Insanity (Sequel To Madness)

The Dinner

Everyone takes time to get in their seats at the dining table, and I watch as each of them do. First, the guys all take seats next to one another along one side of the table. Next, both Maddie and Emmet take seats by the guys while keeping their hands locked.
"You wanna sit my Maddie or Mark?" I ask in a hushed voice, glancing at the open seats.
"Well, sitting by Mark might cause an inconvenience considering our whole couple situation. Sitting by Maddie, however, would be perfectly fine considering it would just be a friendship between you both, and it would give me a closer seat to Allan. My vote would have to go to sitting by Maddie." Shane whispers his analysis while his eyes scam the room carefully.
"Alright, then let's sit there then." I mumble while I slowly lead Shane to our seats next to Maddie and Emmet. Shane sits next to the head of the table, which is where I'd guess Allan to sit. Maddie smiles at me when I sit down and instantly she turns to chat with me.
"I can't believe how nice this place is, I mean, look at it!" Maddie whisper-yells while she smiles brightly at me. I roll my eyes and turn away from Shane to better converse with Maddie.
"It's a lot more elegant than Shane's house, but it isn't nearly as big. I mean, we had so much room that almost the whole town could be inside and there would still be extra." I chuckle after I whisper my little joke. Maddie giggles with me and glances around the room, that's when her laughter suddenly stops.
"Mr. Big Shot came in, guess we gotta shut up now." Maddie whispers while she sits up in her chair. I do the same and turn to face forward instead of favoring her side. And, as Shane has expected, Allan sits next to him at the head of the table. His wife and daughter, Catherine and Amanda, sit across from both Shane and I. The room is deathly silent as the old woman from before walks in and grabs the plates of the ladies of the house.
"Dinner will be served by my servants, and when you get your food you may eat right away, no need to wait. Enjoy your meal, and it is my pleasure to have you all here tonight." Allan announces with a completely monotone voice.
"Yes, it is a pleasure to be here." Shane replies happily while glancing at me and grabbing my hand. Well, he really wants it play the part today.
"Yeah, thanks for having us." I add, trying hard to put on a convincing smile.
"No need to thank me. Anyhow, Shane, I was wondering if you had any of what you promised ready yet." Allan statesas he grabs a large bottle of wine on the table and pours himself a glass.
"Wine?" He questions before putting it away.
"Yes, please. Violet, would you like any?" Shane questions me politely. I nod slowly and smile at him. Shane grabs my glass and carefully pours the purple-red liquid inside. Shane turns back towards Allan and exchange small talk which doesn't interest me. Instead, I look around and see what I can notice.

The table is set so neatly. In front of each chair sits two glasses, one for wine and one for casual beverages. There are 3 forks in each place, like those fancy restaurants from before always had. There also lies an elegant, white tablecloth with edges that seem to line up perfectly along the rim of the table. I cross my legs and feel my dress slide up my legs in an annoying way. I grab my glass of wine and take a sip from it. The liquid inside is sweeter than I imagined, almost like a very high class grape juice. I place the glass back on the table and cross my arms. I look up to see Catherine eyeing one of the guys and Amanda sighing heavily and looking away from her mother. I turn towards her gaze and can't help but feel flames begin to set ablaze inside me. Sitting across from me, Catherine stares at Mark while he laughs with Bob about the silverware. This "happily married woman" eyes my boyfriend. Oh, how my life loves to piss me off. I nudge Maddie with my elbow and she turns towards me lazily.
"What?" She questions.
"Don't look yet, but Catherine is looking at my eye candy over there." I state in a hushed voice while slightly gesturing towards Mark who sits behind her. Maddie nods and grabs her wine glass, asking Emmet to fill it for her. A separate bottle of wine sits in front of him, so he has no problem obeying her wishes. Maddie thanks him and proceeds to drik from her glass while looking around the table, but very casually. Once her glass is back on the table, she nods.
