The Barbecue Challenge

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

Something felt…off.

She couldn’t quite figure out what that something was, but whatever it was had Mikey reaching down with trembling hands and grabbing hold of her comforter. Swallowing hard, she pulled the comforter up to her chin as she slowly took in her bedroom, from the outline of her bedroom door that she could barely make out in the dimly lit room to the soft moonlight that spilled into her room, and felt a chill race down her spine and she had no idea why.

The only thing that she knew was that her bedroom door was fifteen feet away, her closet was ten feet away, and the bathroom door was only five feet away, making it her only option. Slowly exhaling, Mikey pushed the comforter back down only to go still seconds before her gaze shot back to her bedroom window only…

There was no one there.

She was losing her damn mind, Mikey thought, shaking her head in disgust as she pulled the comforter back up as she moved to roll onto her side and-

“RUN!”

-went still as she watched Jonathan, who’d rushed to her window only seconds before, barely managed to shove it open before he was suddenly yanked out of sight, leaving her lying there, struggling to remember how to breathe.

She-

Went still when she heard it, the soft click of her bedroom door opening. She told herself to run, but she already knew that it was too late. So, she did the only thing that she could think of, she flung the covers aside, moved to dive off her bed only to release a whimper when she felt it, a large hand wrapping around her ankle and-

“Oh, good, you’re awake,” Reese, her stepfather, and the man that sounded really freaking cheerful for some reason, said as she found herself pulled off the bed and thrown over his shoulder.

“It’s three o’clock in the morning,” Mikey pointed weakly against his back as she found herself being carried into the hallway and promptly carried downstairs.

“Which makes this the perfect time to go over the rules,” Reese said as she found herself carried into the foyer and out the front door.

“Why are there rules at three in the morning?” Mikey asked as she grabbed hold of his shirt and used her hold to push herself up only to immediately regret that decision as she tried to make sense out of what she was seeing. “Why are his hands and feet tied together?” she found herself asking as she watched Uncle Trevor adjust Jonathan, who also appeared to be gagged, over his shoulder with a satisfied sigh.

“Because he didn’t follow the rules,” Reese explained as he carried her across the street while she found herself wondering about all the pickup trucks lining the street.

“What exactly are these rules?” Mikey asked just as a mouthwatering aroma that she couldn’t quite place reached her.

“I’m glad you asked,” Reese murmured as she found herself carried around Uncle Trevor’s house and-

Found herself wondering why the backyard was filled with more than two dozen Bradfords and a long line of smokers and grills before she found herself focusing on the long white table with a single metal folding chair. A moment later, Reese was placing her in that chair and she found herself wondering about something.

“Why are they all tied up?” Mikey asked as she watched Uncle Trevor carefully dump Jonathan on the ground next to Sebastian, who looked really pissed, before taking in everyone else currently sitting on the ground, from Aunt Zoe to Aunt Rebecca and found herself wondering about something else.

“Why are they all frantically shaking their heads?” Mikey asked, just as the first plate was placed in front of her. That was followed by twelve more plates, all of them holding a single cheeseburger and every single plate had a number written on it.

“Let’s start with the cheeseburgers, shall we?” Uncle Darrin said, shooting her a wink as he placed a plate in front of her and-

“You cheating bastard!” Uncle Jason snapped with a glare aimed at Uncle Darrin. “I saw that wink!”

“It’s not against the rules,” Uncle Darrin said smoothly, shooting her another wink before he stepped away, leaving her sitting there, frowning as Mikey glanced from the burgers laid out in front of her to the large men standing in front of her, watching her expectantly.

“It is now,” Uncle Jason snapped, gesturing towards Uncle Lucifer and drawing her attention to find him writing something down in a thick notebook.

“What exactly is going on?” Mikey found herself asking as a can of Coke was placed in front of her along with a stack of napkins.

“You’re settling a bet for us,” Uncle Jared said, gesturing for her to get on with it.

“At three in the morning?” Mikey asked even as she reached for the first burger and-

Went completely still as she watched Uncle Duncan’s eyes narrow dangerously on her. Swallowing hard, Mikey carefully picked up the large cheeseburger, took a bite, and noticed the muscle clenching in his jaw as he watched her. When she finished, she mumbled, “Delicious,” watching as his expression turned pleased.

