A Port in the Storm Pt. 01

And then it was over. Gone were the betrayers and the cops. The fights were brutal, yet short. The cabin which had been pristine, was now shambles. Bodies were aching, skin was marked, and blood had been shed. But now...all was quiet. This was the scene as Ryan Morrison plopped into the barstool. Hands shaking, he lifted the bottle of scotch and poured the liquid into his glass. In one swift gulp, the liquid disappeared down his throat. Burning its way to his stomach. Closing his eyes, he savored the bitter aftertaste and waited on the effects to take hold. Slowly, the numbing feeling swept over him. The pain from his skinned knuckles, his bruised ribs, and his aching jaw began to subside. Pouring another glass, he opened the bottle of aspirin, stuck 2 in his mouth and washed them down in hopes of working on his headache.

With a heavy sigh, he set the cup down, and again waited. It was only at this point, that his ears heard the muted sobs coming from his left. Sitting on the stairs, soft tears still flowing down her cheeks, was his closest friend, confidant, and tonight's aide de camp...his half-sister Thaelor. In all the excitement, he had almost forgotten about her, resplendent in the remains of her once beautiful, white and turquoise prom dress. Her hair and makeup were a mess, her shoes were somewhere upstairs, and her dress had been ripped at the top and bottom, exposing her latte colored skin and strapless bra. Locking eyes with his, she stood and approached on petite, padded feet. Coming closer, the freckles that pocked her skin, belying her mixed heritage of black and white came into focus. Ryan could only close his eyes and lower his head in pain.

"Are you going to finish that whole bottle by yourself?" she asked between sniffles.

"Hadn't really thought about it until just this moment to be honest." Ryan replied in a soft whisper.

"You know ...Dad's going to be pissed if his favorite bottle is empty, right?!"

"Sis...I love you. But right now, just isn't the time. Besides, he's in D.C., I'll replace the bottle, and furthermore he doesn't give a damn about me."

"You know that isn't true. He loves you...in his own, peculiar way. But since you're going to be drinking...no sense in doing it alone. Pour me a glass too."

"Fine...just one though. We got to pack up our shit and get back home...it's got to be around 1:00 already."

"Actually...it's more like 2:30."

"Fuuuuuuuck."

The realization of the time sent another wave of pain streaking through Ryan's head. Pressure building like a tsunami behind his eyeballs. He was sure to never hear the end of this one for sure. Not only did he have to replace the $400-dollar bottle of scotch, he knew his slut of a step mother was going to tell his father Senator Morrison he had used the mountain cabin and stayed out way past curfew. Forget about getting back the $500 deposit on the tux he had rented. It was ruined beyond all repair. The only good thing he saw right now was that Deputy Lawrence had taken the last $600 Ryan had in his wallet to bury the police call and report. Either way, nothing was helping his headache which sent another wave of agony through his skull. Enough to make him wince again.

"Ewwww...you got another one of your bad migraines?" Thaelor asked.

Reaching out, she lightly touched her brother's thick, ebony neck. The sensation made him jump and wince harder. But slowly, he accepted her hand. Applying pressure to the base of his skull and massaging it ever so gently, the strain in his face began to dissipate. Ryan was known to have frighteningly painful migraines. But he had taught her how to touch his neck to alleviate some of the hurt. It was one of the things that had brought them so close together. His neck initially was blazing hot to the touch, but now cooling down. This meant that the ailment was going away. Taking a couple sips from her glass, Thaelor too partook in the pungent firewater. The burn however, made her twist up her nose and scrunch her face. Now she remembered why she hated whiskey. But to see her brother slightly feeling better brought a smile to her face.

"Look, if you have anything upstairs, go ahead and get it. I'll drive us home in about 30 minutes." Ryan said. "And thank you."

"Ok...just give me a chance to get changed and take a shower and we can go and forget about this night."

With a quick peck on the temple, Thaelor bounded upstairs to complete her task.

Ryan finally let a smile creep over his lips. He loved his little sister dearly. In fact, she was the only one of his siblings he could stand to be in a room with for more than 10 minutes without wanting to pull his hair out. Reaching across the bar top, he retrieved his cell phone from where he threw it earlier. Punching the speed dial number, Ryan headed to his room, stripping off his clothes to take a shower while he waited for an answer. The other person picked up on the 3rd ring.

"Young Mister Ryan, please tell me that's you..."

"Yeah it's me Steppan. Just wanted to check in and say where I was...what's wrong?"

"Oh, thank God" said Steppan the family butler. "We've been worried sick calling all over the place to find you. Have you seen Ms. Thaelor? We haven't been able to find her either?"

"We're fine Steppan. We're up here at the cabin. We should be leaving on the way soon. No need to worry...and who exactly is so fired up worried about where we are?" asked Ryan.

"Well...it's mostly we staff. Chef Myron fixed your favorite late-night snack and when you didn't return to eat it, that set off alarms. Then Mrs. Warner came back from the party without seeing either of you...she panicked. She's still sitting in the drawing room a nervous wreck. You know how much your father hates when she loses you."

