Sandjai’s phone was buzzing like crazy. It was from both Jess and Lucas claiming a friendship crisis. He got up brushed his teeth threw on some clothes and headed out to his car.
“So where am I coming to?” he had Lucas on speaker.
“Bryan’s. Man, he’s totally flipped out. Like I haven’t seen him this crazy in… Shit, I don’t know. I forget he can even get this intense.”
“What happened?”
Sandjai was panicking what could’ve happened that had Bryan so worked up? It took him about ten minutes to get to Bryan’s, and it didn’t sound good from the outside. He walked in to see Bryan’s older brother, dad, younger brother and Lucas barricading him in the kitchen, knife in hand. Jess walked in right behind him. Considering it was an open concept design, barricading required posting up at either side of the island on the side entering into the dining and family areas.
Bryan was manic, threating to kill someone. Not making any sense. Jess was the only one brave enough to step to him. The others had tried and failed already and weren’t up for trying again. She approached him slowly. Spoke to him in calm tones. She motioned for Sandjai to follow her. He had no clue how he would be any help, but as he walked closer, he could see nothing she was saying was working. He looked ready to stab her and not care. The look in his eyes was dangerous. He almost never flipped this way, but when he did… it was scary.
“Back off Jess.” She ignored him and kept trying to reason with him. When she got almost within stabbing range, she lunged at him. It seemed to catch him off guard.
“Oh fuck?” Sandjai said and grabbed the arm with the knife, and the two of them wrestled him to the ground.
“Let go of me. Get off me! She deserves to die. I’ll kill her.” Jess hit him. The others may have been afraid to harm him, but she didn’t care. She used some rope to tie his arms. Picked him up and dragged him into the living room throwing him onto the couch.
“Now you’re going to sit there until you calm the fuck down and start making sense.” She said as his dad came in with a glass of water and some pills.
“I’m not swallowing those.”
His dad looked exasperated. He knew Bryan hated being medicated and they only did it in situations like this. When he needed an instant calm down. It wasn’t as fast as an injection, but if he was subdued then after a while, he’d be good as new.
“I’m not fucking crazy. You said it to. You wanted her dead.”
“Bryan.” His father tried to speak but Bryan cut him off.
“Why aren’t you out looking for her? Why are you here watching me?”
“We don’t know if--”
“You know she did it, dad! She took her. And I’m the only one who gives a fuck.”
Sandjai was still lost. He sat down beside Bryan and looked into his eyes. His friend was in there somewhere.
“If I untie you will you sit here and be calm. Not rough anyone else up.” Sandjai said.
It was clear a brawl had to have happened before he managed to grab a knife. His older brother was bleeding on his right arm Lucas had a bust lip, and Bryan’s dad had a cut under his left eye. Only Bryan’s little brother seemed untouched.
“Well?”
“Okay.” Sandjai handed him the glass and the drugs after he untied him. Bryan reluctantly took them. In few minutes he’d be like a zombie for hours. He had enough wits about him to know he couldn’t trust himself to not have another episode.”
“Lorna is gone?”
“What?” Sandjai responded.
“My sister. It’s not like her to just not be here. And I know my mom took her.”
“You don’t know that Bryan?”
“Don’t I dad? She very firmly stated she was going to hurt you as bad as she could. Look at me? She drove me crazy, got my brother stabbed, stole her own child and abandoned a toddler. She hasn’t been here since you divorced her the second time and then she appears. Threatens you and the next day all this. Of course she took her.”
“Look we can’t officially count her missing yet. They are trying to find your mother and her. But,”
“She has mysteriously disappeared. How convenient.”
“Look they’ll find her. You just need to relax. Have some faith. Killing her won’t solve anything. And how exactly were you going to find her?” Sandjai asked. Bryan didn’t have an answer.
“How you feeling?”
“Like all the people I love think I’m crazy?”
“Bryan?”
“What Sandjai? I get wrestled to the ground, forced to take pills. Talked to like a child. But you know. I guess I am crazy. Maybe I’m trying to kill the wrong person.”
The meds weren’t even kicking in yet, and he was already going from manic to depressed.
“So is he right? Did she kidnap her own daughter,” Jessica asked. Bryan seemed out of it enough to not join in the conversation.
“More than likely. We heard some noises then a car drove away. We didn’t think nothing of it until she didn’t come down for breakfast.” Bryan’s dad said. “The police are looking. Giving my ex-wife's history, I think they blame me. For keeping her around but...”
“Didn’t you know she was batshit crazy, though?”
“It just seemed normal crazy in the beginning. It got bad when we had children and better. I was hoping the better would prevail. Then all her crazy rubbed off on Bryan. And now this. Who knows what she’s doing to my daughter.”
“Will he be okay?”
“He’ll wake up in a few hours. A bit moody but otherwise normal. It’s your fault I got stabbed, dad.” Bradley the oldest brother said.
“My fault?”
“Yes. If you would’ve tackled him like you should’ve, he wouldn’t have even made it into the kitchen to get the knife in the first place.”
“Seriously. You wanted a man my size to tackle him.”
“You’re not fat dad.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“It’s mom’s fault he’s so short. Her fault he’s so crazy. Her fault he’s fucking suicidal. You should’ve just let him go after her! Now that psycho woman is out there with my sister. Why didn’t you just stay divorced the first time?”
The two of them broke out into a serious argument. Almost at blows. Lucas, Jess and Sandjai just looked on stunned. They knew Bryan was living in a hostile environment, but they had never witnessed it firsthand. Nor were they aware of just how much damage his mother had done. Bryan definitely downplayed it.
“Stop! You guys are always fighting. Why can’t we just be a normal family.” Bryan’s younger brother, who had been silently watching this whole time, couldn’t stand another moment of his brother and dad going at it.
“Look at what she’s done to us. Why didn’t you just let her go the first time? Bradley is right.”
Their dad sat down and sunk into the cushions of the recliner. He genuinely thought he was doing the right thing. “You’re right. But I never had a real home. Don’t know who my parents are. And, well you don’t know what I’ve seen in all the houses I’ve lived in. I just thought a solid family was better than anything I had. I wanted you to have what I never had and look what it cost us. For all I know she’s--” He couldn’t even say it. The thought of what this woman could be doing. How could he have allowed her back in? Had another child with her.
He looked at his four sons, and he couldn’t imagine what life would be like without his daughter. His baby girl. He needed to get out. Get some air. Clear his mind.
“You were in the system?” Apparently, his children didn’t know this. He had told them that he didn’t like his family. And most had died in all sorts of elaborate stories. The truth explained a lot. More than a lot actually.
“Let's not get into the fact that I ruined your lives and I’m a liar too. Just… Call me when he wakes up. I’m going to leave before I fuck anything else up. And..”He said this as he walked towards the door but paused. As if he was contemplating saying something. “I’m sorry I failed as a father.” He walked out the door and didn’t bother to get in the car. He needed to walk. He looked as off as Bryan did when he was suicidal. No one knew what to say. It was almost like they had just witnessed privileged information. And the person they were there for wasn’t even awake to hear it. At this point, there wasn’t much more to be said. So everyone just sat around and waited for a phone to ring.
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