by Trina Solet
Blake blocked his way. "We can do this out here."
"I don’t conduct my business out in the open," he said and pushed past Blake into the room.
As he went in, the twins stepped back from the door, where they had probably been eavesdropping. Now that they were all in the room together, Pietro leered at each of them in turn.
When he tried to leer at Dee Dee extra hard, Finn stepped in front of her. Finn got a double dose of the eyeballing as he glared at Pietro. Blake regretted not kicking them out earlier.
"How are you paying for this information?" Pietro asked as he looked Dee Dee up and down though she was mostly behind Finn.
"Cash," Blake said. He stepped between him and the twins and showed him some bills.
As Pietro took them and counted them, he looked at Blake like it wasn't enough.
"I'm not asking for anything top secret, just what Reese told you. Who is Reese looking for?" Blake asked before Pietro could ask for more of his limited supply of money.
Pietro pocketed the cash and said, "A guy with one eye."
"Who's that?"
"Don't know him. He's new in town. But the interest is mutual," Pietro said and wiggled his eyebrows.
"What do you mean?" Blake asked.
"The eye patch man is looking for Reese too," Pietro said like Blake was stupid for asking.
"In a friendly way?" Blake frowned, not sure what to think.
Pietro gave Blake a leering grin. "Let's just say that he described your friend in loving detail," he said and his grin got wider and more unpleasant. God knows what his idea of "loving detail" was.
After that, Pietro left with one last look at Dee Dee and a wink at Finn. As soon as he saw Pietro peel out of the motel parking lot, Blake turned to the twins.
"And that's why I wanted you out of here!" Blake snapped at the two of them.
They both drew back, startled.
Dee Dee was the first to recover. "What are you talking about? You need us. Who knows what that guy might have done if he wasn't outnumbered."
Blake couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Seriously? You're going home," he said decisively.
"The only place we're going is wherever you go," Finn said even more decisively.
"You keep going to bad places, talking to bad people. We can't let you off the leash," Dee Dee added.
Blake groaned in frustration. He didn't know how to get rid of them. "I do appreciate you guys doing this with me, but..."
"He's lying," Finn said to Dee Dee. "He hates it."
"Don't discourage him. He's trying to be nice," Dee Dee said to give him credit.
"Like it or not, you're our holy grail," Finn told him. "It took years, but now that we found you, we're not letting you out of our sight."
"Years?" Blake said, wondering what Finn meant by that.
"We tried to find you two years ago, when we were fourteen, but you were already gone. That's what your mom told us when we went to your house. We were kicking ourselves for not going to find you sooner," Dee Dee said.
Blake realized that he had been gone two years by then. That made him wonder, "How long have you guys known about me?"
"Since we were in elementary school," Dee Dee said.
"You know how weird it is to first find out you have a brother from some kid at school?" Finn asked.
"You know how weird it is to be that brother?" Blake said. He remembered always being aware that he had a brother and a sister, but he didn't know if they even knew he existed. It gave him a good feeling that they came looking for him. Getting to know them might even convince Blake that family wasn't a dirty word. With his own home life and the way Reese grew up, Blake had come to believe that he was better off without one.
Chapter 6
Blake had been startled by the first bruise he saw on Reese. They had been friends for only a few weeks. When Blake asked him about it, Reese brushed it off. The deep purple bruise ran from his chin to his cheekbone. It looked so wrong, and it hurt Blake inside. That bruise faded only to be replaced by another and then another. It was like a dark shadow just moved around under Reese's skin. It changed shape and position, but it never went away. Sometimes it was joined by a cut, a sprain, or an eye swollen shut.
"Shit happens. I need to watch where I'm going," Reese said.
According to him, he fell down, slammed into things and got banged up in accidents he didn't want to talk about. It didn't take Blake long to realize that no one was that clumsy, especially not Reese. But Reese refused to admit the truth. Blake wondered if lying about it, especially to him, made the truth less real, more bearable for him. That was his life. He had no choice but to live through it.
Reese's family had a hard time making ends meet. His father had a criminal record so he had trouble finding work. He also had a drinking problem as did his mother. Even when he had a job, his dad resented working for the rich people of Meadowview. He was filled with rage and took it out on Reese and his mother. It made for a hellish situation at Reese's home. That's why he always dreamed of running away. He even talked to Blake about the two of them running away together, but Reese still wouldn't admit why.
"Don't tell me you fell again," Blake told Reese after he came to school with a sprained elbow and a cut on his forehead. Blake could picture his arm being twisted back as his head was slammed into something with a sharp edge.
"Accidents happen," Reese told him tersely. The look in his eyes warned Blake to back off.
Watching Reese try to get through the day in pain, so he could go home to a man who beat him, made Blake feel sick inside. He wanted to kill Reese's father for what he did to him. Reese always told him the same thing – to stay the hell out of it. He'd say, "You want to fight someone? Go fight with your own father."
By then Blake hadn't seen his father for years. He wasn't a source of violence or abuse to him. In those days, Jim Monroe was only a name his mother cursed. When that wasn't enough, his mother would sometimes curse Blake and hit him in a fit of temper, but she hardly ever left a mark. Her slaps were careless. She might hit him, or she might slam a door or throw a plate to shatter in the sink because she was furious that she now had to do her own dishes. It was all the same to her.
