All persons in this story are over the age of eighteen.
Paying It Backward
Mike Morgan walked into the kitchen where his mother was loading the dishwasher. "I'm off. Two classes today, so I should be back around three," he told his mother.
"Try not to be late. Your father has to fly back to Washington this evening."
"You aren't going this time?"
"No, being a Senator's wife in Washington is about as exciting as taking out the trash. Here, at least, I have a life. Is Ellie coming to dinner with us?"
"No, she's visiting her parents and won't be back until tomorrow."
"Has she told her parents about the wedding yet?" his mother asked.
"She's springing it on them tonight."
"Isn't that usually done as a couple?"
"Probably, but they're hardcore democrats, and dad's a 'publican senator. She doesn't think they'll be thrilled about her marrying an actor either."
"I'm sure it'll be fine, honey. Can you pick up two bottles of your father's wine on the way home?"
Mike laughed. "Dad drinks gin and tonic. You drink the wine. I'll pick up mom's wine."
"Smarty pants. Enjoy your classes."
She kissed him on the cheek and her son left for class. Sandy, his mother, picked up her phone and sent a group message.
'All clear. We have until 3. CU in an hour.'
All three recipients acknowledged her text.
Mike drove the forty-five minutes to class to find a sign on the door. 'Not feeling well. Classes cancelled.'
"Well, fuck! Haven't you people heard of texts or calls?" he mumbled, as he returned to his car.
He picked up the wine and headed home. When he arrived, he parked in the driveway and went inside through the side door of the garage. As he walked past the sliding doors in the nook he froze. Out next to the pool was his father, laying in a recliner nude and getting a blowjob. His mother, also nude, wearing a strap on and plowing the woman, from behind, who was sucking her husband. Beyond them sat his nude sister, Barb, with a pink vibrator on her clit. They were all laughing except the woman swallowing his father's cock. He saw her red hair and her distinctive tattoo that covered her left flank and hip. It was his fiancé, Ellie. The one supposedly out of town.
"You no good mother fuckers," he said.
Mike put the wine on the table and grabbed his cellphone, then recorded the poolside activities, making sure that everyone was easily identifiable. He went to his room and packed a bag and his backpack, then left the same way he came in. His first stop was the bank, where he moved his savings, which his mother had access to, into his checking account. He filled up his tank, got a cup of coffee, and drove east.
*****
It was about two when the group at the pool came inside. No one noticed the two bottles of wine sitting on the table.
At 3:30 his phone chirped with a text from his mother.
'Dinner reservations are at five. Don't be late.'
He pulled off at the next exit and took a screenshot of the video he had taken. It showed all four participants clearly.
'Sorry, I don't dine with people who are dead to me,'
he replied.
'What on earth?'
his mother sent.
Mike sent the screenshot to her then blocked his mother, sister, and father. He then sent a text to Ellie.
'Don't bother telling your parents. Just fuck off and die.'
He attached the photo before sending it, blocked Ellie, then turned off his phone.
"Oh, my God!" his mother screamed as she ran to her husband and showed him the picture.
"Fuck! I thought you said he would be gone until three?" he said.
"Theodore, don't you dare try to blame this mess on me!" Sandy shouted.
"What's up?" her daughter asked, walking into the den.
Sandy turned the phone to her daughter. "He saw us."
Barb grabbed the phone and read the texts. "This is bad. Daddy, what if this picture gets out?"
"He wouldn't do that," her father replied.
"Yeah, like we wouldn't all fuck his fiancé. Mike's pissed and emotionally devastated. All four of the people he loves the most have ripped his fucking heart out. How do wounded animals react? They fight back with everything they've got. We're all fucked."
Barb quickly turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" her mother asked.
"I'm going to pack and get the hell out of here. If, and that's a big if, he comes back, I'm not going to be here."
*****
Ellie looked at her text and immediately called him. She got nothing, not even his voicemail. She knew he had blocked her. She called Barb who answered quickly.
"He knows," Barb said.
"Yeah, he sent me a photo. What should I do?"
"If you've made any wedding arrangements, you should probably cancel them and get your money back. That isn't going to happen."
"Maybe if I explain it to him," Ellie replied.
"Hey, Mike. It wasn't a big deal. I sucked and fucked your father, then ate your mother and sister. Oh, and your mother fucked me with a strap on. Wanna meet me at Starbucks? Get real, Ellie," Barb barked.
"But I've already told my parents."
"Untell them. Ellie, your relationship with my brother is history. Mine too, in all likelihood. We all should be hoping he doesn't share that picture. I'll be expelled from law school. The mayor will dump you from his staff. Mom won't be able to show her face anywhere in Nebraska, and dad can kiss his Senate seat goodbye."