“The ribs took six hours to cook,” Grandpa said, gesturing for her to try the next burger, which had Uncle Lucifer’s eyes narrowing dangerously on her.

“And the reason why they’re sitting on the ground, sending me panicked looks?” Mikey asked, gesturing with the burger towards the group in question even as she noted that her mother was missing.

“They were disqualified,” Uncle Jared bit out with a glare aimed at his wife.

“I see,” Mikey murmured, taking a bite of the admittedly delicious burger before putting it down and reaching for the next one. “What exactly got them disqualified?”

“They know what they did,” Uncle Jason said, sending a glare aimed at his wife that had Aunt Haley glaring right back.

“All I said was the burger was a little dry,” Aunt Haley said, using her bound hands to push her glasses back up her nose.

Nodding slowly, Uncle Jason said, “I want a divorce.”

“What does the winner get?” Mikey asked, absently noting the burger was a little dry before moving on to the next burger.

“Bragging rights,” Uncle Jared said, narrowing his eyes on her as she reached for the next burger.

Nodding, Mikey took a bite, and then for good measure, took another bite while she sat there, thinking that over and-

Sighed heavily with a sad shake of her head as she placed the burger back on the plate and reached for the next one. “I’m afraid that just won’t work for me,” Mikey said, taking a bite of the next burger and absently noted that it was a little oversalted before putting it down.

“And what will work for you?” Uncle Jared asked, watching as she grabbed the next burger and took a bite.

Mikey took her time finishing the bite before she said, “Winner has to play catch with me,” making every Bradford go still.

She placed the burger back on the plate while she watched every Bradford swallow hard as they looked from her to the scar above Reese’s forehead and then, took in the one on Uncle Darrin’s forehead before taking in the one on Uncle Aidan’s chin and-

“You’re disqualified.”

Inspired by Delectable: A Neighbor from Hell Novel

Dear Reese, 

I’m sure you’re wondering why the locks have been changed and your stuff is gone. Well, that’s actually your fault. If you’d come home last Sunday like you’d promised, then you would have found all your crap waiting for you, but you decided to sign up for extra training at the last minute, so I didn’t have a chance to plan this better. Maybe this will teach you to keep your promises in the future. 

Not that you deserve it, but I did manage to save a few of your things that they didn’t want. I put all of it in a white box, which should be on the floor unless they came back and stole that, too.

Roger thinks I should just get to the point so that we don’t miss our flight. I probably should tell you that Roger and I are in love and that we’re flying to Vegas to get married. He says he’s sorry. He’s really sweet, isn’t he? He feels really bad about this. If it makes you feel better, all that sneaking around we did behind your back was really stressful. I almost had problems sleeping at night and you know how important my twelve hours of beauty sleep are to me. 

Anyway, I really don’t think I should have to feel all that bad about cheating on you since it really was all your fault. When you told me that you weren’t interested in sex, I thought you were just kidding. Had I known that you weren’t kidding, I never would have gone out with you. I know you proposed and all, but I feel like you wasted a year of my life. Well, maybe not a year since I didn’t make it a month before I started sleeping with Roger, but again, that’s your fault. If you’d taken care of me like you were supposed to then I wouldn’t have slept with your best friend. 

Also, I have to tell you that I think it’s really weird for a 29-year-old guy to still be a virgin. All the girls at the mall, work, and at the grocery store think so too and they think that you were using me to cover up for other problems, which I have to tell you right now that I don’t appreciate one bit. But I’m a big enough person that I suppose that I should forgive you. 

I thought I’d tell you that I don’t like your family. Their obsession with food is creepy and I really just don’t like them, especially your cousins who ignored me. Their kids are little brats. My cellphone still isn’t working right and I think you should have to pay for it, but Roger said to just let it go. For him, I will because he’s so kind and sweet and brings out the best in me. He makes me such a good person.

I was going to give you back your engagement ring, but then I decided that you kind of owe it to me for such a stressful year. I sold it so that Roger and I can have a wonderful week in Vegas. I would say I’ll call you when we get back, but why bother?

Hugs and kisses,

Missy

P.S.

I feel bad about taping this note to the door, but you didn’t have any envelopes.