Ephemeral creatures, p.26
Ephemeral Creatures, page 26
“We don’t know that will happen.”
Despite Kevin’s weak denial, the thought gave him a chill. Vollan was a killer and not to be taken lightly.
“It could happen,” Chad said. “Just need to keep that in mind. I vote for getting rid of him permanently.”
We don’t want to be like those naive idiots in the movies who trust the system, only to have the bad guy eventually come after them. Kevin scratched his jaw, feeling the scratchy stubble growing in. He was tired—the day had been long and eventful. In reality, he wanted nothing more than to crash in a comfortable bed and save such heavy conversation for tomorrow.
They’d been at the Irish pub for over an hour. The place was packed, less noisy than the metal club had been, but not by much. Here, the noise was mostly voices shouting over each other, though music also played in the background. Tara and Chad had each had a couple of drinks, while Kevin restricted himself to a club soda. Chad could hold his alcohol just fine, but Tara was another matter. She’d become decidedly tipsy by the time she headed to the restroom.
Someone bumped into the back of Kevin’s chair. He shot an annoyed glance over his shoulder, eliciting a mumbled apology from a girl who looked all of seventeen.
Here we are, sitting out in public, talking about offing somebody, piece of shit or not. The thought made him uneasy. “We should discuss this more at the hotel. I’m about ready to head back and crash, anyway. I don’t think Tara needs any more to drink.”
Chad nodded. “Agreed. She on something besides the booze? She seems pretty well-irrigated, to say the least.”
“She’s taking something. I saw her pop a pill at the pool earlier. Not sure what kind it was, but it looked like she was trying to hide it.” He glanced over to see Tara had emerged from the restroom and was caught up in the crowd near the bar. She happened to look over and smiled when their eyes met.
Kevin couldn’t help thinking back to that afternoon when he’d applied her sunscreen. He hadn’t been wrong about a mutual attraction developing between them. The alcohol had only increased Tara’s flirtatiousness since they’d left Wrong Side of Heaven. A part of him enjoyed it whereas the rational part kept telling himself it would be a bad idea if anything were to happen between them.
Chad drained his beer and slammed the empty bottle down with a belch. “I’m ready to bounce if you are. After I take a leak. BRB.” He headed toward the back.
Tara was engaged in conversation with a group of young men at the bar who looked barely old enough to drink. Kevin couldn’t help but wonder how different his life might have turned out if the crash had never happened and he and Tara had hooked up that night. Would it have been just a drunken one-nighter, or could it have developed into a relationship? That whole following decade was a large void carved out of his life, what should have been some of his best years.
The crowd noise suddenly lapsed into one of those weird dead-air hushes, quiet enough for Kevin to make out “Here Without You” playing in the background. For some reason, the 3 Doors Down song made him think of Lidia. He didn’t know if the song was on her iPod but wouldn’t have been surprised to find it there.
Wish Liddy was here. The wonderful dream from the prior night had been her only appearance for several days. Chad’s revelation had been buzzing around in his head incessantly. His brain kept imagining what might have been, wondering what it would have been like to date his best friend or if he could’ve even stepped outside the dreaded Friend Zone and developed romantic feelings for her. Do those types of relationships ever work out? Or do they just ruin friendships?
Chad reappeared in front of him. “Where the hell’s Tara?”
“Over there.” He nodded toward where Tara was surrounded by her admirers. She appeared to be drinking a refreshed martini.
Chad grunted when he spotted her. “She’s one of those women who can go out and not spend a dime—guys will buy her drinks all night long.”
“Seems that way.”
As he watched, a guy wearing a Cowboys jersey, his hair in a greasy pompadour, boldly draped an arm across Tara’s shoulders. She glanced over toward their table, seeming a bit uncomfortable.
Kevin sighed. “Guess this is my cue.”
“To bail her out?”
“Yeah, time to get out of here. She’s had too much to drink. Not to mention those pills she was taking.”
“Lead on, bro.”
Kevin approached the group, glad that Chad was backing him up if things took a turn for the worse. The whole bar scene put him outside his comfort zone, but he’d seen plenty of movies where such situations devolved into fisticuffs.
