by Jerry Cole
“I had no idea,” I said but couldn’t help the smile spreading over my face. “Stacy, we’re free.”
“We are. I don’t have to listen to Rosidae or Isaac ever again.”
“I don’t have to worry about their scheming.”
She laughed. “The only sad part is that they’ll think this is all a huge success for them.”
“Don’t assume they won’t be a little upset that I’m happy,” I said sarcastically. “But they can think whatever they want. I did prove them wrong. I am happy and I enjoy what I do. They can suck it.”
“Cheers to that,” Stacy said. “Let’s have a drink to celebrate.”
We drank a whole bottle of wine together and I took a nice tipsy nap. It felt good to finally not have to worry about my family. I had spent so much time running to parties and people’s beds to avoid them, but it was always a temporary fix. This felt final. I stood up to them. I proved that I could live on my own, not just to them but to me. The trick was you didn’t have to be alone. You could make it with your friends and the people you actually loved. All you needed was the people you chose.
***
“And then I told him to keep it all and hung up,” I finished the recap of my afternoon to Cecil as we walked through the dark graveyard. A few moths fluttered in the light of Cecil’s flashlight and our hands were clasped together. “Stacy is quitting and already has a job apparently? So it all is working out.”
“I’m happy. For both of you.”
“Thanks. I feel really good.”
“So what are you going to do about the house?” Cecil asked.
“What?”
“Isn’t the house owned by your parents? Won’t they kick you out?”
I stopped in place.
“Adam?”
“I didn’t even think about that.”
“Adam.”
“I’m so stupid!” I let go of his hand and put my face in my hands. Why didn’t I consider that? I was learning how to save with the help of both Beth and Stacy who knew I didn’t have much experience but I definitely didn’t have enough savings for a house and there weren’t exactly any apartments in town.
“Adam no you’re not.”
“I just made Stacy and I homeless! She’ll probably figure it out but what if she can’t?”
“Adam, you can stay with me.”
I looked up. “I can’t do that. We’ve just started dating and doesn’t that seem quick? You shouldn’t have to deal with my mistakes.”
“The house is huge,” Cecil said, facing me and putting his hands on my shoulders. “If you don’t want to live with me, I understand, but you don’t have to worry about imposing. I’d offer the same to Stacy too.”
“Really?”
“You promised me you aren’t leaving, and I’ll help you keep that promise.”
“Cecil, you are so kind. What did I do to deserve you?” I meant it. My whole life up to that point wasn’t saintly, what karma did I build up to find the love of my life?
“You talked to me and made me realize I didn’t have to live my life being afraid or making people afraid.” He leaned forward and pressed the softest of kisses into the side of my mouth. “You showed me I could connect again. That I could love again.”
“I love you too,” I whispered. Timing be damned, it just felt right to say. After another surging kiss I paused. “Is it disrespectful to kiss in a graveyard?”
Cecil looked around like he just realized where we were. “Let’s go inside.”
Chapter Sixteen
Stacy and I started packing the day after I told my father I was done with the family business. It didn’t take very long since we were both shoved here with little prep. I was going to miss the old creaky home. My parents hadn’t called back to tell us they were going to kick us out but Stacy and I decided we should take the opportunity to do it before they asked so they didn’t have anything to hold over us. Before we left the keys in the mailbox, I took one last look out at Cecil’s home though the windows in the sunroom. It was all thanks to them that I had met Cecil in the first place. I was going to miss the gorgeous design but it had served its purpose. It was fun to think that the whole reason such a room existed was for me to find it. It was romantic and not even a little true but felt right.
Stacy was only going to stay another week before her training began, but she already claimed a room in the wing of the house opposite Cecil and I’s room. It was perfect for her to disappear to and she claimed the Wi-Fi was strongest there.
“I’ll be keeping an eye out for a place of my own,” Stacy promised Cecil when we moved our meager belongings into our rooms.
“Stay as long as you need. All these rooms are going to waste,” Cecil said as he showed us around.
“It’s a gorgeous house.” Stacy had never seen the inside before and I could tell she was also a little creeped out by how weathered the place looked, but of course she was hiding it much better than I did when I first saw it.
“They used to hold funerals in the main room and used all the rooms to house the guests,” Cecil morbidly explained.
“How charming.” Stacy could have been an actress.
“As much as I’ve become comfortable here, I think I would like to stop learning about this place,” I announced.
“Oh. That’s weird isn’t it?” Cecil asked.
I felt like he had to be fucking with us but at the same time he sounded so sincere.
After Cecil finished showing us the whole place, Stacy stalked off to her corner of the house to do something for her job or maybe just to be alone for a bit. It was hard to tell.
“So we’re all alone.” My hand wandered to his waist and pulled him into me.
“So it seems.” Cecil splayed one of his hands on my chest, feeling the muscle underneath my shirt. “How are you so fit?”
I laughed. “I have a lot of recreational hobbies involving working up a sweat.”
He pushed me away and giggled at my deep suggestive tone. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the truth,” I responded in a sing-song voice. “It's not my fault your mind went dirty places.”
