Midnight house, p.13
Midnight House, page 13
Tyler inhaled, then exhaled. “And messy.”
“But don’t worry,” Luke said. “You’re the one taking care of it. I’m just getting him there.”
“This better go as planned,” Tyler said, standing and moving toward Luke. “Because if it doesn’t, you and I might have to kill everyone there tomorrow night.”
“No witnesses?” Luke said.
“No witnesses,” Tyler repeated. “Get some sleep, little brother. Friday’s gonna be a long one.”
Tyler went back to his game. Would he really be capable of helping Luke kill more than one person tomorrow night? Luke guessed he would have to be.
Or Tyler would add him to the kill list.
CHAPTER
FIFTY-THREE
As Daniel drove home from Amber’s, he began to wonder how his mom got home so soon from work. She usually worked days until seven.
One name popped in his head as he snapped his fingers in realization: April.
He made a beeline for her room when he arrived home and found her reading one of the Ramona Quimby books on her bed. “Did you tell mom that me and Amber were here this afternoon?”
“No,” April said, still looking at her book.
“Then why did she come home early?”
“Because she has the Ring app and got a video alert that you and Amber were here,” April said with a smile.
“That damn camera,” Daniel said under his breath.
“What you should have done,” April said, now looking at him, “is come in through the side door by the garage. No camera there.”
“Mystery solved,” Daniel said. “Sorry for trying to blame you.”
“What’s a little sister for?” April said with a smile.
Probably best not to answer that question, Daniel thought.
“Maybe I should have you download the app to my phone,” Daniel said.
“Okay,” April said, not looking up from her book. “But you can’t disable the other users from your phone. Not without the password.”
“And what’s that?”
She looked up at him. “It’s classified,” April said with a smirk.
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FOUR
Kyle finished drying and putting the dishes away. He still felt unsettled about the last half of his time with Luke. He hadn’t really thought about what had happened that night two years ago in such vivid detail, and yet, as he was telling Luke, he felt like he was back there once again.
He even thought he could smell the smoke from the fire that had been burning around him and Daniel. Kyle was sure that if he had felt that way just now, whatever Daniel and Colby were currently experiencing was probably much worse.
For the first time in his time by himself, he started to feel alone. He raced to his iPad in his room and Skyped Daniel.
“What’s up?” Daniel said.
Kyle was relieved to see him appear on the screen. “Can you come over?”
“Be there in one,” Daniel said and hung up.
Kyle put down the iPad, unlocked the front door, and walked to the kitchen. He had made guacamole but had completely forgotten to take it out for Luke. He took it out of the fridge and put it on the table. He took a bag of tortilla chips from the pantry and opened them.
Daniel came in through the front door.
“I made guac,” Kyle said.
Daniel tore off the foil on top of the bowl and grabbed a handful of chips. “So, how was your evening?” Daniel said with a smile.
Kyle looked at him, curious about his expression. “Interesting,” he said. “What’s with the dopey smile?”
“You first,” Daniel said, still smiling.
“Screw that,” Kyle said, dipping a chip. “You have good news.”
Daniel nodded as he chewed. “Me and Amber kissed today.”
“Okay,” Kyle said, eating a chip. “Why is that news?”
“It was our first kiss,” Daniel said.
“No way!” Kyle said. “Really?” Really? he thought.
“Yes,” Daniel said.
“Ever?” Kyle said.
“That’s what first means,” Daniel said.
“Wow,” Kyle said, sitting back in his chair. “Congratulations!” Kyle got up and hugged Daniel tight, then let go. He was still surprised at this revelation. He and Megan had kissed at the end of their first date. Sure, it was a quick one, since her father was driving, but it was still earlier in their relationship than Amber and Daniel’s first kiss.
“Why’d you guys wait so long?” Kyle asked.
“I honestly didn’t know she wanted to,” Daniel said. “I mean, I wanted to, but didn’t want to pressure her.”
“So, who kissed who first?” Kyle asked with a wry smile. “Can I guess? It was her, wasn’t it?”
“Yep,” Daniel said.
“So,” Kyle began, “did anything else happen?”
“I think it might have, but my mom came home.”
“Oh,” Kyle said, a little disappointed.
“But I’m not trying to rush things. I mean, you and Megan waited.”
Kyle felt his face warm-up. “Still waiting,” he confessed.
“But you told me--”
“I may have exaggerated in the past about what me and Megan have done,” Kyle said. “That was because I thought you had done more, and I wanted to sound like I had, so there you go.”
“So, neither one of us has?” Daniel said.
“Right,” Kyle said.
“Well, that’s a huge relief,” Daniel said, sitting down at the dining room table.
Kyle felt a sense of relief, as well. “Couldn’t agree more,” Kyle said. “I mean, it is a big step.”
“Huge step,” Daniel said.
“And I don’t want any kids right now,” Kyle said. “Even though they do have things that prevent that.”
“We’re talking about condoms, right?” Daniel said.
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “I’ve heard about those breaking, and nine months later...baby!”
“Same here,” Daniel said, shoveling chips in his mouth. The house was silent for a moment, the only sound the crunching of chips.
