Divine Vices

by Parkin, Melissa

“Actually, I was going for more of a Blues Brothers-meets-Reservoir Dogs vibe. Unfortunately, I didn’t take the sunglasses into account. Can’t see much in a dimly lit room as it is, so they’re now only being put to use when someone takes a photograph.”

  “Well, enjoy yourself,” I said, backing away.

  Jack took hold of my hand just as I turned. “Can we talk?”

  “I have nothing to say to you.”

  “Look, I screwed up. I just wanted to apologize.”

  “You’re forgiven,” I replied coolly, taking another step away from him and grabbing hold of Ian’s arm.

  Jack didn’t release his grip on me though.

  “Can I have my hand back?”

  He gently loosened his grasp, allowing my hand to slowly slip out of his. My insides churned as my skin tingled with the warmth absorbed from his fingertips running over my flesh.

  “Don’t be like that. We both did things we’re not proud of, mine more notable. Just give me a chance to explain myself,” he said. “One minute of your time, please.”

  Jack’s glacial stare penetrated into my thoughts, and before I even realized it, my other hand slid off Ian’s bicep. Something best identified as satisfaction sparkled in Jack’s eyes, making me already regretful for what I was about to say.

  “Fine.”

  He kicked back his right foot and playfully curtsied with his hand extended out to me. I cautiously placed mine into his possession once again.

  “Hey, you gonna be okay?” asked Ian, protectively.

  “Don’t worry yourself, Dad,” replied Jack. “I’ll have her home before curfew.”

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” I corrected sternly.

  Ian hesitantly motioned Jeff and Gwen outside, watching me head to the back of the barn where there were scarcer people.

  “Your time starts now,” I said, resting against the wood walls.

  “What you accused me of, um, let’s just say, it hit a nerve,” Jack began.

  “And I apologized for that-”

  “No, I’m not blaming you. You’re self-protective. You saw a threat and acted accordingly. Granted, a little more research and a bit more prudence on your part could have helped the situation immensely, but the key evidence was there nonetheless. Was I angry by the accusation? Yes. Was I right to have reacted? Absolutely. Should I have attacked you like that? No. It proved exactly what you were afraid of in the first place, that I’d hurt you at the first test of trust.”

  “I’m pretty sure I was the first to pull the trigger on that one,” I replied sheepishly.

  “It’s just that everything surrounding that particular timeframe in my life was hell in itself, and I came here looking for a fresh start, only then to have that slapped back in my face upon arrival,” said Jack softly, leaning inward. “I never intended to hurt you. My emotions got the better of me and I overreacted.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” I replied. “See, in my experience, when someone’s placed under pressure, that’s when their true colors are shown. So even though you disagree with the fact that I was doing what I thought was right in order to protect not only myself, but also the people I care about most, I still did it out of defensiveness. What you did was strictly about settling the score. I hurt you, so you instinctively thought to hurt me right back.”

  “Well, remember that you didn’t exactly accuse me of stealing Girl Scout cookies,” said Jack. “You accused me of murder.”

  “I did not.”

  “So it never crossed your mind that I was responsible for the murders around here?”

  “Who said Veronica was murdered?” I asked, feeling paranoia shoot back through me.

  “I think it’s pretty safe to say that she’s not hanging out in someone’s basement playing Uno,” Jack replied lightly.

  I stood motionless, closely examining his features, waiting for even the slightest microexpression to give way to his possibly prevaricated answer. Nothing.

  “Dance with me,” he said.

  “I should be getting back,” I replied, trying to slink around him until Jack’s arm extended out to block my path.

  He gradually drew me in with an embrace ever so gentle, permitting me the opportunity to break free, if I wished. But I didn’t.

  “Haven’t I tortured you enough?” I asked.

  He took my hands into his and coaxed me into the crowds. “What’s courtship without a little drama?”

  As the reverb of the music coursed through the barn, he pulled me in. The huddled masses stifled the air, and Jack’s skin glistened from its humidity, his enthralling scent overwhelming my senses. He placed his hands on my waist and guided me from side to side. With each sway, the miniscule distance between us closed, leaving the contours of our bodies to grind compatibly against one another’s. The beat directed every stroke, each movement more natural than the last.

  The next riff urged Jack to spin me around, pulling me back into his arms with my back now turned towards him. His left hand slid under my cape and slowly eased its way from my side to the middle of my abdomen. I swept the hair off my face and pulled it away from my collar, allowing Jack’s breath to cascade down my neck. His right thumb began tracing around my clavicle, gradually ascending up to my throat. Perching right beneath my chin, his fingers angled my head upwards and to the side, leaving nothing but an inch between our lips.

  An unexplainable wantonness surged between us, and I intuitively slid my right hand up his shoulder. Raking my fingers through the back of his mane, I clutched onto it, taking control of him. Our hips continued to sway harmoniously with the music, but our mouths had something a bit more lascivious in mind.

  The room seemed to suddenly drop to sub-zero temperatures, and it caused my lungs to burn as I tried to inhale. I pulled away from Jack, looking around at everyone only to see that nobody else appeared to have noticed.

  “Cass, you okay?”

