the gap-tooth landlord pulled out and spun around and yelled "get the fuck outta her kid!" and shoved him out the door, the boy landing in the dirt in a cloud of dust. The boy leaned up on his elbows and could hear some slaps or spankings as the landlord got back to business.
Dejected, the boy got up to wander the aged trailer park of low-income white trash people, dumped on by society, seen as unworthy, lazy, people hogging government benefits while so-called "responsible" people earned a living. They had no idea the limited opportunities some people had based on their health issues, race, or even economic status they were born into.
Not quite an orphan, the boy never knew his father. His mother? Well, not exactly absent but certainly indifferent. She did what she could to provide a minimum existence.
He came to detest people who took advantage of others.
"Hey kid, c'mere!" The boy heard himself summoned by Stoney, that is, George "Stoney" Stonewood, a biker gang leader who lived a few trailers down the dusty dirt road. The park gossip was that he had a lot of money though it didn't look like it. He had a long carport extension the length of his trailer under which he had a fire pit and a set of weights.
While he looked intimidating with the buzz cut, beard, wife-beater tank top, jeans, and biker harness boots, he'd always been friendly with the disadvantaged boy. Perhaps it was because his son, Wade, was the same age in the same school.
"Your Ma earning some money again Max?"
"No Stoney, she's paying the rent."
"If you're hungry go inside and make a sandwich. Wade's in there too. Maybe come out when you're done and talk with me, ok?"
Wade and Max made a couple PB&J sandwiches and drank some milk and watched a half-hour of the Power Rangers. They both loved the Pink Power Ranger, Amy Jo Johnson. It was just another thing that two poor disadvantaged and underprivileged white boys through no fault of their own had bonded over in the early years of their life.
"That looked like a hard landing Max," Stoney asked as he curled with a 50 pound dumbbell.
"I'm ok. Thanks for the sandwich." the kid mumbled.
"Sit down Max, I want you to understand something that may help you in life. I know you and Wade get picked on in school. The rich kids look down on you, push you around. Listen, you must establish boundaries, let people know you require respect. Do you know what I'm saying?"
Over the next few years Max learned many lessons from Stoney.
* * * *
Mr. Cooper slammed the door behind his youngest daughter and her boyfriend and turned around with a withering glare at his oldest daughter and her husband. They averted their eyes and quickly said "we should get the girls home and to bed," and went about gathering up the little blonde girls.
When Sarah and Dan and their girls quietly left, Mrs. Cooper quickly glanced at her husband then scurried into the kitchen to begin cleaning up the unfinished dinner.
"Stop right now and get your ass over here," he said with a seething voice. Mrs. Cooper sheepishly turned, looked at her husband, then poured a full glass of wine and sat down.
"What the fuck do you know about all that shit?"
"Honey, I'm not sure what you're referring to" she responded, attempting to take a large swallow of her wine.
"You know damn well what I'm talking about. From what that kid was implying it sounded like he was talking about you 30 years ago! Are you and Sarah into something I don't know about?"
"No. At least I'm not. Not since what happened back then." She got up and went to the bedroom and cried over her thoughts.
"Are my girls like me? The way I raised them, did I lead them down the path I trod, the path I beat into the ground when in college and early on in my marriage? I'm so fortunate my husband forgave me, but Sarah, what is she doing? Is she going to ruin her marriage and family?"
* * * *
After dropping the girls off at school on Monday, on her drive to the hospital Sarah's mind drifted to the terrible weekend she spent at her parents house, then with her husband the rest of the weekend.
Not only did it seem her sister's husband knew everything Sarah had been doing, but he wasn't afraid to take on Dan, herself, or even her father. And when she tried to confront him on the phone she realized she was beaten.
Dan argued with her all day Sunday about her relationship with her boss and all her extra-curricular activities. She tried to turn it around on him saying he pushed her into it, but that was a weak argument given how rogue she had gone since those first few months of naughty excitement they shared together with his roommate.
Now they seemed trapped. What Max had said about nodes in a network, the number of variables increasing, was prescient. The risks were now huge in many areas, financially, reputationally, and with the family. It seemed things were spinning out of control.
The anxiety followed Sarah into work. Rather than going into her own office she marched right into her boss's office and plopped down in such a manner as to alarm her portly boss. He put his bag of Cheetos back in the drawer and leaned forward with interest.
Sarah summarized the dinner conversation and her phone conversation with Max. Her boss's forehead showed beads of sweat, and she thought she saw a nervous twitch in his stubby fat fingers.
As he leaned back in his chair he laid his head back with a deep sigh. All his future plans were at risk, not to mention everything he had done to get to this point. Who was this guy? How did he know these things? What a coincidence that he was dating Sarah's sister, or was it really a coincidence?
"Sarah, where do they live? What is his occupation? Tell me everything about your sister? Where does she work?" He was intent on gathering as much intel as he could.
"Here's the bottom line, girlfriend. I don't care if he told you to leave them alone because they're not gonna tell anyone. He's a risk. Maybe even your sister too. But we can't let anyone have anything over us, so either we kill them or we get enough on them so that it's mutually assured destruction if any of this gets out."
As she looked at her hideous Chicago boyfriend, it seemed Sarah's mind was a little clearer at what she had degraded herself for - as erotic as it had been. "How did I get myself into this situation?" she wondered.
"You know you're not going to kill anyone. You'll have to come up with a plan to keep them from talking, so do your research and come up with something. You put us in this position, so you figure it out."
Her words cut him, the way she accused him of putting them in this situation. Certainly it was true, his scheming led to this but she was a more than willing partner. He had a feeling his physical desires wouldn't be satisfied for this day, at least.
* * * *
Max turned around and looked at Anna with a wide smile. "She hung up on me!"
Anna walked up to Max and they hugged and held each other. "I think it's over now. We can live in peace, just you and me, together forever."
The thing about a trusting and loving relationship is the harmony, the lack of threats, the healthy communication, the confidence and trust in your partner with your vulnerability, fears, desires and needs. Two separate people behave almost like one person, merging and blending together.