The Certainty of Deception by Jeanne McDonald Read Free Book Online Page A

“I’ll be there in just a second.”
    I stepped out the door, taking in the warm summer evening.  Heavy clouds drifted in the sky, casting a haze over the moon.  The water below swelled with the tide, crashing to the shore in response to the pull of the celestial being trying to regain control of the sky.  The air was thick with rain that had yet to fall, leaving our skin feeling damp.
    “We really need this rain,” I said.
    Jared grunted. “Yeah.”
    Deep down, I knew Jared wasn’t a bad guy.  My reactions to him were simply preditorial.  He loved my girl, and he still had contact with her, where I was extracted from her life.  It wasn’t easy for me to befriend him when I envied him.
    We stood in silence, staring out at the water.  After awhile, I straightened up.  “Pizza’s getting cold.” 
    Jared nodded, still saying nothing.  I patted him on the back and returned to the room. 
    “Everything all right out there?” Gavin asked through a mouthful of pizza.
    “Yep.”  I reached for my box of pizza, throwing the lid open.  The smell of the warm, gooey cheese and toppings made my mouth water.  I pulled a slice from the box and sank my teeth into the saucy goodness.
    “So, you talked to Father today.  Why didn’t you tell me?”  Gavin reached into my box, extracting a piece.
    “Hey, you don’t eat jalapenos,” I complained. 
    Gavin rolled his eyes, biting into the pizza.  “Dad.  You.  Call.  What happened?” he sputtered through his mouthful.
    I shrugged my shoulders.  “All the usual shit.  Father called.  His horns came out.  I beat the fuck out of my phone.  The end.”
    “That bad, huh?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “You guys talk about your father like he’s Lucifer or something,” Jared evaluated, as he entered the room.  He sat down at the table and pulled a slice from my box as well.  I rolled my eyes in aggravation.  I guess I should’ve ordered more specialty pizzas.  Noted for the next time.
    “More like the Antichrist,” Ethan muttered into his root beer. 
    “Are they not one and the same?” I questioned.
    Gavin swallowed his bite with an audible gulp.  “He’s neither Lucifer nor the Antichrist.  He’s simply the best at what he does, and expects nothing but the best of those around him.”
    “Right.” Ethan held the word for a protracted moment.  “The one time I met the man, I could swear his face was going to melt off.  He’s one scary mother.  I couldn’t imagine growing up with him.”  Ethan’s expression mirrored that of every employee who ’d ever met my father.  Terror.  Absolute fear.  But above all, respect.
    “Well,” I started, swallowing my bite and tossing the crust back into the box, “we tried having an exorcism done, but that didn’t work.”  I clicked my tongue, reaching for my root beer.  “Then there was the Ghostbusters, those guys from the Ghost Adventures, and even the Winchesters, but no one could defeat the beast.” I maintained a straight face, as I took a drink of my soda. 
    Ethan howled in laughter, Jared snickered, but Gavin seemed unfazed by my antics.  “Oh, man!  I knew I recognized Jonathan from somewhere.  Al Pacino played him in Devil’s Advocate ,” Ethan chortled.
    I scraped my teeth across my bottom lip, shaking my head.  “No, Father’s nothing like Al Pacino.”
    Jared froze in place, a look of guilt flitted across his face.  He dropped what was left of his pizza back into the box, and lifted his hips, extracting his cell phone from his pocket.  I diverted my eyes, quickly, sucking down a deep breath to calm myself. 
    “Why not?” Ethan asked, pulling my attention from Jared who was typing away on his phone.
    “Hmm?”  Momentarily confused, I blinked, clearing my head.  “Oh, yeah.  Father couldn’t be Al Pacino, because that would make me Keanu Reeves.”  A mischievous smirk donned my lips.  “And I’m much better looking.”
    “Hey!” Gavin protested.