Death's Curses

by Becca Fox

  And I meant it. It wasn’t like my mom or stepdad could forbid me from seeing Charlie if they didn’t approve of him; they had no authority in Aunt Dinah’s house. I mean, they could ask the old lady to make sure I didn’t date Charlie anymore, but I doubted she would agree. No, I wasn’t worried about that at all.

  I was worried about what Hunter would do or say. He was a bully, plain and simple. My mom wasn’t going to keep him in check; I didn’t think she even knew how. Aunt Dinah was probably the only one with any stones to call Hunter out for being an asshole but I didn’t know what kind of relationship they had. It was up to me to protect my very new boyfriend from my dick stepdad. Not that Charlie couldn’t protect himself, but his method of dealing with people who annoyed him tended to involve giving them the silent treatment or staring at them until they went away. Neither of which would work with Hunter.

  The most my mom could do was embarrass me by sharing childhood stories that should never be shared, or by asking Charlie too many awkward questions. I could change the subject if things got too weird. I had no problem telling her to butt out if that didn’t work. My mom on her own was manageable. But with her and Hunter…

  Tonight was going to be about as fun as a visit to the dentist.

  “Charlie,” I groaned, reaching out to him as if asking for help.

  He shot me a pained look. “Please, don’t make me be the optimist. I suck at sugarcoating things. Besides, we both know tonight is going to be hell. Might as well embrace it.”

  “Couldn’t you at least try?”

  Charlie seemed to think about it for a second. “Tonight’s going to be fun.” He tried again, swinging his fist across his chest while wearing a cheesy-looking smile. “Tonight’s going to be fun.” Then he shrugged, giving up. “Nope. Sorry.”

  I found myself smiling. “Well, you gave it your best shot.”

  “I did,” he said with a straight face.

  I beckoned him over. He pushed away from the fireplace and crossed the room to lace his fingers with mine. I had to tug twice to get him to come down to my level. His free hand steadied him, landing over my empty armrest, as he kissed me. The front door opened. Charlie jumped back, yanking his hand away from mine like I’d electrocuted him.

  “—wouldn’t be any trouble at all, Aunt Dinah,” my stepdad was saying. “I’ll have that bad alternator changed before you can say tea and biscuits.”

  “It’s quite all right, Hunter,” the old bird said stiffly. “I’ve been going to the same mechanic for years. She treats me well. I’m perfectly capable of dealing with my own car trouble.”

  “Yep, that’s Aunt Dinah. A feminist to the end.”

  “And what exactly is wrong with that?” my aunt asked in a low, cold voice.

  My stepdad was tall, over six feet, with the looks of a handsome surfer who’d suffered from a severe allergic reaction and just hadn’t deflated yet. His thick blond hair flopped over his sweaty forehead. His dark eyes usually shone with a greedy intelligence, like he was sizing people up right before he robbed them blind. But he gulped at the look on Aunt Dinah’s face. He managed a tiny, fear-infused smile before he turned his back on his aunt and shut the door behind him.

  It made the tightness in my chest lessen. I never should’ve doubted the old lady.

  My mom, probably sensing the awkwardness and going into self-preservation mode, made a beeline toward me with her arms outstretched. “Esmer! Sweetheart! We’re here. Can you believe it?”

  My mom was almost six feet and a bit heavyset herself, but she pulled it off with a lot more grace than her husband did. For one thing, she wore clothes that flattered her pear shape. And her thick, dark hair always looked fabulous. Her eyes seemed to sparkle, as if illuminated from the inside by her shining personality. Or by her toothy grin. She’d been a reporter for the local news program in Boston for so long that it was rare to see her without a hundred-watt smile.

  I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed my mom until right then. I grinned and started standing. Charlie swooped in like a dark Prince Charming, steadying me with a hand cupped over my elbow.

  My mom paused before she reached me, appraising my boyfriend with a coo. “Oh, look at you! Taking care of my baby like she’s worth a million bucks. Aren’t you sweet?” She reached out to pinch his cheek.