“Tara, you ready to go?” he called.
He pushed past two of the guys just as Tara disentangled herself from the handsy pompadour dude. Before he knew what he was doing, Kevin slipped an arm around Tara’s waist. She made a surprised sound that might have been approval and pressed against him, her arm slipping around his waist in turn.
The quartet exchanged glances, and Pompadour gave Kevin a hard look like he was ready to start something.
“Ready if you are, babe,” Tara said.
Before Kevin could react, she put a hand behind his neck, tilted his head down, and kissed him on the corner of the mouth. He was too startled to pull away. She flashed him her sultry smile.
Chad stood with arms folded, giving the group a stern look. Even overweight and out of shape, he was a big guy and looked pretty imposing. And he had the challenging glare down to an art.
“Excuse us, fellas.” Kevin steered Tara toward the door.
The group reluctantly parted to let them pass. Chad fell in behind them.
“Thanks for the drink,” Tara called over her shoulder with a wave.
Once outside, free of the crush of bodies, Kevin savored deep lungfuls of fresh air. When he tried to extricate himself from Tara, she tightened her arm around his waist. She was clearly intoxicated by then, leaning on him heavily, and he was afraid she would stumble and fall if she did let go.
“Kevin Bradley just rescued me,” she said with a drunken smile, eyes glassy.
“Yeah, you looked like you needed it. Hold up, you’ve still got your drink.” Kevin reached to take it away, but before he could, Tara knocked most of it back in one swallow. She bent over, coughing, and he secured the glass, setting it on one of the pub’s outside tables.
“You all right?” Kevin asked.
Tara nodded. “Mmhmm. Took too big of a drink is all.”
“Which way is the hotel?” Chad asked.
“I think that way.” Kevin nodded to the right.
“Just get another Uber,” Tara said after they walked about fifty feet. She reached into her purse and extracted her cell phone but would have dropped it had Kevin not caught it.
“Why don’t you sit down a minute,” he suggested.
Tara didn’t argue, sitting on a nearby bench. With her talking him through the process, Kevin hailed his first Uber, which was surprisingly easy. The wait to get picked up took longer than the drive back to the hotel.
Upon arrival, Kevin had to help Tara out of the car. She giggled and leaned heavily against him as they entered the lobby.
“You’re such a gentleman, Kevin,” she slurred, clutching his arm.
As they waited for the elevator, Chad regarded the two of them with a raised eyebrow and look of amusement.
“I’ll see that she’s squared away,” Kevin said as they got on the elevator. “We can continue our conversation from earlier afterward.”
“Cool.”
Kevin unlocked Tara’s door with her keycard and switched on the light. She set her purse on the dresser and immediately flopped backward onto the bed, arms spread wide and blond hair forming a halo about her head.
He waited a moment, unsure if he should just leave her there. “You gonna be all right?”
“I’m feeling grrreat! Maybe just a little too much to drink… and too many Oxys.” She giggled.
After clearing his throat nervously, he said, “Hey, about back there at the bar… when you kissed me.”
“I wanted to. Not because of those douchebags, though that was part of it, too, but mainly because I wanted to. Come here.” She beckoned him to join her on the bed.
Kevin hesitated but then sat on the edge. “Look, you’ve had a lot to drink, Tara. I like you and all, but I don’t think it’s a goo—”
She cut him off by yanking roughly on his arm to pull him down atop her, then kissed him hard on the lips. One arm encircled his back as her free hand ran through his hair. Her soft lips parted, and her tongue slipped into his mouth. She moaned softly, arching her back and pressing her breasts against his chest.
He finally broke free and was able to get a breath. “Wait, Tara—”
“Shut up and take your clothes off.” She started removing her Abaddon’s Call T-shirt, revealing a lacy black bra beneath.
“This isn’t a good idea. You’re married, for one thing. And drunk. And on something… Oxy, you said, right?”
“Forget all that.” The black bra came off after the T-shirt.