"Do you think he will?" Ellie asked.
"I really don't know. We need to let him cool down. Leave him alone."
"I tried calling. I think he's blocked me."
"He's probably blocked all of us by now. Just leave him alone."
"Can I email him?"
"Aren't you listening? Leave him the fuck alone," Barb warned. "I need to finish packing. Goodbye."
Barb ended the call and finished her packing. She booked a flight from Omaha to Boston for early the next morning, then a room at the airport Hilton for tonight. Using her app, an Uber would pick her up in twenty minutes. She carried her bags downstairs. Her parents were arguing in the den but stopped long enough to listen to her plans and kiss her goodbye. Barb went out onto the front porch to wait for her ride.
After attempting a call and text unsuccessfully, Mike's father called him on his land line and left a voice mail.
'Mike, it's dad. We need to talk about what happened. It wasn't what you think. Call me.'
Mike's phone was off so there was no reply. Mike stopped for the night in Valparaiso, Indiana. After getting settled, checked his phone, and listened to his father's message.
"Wasn't what it looked like?" he said out loud. "I'm not that stupid. Mike unblocked his father's cell number and sent a single text.
'I will warn you only once. Any further attempt to contact me by you, my former mother, or former sister, will trigger the sharing of the full video I recorded today with the news media. You read that correctly. I have over three minutes of very clear and very graphic video of my deceased family and fiancé. I have made multiple backups of the video. This is not a threat, Senator. This is a promise. I suggest you heed my warning.'
Mike sent the text and blocked both numbers he had for his father. He thought about what he had said, then questioned if he'd really do it. 'In a heartbeat,' he told himself.
Mike left for New York City early the next morning. He had a few friends from school who lived there to kickstart their acting careers. He called David Winston and was invited to stay with him.
Mike was pounding the pavement looking for work the next day. Two days later he stumbled on a small part off Broadway for two weeks.
After leaving rehearsal a few days later, he was talking to David on the phone. Two men in suits approached him and flashed FBI badges.
"We want the video," one said.
"Send it," Mike said into his phone, then tossed his cell phone into the sewer. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't catch that."
"Where's the fucking video?" the man grumbled.
"Watch tonight's news. Every major outlet has it now. Tell the Senator that he's really screwed the pooch."
"Where's the original?"
"In that sewer," Mike said, pointing where he had just tossed his phone."
"I could arrest you; you know."
"I own the phone. I don't thing throwing away your own property is illegal, is it?"
"Asshole," the agent said
"Have a nice day, gentlemen," Mike said smiling, and walked away.
When Mike got back to David's apartment, he was assured that the video had been sent, then he told David of the encounter. Mike had already set up multiple e-mails on his laptop so that all that was required was to click on send and receive. Copies went to at least a dozen news outlets, some not very particular about how and what they reported. Copies went to the mayor's office in Omaha, Harvard law school, every member of the Senate, his parents, his sister, and his former fiancé.
By morning it was all over the news and internet with the body parts blacked out, in most cases. By late afternoon, Barb was no longer a student at Harvard Law and Ellie no longer worked for the Mayor of Omaha. Two days later, Senator Theodore Morgan resigned his Senate seat.
The following day, two more FBI agents met him outside rehearsal.
"Sir, Senator Morgan would like to have a word with you. He's in the limo."
"A word? I have two for him. Fuck you," Mike said, then walked away.
*****
Mike got lucky and landed a recurring role on a daytime soap. His character was well received, and he had been on the show for three years. He got a call from his agent, asking that he stop by today.
"Mike, your sister called me today. Your father suffered a stroke. They don't expect him to survive."
"I really don't know what to say. Thanks for letting me know."
"Want me to get you a few days off?" his agent asked.
"I guess so. I have some things I want to say to him. Think you can cover the rest of the week?"
"No problem. Mike, I'm really sorry."
"Thanks, Art."
Mike had his own small apartment now. It was expensive but not lavish. He could afford much better but didn't feel the need. He went home, booked a flight to Omaha then took a taxi to JFK.
Upon arrival in Omaha, he began calling hospitals to locate his father. He found him at the University Hospital. Mike rented a car and drove there. When he walked into the ICU his sister was there. She turned and saw him, then stood. The once blonde bombshell was gone and had been replaced by a somewhat overweight woman with jet black hair.
"Hi, Mike. I'm glad you came."
Mike ignored her and walked to the bedside. He turned to the nurse.
"Can he hear me?"
"He's in a coma."
"Is he going to come out of it?"
"Not likely, I'm afraid. Are you family?"
