Page 65 of Pretty Psychos
"Give me the gun, Sable," he said, holding out his hand.
Forrest and Leif both stiffened, but neither moved.
"There's no need for this nonsense," Benjamin continued. "Put it down. Be a good girl and I'll take you out for a nice dinner." He could have been scolding five-year-old me for not wearing the right shoes, or having a dab of chocolate on my dress.
There was more though. I saw something in his eyes I'd never seen before; fear. For the first time, it dawned on him he might not walk away from this in one piece, or with his reputation intact. What did he care more about, though? His life or his reputation? Honestly, I wasn't sure. I suspected it might be the latter. Without his reputation, who was he?
"Why would I want to have a nice dinner with you?" I asked. "You were going to sell me to one of these men. Sell me like I was a doll or a piece of furniture. You know what they would have done to me?"
When he didn't say anything, I continued.
"They would have raped me, the same way Wolfgang used to. They would have used me until I was broken. How can you stand there and pretend nothing was wrong? Why did you never care about me?" I hated that my voice rose on the last few words. I didn't owe him any of my deepest, biggest feelings.
"Of course I care about you," he insisted. "These men would have taken care of you. All of this—" he raised his hand, indicating around the room "—would have taken care of your mother and I too."
I was confused for a moment before I understood what he was saying. "You needed the money?"
"You know your mother's taste. If it wasn't for this, we'd have to file for bankruptcy. So you see, I'm doing this for all of us. You wouldn't want the embarrassment of your parents living on the street, would you?"
That question was rhetorical, right? Okay, I suppose not.
I lowered the gun a little. "The thing is," I said slowly, "I wouldn't have let you live on the streets. I would have helped you. All you had to do was ask. Instead of asking, you decided to do… this."
He swallowed audibly. "I made a mistake, sweetie." He was desperate now. "You're right, I should have come to you and asked. My pride stopped me. No one wants to appear fragile in front of their children. You'd agree, wouldn't you, Judge Cross? You have children the same age as Sable."
"My sons would prefer I be a decent human being," Forrest said coldly. "I'd never be too proud to ask either of them for help. That's what happens when you have a good relationship with the people you're related to. I'd never dream of selling either of them."
I'd met them; they wouldn't allow it either.
"They wouldn't sell you, would they?" Leif said jokingly.
Forrest snorted. "Absolutely not."
Leif chuckled.
"There seems to be some sort of misunderstanding here," Gregor Quinn said. "Weren't we bidding on this apartment?"
He also looked a little desperate, but for some reason, he seemed to think he was going to make it out alive. Men like him always did. This would be a ripple on the pond of his existence. If anyone here tried to go to the press about it, they'd have no proof. Or he'd have something on them. He'd bury them before they buried him.
"This place is not worth thirteen million dollars," Leif said scathingly. "I mean, it's nice and all, but let's be realistic here." He aimed his gun at Quinn's head.
Quinn's hands shot up the either side of his face. "You're making a serious mistake pointing that at me."
Leif cocked his head, thinking about that for a moment. "See, I don't think so. I think this is exactly where it needs to beaimed." To Forrest, he asked, "What are we going to do with them?"
"Technically, we did nothing but have an interesting conversation," Imogen said, "In a court of law, we wouldn't be convicted of anything."
"That's the problem," Forrest said. "You're right, a court of law wouldn't convict you. Unfortunately for you, we're not in a court of law, and I don't have to obey the rules here."
"If you try anything, I'll destroy your career," Aaron hissed.
Forrest rolled his eyes. "I didn't know you were a comedian, Aaron. You won't be ruining anyone's career. Especially not mine."
"I'll testify against Gregor," Aaron said quickly. "And Imogen. This was their idea. Benjamin too. I was invited at the last minute. Didn't know what I was getting into."
"He knew exactly what he was getting into," I said, without looking away from my father.
"I thought he might," Forrest agreed.