Kevin could only stare, wide-eyed. Her breasts were just as perfect as he had fantasized about. He was sorely tempted to just give in to his desire. His body wanted it, no doubt. And Tara clearly thought she did. She just wasn’t in the right state of mind.
Tara fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and got it open while he stroked her silky hair. One traitorous hand found its way to her breast. She smiled and pushed him down then clambered atop him, leaning in so their bare chests pressed together. Her lips met his again, hot tongue probing his own. He ran his hands down her back and squeezed her bottom. Tara obviously felt his arousal and began to grind against him, moving in a slow rhythm.
Kevin suddenly pictured Lidia watching them from her palantir and knew she would have been disappointed—hurt, even.
I can’t do this. He pushed Tara away, gently at first then more firmly when she resisted. “I’m sorry. I can’t, Tara. Please understand it’s nothing against you.” He managed to scoot out from under her and moved away from the bed.
Tara looked shocked and hurt. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked me.”
“I do. It’s just… this isn’t right.”
“I… I’m sorry. I’m such a mess.” Tears spilled from her eyes. “I love what we had going here, the three of us. Doing something good, something that matters, and here I go and fuck it up.”
“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” He wanted to hold her, but they were both still half naked, and he didn’t think that would be wise.
“Oh, God. I’m gonna be sick.” Tara got up in a rush, stumbled and nearly fell, then staggered into the bathroom, where she was noisily ill.
Kevin put his shirt back on and hovered at the door, torn between concern and wanting to escape.
Once the vomiting stopped and the toilet flushed, he could hear her crying softly.
“You okay in there?”
She sniffled. “No, not really.”
He peeked in and saw her sitting beside the toilet, leaning against the bathtub with knees drawn up to her chest. He took a towel off the rack and wrapped it around her.
“Here, some water will help.” He poured her a glass from the sink.
She drank, a small sip at first then a longer one. She sniffled again and wiped her tears away with a corner of the towel.
Kevin sat down beside her on the floor, leaning against the tub. After a moment, she rested her head on his shoulder.
After a long moment of silence, Tara said, “Liddy saved me once too. Just like you did at the bar.”
“She did?”
“Mmhmm. I made her come out with me and the girls not long after graduation. I knew a guy who let us into a club without checking our IDs.”
“Don’t think she ever mentioned it before. What happened?”
“We were all partying and having a good time. Liddy didn’t drink, but I think she still had fun hanging out. She was the responsible one, our DD. I remember hitting the dance floor with my bestie at the time, Ashley. We came back to our table, and there were a few guys there, hitting on my other friends. We had another round or two and talked and danced some more. I think one of those assholes slipped something in my drink when I was dancing or something. I remember making out with some guy, then next thing I know, everything’s a blur and I feel like I’m about to pass out, and I hear Liddy yelling at someone.”
“Liddy yelling?” Kevin tried to picture it. He couldn’t recall Lidia ever raising her voice in anger before.
“Yeah, our sweet little Liddy cussed this guy out and saved me from who knows what.” Tara laughed bitterly. “Not that it made much difference. I’m still a fucking mess, Kevin. I’m hooked on OxyContin, I cheat on my husband, I’m a shitty mom to Aiden.” Tears began flowing again.
“No, you’re not. You’re smart and beautiful and successful, with a nice family and a career you enjoy.”
“That’s just it. I don’t enjoy it, not really. It’s just… once you start, it’s hard to stop. The rat race in the social media age. And I don’t think I’m really cut out for the family thing.”
“Sure you are. It just takes some work.” Not that I’m any expert.
“I miss Liddy. She was always so sweet, and I treated her like shit junior year. She tried to kill herself because of me.” She sobbed harder.
Kevin put his arm around her. “It was mostly because her dad killed himself and shit just kept piling on. Don’t blame yourself so much.”
“Really? I never knew about her dad… that’s awful.” She dabbed her eyes with the towel again. “Poor Liddy.”
Kevin just nodded, lost in his own memories of that difficult time.
After a long moment, Tara spoke again. “That night once we got outside the club, I was puking like crazy. Liddy just knelt beside me and held my hair so I didn’t get vomit in it. She took me and the others home and never said a word in judgment.” She sniffled.
