Chapter 2 Assault

• Two hours later, the bus pulled into the old district of Rivervale. Huxley stepped off, slung his bag over his shoulder, and headed towards his childhood home.
• "Five years," he muttered, his stomach churning with nervousness and anticipation. "Wonder how Mom, Dad, and Audrey are doing?"
• They hadn't visited him once all that time, and his calls always went unanswered. But he couldn't hold it against them. He knew he'd disappointed them deeply. Framed or not, the truth remained a mystery to his family.
• As he neared his house, a ragged woman holding a paper cup approached him, begging, "Young man, spare some change? Any bit helps," she said.
• Huxley jolted, ripped from his thoughts.
• He couldn't help but think that If it weren't for his adoptive parents, that could've been him begging for scraps.
• He fished out a hundred-dollar bill and dropped it in her cup without a second thought.
• "Thank you, young … L-… Huxley?" A flicker of thanks started on the woman's lips, but they quickly died as her eyes met his. Gratitude evaporated, replaced by a glacial chill.
• Huxley, finally seeing her clearly, felt the blood drain from his own face. The woman was Bernice Tahulla! His foster mother!
• "Mom!" Huxley stammered, the question about his father and sister already forming on his tongue. But Bernice's reply wasn't a hug but a stinging slap. "You ungrateful wretch! We took you in, and this is what you bring us? The audacity to show your face here again!"
• Bernice went berserk. Punches and kicks rained down on him. Huxley just stood there, taking it all. He knew, deep down, that this was somehow his fault. Ian, it had to be Ian Maclean's doing for all the sh*t that had happened!
• Finally, Bernice calmed down and stopped her assault, but her eyes were still cold and unforgiving. "Get out of here! Don't ever let me see your face again!"
• Huxley's heart felt like it was in a vice. "Mom, please," he pleaded. "Can you tell me what happened?"
• "You have the nerve to ask?" Bernice's voice was a weaponized icicle. "After you landed in prison, that rich slimeball, Ian Maclean, made us pay! We lost our jobs; he crippled your dad and your sister… they scarred her face! No one will even look at us anymore. We've lost everything. We're beggars now, scraping by on the streets!"
• Bernice's explanation left Huxley distraught. His face hardened, and his fists clenched so tightly they made cracking sounds. "I swear I'm going to make him pay for this!" he growled.
• "Smack!" Bernice responded with another slap, her fury evident. "Look at you, all worked up! How dare you even think about revenge? You useless dolt! Stop overestimating yourself and dragging us back into this mess!"
• "Just get the hell out of here, alright? If he finds out you're out of jail, he's gonna come back and haunt you! Then you'll be screwed!" Bernice yelled.
• But Huxley wasn't afraid. Instead, he felt a comforting warmth inside. He could see that his foster mother was just worried that Ian would come back to bother him again, so she treated him with such a nasty attitude. She was pushing him away to protect him from Ian's clutches.
• "Mom, where's Dad and Drey? I want to see them," Huxley requested.
• "No need! They don't want anything to do with you anymore! And you better not try sneaking around to see them either!" Bernice threatened, her face grim. "If you don't leave now, I swear I'll do something drastic!"
• Huxley understood Bernice's desperation. He didn't want to provoke her further. "Alright, alright, I'll leave for now. But I'm coming back. You guys are my family, the most important people in the world to me!"
• "This place hasn't been your home for five years. Just leave! And don't come crawling back!" Bernice's voice was cold, but tears welled up in her eyes.
• As Huxley walked away, Bernice could no longer hold back her sobs.
• ...
• As Huxley rounded the corner, a woman in a sharp black suit, radiating confidence, cut him off.
• "You?" Huxley's face fell as he recognized her.
• Candace Lewis, Rexanne's closest confidante and a powerful lawyer in Rivervale, maneuvered the system five years ago to get Huxley convicted and thrown in prison, effectively burying his chances of ever getting a fair trial.
• Candace looked down at Huxley with a cold stare. "Come with me now. Rexanne wants to see you."
• "Really?" Huxley's voice was devoid of emotion. "What's her game this time? Trying to reel me back in, get me tossed back in the slammer for a few more years?"
• Candace's face tightened, and she barked, "Watch your tone!"
• Before she could react further, Huxley's hand shot out, connecting with a resounding slap across Candace's cheek.
• Rexanne, Ian, and now Candace - she joined the top of his hate list.
• "Did you just slap me?" Candace stared at Huxley, her voice laced with shock.
• "SLAP!" Huxley hit her again, his face devoid of emotion. "Yeah, I did. What are you gonna do about it?"
• "You think you can just hit me?" Candace's disbelief grew.
• "Another one for good measure!" Huxley slapped her again, completely unfazed. "So what? You gonna cry about it?"
• Candace was livid. "How dare you! You wanna go back to jail, don't you?"
• "Hah! Bring it on!" Huxley challenged her, his eyes locked on hers. "Send me back if you got the balls!"
• Candace was speechless. This fearlessness, this audacity - it took her aback.
• Five years ago, she'd used shady tactics to throw him in prison, denying him any chance to fight back. All this time, just like Rexanne, she'd carried that guilt.
• She let out a defeated sigh, her voice softer now. "Word on the street is Ian's on his way here with his goons. Come with me, Rexanne, and I will protect you somehow."
• "Protect me?" Huxley laughed bitterly in his rage. "You and Ian are two of a kind; neither of you are good people!"
• Candace's eyebrows furrowed, and she sighed lightly, "I realize now that what I did back then was wrong. I wronged you! But Ian is almost here. You need to leave with me now. Once we're safe, I'll explain everything."
• Huxley thought to himself, 'Judging by her look, she really had no clue I got screwed over back then!'
• Seeing how sincere she seemed, Huxley's expression softened slightly. "Alright, I'll give you one chance to explain. Just one. You better make it count."
• Candace knew he wouldn't come with her without a proper explanation.
• She gathered her thoughts and began, "After you were taken away, Rexa told me everything. The Fairchilds wanted to merge families through marriage, but Rexa hated Ian and refused. Someone in the family decided to drug her and deliver her to him, hoping to force the marriage after the fact."
• Candace paused, then continued, "They did drug her, but it backfired. Rexa, with a sliver of consciousness left, managed to escape and ran into you. What happened then, well, you know. Both Rexa and I have been wracked with guilt these past five years, trying to figure out how to help you once you were released."
• Huxley felt some sympathy for Bai Rexa's ordeal, but he couldn't bring himself to forgive her.
• He scoffed, "That's a pathetic excuse! "If you felt guilty, why wasn't there a word in my defense? Why didn't you help my family when Ian was destroying them?"
• Candace's face hardened, and she let out a defeated sigh. "Rexa wanted to help you, but she was just as stuck as I was."
• "The Fairchilds and Macleans run Rivervale. They wouldn't want the drama of everyone knowing. Rexa even tried to speak up for you, but her family locked her up! Both of them threatened me. They said if I helped you, they'd take everything I owned, maybe even kill me!"
• "It wasn't that I didn't want to help your family, I was just freaking scared! And Rexa, well, the past five years... doesn't matter. You wouldn't care about her anyway. She had her own stuff going on."
• "Look," Candace pleaded, "I'm so sorry. Please give me a chance to fix things..."
• Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Candace saw a convoy of five cars approaching. The foremost vehicle unmistakably belonged to Ian, so she instinctively yelled, "Oh no, it's Ian!"
• Huxley's face split into a cold, menacing grin. "Ian," he growled, his voice laced with dark pleasure. "Five long years, buddy. Looks like things are coming full circle. Hope you're ready for what's coming."