by Dan Dillard
Chapter 23
Two hours had passed since he had awoken, with no headache in sight. The day dragged ass but at least he felt refreshed, if a bit queasy from drinking half a pot of coffee. He planned to turn off the TV and maybe take the dog for a walk before he ran to The Olde Scroll, but first he had to answer the knocking at the door.
He would have ignored it if he wasn’t bored out of his skull. Maybe it was a sweepstakes bringing him a big check. He’d always wanted a big check. He felt that anything was better than waiting for the bookstore to open, and peered through the peep hole.
It was Kay. Crap. Aaron told her I called her a whore and she’s here to castrate me.
He needed to talk to her anyway, so he gulped hard, and opened the door. When she saw him, she smiled in a businesslike manner. He felt he was doomed.
“How are you feeling? Aaron told me you were pretty sick.”
She knew what he had said—Ethan was sure of it.
“I’m doing much better, thanks. Do you wanna come in?”
He was somewhat relieved she wasn’t brandishing a club or a chainsaw, but confused as to why she was there.
“I was a little worried about you after Aaron told me how you acted on the phone. It didn’t sound much like you.”
Her demeanor was odd—off—like an android version of herself.
She knows and she’s here to kill me.
“I’m sorry about that. I really wasn’t myself and totally did not mean what I said.”
She waved him off and interrupted.
“I understand, Ethan, really. And it’s fine.”
She said this and walked right past him. She wasn’t dressed like someone who would’ve been coming from work.
“Do you think I’m a whore?” she asked, catching him off guard.
She didn’t seem angry. She didn’t seem to have any type of emotion at all. Ethan felt that she was trying to intimidate him, and it was working.
“I’ve seen you look at me when Emily wasn’t watching.”
“I had this throbbing headache and Aaron just kept talking. I don’t know where the words came from. I just said the first thing that came...”
“Really,” she cut him off with a wave of her hand, “It’s fine.”
He sat down on the couch and watched her pace, like a big cat toying with her prey. Then she walked around and sat on the coffee table, turning to meet him face to face.
“I think you want me to be your whore, Ethan. I think you're pissed at Aaron for having me.”
The lioness was about to pounce. She lifted one leg up and set her foot on the couch next to him, then the other leg on the other side of his lap.
He scanned her slowly from the bottom up, unable to shake the feeling that she was testing him. He then raised his knees to the edge of the table, careful not to touch her, but trying shield his view. He brought his eyes back to meet her gaze.
“You lied when you told me about your ghost, didn’t you?” he challenged.
“I might not have told you everything. Why do you ask?”
She put her feet on the floor and slid forward, placing his bare feet between her legs and grabbing his knees, one in each hand. He could feel her heat on his toes and wanted her. He fired an accusation in an attempt to keep on the subject.
“I think maybe you saw it more than once, and maybe you still see it. I think you might have given it to me.”
She smiled while he waited for a response.
“I was trying to help you. You said you wanted to see a ghost, so I gave you mine. Don’t you…like it?”
She moved forward, pushing his knees down and sliding onto his lap. The move shocked him and it left him motionless as she kissed him on the neck.
“Don’t you want me? I could be your whore.”
Kay licked her lips and then placed a finger inside her mouth and slid it out slowly, continuing her over-the-top seduction.
“I would spend all day making you feel good.”
Ethan wanted her. He wanted to let her do as she pleased. He closed his eyes and for just one second imagined her fulfilling that promise. His desire to take her violently on the table was nearly too much to overcome.
With one last burst of energy, he shook his head and moved to push her off of his lap. His hands went through thin air and when he opened his eyes, she had vanished like steam into cooler air. There was nothing there. He jumped from the couch and looked in all directions, but she was gone.
Another dream?
“I dozed after breakfast and this was another very vivid dream,” he said to the empty room.
He reached down and touched his throbbing erection.
“Very vivid.”
He could still detect a faint whiff of perfume. A couple breaths of fresh air would set things right. He rushed to the front door, opened it, and inhaled deeply.
As he turned to go back into the apartment, he noticed a familiar vehicle. Stepping from the car was Kay, but this time she was dressed as if she was coming from work, wearing a green skirt and matching suit jacket. She looked stern, and when she took off her sunglasses she appeared to have been crying.
“What brings you out here?” he said nervously, and could only hope it wasn’t to rape him on his couch.
Any sexual tension he had felt moments ago was now completely gone.
“I was worried about you. Aaron told me what you said and I think I might have an explanation. Can I come in?”