“I miss her too, Tara. More than anything.”
“I’m jealous that you’re the only one who can see and talk to her.”
“Yeah, it’s weird. I wish you guys could too.” He sighed.
“She was lucky to have you for a friend.”
I’m the one who is lucky to have her.
“That’s all she ever talked about—Kevin this, and Kevin that. You meant the world to her. It took me a while to realize she was trying to set us up in her subtle way. She wouldn’t come right out and say it, though.” She smiled.
You meant the world to her. Kevin took a deep, unsteady breath. Tara’s words brought a rush of emotion, especially since those words took on a whole new meaning since he’d learned of Lidia’s true feelings.
Tara’s next words were barely a whisper. “Sometimes, I wish I’d listened to her sooner and we would’ve hooked up…”
Surprised, he didn’t know what to say to that. Probably just the alcohol talking at this point.
Tara went quiet, and after a minute or so, he realized she’d passed out. He got to his feet, careful not to disturb her, and went back into the room to pull down the bed covers. He returned and gently lifted Tara in his arms and put her in bed. He removed her boots and pulled the covers over her. After refilling her glass with water and placing it on the nightstand, he turned off the light and let himself out.
He was a bit relieved to find Chad already asleep, sparing him from what had promised to be a difficult conversation.
-34-
“Where the hell you been?” Henry Gasket grumbled when Hrym pushed open the door to his office. “You said you’d be here two days ago.”
“What’s the rush? The dead have nothing but time.” Hrym smiled.
Gasket looked away. Not many could hold Hrym’s gaze for long, even with his eyepatch in place. He enjoyed the unnerving effect he had on people.
“Well, us living still have schedules to keep. Just get to work, will ya? We’ve got three crispies in the cooler who died in a house fire the past weekend. And four car-crash victims who I’m seeing to. Take care of the crispies.”
“Finish the job and cremate them?”
“Sure as hell ain’t gonna do open caskets for ’em. Yeah, run them through the furnace and get the cremains sorted. There’s a daughter back in town from college who’s gonna have the Celebration of Life tomorrow. Pretty little thing… Damn shame about her family.”
Hrym liked the sound of that. A distraught daughter divested of family—she would make a promising candidate to shepherd to the underworld. A quick peek at the old man’s paperwork would provide an address where she was staying so that he could pay her a visit that night. The day was starting off promising indeed.
The Pearly Gates Mortuary in Phoenix served as his “day job,” if such a thing counted. He worked there on occasion, whenever he felt like it, for the old man, keeping up the facade of being a gainfully employed taxpayer contributing to society. The closest thing he had to a home, other than his property in Texas, was the small condo he maintained in eastern Phoenix. He utilized public transportation whenever he was between vehicles. An ordinary working stiff was what most would think him, albeit one who kept to himself and came and went at strange hours, not that such a life was odd in this day and age.
The majority of his work was not aboveboard, however. He and Gasket had become acquainted several years earlier when the old man was making not-so-discreet inquiries for the services of an arsonist to burn down a competitor’s business. When Hrym caught wind of the job, he answered the call. Ever since Gasket’s competitor went up in flames, the two had an understanding. Hrym kept the old man’s secrets, and Gasket took him on as part-time help and also turned a blind eye to what he probably considered Hrym’s unhealthy fetish of collecting nails from the corpses.
Hrym donned his apron and gloves then retrieved the bodies from cold storage. The distinctive smell of charred flesh permeated the room once he unzipped the body bags. Nothing quite like that scent. The crispies brought back memories, transporting him back to torched Bosnian villages long ago—corpses lying in their homes, many clinging to each other in death, wives and husbands, mothers and children, skin charred and split open like hot dogs left too long on the grill. He’d witnessed such poignant scenes in both his home village and, later, the villages of the Bosniak scum on whom they had reaped their vengeance during the cleansing period. The two cultures might have been hated enemies, but death was the great equalizer, when all were rendered to naught but decaying flesh and bone.