He looked at me and began to lean in for a kiss but stopped short. “You’re missing an earring.”
My hands went to my ears and sure enough my left stud was gone. “Shit.”
“Did it drop when I was showing you around? It’ll be hard to find but I can help.”
“No,” I sighed. “I know where it is.”
“Where?”
“I took it off in the bathroom at my old house because I thought the metal was turning a strange color. I got distracted and forgot it. I’ll go back and get it. I know where the keys are still after all.”
“Do you want me to come with?” Cecil asked.
I shook my head. “You just told me earlier that dinner is super complicated and that you need a lot of prep time. You get started and I’ll be back soon to chop whatever needs chopped.”
“Okay” He continued his movement from before and slotted his lips into mine. It was too short of a kiss but I was going to be back as fast as possible.
I wrapped myself in an old coat of Cecil’s father than he generously gave me. I didn’t have enough money for a nice winter coat like this and as the months went on it was getting colder and colder. I marched my way through the graveyard and up the hill to the house I once called home. I checked the mailbox for the key and found nothing. I glanced up at the house and saw the door ajar.
If I was going to get horror-movie-killed for any reason, it was going to be this one. I crept up to the door and slowly swung it open and peeked inside. Maybe Stacy had also forgotten something and came back for it? Cecil’s house was big enough for her to leave without us noticing. That had to be it. Still, I tried to be as silent as possible as I headed toward the stairs. I just had to make it to my bedroom and back.
“Adam.”
I froze and covered my head with my arms as a reflex. The ghost knew my name.
“Hey Isaac, look who’s here.”
I knew that voice. I lowered my arms and there stood Rosidae Westcott. Isaac soon appeared by her side. What the hell were they doing here?
“How fortunate that you stopped by,” Isaac began.
“Saves us the trouble of finding you,” Rosidae completed the thought.
It was so creepy when they did that.
“I’m just here to grab something I forgot. I already told Dad I want nothing to do with the company, so you have no reason to be here.”
“We’re not here for him,” Rosidae said as if she were offended. I would think that.
“Then why are you here? Are you going to rub it in my face that you finally got rid of me? Guess what? I don’t care! I’m much happier here and couldn’t care less about what you think.”
“Can you be quiet and let us speak for one moment Adam,” Isaac said, crossing his arms.
“You’ve got a minute, tops.” I could stand a minute. Or at least I hoped I could.
“We came here to warn you.” Rosidae put her nose up as if her words literally stank.
I laughed desperately. “Why are you threatening me? You got what you wanted.”
“We aren’t threatening you.” Isaac glared at me and my laugh cut short.
“Then?”
“We were overjoyed that you found a little home here in this little town,” Rosidae said with a wicked grin. “Best of both worlds, right? We’re happy and you’re happy. And as a bonus, Stacy quit.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“The problem is Dad.” Isaac pulled out his phone and began searching for something.
“He’s not convinced this little test worked.” Rosidae rolled her eyes. “When we mentioned to Dad maybe you could use some life lessons, we had no idea about his second agenda.”
“About being embarrassed I don’t know or care anything about pharmaceuticals?” I added.
“Exactly. He thinks he can still convince you,” Rosidae continued.
“Apparently Dad has been telling people for years the company is going to go to each child and split the assets into three. He’s too prideful to just fix it for the two of us or tell people you found your life’s purpose or whatever.” Isaac was still looking for something in his phone.
Dad never liked saying he was wrong. “So that’s the warning? That he’s mad? I knew that already.”
“There’s more to it than that.” Isaac held out his phone to me and I took it. I scrolled through the companywide email and felt my breath escape the more I read.
I looked up from the phone unable to hide the devastation rolling through my features. “He’s going to destroy Ravenwood. How can he do that?”
“Good old Grandmom and Pop didn’t just buy this house, oh no, they loved the place so much that they owned half the land in this town. Since they willed it to him, he’s going to bulldoze what he owns, make the city unlivable, and pressure the rest of the residents to move with bribes, essentially. He’s going to build a factory here and everything.”
I felt myself shaking. He was going to destroy this town and ruin the people’s lives in it just so he wouldn’t have to say he was wrong? Just so he didn’t have to tell people his youngest son was a florist?
I thought of Jordan and his gang of friends. They’d have to move to all different places and might never see each other again. I thought of Daisy and the shop that was passed down to her, which she loved.
“The only land he can’t touch is the graveyard, it’s protected or whatever, but how many people are going to want to hold a service next to a loud and messy factory?” Rosidae asked. “The whole place will fade away.”
My heart stopped thinking of Cecil. He wouldn’t leave. Even if the whole town were gone, he would still have to watch over his graveyard. And after so long being cast out, people were finally warming up to him in the streets. People waved hello, the kids all loved him, he had a place he belonged. All of that lost because my dad wanted to control me.
“What am I supposed to do?” I asked, my voice weak.
The twins looked at each other, maybe telepathically communicating.