“Still,” Kyle said, breaking the silence and looking over at Daniel. “Would be fun, though.”
Daniel nodded. “Definitely fun,” Daniel said.
“But I can wait,” Kyle said.
“You don’t really have a choice,” Daniel said with a smile. “It’s not like Megan’s on this continent!”
“Funny!” Kyle said. “Very funny. You think Amber wants to?”
“I think Amber would have this afternoon if my mom hadn’t showed up.”
“Man,” Kyle said, shaking his head. “So close.”
“You ready for tomorrow?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, sir,” Kyle said. “Ready for the game, and for Midnight House.”
“I really don’t think you should go,” Daniel said, looking Kyle square in the eye.
“To the game?” Kyle asked.
“To Midnight House,” Daniel said. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and I think you should just come home after the game and hang out with me and Amber.”
“And be the third wheel?” Kyle asked, pushing back. “Do you want me there because you want me there, or do you want me there to make sure you and Amber don’t have sex?”
“Both, kinda,” Daniel said. “I just...I don’t know.”
“You and me are hanging out on Saturday, okay?” Kyle said. “I’ll probably get home early in the morning, I’ll take a nap, and then we’ll get into our Avengers marathon. Are we doing just the four Avengers movies, or watching from Iron Man to Endgame?”
“I think we should just do the four Avengers movies,” Daniel said. “And Civil War if we have time.” Kyle saw him look at his watch and stand.
“And maybe,” Kyle said, standing up, too, “you’ll have a story to tell me on Saturday about you and Amber doing more than just kissing.”
“We’ll see,” Daniel said. “No pressure.”
“Not from me, bud,” Kyle said as they walked to the front door. “I’m driving myself, but I’ll come over in my Winter Soldier costume before so your mom can take pics of us together.”
“Sounds good,” Daniel said.
“You’ll be awake in time, right, Captain America?” Kyle said.
“Definitely,” Daniel said. They hugged again.
“See you tomorrow,” Kyle said. “Big day.”
“Sounds like it,” Daniel said as he opened the front door and stepped outside.
“Night,” Kyle said.
“Later,” Daniel said.
Kyle closed the door, still processing the fact that Daniel and Amber had shared their first kiss just that afternoon.
He suddenly missed Megan more than he had in a while. He missed his parents, too. He was glad that they would be home next week. And happy that another week would be over and closer to Megan coming back from studying abroad.
Kyle put the guacamole back in the fridge and got ready for bed.
Twenty-four hours from now, he would be headed to Midnight House. And his dream of being Varsity Captain would be closer to being a reality.
FRIDAY
CHAPTER
FIFTY-FIVE
Daniel liked where this dream was going. He was seated on a lounge chair around the edge of the pool at Sun Oaks. It was a warm day, but a slight breeze helped take the edge off the heat. Daniel was alone at the pool. No kids splashing. No parents ordering their kids to stop roughhousing. No lifeguard blowing their whistle at people running around the soaked poolside concrete.
Nice and peaceful. Daniel was wearing sunglasses and a pair of boardshorts, enjoying the serenity of the moment when he saw her.
Amber. In a red bikini. Sunglasses. She was walking toward him. A halo of light around her. She arrived at the foot of his lounge chair, smiled.
“Looks like we’re all alone,” she said.
“Looks like it,” Daniel said.
Amber sat down beside him and removed his sunglasses. “What should we do since we’re all alone?” she asked.
“Can we kiss again?” Daniel asked.
“I think we can do a lot more than that,” Amber replied with a wink. She lunged toward him, kissing him full on the lips. Their tongues intermingling as their hands did the same as they caressed each other’s bodies.
Amber moved on top of him, her hands behind his head as she pushed Daniel’s face up to hers. Daniel closed his eyes, taking in the moment.
He inhaled deeply and nearly choked on what smelled like cigarette smoke.
What the hell?
His eyes still closed, he moved his hands up toward Amber’s hair.
And felt a baseball cap.
Daniel’s eyes shot open.
Austin was staring right back at him. Daniel was back in Austin’s garage, lying on his ratty old couch.
“Rise and shine, kid,” Austin said with a smile, a lit cigarette dangling from the side of his mouth. He swatted the sides of Daniel’s face with his fingertips. “You look confused,” he stated with sarcastic concern. “Did you really think I was gonna let Amber take my place inside your head?” Austin laughed.
Daniel tried to move, his wrists and ankles now bound with duct tape.
“You know,” Austin said as he placed a final piece of duct tape over Daniel’s mouth, then sat next to him on the couch, “I think that this time I’m going to save myself all the problems I had the last time you were here. Sound good?”
Daniel shook his head. He smelled gasoline.
Austin took the lit cigarette and flicked it behind the couch, out of view. A ball of flames erupted. An explosion shook the house.
“That takes care of my little buddy, Colby!” Austin said with a smile. “Oh, James?” he called out in a sing-song voice.
Daniel looked up as James exited from the door that led from the house to the garage. Austin aimed a .38 snub-nosed revolver at James and fired five shots into James’s white polo shirt. Florets of blood igniting with each bullet-hit.