"Oh yeah, she is. But her daughter seems to be a little annoyed a little annoyed, maybe she does this a lot then?" Maddie asks, glancing around the table once more. "Wait, do you think we've found another another fake marriage?" Maddie hisses in a hushed and shocked voice. I glance at Allan and back at Catherine and shale my head.
"No, they seem to have been married a while now, and ,I hate to say this, but no fake marriage would have children together, unless they really loved each other." I tell Maddie in a hushed voice. I'd never have children with Shane, and I don't think he wants them in all honesty. Maddie nods slowly and glances at Catherine again.
"Slutty wife then?" She asks. I glance at her again and sigh while I look back at Maddie.
"Maybe, or maybe she just likes to make my blood boil. If I wasn't doing this for Shane, that woman's eyes would be gouged out already." I mumble agrily.
"Well, you can't do that, especially since she hasn't even made a move on him." Maddie tells me as she grabs her glass of wine and sips a bit of it casually. I sigh with a nod and grab my glass as well, taking a sip of the sweet liquid.
"Amanda, why don't you tell Mrs. Lancaster your ideas on schooling? You see, my daughter has an incredible vision just like her father." Catherine says, catching my eyes and with them my attention.
"Oh, what ideas do you have?" I question while I gently set down my glass.
"Nothing important, my mother just doesn't know what a is a stable plan and what is not. Her judgment is as good as my fathers... Terrible." Amanda sighs rudely and leans her elbows on the table.
"Amanda! Don't speak so rudely at the dinner table, especially when we have guests." Catherine blurts out. She then grabs Amanda's wrist and slaps it hard.
"Catherine, please stop hitting and screaming at our daughter..." Allan groans in annoyance, rolling his eyes over to meet his wife's gaze. Catherine puts on a fake smile and drops Amanda's hand.
"Of course, dear." She answers him in that "sweet tone" that she seems to have mastered.
"I'd rather not remind you of my expectations again, Catherine. And Amanda, stop being a pissy brat and tell them your ideas." Allan demands while he takes a large gulp of his wine and then turns back to Shane.
"And I'm the one who's being pissy... You've been an asshole all day, you have no room to talk." Amanda mumbles while crossing her arms over her chest angrily.
"Amanda!" Catherine screeches, slapping Amanda's wrist once more.
"No, don't punish her. I'd like to hear what you have to say. Go on, Amanda, what did you say to me?" Allan demands, his tone suddenly shifting to anger.
"Nothing that you actually want to hear. You're just trying to look good in front of your boss." Amanda growls while she fiddles with one of her forks.
"Just be nice, why don't you start by telling Mrs. Lancaster your ideas? I'm sure that would be a nice change of topic." Allan states, his finger going in circles on his temples.
"Like I said... You're an asshole..." Amanda spits out.
"That's it, go to your room if you're so clever." Allan demands.
"Make me!" She replies, yelling now.
"I will!" Allan shouts back. He suddenly stands from his seat and grabs Amanda by the hair and throws her to the ground.
"You get your disgusting mouth, and horrible attitude up those steps right now, or you'll have a dire price to pay." Allan hisses as he stares down at his daughter.
"What will you do? What could you possibly do?" Amanda snaps as she jumps up to her feet.
"Don't try me, little girl. I'm a lot stronger than you." Allan snaps back at her.
"Dear, sit down." Catherine hisses.
"I'm not done yet. Get up those fucking stairs, before I have to drag you." Allan demands at his daughter with his finger pointing towards the exit of the dining hall.
"Fuck you." Amanda whispers and then spits right on Allan's face.
"Oh, that's it you little, ungrateful, snobby, unwanted brat." Allan spits the words. He then grabs Amanda by the wrist and proceeds to drag her out of the room and down the hall. There is a very long moment of silence before the screaming starts from down the hall. It seems like Allan and Amanda scream insults at one another for a few more minutes before it's back to pure silence.
"I'm sorry about that everyone... My daughter still doesn't know her manners or how to control her tongue..." Allan declares angrilly as he takes his seat once more.
"I don't think going that far was necessary though, dear." Catherine says in a hushed voice.