  Charlie’s eyes were flat as he slowly tilted his head back. He reminded me of a cat with its ears lowered and its nose scrunched as it evaluated an unwelcome hand coming toward it. As comical as it would’ve been to see him swat my mother’s hand and retreat under the couch with a hiss, I decided it would be best if I intervened.

  “Mom,” I said, stepping between them. “This is my boyfriend, Charles. I think I speak for college kids everywhere when I say they ain’t fans of having their cheeks pinched.”

  My mom pressed her fingers against her mouth with a girly giggle. “Sorry. I got a little carried away.” She leaned to the side to smile at Charlie. “It’s very nice to meet you.”

  “Likewise,” my boyfriend said.

  “I’m just so happy to finally see Esmer with a good boy. You have no idea how horrible her last boyfriend was.”

  I shuddered. “Mom, Charlie doesn’t want to hear about my ex, a’ight?”

  “Oh, of course not! Sorry again.” She threw her big arms around me and gave me a rib-crushing squeeze. “I’m so glad to be here. It’s making me ramble like a crazy person.”

  I hugged her back. My mom was as big and warm as a giant stuffed animal. She was my definition of comfort.

  Hunter watched us with a bored expression on his face which clearly said: “Can I go home and watch my show now?” “There, ya see? She’s fine. Just like I said she’d be.” He sneered when he caught my glare. “What’s up, kid? Burn down any houses yet?”

  “Win any cases yet?” I shot back.

  His pudgy face adopted a purplish hue. Those dangerous storm clouds gathered behind his eyes. My dad had been a good man. How could my mom settle for this?

  I’d lost count of the number of times I’d wondered that. I’d only asked my mom once. All I got were excuses.

  My mom released me to send an apologetic smile Aunt Dinah’s way. As usual, she was determined to ignore the obvious animosity between me and her husband. “It’s not that I doubted you, Dinah, but—”

  “A mother worries,” the old woman said with a bow of her head. “I understand.”

  “I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done. We shipped Esmer over here with barely a week’s notice and you received her so graciously. Just from talking with her over the phone, I’ve noticed how much she’s grown under your care.” My mom made a supplicating gesture. “I can’t thank you enough.”

  Aunt Dinah’s ashen cheeks turned a little pink. She pressed her lips together and simply nodded, as if too flustered to speak. I swallowed down the impulse to giggle at her discomfort.

  My mom beamed at me. “I’m more convinced now than ever that she’s ready to come home.”

  I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. Aunt Dinah looked like she’d swallowed a piece of fiberglass. Charlie stiffened next to me, tightening his grip on my elbow.

  “Hold on there, Nina.” Hunter crossed his arms, regarding me with a suspicious look. “She’s only been here for a few months. I say she stays for a whole year. If she passes her classes and she still hasn’t desecrated a grave or stolen a car by then, maybe we let her come back to Boston.”

  Boston. Where Marty and the gang were waiting. Where Hunter ruled, unchallenged. Where Dad’s absence was as heavy as a ten-ton coat on my back. Already, my heart rate was spiking. I felt dizzy and nauseated and wobbly in the knees.

  “I ain’t going back,” I blurted out.

  My mom’s head swiveled in my direction. She gave me a confused but polite smile, like I’d just told a joke and she didn’t get the punch line. “What’re you talking about? Of course you’re coming back. You didn’t honestly think we’d leave you in Dinah’s care indefinitel
y? It wouldn’t be fair to her, sweetheart.”

  I turned to my aunt, hoping to communicate everything I was too chicken shit to say. She couldn’t let them take me. I was better because I was there, with her and Charlie. If I was forced to live with Hunter, forced to go back to Marty, I’d run away and end up God-knew-where.

  I was practically screaming the words in my head, projecting my unabashed terror in the hopes that it would save me. You gotta let me stay! Please!

  Aunt Dinah’s expression was unreadable. Although she looked right at me, she spoke in a gravelly monotone. “It would be a hassle for her to change schools right now. I agreed to house her so I will. If after a year she chooses to stay… well, she’s an adult. She can decide for herself where she should live.” With a curt wave of her hand, she turned toward the dining room. “Come. We need to eat and send Charles home before it gets too late.”

