Beautiful Days (Jason Of The Valley Book 5)

by Jason K. Melby

  "Well, thank you, but no. I was thinking that you could just take the bed."

  "No. I can't."

  "Yes you can. You're paying for this room for one thing; and for another I'm not getting much sleep anyway. I might as well take the chair."

  "You need to try to sleep."

  "I can't! Every time I close my eyes I see him. I see him and that other guy. It's funny. A couple days ago I didn't even remember it and now I can't get the images out of my head. Thanks for opening this can of worms for me."

  "Look, I'd argue the point, but my brain isn't working after only three hours sleep. How about if we cut to the chase and I take the bed and you take the chair? You can tell me all about this in the morning when I'll be able to understand."

  "Fine." Jason said as he slid off the bed and onto the floor. Matt simply crawled forward on top of the bed and curled up under the sheets. Jason stood up and headed over to the chair and once he sat down, Matt turned off the light. Jason just sat in the darkness trying to push away the mental images that persisted to haunt him. In his head he could remember every detail. He saw the cracked tile on the floor and the faded paint on the walls. He could almost see the ugly light that beamed down from above. He even recalled perfectly what David was wearing. It was as though that whole single moment had etched itself on Jason's brain.

  Hours crawled by and Jason managed to get in barely an hour's worth of sleep before the sun began to rise. When light began to fill the room, Jason went ahead and got up and gathered up his clothes. He heard Matt stir and he turned to face him.

  "You get any sleep?" Matt asked.

  "A little. It was hard. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it."

  "What?"

  "David. I saw him in that bathroom. I saw him. I saw them. You know he smiled at me? Our eyes met for a second and he smiled at me while it was happening. I thought I was going to throw up before anything else."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It was weird too. He had this glassy look on his face. It was like he wasn't even aware of what was going on."

  "You have to stop thinking about it." Jason then pulled on his shirt and sat down on the bed.

  "You think I want to this in my head? First I couldn't remember it at all and now it's all I can think of."

  "Just try and focus on something else."

  "I'd love to, but it's a little hard to block this out. Now I have to go home where he is and, I don't know. I have no idea what's going to happen."

  "My guess is you'll go home, have a fight and then figure out your next step."

  "Fight. That's right. David and I are going to have to talk about this, aren't we?"

  "Of course!"

  "I guess it's too much to hope that he'll just have moved out and gone to live on the moon, isn't it?"

  "A bit." Matt said as he sat down next to Jason and slipped his arm over his shoulders.

  "I don't like this. What am I going to do? Where am I going to stay?"

  "At home."

  "Can I? How can I be under the same roof with him after what I saw?"

  "What David did was horrible, but considering what you guys have, don't you think moving out is a little extreme a reaction?"

  "Maybe. I just don't know if I can manage to be in his presence right now."

  "Well, if you need it, you can stay here." Jason then looked over to Matt and gave him a crooked little smile.

  "Actually, I don't know if that's such a hot idea either."

  "Why not?"

  "It wasn't just reliving that moment at the bar that was keeping me up last night."

  "Me?"

  "A little. I've missed you, Matt."

  "I've missed you too."

  "Do you really think it's very healthy for me to lean on you like this right now?"

  "We're still friends, aren't we? Nothing happened between us, did it?"

  "No. I thought about it though. Didn't you?"

  "A little. Yes." Jason turned from Matt and cupped his face with his hands.

  "Arrgh! I don't know how to handle this!"

  "Maybe you just need some food. Get dressed and I'll treat you to breakfast. We'll go from there."

  After they had breakfast, Matt took Jason back to his place. As they drove along, Jason kept praying that David wouldn't be home. The closer they got, the more his stomach began to hurt. A slow, steady panic began to overtake Jason's body and as Matt parked the truck on the street, Jason wanted nothing more than for him to turn it back on and go back to his hotel room. Jason looked out at his front door from the safety of the passenger seat in the truck. Every instinct in his body was begging him to turn back.

  "You okay?" Matt asked.

  "No. Not by a long shot."

  "Face it now or later. Either way, you have to do this." Jason took a deep breath and then scanned over to Bill's place where he could see Bill out front watering the little box of flowers in front of his small porch. Bill was clad in one of his typical loud Hawaiian shirts and somehow that brought some kind of odd comfort. As long as he could focus on Bill's shirt, he felt he could do it.

  "Let's go." Jason said. They got out of the truck and marched over. Bill looked up and smiled as he saw Matt and Jason approach.

  "Hey! Sorry I missed the book signing, buddy." Bill said as he set his watering can down.

  "It's fine, Bill." Jason said.

  "You guys okay?"

  "Something happened at the bar, Bill. Something with David."

  "Did it? He didn't mention anything when I saw him this morning."

  "You saw him?"

  "Sure. We poked out and grabbed our papers at the same time today. I said hi, but he was kind of shy about it."

  "Do you know if he's home now?"

  "I have no idea. I think I heard him leave earlier." Jason's heart felt a bit lighter when he heard that.

  "Thanks, Bill."

  "Sure. You mind telling me what went on?"