She wiped her eyes and he noticed there was no makeup left. She was still a beautiful woman, but the sultry creature he had just spoken to was nowhere to be seen. Maybe it was a strange case of clairvoyance or ESP.
“Kay, I’m sorry about that. Really, I am,” he said, ignoring the feeling of déjà vu.
“You aren’t going to hurt me, are you?” he asked, and then motioned for her to go inside.
“No,” she laughed, though without any real joy.
They sat in the living room, but this time he took the chair and she chose the couch. Slobber chose to sit by her rather than Ethan, and she pet the dog unconsciously.
“There are some things I need to tell you that I didn’t mention during our other conversations. Things about my experience as a kid?”
She waited for some acknowledgement of what she was talking about. He was a bit preoccupied watching her pet the dog, and finally noticed that she had been staring at him.
“The ghost thing, right. I’ve been thinking a lot about it. What’s up?”
“You had a terrible headache yesterday when Aaron called, didn’t you?”
“Yes. I had another while Em was here and I was pretty rough on her, as well.”
He smiled with embarrassment, and then looked down at his socked feet.
“She told me. Be nice to her and things will be fine. Have you also been having dreams?”
Ethan didn’t want to give details about the dreams, especially the most recent one. He also didn’t think mentioning Max or her opinion that Kay was lying was necessary at this point. It would only stir up more emotion.
“Everybody dreams, right?”
It was a decent defense, although she batted it down and plowed right on through.
“Yours have been extremely vivid, right? Maybe sexual, or violent?”
She badgered him until he told her about his dreams. He left out most of the details about Emily and the little girl, especially her violent death, and he couldn’t tell Kay he had dreamed of her attacking him sexually on the very couch where she was now seated. It would’ve made the already awkward situation unbearable.
“I don’t remember very clearly and I wouldn’t have understood them like you do now, but I went through all of this as a child. All before I ever saw the thing. I had terrible dreams for weeks that were so real I couldn’t tell when I was awake or not.”
She shifted in her seat. “I cried for my parents, who thought it was just a ‘monster in the closet�
�. They would comfort me at first, but I could tell they were annoyed towards the end, so I started hiding my fear from them.”
Ethan wanted to tell her it was just a weird coincidence, but he didn’t believe that. His skepticism had skipped town. He felt a common bond with her. Not just because they shared similar experiences of haunting or whatever it was, but also because she struggled to make her parents believe and they hadn't, and he struggled for some kind of belief as a child, and his father wouldn't allow it.
“This would've been good to know a couple months ago,” he snapped.
“I couldn’t have foreseen this. I never thought it would leave me.”
Ethan shrugged, his eyes still angry and untrusting, but her words made sense.
“I don’t know why I even brought the subject up that night. Maybe it was the alcohol,” she said.
“Maybe it wanted out?” he responded. “Maybe my need for information on the topic somehow got into your head and it was there waiting?”
“You could be right. Ever since I met you, there haven’t been any disturbances,” she said.
Ethan laughed, “It’s been pretty fucking disturbing over here.”
She seemed apologetic, but there was a little relief there, as well.
“I spoke to someone about this. She owns an old bookstore downtown. She said that it was possible that your spirit has attached itself to me. That maybe it was attached to someone before it found you and that we need to close our connection with it.”
As he spoke, Kay began to shake her head, slowly at first and then with authority.
“No. No, I’m done with this. I’ve suffered long enough. I ignored it all these years hoping it would just go away. Now you have its full attention.”
Her voice shook and tears filled her eyes but didn't spill over.
“I’m sorry if I brought this on you and it may be selfish...but I don’t want it back.”
Ethan just stared at her, astonished at the statement.
“All I’m asking is for you to talk to someone.”
She straightened and wiped her eyes.
“I’ve slept and had a clear head for the last few weeks. It’s the first time in my memory that I haven’t been exhausted all the time,” she said.
She had the look of fear that a child has when confronting the unknown. Only she knew what the unknown was, because she had seen it. It hadn’t done her any physical harm, but it had terrified her for years. He felt that there were still unrevealed details, but didn’t want to press the issue right then.
“You need to stop looking for whatever you're looking for, Ethan. I’m worried about you. This illness isn’t medical and you could be in deep physical—even spiritual—trouble. Just let it go.”
“I’ll be fine. The doctor said this thing was just a bug that’s going around and I’d be fine in a couple days. Look, I’m feeling better already and I’m sure this illness has nothing to do with any of that.”
Kay smiled vaguely like she wanted to humor him, and then sighed deeply.