  I released the breath I’d been holding hostage and blinked away tears. She’d bought me some time at least. I gave my boyfriend a shaky smile he didn’t return. His fake brown eyes shifted to my mom and stepdad. When their backs were turned, he planted a fervent kiss on my cheek. Then he went to retrieve my crutches from the wall.

  ◆◆◆

  Hunter finally acknowledged Charlie’s presence about halfway through the roast lamb. “Charles, was it?”

  He looked up from his stewed mystery vegetables. “Yes, sir.”

  “Do you work?”

  “He’s a full-time student like Esmer, honey,” my mom said. She gave Charlie a proud nod as if he’d already won her approval simply by staying in school.

  Hunter grunted as he sawed into his third piece of lamb. “When I was his age, I was going to school and working at my dad’s auto parts store in the evenings.” He coolly lowered his steak knife and stared at Charlie as if to say, “Beat that.”

  I rolled my eyes. What a tool.

  “My uncle is a detective with the Seattle Police Department,” Charlie said without breaking eye contact with my stepdad. “I intern with him.”

  Great Aunt Dinah arched an eyebrow while she sipped her wine. No doubt she was wondering when he found the time to do any work for his uncle when he spent the bulk of his afternoons here with me. Thankfully, she didn’t comment.

  “How exciting! What kind of work do you do for him?” My mom pushed her plate aside, like she didn’t want anything obscuring her view of Charlie while he told her all the gritty details of his internship.

  “Paperwork, canvasing, evaluating crime scenes, documenting evidence, brainstorming for potential leads and motives.” My boyfriend shrugged, his gaze dipping down with false modesty. “Basic police work.”

  Was it wrong that I found him, like, a thousand times hotter because he was a good liar? Probably. But did I care? Nope.

  Hunter smirked. “Must be nice to have a family member in a position of power.” He popped his newly cut piece of lamb into his mouth and pointed at Charlie with his fork. “I bet your record is spotless.”

  “Of course it is.” My mom glanced at Aunt Dinah as if to verify. “He’s a good boy.”

  “Wasn’t always. I stole a skateboard when I was thirteen.” Charlie pulled on a creepy little smile for Hunter. “My uncle left that on my record. Made me do a hundred hours of community service. Thought it would teach me a lesson.”

  “Good for him,” my mom said with another one of her proud nods. “He sounds like a great mentor.”

  Charlie’s smile became a lot less creepy when he turned it on my mom. “He is.”

  “What did your father have to say about your little stunt?” Hunter demanded. “Didn’t he want to dole out your punishment?”

  The hairs on my arms stood up. “Hey, Mom?”

  She jumped a little at the sharpness of my tone.

  “What was the name of your co-anchor? The one who had their gallbladder removed?” I twirled my knife in the air as I tried to remember. “Vaughn, right? How’s he doing?”

  “He’s…fine, sweetheart.” My mom’s gaze bounced between me and Charlie in confusion. “Why do you ask?”

  “My dad doesn’t have a say in anything that happens to me,” Charlie said smoothly. “He and my mom gave me up for adoption when I was a kid. My uncle is my legal guardian.”

  The news stunned even my aunt, who bunched her lips to the side and stared at Charlie contemplatively.

  “I’m so sorry,” my mom said, placing a hand over her heart and another on the table as she leaned forward. “I can’t imagine how hard that must’ve been for you.”

  Hunter, the bastard, gave a snort. “You’re a little ray of sunshine, aren’t ya?”

  “You asked,” Charlie said with another shrug. He sent a polite smile toward Aunt Dinah, pointing down at his plate with his fork. “This lamb is delicious, Ms. Hagan.”

  “Thank you, Charles. It’s an old family recipe.”

  The silence stretched on forever. Hunter opened his mouth, probably to ask another painfully inappropriate question, but Charlie beat him to it.

  “Esmer tells me you’re a lawyer, Mr. Gardner.”

  “I am,” Hunter growled, lifting his chin defensively.

  “She didn’t say what type.”

  “I deal with personal injury lawsuits.”

  “Oh, yeah? Had any interesting cases lately?”

  “All of my cases are interesting,” Hunter snapped.

