by Glenn Rolfe
Carrie picked up on the second ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” she said.
“How, how are you?” he asked. He felt stupid already asking such a lame question, but he needed a starting point.
“I’m good, how about you?”
“Good. I’m just hanging out in Boston,” he said, face still warm, but feeling kind of cool being able to make the statement. He wondered if it would have the desired effect.
“Cool. What are you guys doing down there?”
“My dad brought me down yesterday to see the Red Sox.”
“Wow. Kevin’s gonna be so jealous. He was watching that game yesterday…against the Rays?” she said sounding slightly unsure.
“Yeah, you guys didn’t see me?”
“I only stopped to harass him. I didn’t watch the game.”
“Well, you missed your chance at seeing’ me then.”
“Shucks,” she said.
James could practically see her smiling, or so he allowed himself to hope.
“Are you guys coming back today?”
“Ah, no. Dad’s taking me to see Def Leppard. We’ll probably drive back up after the show.”
“Wow, my mom loves those guys. She’s always listening to that Sugar on Me song.”
“Yep, that’s them. My dad loves ‘em, too. And so do I,” he said, second-guessing the admission the second it came from his lips.
“Me too. I mean, I don’t know their songs all that well, but it sounds good when my mom cranks it up while she’s cleaning,” Carrie said.
James sensed their connection deepen at the shared guilty pleasure.
“Yeah, so, I was actually calling to see if you wanted to go see a movie tomorrow? Just you and me.” His throat constricted at the request, he swallowed hard, pulling the receiver up and away from his mouth afraid that she would hear it over the phone.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d love to.”
He breathed a sigh still holding the phone from his enormous grin.
“Awesome. So, I’ll give you a call around…I don’t know, noon or so tomorrow?” he said.
“Cool. Sounds great, I’ll… talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Yeah, talk to you tomorrow.”
“James?”
“Yeah?”
“One thing. You know we…we might have some explaining to do to the guys,” she said.
“Yeah. If we…” he hesitated, took a breath, and went for it. “If we’re gonna make us official, I suppose we’ll have to fess up sooner or later.” Inside he prayed she wouldn’t say something like “Oh, I just meant that I didn’t want them to get mad at us for going to the movies without them…”
“Exactly what I was going to say. So…we’re official?” she said.
“Yes. I mean, if you want to?”
“I’d like that, yes. Very much,” she said. “So, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’ll call you when I wake up.”
“You better,” she said.
“I will. Bye.”
James hit the End button and flopped back on the bed. He couldn’t believe he’d dared to go through with it. And they would have to tell everyone now, even Kevin. God, he hoped Kevin wouldn’t be too mad at him. Still, it couldn’t be a total surprise unless he was blind or dumb.
Official. He smiled again at the words. Carrie was his first girlfriend.
“I have a girlfriend,” he said out loud.
His gaze moved to the window and the happiness fell away.
He wanted to believe it was a dream, but he knew better. Then, he remembered the strange goo he’d seen, whatever the heck it was. If it were still there…he could prove it had happened.
Getting to his feet, he went to the window and knelt where he’d seen the blue substance last night. It was gone, but there was a ghostly shape, a trace where it had been. He recalled the twin burning eyes, first in the window, then his father’s.
Rising, he reached out and moved the curtain aside.
He had to move his head at just the right angle, but there before his eyes was further proof. The fingerprints from two hands pressed against the glass could belong to anyone who’d been in the room, his father, most likely, but the lipstick…goosebumps rose to life across his arms.
The door opened behind him.
James gasped letting the curtain fall.
“Hey, I brought…” his dad said, pausing in the doorway. “You all right?”
He was trembling but did his best to hide his palsied hands behind his back. “I, ah just got off the phone with Carrie.”
His dad let the door close and held out a Starbucks cup to him. “I got you another jolt of expresso. You looked really tired this morning, I figured you could use it.”
He watched his father’s gaze drift over his shoulder, toward the window.
“Thanks, dad,” he said, meeting him across the room and taking the coffee.
His father smirked and handed over the hot beverage. “How’d it go?”
“How’d what go?”
“Your phone call?”
“Oh, yeah, I asked her out, you know, just the two of us.”
“And?”
“She said yes.”
“That’s awesome,” his dad said.
“I was thinking about going for a swim before we had to check out. You interested?”
“I was gonna do a little reading.” It was a lie. For the first time he could remember, he didn’t feel much like reading any horror stories. “Plus, I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to tell Kevin.”
“Yeah, the big brother dilemma,” his dad said. “Can’t say I ever had to do that, at least not to one that was also my best friend.”
James sat at the edge of the bed, coffee in his hands, his shoulders slumped.
“Is she worth it?” his dad said.
He met his father’s gaze. “Absolutely.”
“Then you’ll figure it out. I know having a girlfriend is exciting, but Kevin’s your best friend, just don’t lose sight of that.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
…..
Carrie had just hung up with James as her brother came down the stairs, his dirty blond hair flopping in his face. He brushed it aside, grabbed the remote, and plopped into the recliner.