James dropped to the floor. Dead.
Austin turned to Daniel. “And one bullet for my special friend,” Austin said, smacking his hand against Daniel’s face before he placed the hot barrel of the revolver between Daniel’s eyes. “I’m so glad it got to end like this. The right way.”
Austin pulled the trigger.
Daniel kicked off his covers and lunged out of bed. His heart was racing. His body and clothes covered in sweat. His eyes were wet and stinging from tears.
“Stop,” he whispered through gritted teeth. “Stop it!” Daniel felt what felt like a weight in the pit of his stomach. The weight began to ascend.
He ran out of his room and to the bathroom, making it just in time to dry heave and vomit up last night’s dinner.
His mom came out from his parents’ bedroom, turned on the bathroom fan, then knelt next to Daniel.
“I’m okay,” Daniel said as he spat into the toilet, then flushed. “I just had a bad dream.”
“That’s one hell of a bad dream,” his mom said, handing him a towel.
“Thanks,” he said. He wiped his face and mouth, then kept the towel in one hand just in case as he slumped back against the bathtub. His stomach felt better now.
“You want to talk about it?” his mom said.
“No,” Daniel said, standing up. “I don’t want you to have to deal with this, too.”
“I’m glad you finally asked for help,” his mom said as she backed out of the bathroom so he could exit. “I know we should have gotten you help sooner, but...”
“I said I was fine,” Daniel said. “But sometimes it sucks to be so wrong about something.”
“Why don’t you take a shower, and I’ll get you some Ginger Ale, and maybe that will calm your stomach.”
“Okay,” Daniel said.
They moved down the hallway. As his mom headed to the kitchen, Daniel grabbed some fresh, dry clothes from his bedroom and headed back to the bathroom.
As he closed the door and started the shower, he prayed that all of this would end soon. His hands were shaking, and he felt weak, mentally and physically. He stepped into the shower and under the spray.
After what his mind had just thrown at him, Daniel began to wonder, How much worse could the nightmares get?
CHAPTER
FIFTY-SIX
The alarm on Kyle’s cell phone alarm was set for 6:30AM, but he was awake at 6:28. He jumped out of bed, gathered the boxer briefs, undershirt, and socks he had picked out the night before to wear for game day, and headed to the bathroom.
This is it, he said as he stepped into the shower. The big night. He was definitely looking forward to it. Would there be a dinner at Midnight House? Maybe some sort of ceremony? He wondered how he would be chosen. Would it look rigged like Luke seemed to imply it was?
But what if Luke had told the other guys the exact same thing? What if he had promised each of them they were The One just to throw everyone else off?
He got out of the shower and brushed his teeth. He shook his hair out of his eyes, which caused toothpaste foam to fly around and hit the counter. Maybe I should get a haircut, he thought. Maybe I should ask Luke.
Ask Luke? Did he just think that? He finished brushing his teeth, got dressed in the boxer briefs, undershirt, and socks, then styled his hair. Why would he ask Luke what to do with his hair? That was Megan’s job, and she loved running her fingers through it.
Well, when she was here.
He walked out of the bathroom and crossed to his room across the hallway.
He pulled on his Winter Soldier costume, complete with a fake-looking metal arm sleeve with a red star at the top. He looked in the mirror on his closet door. It wasn’t billion-dollar franchise quality, but it would work for one school day.
He picked up the long-haired wig he had ordered and put it on. Pretty accurate for the character he was playing. Of course, this was the school-friendly Winter Soldier. No guns or weapons allowed.
He walked back into the bathroom, took out a new eyebrow pencil, and pulled up a pic of Sebastian Stan as Winter Soldier on his phone. He blended the black around his eyes the best he could, then put the wig on and sent a selfie to Megan.
“You’ve got this,” he said with a smile and a wink to himself in the mirror. “Time to go see Cap and Black Widow at the Avengers Compound across the street.”
He picked up his backpack, jacket, and umbrella and headed out.
CHAPTER
FIFTY-SEVEN
Daniel splashed cold water on his face and looked at himself in the bathroom mirror. He looked like hell. His eyes were red. The circles beneath them were darker than normal. His brain felt fuzzy.
Happy Friday.
He was in his new Captain America costume, specially ordered for today. Unfortunately, he couldn’t wear the mask due to school safety reasons, so he planned to wear a fake beard to look like Cap in Infinity War. But the beard he ordered looked like crap, so he decided against it.
He figured if people couldn’t figure out who he was from the suit and the shield, they were out of luck.
Daniel heard the doorbell. Amber was coming by early, which he was happy about. He wanted to give her a huge hug for being so supportive. For dealing with something she shouldn’t have to deal with.
That neither of them should, at their ages.
“I got it,” Daniel called as he unlocked and opened the door. Without saying a word, Amber jumped onto him and gave him a huge hug.
Just as he had hoped.
They walk-hugged inside, Daniel closing the door behind them. They stood together in the warmth of the house. Daniel didn’t want to let her go. She was dressed as Black Widow, complete with fully-dyed red hair.
“Mom,” April said from behind him. “Captain America and Black Widow are hugging unsupervised in the living room.”