  I turned to Jack, and he too didn’t seem to sense anything wrong either. “You feel that?”

  “What?”

  I looked out into the crowd, my heart dropping the moment my eyes homed in on Ian.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, pulling away from Jack. “I have to go.”

  I pushed my way back through the throng, trying to reach Ian, but he took off out of the barn. Attempting to run as best as I could in my towering heels, I raced out after him into the fields. The freezing temperatures dissipated as I bolted outside, leaving me with nothing but October’s typically brisk climate.

  “Hey, hold up!” I shouted, relieved to finally see him come to a halt. “Look, I’m sorry-”

  He kept his back to me, but the severity in his tone when his words sliced into mine left me fearful to see his expression. “Apparently, it doesn’t take someone special, just someone manipulative.”

  “What?”

  “Just go back to your libertine in there before he moves onto his next gullible target.”

  “Excuse me?” I finally stepped in front of him.

  His features were sharp. Rigid.

  “Where the hell is this coming from?”

  “You know, I honestly thought you were different. What a fool I turned out to be,” he barked, moving around me. “Why don’t you go join Stacy and the rest of the trollops in there? It’s clearly where you belong.”

  I abruptly grabbed his arm, yanking him back so that I could look him in the eyes. Thereupon, I slapped him so hard in the cheek that the impact resonated in the cold. His head jolted to the side, but he didn’t seem the least bit surprised by my response.

  “You know, that’s the second time I’ve had to do that today,” I snapped at him.

  “Oh, what? Casanova giving you a hard time? Or do you two just get off by the abuse you inflict upon one another?” he replied remorselessly.

  “What is your problem?!”

  “Mine?” he laughed sharply. “What’s yours?! I was there, remember. I was there seven months ago as you slowly put the pieces of your life back to
gether after what happened. That scumbag drudges up your past, your absolute worst memories, and throws it back at you. Just a few minutes ago you couldn’t stand his guts, and now look at you! Practically throwing yourself at him. It’s pathetic.”

  My insides wrenched harder than anything I had ever felt before. “I’ve gotta say, I expected a lot better out of you.”

  “What, you thought I’d see his side of things?” he mocked scornfully.

  “No,” I bellowed as my eyes began clouding over, “because despite the fact that what Jack did to me seemed to be about ten times worse, what you just said hurt about a hundred times more.”

  “Why? Because he’s the only one here allowed to treat you like shit?”

  “Because you’re better than that! You’re better than this,” I bit back tearfully. “I pray to God this is the alcohol talking, because you should be ashamed of yourself.”

  “Yes, I should. Because I’m the nice guy. And that’s what nice guys do. They do the right thing, while they clean the tread marks off themselves after everybody else is through throwing them under the bus,” replied Ian, weakly.

  “Yeah, well, you don’t have to worry about that tonight. Because the only thing you are right now is an asshole.”

  I turned from him and hastened inside the house, my legs shaking uncontrollably as every muscle in me tightened to the point that I felt sick.

  Chapter 24

  Familiar Taste of Poison

  The lingering chill in the air illustrated each breath I took with a puff of fog exuding from my lungs as I walked hastily down the Jacoby’s driveway. The further I headed, the less and less impact the dread burdening me took. By the time I had come back outside, Gwen had already been lost in the throng of the crowds and Ian was nowhere to be found, not to say that I was even considering the notion that I would ask him for a ride. So as I made my way down the forested streets of New Haven’s back roads on foot, an unmistakable sense of relief washed over me despite my vexing thoughts. No matter how much clarity I had found though could relieve the pain shooting up through my feet from my unfriendly high heels and the burning of the blood vessels in my clouded eyes. Then as nature would have it, a rumble roared heavily over the nightly air.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mumbled, pulling my red hood over my head.

  Now, it was only a matter of time before a torrential downpour would come into effect and drench me in buckets of bitter rain. Despite the fact that I was miles from civilization, I could not bring myself to go back to the party. Surely someone there would sympathize with my dilemma and give me a ride back home. Heck, I could think of a handful of people right off the bat who would, but I feared losing the tranquility and regaining that dreadful rush of anxiety.

  Not a moment later did a pair of headlights illuminate the road as a car rolled up slowly behind me as it sloped down the hillside. Given the circumstances, abandoned and alone in the middle of nowhere, instinct would have told me to take off running into the woods beside me and to not stop until I was in the clear. But this time, I remained on the roadside, continuing in a casual stroll down the stretch upon hearing the unmistakable throaty purr of a classic engine.

  The passenger window rolled down as the car pulled up alongside me. “In need of some roadside assistance?”

  “I’m good,” I replied.

  “What? I can’t return the favor?” called out Jack, his hands hooked over the large chrome spoke steering wheel of the Impala. “I’m not still a stranger, am I?”

  “No, but I don’t have my Taser, so if it’s all the same...”

  “If it’s all the same, I’m gonna be riding beside you until we reach your house if you don’t get in the car.”

  “I’m really not in the mood,” I choked.

  “Well, that’s too bad, because I’m not in the mood to have my conscience eat away at me all night for leaving you out here. Honestly, you’re an on-foot invitation begging to be murdered.”