Finally Rosidae spoke. “Figure it out.”
“What?” My voice squeaked.
“If we tell him we don’t want you to be part of the company he will only lash out at us too. If he’s willing to destroy a town for you, we aren’t willing to risk it.” Isaac shrugged.
“It’s up to you, little accident,” Rosidae said sweetly. “We are rooting for you this time.”
That did nothing to help my confidence.
“But here,” Isaac pulled another cell phone from his pocket and shoved it into my hands. “We got you this so we can tell you what Dad’s planning or if we find out anything that could be helpful.”
“Don’t say we never did anything for you,” Rosidae reached out and gave me three stiff pats on the arm.
“We better go before he notices we left the city,” Isaac said glancing at the time on his phone.
“Bye Adam,” Rosidae sang.
“Don’t mess this up,” Isaac sang too.
Then they were gone.
I clutched the smartphone in my hand and felt my whole body still shaking. I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or sorrow. Maybe it was a whole new emotion. I couldn’t stand it.
Chapter Seventeen
The sound of the door closing behind me felt like it echoed through the soles of my feet and through my whole body.
“Adam?” Cecil called from the kitchen.
“Yes?” I tried to lift my voice as I walked to him. It was hard with how heavy everything was weighing on me.
“You were gone for a while, I almost chopped everything.” He grinned. He hadn’t picked up on my mood. Good. I didn’t want him to know yet. I didn’t want to ruin his evening. I didn’t want to ruin his life either.
“The earring fell behind the cabinet,” I lied smoothly. “It was a bitch to fish it out but I got it.” I showed off the stud replaced in my ear.
“Well I’m glad you’re back.”
“Did you miss me?” It was so easy to slip into being a caring boyfriend. I wanted that to be all I had to think about.
His face turned red. It was always so stark against his pale skin. I was planning on taking him outside more when spring came around but now…
“I did miss you. Is that lame?”
I rushed over to him and, from behind, put my arms around his waist as I rested my head on his shoulder. Just touching him calmed me down some. “It’s not,” I said a little too forcefully.
I was going to miss this.
***
Dinner was great as always. I had to come up with a good excuse to head to Stacy’s room without Cecil following, but he was so understanding that I didn’t have to really make a big deal about it.
“What do you want Adam?” Stacy asked as I opened her door. She was setting up an elaborate computer display and was holding ten different types of wires. It just made me feel worse. Stacy was happy here too. She was already setting up for a new life here and I was going to ruin it.
“Stacy. I have to leave.”
She dropped the wires on the ground. “What?”
I explained everything Isaac and Rosidae told me. There was even a copy of the email loaded onto the phone Isaac gave me. As Stacy read it her hand slowly covered her mouth in horror.
“Your father is planning to go through with this?” Her eyes rapidly looked back and forth from the phone and to me.
I nodded. “He wouldn’t have sent out a companywide email if he weren’t serious. You know how he hates to be proven wrong.”
“He and your mom were always kind to me. Sure he hated being wrong, but this feels so extreme.”
“It’s because we aren’t under his grasp anymore Stacy. Before with his money he had control over both of us. His mistake was thinking that taking it away would make us come crawling back to him. This whole time we were worried about
the twins when we should have been worried about him. They are under the same control as us and have been trying to play the system. They’re still assholes but we should have seen this.”
“God, this email was sent out fifteen minutes after I quit.” Stacy sat down on her bed; her gaze was far away.
“So that’s why I have to leave.”
She looked up at me numbly. “You really think that will fix things?”
“It will shift his focus at least.” I shrugged. “I’ll go back and pretend to work for him for a bit and then I’ll run off again to some other town where he can’t find me. As long as I stay away from Ravenwood he shouldn't have a reason to destroy it.”
“But what about the factory? He already claimed he was going to build it?”
“He’s using that as leverage over me. I won’t come back unless he promises to stop production and sells the land back to the people living on it. That will keep this place safe. But I don’t doubt he’ll have a backup plan if I try to return. That’s why it will be permanent.”
“Adam,” Stacy sounded genuinely worried. “If you go back to him and work for him, how are you going to escape again?”
“I don’t know,” I said distantly. Before today I was sure how my life was going to go from here on out; I was going to live in Ravenwood with Cecil and spend my days surrounded with flowers and his good cooking. I was excited for next year’s Halloween festival. I was going to help Cecil cover the graveyard with flowers every week. I was going to kiss him every chance I got. Now that future was gone. Either I stayed and destroyed it all or I left and it continued without me. The choice was clear. “But I have to leave.”
“What about Cecil?” Stacy echoed what my brain had been repeating ever since I heard the horrible news.
“He’s going to hate me,” I mumbled sadly. I would have to tell him. Even if he understood the seriousness of it all, he would probably try to convince me to stay, to figure it out with him. But this was beyond me. I knew how powerful my family could be, it just had never been turned on me at this scale before.
“There has to be some other way,” Stacy said and I could see the slight determination on her face.
“Stacy, it's hopeless. You know what he can do.”