  "I'm having trouble seeing it in my head. I don't think I can really talk about it."

  "I'll fill him in, Jay. You go on in." Matt said. Jason nodded and walked up to the door. He fished his keys out of his pocket. He held his breath, hoping to hear something inside that would tell him if the coast was clear or not. He couldn't hear anything. He pushed the key into the lock and with a sharp jerk, he pushed the door open. He walked in and everything looked untouched. The air was still, but there was something lurking. Jason's pulse began to race. He looked over to the hall leading to the bedroom and as he took a step, he heard footsteps approaching. David appeared and it felt as though Jason hasn't seen him in ages. They both just stood frozen across from each other, staring into the others' eyes.

  "Jason." David said.

  "David."

  "Where were you last night?"

  "I stayed with a friend. Who were you with?"

  "I was alone. I was waiting for you. We need to talk."

  "Yes. I'd say that we do."

  "First, I'm sorry. I am so sorry about what happened."

  "I'm sure you are."

  "I understand that you're angry, but could you please just put that on hold and let me speak?"

  "Do you really intend to defend your actions?"

  "No, but I would like to apologize."

  "You just did."

  "Then I want to keep apologizing. I have no idea why I did it and like I said, I don't remember anything about it. I spoke with Mike,"

  "Why were you talking to Mike?"

  "I was looking for you. Anyway, we spoke and he said something about someone who got drugged at the bar years ago."

  "Oh, yeah. I remember that. I didn't really know the guy, but it was pretty intense."

  "I think that's what happened to me."

  "You were drugged?"

  "It's the only explanation I can think of."

  "When in doubt, blame drugs."

  "I'm not trying to find something to blame. I'm trying to find out what really happened."

  "What happened was you
were getting a blow job in the bathroom by some bar skank."

  "Do you really believe I'd do something like that?"

  "I don't know. I'm finding out there's a lot about you I don't know. I didn't know you were a lawyer. I mean, I don't know what kind of man you were then. Maybe this beach preacher dude act is just that. An act. For all I know this is how you pick up guys."

  "You think meeting, falling in love and moving in together is part of some pick up scheme?"

  "I don't know! Maybe you like to play mind games too."

  "Jason. I'm trying to make some sense out of this so that we can move on, but if you're just going to be angry, I don't see the point."

  "I'm being angry now because I am angry. I might be angry tomorrow too. In fact, I'm planning on being angry for the rest of the week at least!"

  "I see." Jason could feel how hurt David felt and as much as he wished he could just forgive and forget, every time he saw his face, he was transported back to that bathroom and everything came roaring back.

  "I'm sorry."

  "No, no. I get it. I guess it is rather stupid of me to expect you to forgive me just like that. I broke your trust and I know how important that is to you. For that I'm also sorry. I packed a bag. I was thinking it would be too hard to live together like this, so I was planning on getting a room."

  "All right." David then retreated back to the bedroom and returned with his suitcase in tow. Jason stepped away from the door as he approached. David then turned to him, half expecting some kind of sendoff. Jason just stared at him nervously. He then crept over and gave him a half-hearted kiss on his cheek.

  "I guess that's as good as I can expect."

  "I'm sorry."

  "It's more than I deserve, but I promise you; I will make this right."

  "I hope so."

  "I'll call to let you know where I end up."

  "Okay." David then pulled the door open and stepped out.

  As he walked out onto the porch, Bill and Matt shot him hard glares as he strolled past them. Matt then ran inside to Jason.

  "You okay?"

  "He's going to stay somewhere else for the time being."

  "And then?"

  "I don't know. I really don't know."

  Chapter 35

  Sex Crime Investigation

  When David drove up to the bar, he felt a shiver run up his spine. His last night there was one of the worst of his life, but he had to come back in some attempt to piece together what happened. He got out of the car and as he approached the front door, he got the impression it wasn't very busy, which he thought was both a good and a bad thing. He wasn't going in to make any new friends, but he was hoping that maybe the guy he had been caught in the bathroom with would be there. He was the only other person involved in the event and hopefully he would have some information.

  David walked over to the bar and sat down on a stool as he tried to form a plan of what to do. The bartender walked over to him. It was a different guy. He was a thickly muscled Latino man with dark hair, sparkling eyes and no shirt. David remembered the bartender last time was a thin white guy.

  "What can I get you?"

  "Uh, just a water. For now." David said. The bartender smiled and grabbed a bottle of water and slid it in front of him.

  "That'll be one dollar." David pulled out his wallet and put down one dollar for the water, and another for a tip. The bartender took the money and went back to his post while David opened up the water and took a sip.

  David looked around. He wasn't sure what he was going to find. He couldn't even remember what the other guy looked like. He was so out of it, it could have been anyone. After a few minutes, David decided the answer wouldn't find him, so he got off the stool and headed out to the patio. He walked out and noticed right away there were more people outside than in. They all turned to him as he walked out and he felt as though he were in some kind of spotlight. He scanned their faces but no one looked familiar. David found a small table in the corner and sat down at it and continued to sip on his water. He figured he'd give it a couple hours. If no one showed up, he'd go back to his motel room.