"What else was I to do? She would have continued insulting me all night and, even worse, our guests. I won't let her ruin her reputation before it's even created." Allan states as he drinks the rest of his wine and begins pouring himself another glass.
"I suppose you're right..." Catherine whispers.
"Now, Shane, we were discussing how to help my compound be more stable." Allan states ,turning to Shane with his new glass of wine in hand.
"Ah, yes. I'd like to ask you on what exactly you would like my advice on, especially because I haven't seen events here yet." Shane explains as he grabs his wine and takes a sip, quickly setting it back down again. I watched his actions carefully, and it almost seemed like he didn't like the wine. Now that I think about it, I've never seen Shane drink any type of alcohol. Maybe he doesn't like it, but is tonight to please Allan.
"Well, to begin, I'd like to send some citizens to a separate compound. Many people do not believe in my enforcement for one reason or another, perhaps they'll listen to someone else." Allan states while he spins his glass of wine around his hands lazily.
"Well, it just so happens that my compound is in need of new citizens, considering that the only ones left are either dead or took over my compound with a maniac." Shane states, leaning his elbows on the table in an annoyed way.
"You never did tell me much about that..." Allan trails off while he glances at Shane suspiciously.
"That's because I didn't find it necessary. A prisoner escaped from my prison and eventually took over my compound. Now, I own it again and that terrorist of a man is dead. There is no need to understand more than that." Shane explains while he crosses his arms and glances back at me casually.
"Hmm... It's surprising though." Allan states.
"What is?" Shane questions.
"That you allowed a prisoner to escape, you are known to have high quality guards and cells." Allan tells him while he takes another sip of his wine and finally sets it down on the table.
"Yes, well, I had flaws as any man does." Shane chuckles while his hand fiddles my his side.
"You don't seem like a man to make many mistakes, especially ones that affect you in such a big way." Allan glances at Shane suspiciously while he speaks.
"Shane fixed his mistake, so you should stop worrying about it." I step in, protecting Shane from any insults Allan might have prepared.
"I'm sorry, but I was speaking to Shane, not you." Allan groans in annoyance.
"She just wanted to protect me, like any good wife would." Shane says smiling and grabbing my hand into his.
"But that doesn't mean that she gets to intervene in business." Allan states.
"You know, I think we've had a long night and need to head back to our home. Thank you for your hospitality, but we should be going." Shane tells Allan while he pushes himseld up and pulls me with him.
"Shane." I whisper while he begins dragging me out of the room.
"Shane!" I say louder this time when he doesn't stop.
"Shane!" I yell, pulling my arm out of his grasp and making him stop in his tracks and turn to me.
"What's up with you?" I ask him in a shocked tone.
"Allan has always has a way of speaking and acting that pisses me off and I will not let his belittling attitude insult you too." Shane spits while he runs his fingers through his hair and walks around the center of the opening room.
"I can handle myself, Shane, what I'm really worried about is you. I've never seen you stomp out of a room like that before." I shout, finally making Shane stop and take deep breathes. He grabs my shoulders and rests his head in the crook of my neck.
"I'm sorry... We should just go home, can you grab the guys and Maddie and Emmet? I'll wait outside, I need some air." Shane says while he walks out of the building. I simply nod and walk back into the dining room.
"What happened? I thought you were leaving." Allan states, giving me a sarcastic type smile.
"We are. Mark, Wade, Bob, come on. Maddie and Emmet, you too. Shane says we're going back home." I tell them, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Violet... Can't you bring him back inside?" Mark asks me in a concerned tone.
"He said we're leaving, so we're leaving." I tell him, more harshly this time. Mark sighs and then nods while he gets up from his seat. Wade and Bob follow in his steps as he walks around the table towards me. He stops next to me and brushes his lips against my cheek.
"I don't think this is smart, considering this guy's anger." Mark whispers while he grabs my shoulder.
"We'll be fine. Wait for me outside." I whisper back, leaving my hands dangling at my sides. Mark releases me and walks past me towards the exit of the home. Bob and Wade both exchange glances before following Mark past me. Maddie and Emmet help each other up and both exit the room with myself following.