  Charles waited patiently to hear about these riveting cases. Hunter didn’t seem keen to share.

  My mom, ever the helpful conversationalist, jumped in. “Why don’t you tell him about the man who lost an eye at that construction site?”

  “’Cause we’re not talking about me right now, Nina,” was the snappish and completely out of character response from my self-absorbed stepdad. “We’re talking about the punk who’s currently boning your daughter.”

  “Hunter!” my mom gasped.

  I leveled my stepdad with the most hateful look while I screamed profanities at him in my head.

  “He’s doing nothing of the sort,” Aunt Dinah said with quiet fury. “In fact, he’s been the perfect guest since he set foot in this house. You’re the one behaving like a child who can’t control his cruel impulse to embarrass and demean everyone else in the room.” She pointed a bony finger at Charlie. “Now, apologize to the boy.”

  Hunter sputtered. “You can’t—”

  “I’m sorry.” Aunt Dinah stuck her pinkie finger into her ear and twisted it around. “My ears must be failing me because it sounded as if you were about to tell me what I’m allowed to do within my own walls, Hunter James Gardner.” Her expression, which had started off as innocently baffled, became darker and more intimidating the more she spoke. By the time she got to my stepdad’s name, she was using the full power of her evil eye to make Hunter tremble in his chair.

  But then he pulled his shoulders back. “I’m not a kid, Aunt Dinah. You can’t order me around anymore.”

  “This is my house,” the old woman hissed. “I can and will order you around however I please.” Hunter was about to argue further when Aunt Dinah snapped, “You are excused, sir. Goodnight.”

  “But—” Hunter looked down at his plate, which was still half full.

  Aunt Dinah stood up and pointed at the stairs. “I said, goodnight!”

  I didn’t watch him leave. I was too busy grinning at the old lady, who was officially the dopest human being on the planet. I was going to be just like her when I was wrinkly.

  Aunt Dinah stayed standing until Hunter slammed the door to the guest room where he and my mom were staying. Then she smoothed the front of her khaki skirt. “I’m sorry, Charles. Hunter’s behavior was inexcusable. I’ll understand if you choose to stay home for the remainder of his visit.”

  “It’s fine,” my boyfriend said and even I believed him.

  I took his hand under the table. He gave it a quick squeeze but didn’t look at me.

  My mom heaved a big sigh. She looked completely worn out for a second
before she tugged on that faithful smile. “So. Charlie. Have any hobbies?”

  ◆◆◆

  The rest of the evening turned out great. We finished dinner and took our dessert in the sitting room. Aunt Dinah encouraged us to play some more of those board games she’d bought for Jasmine’s visit. The old lady didn’t participate; she was happy to sip her coffee and watch from her armchair. My mom kept firing questions Charlie’s way, but he answered them all with patience and kindness.

  “It looks like Dinah is starting to fade,” my mom finally said.

  The old woman’s head bobbed as she tried to keep her eyes open. “I’m fine.”

  “It’s late. Why don’t you go on upstairs to bed?” My mom put her cards down over the coffee table. “I can do the dishes for you.”

  Aunt Dinah sat up straight. “A hostess doesn’t leave her guests and she certainly doesn’t let them do her dishes.”

  “Why don’t we all go to sleep then? It’s been a long day.” Glancing at the stairs, my mom added, “I should probably check on Hunter.”

  “It was great to meet you, Mrs. Gardner,” Charlie said, extending a hand.

  My mom shook it. “You too, Charlie. I’m sorry if things got a little awkward earlier.”

  Bitterness and frustration had me balling my hands into fists. “The hell it was, Mom! It was painful. And rude. If he’d treated any of your friends like that, they wouldn’t wanna be your friends anymore.”

  “Oh, he was just tired from traveling, sweetheart. You know how he gets when he’s tired.” But the halfhearted smile she wore told me even she didn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. “Thank you for dinner, Dinah. It was delicious. See you all in the morning.” With a little wave, my mom retreated to the stairs.

  “Would you like a ride back to the precinct, Charles?” Aunt Dinah asked, rising from her chair with a grimace. From the way she favored her left side, I knew her hip was acting up again.

  “I’m okay skating.”