After enduring her slaps and cuffs until he was fifteen, all it took to stop her was Blake saying, "Don't even think about it." She had raised her hand ready to hit him. At his words, or more likely his tone, she lowered her hand and went to break one more thing in that already broken down house. That house wasn't a sane place to grow up in, but it wasn't as bad as what Reese had to go through.
Looking back, Blake saw for Reese only an ever-changing stream of troubles. And what the hell was going on with him now? This new information from Pietro only left Blake with more questions. Just as Blake was trying to figure out his next move with so little to go on, he got a text. It was Roberto. "R stopping by Trix to pay respects. Gabby says hi."
"To pay respects?" Blake wondered aloud. Seeing Finn and Dee Dee trying to sneak a look at his phone, he asked them, "Do you know who Terry Trix is?"
"Of course we do. Everyone does. He's the 'Craziest Magician That Ever Lived'" Finn said, quoting the sign on the side of Terry's BW van.
"But he isn't living any more. He died a few months ago. Why do you ask?" Dee Dee wanted to know.
Blake was sorry to hear about his death. He didn't explain it to the twins, just texted back to thank Roberto for the information. Putting away his phone and grabbing his car keys, he headed out the door. As he went, he asked Finn and Dee Dee, "How would you like to go to Trix?"
"Yes!" they both said as all three of them hurried to Blake's car.
Terry Trix was a wheelchair bound, local magician who also owned the antique store called Trix. He had some crazy, vintage stuff in there. The place was always full of potheads, college kids and decorators. Blake wasn't surprised that Finn and Dee Dee were eager to go there. And for once, Blake wasn't taking them anywhere dangerous. When they were getting in his car, h
e wasn't surprised that they fought over who called shotgun first. He was kind of getting used to having them around.
*
Reese lingered at the pizza place down the block from Trix to make sure the coast was clear. He walked by a few times and saw that there was no one hanging around inside like they did when Terry was alive. When he was alive the place was alive too. Reese remembered that there was always music playing loud enough to be heard on the sidewalk.
Though it was silent now, stepping inside was still like taking a step back in time. Cluttered and badly lit, Trix hadn't changed much since Reese had last seen it. Sure, the stuff was different, but the smell was the same – musty, metallic, with a hint of pot smoke. The pot smoke was stale now. The heart of the place was gone. Without Terry, Trix was just a store.
Reese had gone there to pay his respects, but not as much to Terry's daughter as to the memory of the place. Reese and that place had a history. The first time he showed up there, he was skipping school and wearing a black eye.
He was skipping so Blake wouldn't see the fresh bruise. Lately he had looked ready to go and beat the crap out of Reese's dad whenever he saw any sign of his bad temper on Reese.
His dad should at least have had the decency not to punch him in the face. Reese's other bruises had been easier to hide. And once he even walked around with a cracked rib.
That was before he knew Blake though. Reese was sure that Blake would have noticed that he moved too slowly and breathed carefully. He noticed everything about Reese except for one thing – how much Reese wanted him.
That first day he walked into Trix, Reese was still relatively new to Meadowview, and Trix was a new discovery. He grinned at all the rusty signs hanging on the walls. Reese was starting to think that Meadowview was made up of shiny, antiseptic boutiques on one side and discount liquor stores on the other. This was more like it.
"You want a sirloin steak for that eye?" a voice asked him from somewhere among the stacks of merchandise.
Reese spotted Terry sitting in his wheelchair in front of a foot powered sewing machine.
"You have a steak?" Reese asked him while taking in his tuxedo with no sleeves, the tattoos on his arms, the black and white wingtip shoes. His impressive dreadlocks and a top hat rounded out the crazy look he was sporting.
"Nope," Terry said. "Let me guess. You're ditching so you don’t have to explain that shiner to nosy school counselors."
"They are no problem," Reese told him. "But a friend of mine gets hot under the collar if he sees me like this. He doesn't know how to handle trouble so I'm keeping him out of it."
Years later, Reese was doing the same thing he had done that day. He was running and hiding and keeping trouble away from Blake. After all this waiting, hoping, and being afraid to hope, not to be able to see Blake face to face was a crushing disappointment. But it was better than the alternative. Whatever went on between them, he had to protect Blake.
Leaving the place a few minutes later, Reese stopped outside and stood under the Trix sign made up of mismatched letters. He took one last look and walked away, leaving behind him the first time he brought Blake to meet Terry, and all the times they poked around the store, maybe helped out with something heavy, or just hung out, joking around with Terry. But he was really only leaving behind a store full of old junk. All the memories were coming with him. Reese was going to carry them away with him, right out of town.
Chapter 7
When they got to Trix, Blake saw a young woman minding the store. He realized that she was Annie, Terry's daughter. He had only seen her a few times. The last time he had seen her, she had been fourteen or so.
He remembered that she never liked either him or Reese. While laughing about it, Terry told them that it was because she believed they were his pot dealers. Terry thought that was hilarious so he never set her straight.
Blake could see some of that same hostility from years ago as he approached her.