“Fine,” she said. “I hope you’re right.”
As she was saying this, the front door opened with a couple knocks and Emily entered, saying, “Hello?”
When she saw the two of them sitting there, her smile look turned to a puzzled look, laced with fury.
“Hi, Kay. What brings you here?” Her eyes said she didn’t really give a damn.
“I got off work a little early and just stopped by to check on our pitiful little friend. I think he’s just ducking work today.”
Kay smiled and gave Ethan a look that he knew was a plea for his silence.
“I’m doing much better today,” he said.
He felt guilty, as if he’d just been caught breaking a half dozen sodomy laws in a confessional, and was trying to explain it to the priest. It didn’t help that he had lusted for and almost given in to Kay in a dream just hours earlier.
This relationship was fantastic while it lasted, buddy.
“Well, I’m here now, and I’ll take my shift. Do you want to hang out and eat dinner with us or did you have plans with Aaron?”
Kay’s posture became clearly professional, all business. She was seated comfortably in another woman’s territory. She glanced at the clock, then stood and straightened her skirt. “Actually, I’m supposed to meet him in about fifteen minutes for drinks and dinner. You two have a good night and I hope you feel better.”
She excused herself and left quietly.
Emily turned to Ethan with her lips pursed and he could tell that she was not having it. Her discomfort was obvious. As soon as the front door had shut, she took a deep breath and aired her feelings.
“She wasn’t sitting on your lap, so I guess it’s okay,” she said.
“That’s not fair. She just came to check on me.”
“I know. I think I'm just tired, still recovering from that flu or whatever it was.”
“There's nothing to worry about,” he said.
She studied his face, “Are you sure? I mean it should be perfectly all right to have her over for a little chit-chat, right?”
“Is that sarcasm?”
“I don't know what it is.”
“Em?” he said, trying to make sense of her emotions.
“I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
“What?”
“You look at her body, you watch her move. You don’t think I see, but I do.”
“Em, come on. She's just concerned because my illness reminded her of her incident, that's all,” he said.
“Incident? Look Ethan, we’re not married, I don’t expect you to pine for me. I don’t expect you to not look at other women, but it was still a little shocking to see her here with you. You don’t owe me any explanation.”
“She was here because of the haunting,” he said.
“Haunting? You bought that large pile of bullshit?”
“Just listen…please?” He recounted the details quickly, trying not to miss any important points.
Emily appeared unimpressed. “Still sounds like a pile of shit.”
“Em, I had no idea that she hadn’t told us everything. Not until today,” he said.
“Either way, why would you tell her these things and not me?”
She looked on the verge of tears, and he felt he didn’t deserve them.
“She brought it up. She only wanted to make sure that I was taking all of this seriously,” he said. “Talk to her, Em. I know you haven’t known her very long, but she’ll tell you the exact same thing.”
Meanwhile, the bass drum was beginning to pound in the back of his head, and he tried his best to ward it off.
This is not the time to lose it, old friend. She won’t let that happen twice.
“I know,” she said.
She looked at him with sadness. It was a bad sign. The drum boomed louder in his head.
“Maybe you should go. At least until I feel better. Then we can look at this with fresh perspective?”
“Just call me if you want to talk, not Kay.”
“I will.”
The bass drum pounded louder and louder, rattling his bones. He felt Emily’s lingering look was accusatory. The pain clouded his judgment. It made him angry, with more rage than he'd ever felt. He had done nothing to deserve accusation. His eyes throbbed and his hands clenched into fists.
“Ethan?” she said. “Are you ok?”
“Yeah.”
She continued looking at him. In truth, she wanted acknowledgement, sincerity in his response, maybe a ‘thank you’ for checking on him. What he felt was persecution, jealousy, and distrust.
Ethan lunged from his seat on the couch and grabbed her shoulders. Then he shoved her against the wall, hard enough to wind her.
“What do you want from me?” he hissed.
“Ethan? Let me go.”
“You want me to say I wanted to fuck her? That maybe I already have?”
Em
ily struggled to get free, but he gripped her more tightly.
“Where is this coming from? Ethan, let me go!”
The drum diminished and Ethan let go of his grip on her shoulders. His regret was deep and immediate. He staggered backwards, sitting on the couch with a thud.
His words had ended the argument—and most likely the relationship—but at that point, he was in such profound pain that he was unable to find the words to apologize. She didn't look like she would have listened, anyway.
Emily didn’t say another word, just shoved him out of the way and walked out the door, slamming it so hard that it rattled the frame.
