The Devil You Know: Chapter 37

Viki Buchanan took the elevator up to the ME offices the next day, concerned for Todd.  All through dinner the night before, he had looked haggard and dazed.  She hadn’t been able to speak to Blair alone afterwards, so she was determined to get some answers from her brother now.  When she reached the floor, a perking blonde greeted her.

“Good morning!  Can I help you?” she asked.

Viki recognized the voice.  “It’s Maxie, correct?  I’m Viki Buchanan, Todd’s sister,” she said by way of introduction.

“Oh, the one he actually seems to like!  Yes, Maxie Jones.  It’s nice to meet you,” the young woman responded.  “Do you have an appointment to see him?”

Viki’s smile faltered momentarily.  “An appointment?”

Maxie waved it off.  “I can see you don’t but as he seems to be in a grumpy mood this morning, he deserves to be disturbed.  Go right ahead in.  I need to go for a coffee break.”  With that, Maxie gathered up her bag and left.

Viki raised an eyebrow and knocked on Todd’s office door.  The response was one she had suspected.  “I’m busy, Maxie.  Go away,” he yelled.

“It’s not Maxie,” Viki replied as she opened the door. 

Todd, seated at his desk, did a double take.  “Viki, what do you want?”

“Well, I wanted to see how you were doing.  You seemed a little on edge last night,” she told him.

“I’m fine,” he insisted.

“And I don’t believe you.”

“Well, it’s the truth.  Really, Viki, don’t you have, I don’t know, Jessica and her alters getting out?  Or Natalie and her usual man trouble?  Or Victor?  Yeah, I’m sure he’s doing…something to mess up his life.  Go worry about them,” he told her.

“My children are fine, Victor is fine, but it’s becoming obvious you are not.”  Her worry was only increasing when he gave her a wild-eyed expression.  “Is this about meeting Harry and learning more about Barbara?”

“No, why would you think that?  Bitsy…hasn’t been a factor in my life since just before I discovered the truth.”  Now Viki could see he was panicking, but he was continuing to put up a brave front.  “Look, it’s just been knocking me a little off-kilter, with learning about this piano recital I supposed was in.”

“ ‘Supposedly’?  Todd, according to the write up, you showed so much promise.  It’s just terrible…” She stopped, unsure of what to say.

“What was terrible?”  Todd caught his sister’s comment and feared whatever it was she hinting at. 

Viki sighed deeply.  “Blair told Tina and I about what happened the night of that recital.  That Peter beat your mother enough to put her in the hospital and that you ran off.”

“Blair told you that?” he asked slowly. 

Viki merely nodded.

“Blair worries too much,” he said in a rushed voice. 

“Todd, you were traumatized by that experience.  It’s plainly obvious.  It’s no different than--”

“Don’t say it!” he cried out.  “Don’t compare what happened in your childhood to what happened in mine.  What the old man did to you was a hundred, no a thousand times worse!  Peter always used her and me as punching bags.  He used anyone who was weaker than him.  Until I got bigger than him.”  Todd stood up so quickly, a wave of dizziness hitting him and he became unbalanced.  He grasped the desk to stability.

Viki stood up and went to him.  “Slow down there.”

“I’m fine, Mommy.  Just had a head rush.”

“Todd, you still haven’t fully recovered from the effects of the shooting.  When was the last time you spoke to Danny Wolek or any of your other doctors?” she asked.

As Todd sat back down, he looked at Viki.  Taking on a softer tone in his voice, he said, “Look, I swear to you I’m alright.”  Then he decided how to excuse his off behavior.  He pulled out the wedding file and handed it to her, saying, “If you must know, I’ve been worrying about this.”

Viki paged through the file, a confused look on her face.  “You’re worried about your wedding to Blair?”

He shrugged his shoulders.  “Well, this is going to be the last time, so I want to make it perfect.  Like it was when she was pregnant with Starr.”  Then he grabbed the file back.  “Look, just promise you won’t say anything about this to her.  About anything.  I’m trying to keep it a surprise.”  He then gave her his best begging look.

Against her better judgment, Viki let their conversation slide.  She nodded her head and left his office.  Making her way out of the Metrocourt, she ran into Jack and Molly.

“Mrs. Buchanan, it’s so nice to see you.  Jack told me you arrived early for the ball,” Molly said. 

“Well hello Molly.  It’s lovely to see your too,” Viki replied to the young woman.  “Yes, I hadn’t seen my brother since the wedding and I wanted to visit with him.” 

“That‘s wonderful.  Mr. Manning was so generous.  I think I saw that you made a donation too.”

“Yes, the Lord family has made a donation for it.  And Starr will be performing in it as well,” Viki explained.

“Yeah and Mom is too.  Dad kind of demanded it when he offered to fund the whole thing,” Jack said with a smirk. 

“Well, that’s your father,” Viki told them magnanimously. 

“Actually, we’re going to help with putting together the sets,” Molly said.

Jack put his hand on Molly’s shoulder.  “Actually, can I meet you there later?  I need to talk to my aunt.”

Molly saw the look Jack was giving Viki and nodded her head, giving him a kiss on the cheek before walking off.

When she was out of hearing range, Jack led Viki out of the hotel and towards Kelly’s.  “I didn’t want to bring this up in front of her.  It’s about Dad and I know how he hates for anyone else to know his business, even if you are family.”  He stopped for a minute then turned to her.  “I’m really worried about Dad.”

Viki grimaced at him.  “I know the feeling, Jack.  I am too.  So is your mother and so is Tina.”  When he looked at her in shock, she smiled.  “Despite how they are to each other, your father and our sister do love each other.  Tina is actually doing a wonderful job being a concerned big sister.”

“Whatever,” Jack muttered.  When she gave him an admonishing glare he added, “She hasn’t been around him all that much, as far as I can tell.  Dad always told the story that she wanted to get her hands on his money when he first learned he was your brother.”

Viki really didn’t want to get into all that history, so she merely stated, “That is all in the past.  But why are you worried about your father now?”

Jack took a seat at the outdoor tables for Kelly’s, even though it was getting cold out.  Viki sat down across from him.  “Last night, before the food came out, Dad was talking to himself about keeping it together.  And I know he’s had some episodes of, I guess, flashbacks for a while.”

“Yes, your mother alluded to something earlier.  And I spoke to him today.  He was very edgy, more so than usual,”  Viki confided.  “But of course, he wouldn’t admit that anything was wrong.  It kind of reminded me…”

“Reminded you of what?” Jack asked.

“It reminded me of the night before your parents got married.  When your father learned about his father,” she said in a quiet tone.  She shook her head at the memory.  “Jack, I think you need to tell your mother about your concerns, and your sister.  I think you’re right, I think he needs help, but he won’t listen to me.”

“From what I heard,” Jack informed her, “he won’t let her help him either.”  He shook his head.  “Why is he so stubborn?” 

“Stubbornness is one of the few ’good’ qualities our father passed down,” Viki replied.  “For the time being, I think we all need to keep an eye on him.  None of us can really know what is going on inside his head.”

Jack’s eyes widened at what she said.  “There may be one person who does.” 



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