“Who was that?” he asked, eyeing her cell before flicking on the TV.
“What?” she said. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to tell him just yet. That cat was going to be out of the bag soon enough, but—
“On the phone. Who were you talking to?” he said.
Say Denise, say Denise.
“It was James.”
“James?”
He looked confused.
Just zone into the TV and say “okay, whatever,” please.
“What? Like, our James?”
She nodded.
She watched the thought process play out on his face as he put the pieces together. His eyebrows furrowed, his lips tightened as he turned away from her, and he stood with his hands clenched. She wondered for a brief second if the plastic remote would break.
“I hope it isn’t too weird,” she began.
“No,” he said, his back to her. “It’s not weird, it’s just great, sis. I ‘m so happy for you guys.”
“Really?” she said, rising from the sofa.
“Yeah,” he said, barely a whisper.
“Hey, are you sure you’re all right?”
He spun. She was shocked seeing the tears in his eyes.
“Don’t you have enough friends of your own?”
“Kevin, I—”
“Now you have to take mine?”
“I’m not taking him.”
“Yeah right, like he’s gonna wanna hang out with me over you.”
“Hey, I’m not taking him from you. We’re just…we’re just going out.”
“And he’s only home for a couple more weeks. Now, that’s all fucked up.”
She reached for him, but he batted her hand away and flung the remote across the room. It hit the wall and shattered on impact.
“I can’t talk to Eric, he’s as clever as a bag of rocks, and Ian hates me. All I’ve got is James, you know that…and now…” his lip quivered. “Now, you’re taking that. Thanks a lot.”
“Kevin…”
He stormed out of the room, tears streaming down his cheeks. She stood stunned as the front door slammed.
She thought he might be resistant to the idea, but this…she hadn’t realized about Eric, about their brother, Ian. She should have. She’d seen him get down when Ian would just blow him off. She’d known, or she should have known, how much that hurt him. Their brother had barely given anyone in the house the time of day. Her own tears were coming now.
She slipped into her sneakers, grabbed her ear buds by the back door, plugged them into her phone, and stepped out onto the back porch.
Her mom was in the garden, and a big, floppy sunhat lifted at the sound of the door shutting.
“Hey,” her mother said. “Where you off to?”
“I’m just going for a walk.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” she said, fighting back more tears.
“If you need to talk…”
She waved her mom off and started through the side yard, trying to avoid Kevin who she imagined was pouting on the front steps. She crossed into the Gallagher’s yard and snuck to a spot behind a big maple tree where she could see Kevin. Sure enough, there he was with his head buried in his knees and arms wrapped around his legs.
Turning away, she wiped at the tears running down her chin.
As quietly as she could, she moved away, slipping farther down the road so that Kevin wouldn’t see her. Once she got out on the sidewalk, she put her earbuds in and pulled up the song she’d stolen from her mother.
Listening to the woman’s magical voice, drift over the beautiful, sad guitar, Carrie walked and cried as the woman sang about a landslide bringing her down.
She was all out of tears as she found herself outside of Moe’s Diner. She thought about going in and getting a drink, but she hadn’t grabbed her wallet. Then she saw James’s dad’s girlfriend, Alison. She was sitting in a booth across from a man that wasn’t James’s dad. The man looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall exactly who he was.
Oh my God, what if she’s cheating?
The man was really cute, but surely it wasn’t what it looked like. She was just worked up. Between this thing with James and what had just transpired with Kevin…She was just being overly sensitive to everything.
She stood and watched a few moments longer.
This is none of my business. I have enough to figure out without adding whatever this is.
She started “Landslide” again, and moved along, suddenly wishing for the sun to go away. Yet the August heat was upon them. It was sticky and hot, and adding to her misery.
As she headed the long way home, the song played again, making her eyes water, but no longer turning her into a complete mess.
She’d have to talk to Kevin again. Maybe she’d let him come to her. She considered calling James back and telling him they had to forget about seeing each other, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She liked him too much.
It was all too confusing. She hated being fourteen.
The magical singer was now singing about picking up the pieces and going home.
Carrie chewed her bottom lip and did just that.
Chapter Eleven
Driving back to Maine from the concert, Richie’s thoughts were consumed by the nightmare of his son catching him last night. The boy, who lay passed out cold in the passenger seat since they hit I-95 North, hadn’t mentioned a word about the strange incident, but Rick knew he’d been caught in the middle of his sexual rendezvous last night. The boy needn’t speak the words, as the shameful glances cast his way when his son woke up this morning were more than enough. He was certainly glad he hadn’t been asked to explain himself. Maybe the boy had convinced himself that it was all a fucked-up dream. James and he were a lot alike. The dream angle had worked for him, until last night anyway. Whatever this was, he needed it. Craved it. He could swear he felt them with him even now. Knowing that he didn’t have to be at home to enjoy this…gift… well, that was goddamn priceless.