  "Returning to the scene of the crime, huh?" A voice asked. David turned and saw Ken walking in from the door on the other side of the patio.

  "Hi, Ken." David said.

  "Don't 'hi' me. What are you doing here? Looking to get lucky again?"

  "No. Actually I was hoping to find the guy Jason caught me with. Maybe he knows something about what happened that night."

  "Don't you know enough?"

  "No. I think I was drugged. I want to know what really happened. I don't remember much from my lawyer days, but I still know how to ferret out facts and compile evidence."

  "Drugged? I guess that explains why you'd do that kind of thing. Most guys who screw in the bathroom are drunk or on something."

  "You think I might have been drugged?"

  "I'll reserve judgment. You seem like a nice guy. I'm having a hard time believing you'd do something so nasty."

  "Thanks. What are you doing here? Is Adam here?"

  "No. I'm actually coming from work."

  "How is the porn store?" David asked. Ken shot him a smile.

  "It's closing."

  "What?"

  "Yup. Found out before the end of my shift tonight. They're packing it all up. I’m out of work. Again."

  "I'm sorry."

  "I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, who needs video stores for porn when you've got the internet?"

  "Yeah, it's kind of killing the industry."

  "Well, it was always kind of bad. I remember the days of VHS tapes. It took me an hour to work up the nerve to go into the adult section of my local video store for the first time. Another two to actually rent the video. I never understood why they put porn videos in those huge, attention getting boxes."

  "You got me."

  "Anyway, I'm not real anxious to go back home and tell Adam the news."

  "You can join me if you want. I'm just having water."

  "Okay. I'll just be having vodka. Lots and lots of vodka."

  Ken went back into the bar and got his drink and then returned to join David on the patio. Ken took the chance to unload all of his video store stories. He recalled endless, customer free nights alone. The continuous cleaning and the discovery of strange and disgusting videos in the back, but as much as Ken complained about it, there was a part of him that was actually going to miss it. He enjoyed the solitude. It was the one time of the day where he could just be alone with his thoughts with little to no distractions.

  An hour passed and Ken was on his third drink while David was almost done with his water. A few more people had come in, but still no one jumped out at David.

  "So, who is this guy anyway? I didn't see him either."

  "I don't know what he looks like exactly. I mean, it's like I can see him, but I couldn't give you a decent description. I'll know him if I see him."

  "And you don't see him?"

  "Not in this crowd, no."

  "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I don't know anyone here either." Ken said as he took another gulp of his drink. David drank up the last of his water and tossed the bottle into a nearby trash can.

  "I think I'm going to call it a night. I don't even know if this guy is a regular."

  "Aw, come on. Hang out for a little bit longer. I hate to drink alone."

  "Well, your glass is empty."

  "Don't worry about that. I'll get that taken care of shortly."

  "Actually, maybe you should just get on home. You look like you're just about done."

  "Maybe I am. I don't know. I don't want to be unemployed again. I hate not having a job. It's like every day you wake up; you know the world wouldn't miss you. It's like you stop mattering to everything and everyone."

  "You matter to Adam. You matter to your friends. A man is more than his job."

  "Tell that to my Macy's account." Ken said with a laugh.

  "You know what I mean."<
br />
  "Yeah. I know. I just don't know what I'm going to do now. I don't know what my purpose is."

  "You'll find it. You just have to keep looking."

  "I guess. It's not like I really have choice, do I?"

  "No. I don't suppose you do. You need me to call you a cab?"

  "Thanks, but no. I'll just hang here for a bit. Get my head clear and then go home. I'll get some water."

  "Good. I'm going to get out of here. Whatever I was hoping to find isn't here." David and Ken got up and they both walked into the bar, but as they passed the pool tables, David froze.

  "What?" Ken asked.

  "Him." David said.

  "Who?"

  "Him," David then pointed to the young man at the bar. He was a short, thick little guy with long hair and a few choice piercings in his ear. "He's the one."

  "Him? That little toad?"

  "I was out of it. I didn't know who it was or what we were doing."

  "I know that guy. I mean, I don't know who he is, but I've seen him around here. Trust me; you're not the first guy he's taken in the bathroom. But then I'm not the kind to gossip."

  "I have to talk to him." David started toward the guy, but Ken grabbed him and pulled him back.

  "Hold on! I'm not real up on the etiquette with this kind of thing, but how do you know this guy remembers anything himself?"

  "He has to."

  "What if he just doesn't want to tell you? Isn't there some kind of code of silence?"

  "My relationship with Jason is on the line. I don't give a damn about any code!" David pulled free from Ken's grip and approached the guy just as he got his drink. As their eyes met, David could sense some recognition in his eyes.

  "Hey, guy!"

  "Hi." David said.

  "How've you been?"

  "I've been better. I was wondering if you and I could talk."

  "Sure." They then went over to the other side of the bar, which was completely empty. They sat down across from each other and the other guy smiled.

  "I had fun the other night. I mean, before that guy came in and freaked on us."

  "That guy was my boyfriend and he was right to freak. First of all, what's your name?"

  "I'm Dennis."

  "I'm David."

  "Hey! Double D's!"