"I'm sorry about your dad," Blake said to her. Annie only nodded and started to turn away. Blake decided to get right to the point. "Do you remember that friend of mine? We used to hang out here. His name is Reese. Was he here today?"
"If you're here to shop, you can look around. Please ask for assistance with merchandise that's out of reach. All prices are negotiable," she said coldly and started to walk away again.
"I want that," Finn said, stopping her. He pointed at a unicycle hanging from the ceiling.
"No, you don't," Dee Dee told him. "You want that." She was pointing straight ahead at a Snoopy and Woodstock lamp and phone combination that was sitting on a shelf.
"I don't think so," Finn said, appalled.
"Yes. For my birthday," Dee Dee told him.
"You mean my birthday," Finn said. He then turned to Annie and asked her to pack up the lamp for him while Dee Dee grinned.
Blake was going to interrupt their transaction to ask about Reese again, but he noticed that Finn was pointing at him while talking to Annie.
"He's asking about Reese," Dee Dee whispered. She seemed to be optimistic that Finn could get some answers.
When they stepped out onto the sidewalk, Finn stashed the lamp in Blake's car and gave his report.
"Reese was here less than an hour ago. In and out. She doesn't know where he went only that he went that way." Finn pointed up the street.
They went in that direction while Blake tried to figure out where Reese might go. They saw a hot dog vendor, and Blake stopped.
"Hungry?" Finn asked.
Blake didn't answer. He went up to the guy manning the cart and gave him Reese's description. It was a long shot, but it was worth a try. Blake thought he might have spotted Reese, but the guy shook his head. As soon as Blake stepped away from the hot dog cart, Finn got in his face.
"Your Reese is a pretty looking, blond guy, slim and yay tall, and this is the first I'm hearing about it?" Finn said holding his hand a little above his own head.
"Stop perving on Blake's guy," Dee Dee told him.
Blake wondered why she would say that, but then Finn told her, "I'm not perving. I saw him."
That sent every other thought out of Blake's head. "Where? When?" he demanded.
"The same time I saw you for the first time in my life. He was at the funeral," Finn said.
"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Blake asked.
"Tell you when? Before I met you, or before I knew what he looked like? It's not like you showed me a picture of your beloved."
Blake huffed. "Right," he said.
"Sorry you missed him," Dee Dee said.
"And you know what this means, don't you?" Finn asked, but Blake had no clue. "He was at the funeral because he's in town for you, you idiot."
"I don't think so," Blake said.
Finn pressed on, "At the cemetery, I thought he was just hanging around, loitering or whatever, but then I saw him looking around, like he was looking for someone. Now my guess is he was looking for you."
"He wasn't looking for me." Blake was sure of that.
"So you were a jerk to him, that's what I'm hearing," Finn said, reading the situation better than Blake expected. He could probably see the guilt written on his face.
"Yes, I was a jerk," Blake admitted.
"Don't worry," Dee Dee reassured him. "We found you. We can find your guy too."
"I guess you two make quite a team," Blake said, kind of meaning it.
"Of course. Fraternal Twin Powers." They high-fived each other then grinned at him.
As they went further up the street, Blake noticed that they had left the more colorful neighborhood where Trix was located. They were entering an area with mostly office buildings. Blake didn't see any reason for Reese to go there. Looking around, he wondered where he would have gone.
As they stood on a corner of an intersection, Blake turned to look to his right. There was nothing to see there, just some more nondescript buildings. But a few blocks further down was the bus station.
"Fuck
! Reese might be on his way out of town," Blake realized.
Rushing toward the bus station, Blake cursed himself for trying to follow Reese on foot. If he had the car, he could be there already. Reese had been so close, and now he might be getting on a bus and leaving town. Blake ran, crossing the streets carelessly until he noticed that the twins were right behind him, being just as reckless. He slowed down a little so he didn't get them killed.
On first arriving at the bus station, Blake made sure Reese wasn't on any of the busses that were boarding. He looked frantically but didn't see him. Feeling only a little relieved, he went inside. He got ready to go up to the ticket counter and ask about Reese, but Finn stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"You are all wild and crazy. You don't look trustworthy," Finn told him.
Blake was ready to push past him when Dee Dee made an offer.
"You want me to use my feminine charms on the ticket guy? I'll take my glasses off and shake my hair out." Dee Dee demonstrated by shaking her long ponytail.
"Please don't," Blake begged her.
"It's a classic," she claimed.
"You don't know which way he swings. I'll take a crack at him," Finn volunteered, eyeing the guy at the ticket counter.
When he went over, Finn didn't seem to do anything more than talk to the guy before he came back.
"He wouldn't tell me if he bought a ticket, but because I acted helpless and cute, he hinted that he might have seen someone who looked like Reese. But he doesn't know where he went. See? No man or woman is safe from my charms," Finn boasted though he didn't exactly get a ton of information.
"Finn is bi, and he thinks no one can resist him," Dee Dee said to answer the questioning look on Blake's face.
Blake realized that's why she accused Finn of perving on Reese.
"And yes, we are real. We exist," Finn said as if Blake was doubting him and not in a hurry to find Reese.