Ryan could barely suppress a chuckle. Mrs. Warner was always his dad's go to spy to keep tabs on he and his siblings since they were kids. It became almost mythic sport to dodge her. No doubt between himself and his siblings they had taken at last 3 decades off her life.

"I was afraid you had gone to the cabin. Sir forget about coming home. If you didn't know, a level 3 thunderstorm is on its way! The weather people are talking winds of up to 90 mph and no less than 15 inches of rain! If you can, just hunker down where you are and try to get home when its safe."

"Oh fuck... are you kidding me Steppan??!"

The pain started to radiate again.

"OK...look, Ummmm...if my dad calls just say we went to a hotel party. I'll try to be home tomorrow if possible. Just please don't tell him where we are. Oh...and tell Braxton thanks for the snack. I promise to eat it and pay him back when I get home." said Ryan.

"Young Mister, you know I can't lie to your father. He is my employer and sometimes a man must just take the onus for his actions. It's called "growing up" young sir."

"Please Steppan, I really can't go into it right now...but I promise you it's been a loooong night. I just don't have the strength for dad's bullshit, phony concern and hard-handed outrage. I don't ask a lot from you and you know how much I appreciate your counsel. Just please do this for me tonight. OK? I beg you."

"Ok sir...you say you and Ms. Thaelor are staying at the Rutherford in lower Hamilton in room 4220? I'll make sure your parents know you're safe and will be home sometime tomorrow. Be safe young sir and I expect a full report when I see you. Good night young Sir."

"Thank you Steppan...I owe you one. Good night sir."

With that, Ryan ended the call. Steppan was not just his father's employee, but a close friend. At times Ryan considered him a second father. He had saved his bacon countless times before from Senator Morrison's notorious wrath. But most importantly, Steppan had been his most faithful counselor. Always there with words of encouragement and true concern. More so than his own flesh and blood.

The news of the impending thunderstorm galvanized Ryan's movement. Turning on the water, he entered the shower and vigorously began to wash the stink of the day's events off his skin. As the water began to cleanse him, his mind flew back to what had occurred just a few hours ago.

They were the Belles of the Ball. Ryan led Bridgette Cummings (a new intern) on his arm, and his little sister Thaelor had Corbin Kingsley (a Junior Executive Assistant) on hers. There was little question that they all were the best dressed, and best-looking couples there. The only real question was, which couple would people choose as first? Ryan and Bridgette; Corbin and Thaelor all made the rounds of the room. They turned up with friends, hob knobbed with Executives and Clients, drank punch and danced for hours. However, like all parties, things began to die down. Many of the participants began heading for the exits, looking for the next bit of fun to extend the night. That's when Bridgette mentioned that her roommates were gone for the evening. She and Ryan had spoken earlier in the week about the possibility of getting a place to fuck in privacy like a hotel. Ryan volunteered his Dad's mountain cabin as a better hide away. Thaelor also wanted Corbin to come. The more the merrier. She even told Ryan in explicit terms of all the sexual things she had in mind.

So, all of them drove the two hours to the cabin to have fun and frolic uninterrupted till the sun came up. Once they arrived, things got hot and heavy. Kissing turned to heavy petting. But then, Bridgette asked if Ryan had any "King Spartans" on him. While he did have some condoms (a few he pilfered from his brother), they weren't "King Spartans; the thinnest, strongest, most sensitive condoms on the planet." As the commercial said..."So good, she won't even know they're there!!" Corbin also mentioned he wasn't feeling too good. So, Ryan and his sister got in the car to get the good stuff. When they returned; the night went to hell in an express handbasket. Apparently, Ryan's car was too quiet. Neither Corbin nor Bridgette heard them pulling up in the gravel driveway. Maybe the loud music had deafened them to the music coming from the speakers. Or maybe it was the moans and groans coming from Ryan's date as Corbin was splitting her WIDE OPEN that covered the sounds of the vehicle. Either way... none of those things compared to the ear splitting, blood curdling scream that came from Thaelor's throat when she saw Corbin on the downstroke.

He felt like a complete fool. So, focused on pleasing Bridgette, he left himself open to betrayal. He should've seen it coming. Should have known that he couldn't trust Corbin's former football playing, low IQ, ass around his girl for a minute. Much less the 30 it took to get those stupid condoms that cheating bitch wanted. But his sister wasn't as forgiving as he was. The slap to Bridgette's chin could've probably been heard 3 counties away. Corbin grabbed Thaelor's arm, and then it was on. The kicking, the punching. The rolling around. The jostling for position. Eventually, the fight ended when Corbin caught a right fist to his left temple. A shot that probably would've felled any other man. But his thick skull took the impact. Knocked him just silly enough to remind him that "He who fights and runs away..."

A loud bang woke Ryan from his memory. The pitter patter of tiny rain drops began to hit the aged wood. Hopping out of the shower, Ryan grabbed a towel and dried himself off. Just as he was pulling his pants on, an ear-splitting clap of thunder exploded somewhere nearby. The windows were illuminated with the blinding light of a bolt of lightning. And then...the darkness. The lights cut off. Everything just went black.

"Ryyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnn!!"

The night was just beginning to get long.