An hour and a half into the drive home, Richie pulled the car into the rest stop in Yarmouth. He had to pee, but the stop was more to rest his eyes than to relieve his bladder.
No sooner had he veered off the highway than he’d seen the dark eyes looking back at him from the rearview mirror. The surge of primal energy pummeled through him, dissipating the lethargy that’d been threatening to close his eyes and drive them off into a guardrail. He couldn’t concentrate on anything other than having to get a view, catch a glimpse of the real him. The one that did what he wanted, how he wanted.
Richie’s smile matched the one in the mirror as he put the car in park. The boy grunted and shifted in his seat but stayed asleep. Richie got out of the car and surveyed the empty parking lot.
Perfect.
He strode toward the men’s restroom, placed his hand on the door, but paused at the voice calling out to him.
“Richie…come here.”
The voice, the other Alison’s voice, called from the women’s restroom. He turned and pushed on the door with the placard featuring a round-headed figure in a dress. She was the first thing he saw as he stepped into the flickering, fluorescent–lit room.
She stood waiting for him, dressed only in a short, leather skirt and matching knee-high leather boots. He had his pants around his ankles before the heavy door could close behind him. The flickering bathroom disappeared. He grabbed hold of Alison by the hips, slipping a hand beneath the skirt. She clasped one hand over his right hand and reached around with her other to grip his throbbing hard on in her palm. She began stroking him as he inserted his fingers inside her. They moaned in unison as she craned her head back and their lips met. Their tongues were dancing like snakes charmed into a frenzy. He was ready to burst. She stroked him faster, gripped him tighter.
Just before he came, she whispered, “She’s fucking the night guard.”
“What?”
The comment got swallowed in the moment as he came fast and hard, his mind slamming into a wall of ecstasy. His hand between her legs faltered.
“Stay with me, baby,” she said, placing her hand over his. They moved in unison, and his fingers ran with her juices. She screamed and squealed. He never thought in a million years he could elicit a reaction like this from a woman. Not even in his wettest dreams. He reached up and slid his thick, slippery fingers through the hair on the back of her head.
“She let him cum inside her,” she purred.
“Who? What are you talking about?”
“Your girrrlll,” she said, the words curling around him like a viper. “She lets him cum in her back door.”
“Shut up,” he said, anger slithering in, sticking its ugliness where it did not belong.
“She told him you can’t even get it up anymore.”
He grabbed her long, soft locks in a death grip and yanked her head back toward him. She let out a little yelp, and then smiled at him. Blood dribbled from the corner of her black lipstick. He could see her teeth digging into the weak flesh, drawing the crimson trail.
The blackness in her gaze softened to Alison’s deep brown eyes.
“Oh, don’t be so hurt, Richie darling. I just needed someone to fuck me like a man.”
He slammed her face down into the unforgiving faux marble countertop. Blood exploded from her face, spattering his wrist and thighs. She fell limp and slumped to the floor.
He was shaking as he stared at Alison’s unmoving nude form at his feet, blood flowing from the gash in her forehead. He watched the fluid turn dark as it pooled around her head.
“She’s a wild one, isn’t she? But tha
t’s why we love her.”
The voice came from his reflection. Richie’s gaze was stolen by the blue-tinged fluid dripping from his dick.
“What is this? All of this?”
“You’ll have everything you ever wanted… and more. You’ll see,” the reflection said. It’s eyes, his eyes, began to glow, the burning embers within them swirled. He felt himself sway, his vision dimming.
He tried to respond but dropped to the floor before he could.
…..
James woke up sweating from the hot August night stuffed around him in the Grand Am. The windows were all the way up. He wiped the drool from his chin and stretched as he glanced out beyond the glass. The car was parked out front of a highway rest stop. The parking lot was empty save for the rust spot covered yellow VW Bug three spots over. The vehicle was also empty. He needed to piss so bad that it made his kidneys ache. Too many Pepsis at the concert. He opened the car door and stepped out into the night air. A perfect summer breeze cooled the sweat on his face and back as he stretched his arms. He checked the cheap, black sports watch Garrett’s parents had given him for his birthday. It was three o’clock in the morning. A bad feeling prickled his spine. They should have been home half an hour ago. How long had his father been in there? His stomach sank as his mind conjured up the image of his dad at the hotel window.
Please, no.
One foot before the other, James made his weakening legs and cramped kidneys carry him toward the closed door with “Restrooms” painted above them, next to a Coke vending machine that looked like something that had survived the sixties. The machine with its faded red face, now nearly pink from bathing in more than twenty years of sun exposure, hummed along, alive and well. Sweat dripped down his temples. He wiped his slick palms on his cargo shorts and reached out for the door. Fear devoured his senses and with each inch erased between his fingertips and the door.
James prayed that he was still sitting in the car, passed out on the drive home.
…..
Richie woke up at the banging sound. His pants were still around his ankles, and he was flaccid and lying between him and the filthy restroom’s cement floor, his dick oozing more of the odd bluish cum.