  “That’s not funny.”

  “And for about the third time in my whole life I wasn’t trying to be,” he said, inching the Impala down the road to keep with my snail’s pace of a walk. “Come on, I promise to be on my best behavior. No funny business. Scout’s honor.”

  “You were a boy scout?”

  He merely winced before shaking his head. “What can I say? I find the notion of throwing away all the comforts of civilization only to willingly embrace the brutality of the wilderness rather ridiculous,” Jack replied. “Plus, I’m not exactly a team player.”

  “Coming from a former quarterback, how ironic,” I quipped.

  “What do you say, Red? Want a ride?”

  I looked around, as if I actually had an alternative to consider.

  “A pretty little thing like you shouldn’t be walking in the woods alone, especially with big bad wolves on the loose.”

  “And being offered a ride by a known predator is better?”

  “Well, let’s weigh your options here. Spend fifteen agonizing minutes in the car with me, or spend the next couple hours trekking your way back in the rain while trying to avoid having a bunch of drunken partiers run you over with their cars as they speed recklessly down these roads.”

  I stopped the moment a thick, singular drop of rain hit the top of my head. “Why are you doing this to me?”

  Jack scoffed. “What? Helping you out?”

  “I wasn’t talking to you,” I said, looking up disappointedly at the sky with a weak plea for an answer.

  The lightning merely crackled.

  “That’s the best you’ve got?” I deflated upon opening the passenger side door, falling into the vinyl upholstered seat despairingly.

  “You’re welcome.”

  I didn’t reply. I simply shut the door, signaling that he could go.

  Neither of us said anything over the course of the next ten minutes in the car. Only the sounds of the radio kept us from sheer, awkward silence. I nearly jumped when my phone vibrated, only to descend back into a slump once I saw it was just a generic text message from the phone company telling me about their special offer for the week.

  “Everything okay?” asked Jack.

  “No.”

  He didn’t say anything in response, and two streets later I finally decided to address the topic. “You’re not gonna ask what happened?”

  “Nope.”

  “That would have been the polite thing to do.”

  “I have an inkling as to what it concerns, and I seriously doubt you’ll value my opinion on the matter.”

  Very good point. And with that nugget of advice in hand, I stayed silent for the remainder of the car ride.

  When the Impala pulled up into my driveway, I actually hesitated getting out. Never had the house looked so desolate. Its old Italianate architecture suddenly read haunted. The pastel white siding appeared almost gray under the shadows draped across the whole front lawn from the massive oak trees, only baring its true color when a flash of lightning struck the sky. I finally mustered enough strength to open the car door, which I actually needed since the high winds pressing against it made it nearly impossible to push open enough so that I could climb out.

  “What are you doing?” I asked Jack, watching him climb out of the driver’s seat.

  “Walking you to the door.”

  “That’s really not necessary,” I assured.

  “Can you do me a favor and just let me do something nice for once without you giving me grief?”

  We slammed the car doors shut and he came over, wrapping an arm around me to ensure I didn’t lose my footing on the flooded yard and walkway.

  “Thank you,” I said, pulling out my keys.

  “No problem,” he said as we raced up the porch.

  I unlocked the front door and pushed it open a crack, looking inside at the dark foyer and corridor.

  “You gonna be okay?” asked Jack.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” I was lying. It still freaked me out more than an
ything to be alone, given recent incidents, but what other choice was there?

  “Your dad’s not home, is he?”

  “Of course he is. He’s probably just in his office, or maybe the basement.”

  “You’re a terrible liar,” he replied grinningly.

  “So I’ve been told.”

  “Sure you don’t want some company? I could do a search of the premises,” suggested Jack lightly. “I’ll even check under your bed for monsters.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I said. “Thank you, again.”

  “Night.”

  “Good night.”

  I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, securing the lock, the deadbolt, and the chain. Even after only being exposed to the rain for a minute, my cape was soaked through. I untied the hood and pulled it off, tossing it up onto the coat rack to dry. My heart dropped the moment I flipped on the light switch in the foyer, realizing that the bulb had not yet been changed. I headed into the kitchen and turned on the pendant chandelier hanging above the island. As I surveyed the contents of the refrigerator, the lights began flickering.

  “Please don’t-”

  Too late. With the next sharp gust to batter the side of the house, everything went pitch-black. Given the house’s old age, the floorboards upstairs creaked for no reason, making it all the more unnerving to stand exposed to the stark elements. As soon as a thunderous roar rattled the whole downstairs, I bolted for the front door. Without objective, I pried the locks loose and practically ripped the door off its hinges as I flung it open in anticipation to run.

  Instead, I crashed to a halt, looking up at the shadowed figure lurking just outside the doorway. Thankfully, my reaction to scream was a bit slower than it should have been, because I realized not a second later who it was.

  “Huh, I’m impressed. You lasted about ten more seconds than I had you pegged down for,” said Jack, consulting the imaginary watch on his wrist.

  “Funny,” I said, never so relieved in my life to see his face. “The electricity went out.”

  “Well, I’d suggest taking you someplace else, but since it’s raining as hard as it is, I wouldn’t say that’s the safest bet.”