Haunted

by Merrill, R. L.

  “What do you need, Devon? What can I do for you?”

  He exhaled and said, “What you’re doing. Feels nice.”

  His cheek was smashed against my leg so his words came out distorted. It made me giggle.

  “Were you really going to ask me over this weekend?” His smushy voice was even cuter now that he was relaxing and it was a little higher pitched.

  “Yes, I was. I have to tattoo a couple of people and I thought afterwards the four of us could have dinner together. Then you and I might have some time together. Alone.”

  He stilled and then rolled over on his back so he could see my face. “Can I hang out while you’re working? Seems only fair that I get to watch you work since you’ve been watching me.”

  His eyes looked a little brighter and I smiled down at him. “If you want. It might get boring.”

  He closed his eyes and grabbed my hand to move it through his hair some more. “Don’t stop, that feels good. How could it ever be boring for me to watch you? I could do that all day.” He opened his eyes and smiled at me. “See?”

  I laughed softly and drew my finger down to trace along his jaw. “Are you ok?”

  He hesitated a minute before answering. “I will be. I am for the most part. I’ll be better after I talk this thing out with Marcus. I still can’t believe he said that to you. I mean I can believe it because he’s an ass, but I don’t know what would possess him to since he knows you’re important to me.”

  I raised my eyebrow at him. “Perhaps he said it because I am important to you?”

  He closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. “I suppose you’re right.” He frowned and I ran my finger along the crease between his brows. That made him laugh and then his face relaxed. “I know, I know. Hey, listen. I’m going to practice with these guys and then I think tonight I’m going to run out to my mama's. That ok? I need to do something and tomorrow I’m going to Daryl’s to hash this thing out with Marcus. But then I’m coming to you Saturday and I’m not leaving until I have to be back here Monday. Is that ok with you?”

  I nodded. “Take all the time you need, baby. I’ll be here.”

  He got a big goofy grin on his face. “I really love it when you call me baby. I do.” He reached up and cupped my face. I leaned down to kiss him. He groaned and snaked the other hand up through my hair. “I’m going to miss you so damn much, chère. I wouldn’t go, but I have something I have to do.”

  I smiled down at him. “It’s ok. Really. I’ll hang out tonight and then tomorrow I’ll take Star with me to my place and he can crash on my couch...Or Mackenzie’s. Whichever he prefers. I can’t see her turning him away.”

  We both giggled and he moved to sit up.

  “I really like the idea of staying at your place with you. Thank you.” He kissed me slowly and ran a hand down my shoulder, giving me chills. “I can’t wait.”

  “Me neither.”

  He pressed a kiss to my forehead and then he stood up. “I need to call Daryl and Mama and let them know what’s going on. Then practice.” He put his hands in his back pockets. “You going to be ok, you’re sure?”

  I nodded and slid down on the bed. “I’ll be fine. Promise. I want to work on the drawings and, oh, maybe get a couple of good nights’ sleep.” I giggled and he blushed. “I’m kidding. It’s really nice sleeping next to you. I never thought I would like sharing a bed with someone. I never even had to share a room with someone so I figured I wouldn’t like it. I guess it’s just because it’s you.”

  He blushed some more and came over to kiss me one last time. “Holding you makes me sleep like a baby. You make the bad dreams go away.”

  I frowned. “Not entirely. Do you remember them?”

  He stood up and stepped away from the bed. “I remember feeling like my world just ended, pain in my chest, and then that’s it. They tell me it’s quite a performance.” He was trying to joke about it but it was obvious it was bothering him.

  “It seems to me that these dreams have happened on days when you’ve been extra agitated. Maybe we can work on that.”

  He smiled. “I’d like that. Thank you. I’m going to run. I’ll see you before I go.”

  I smiled and said I’d see him later.

  I laid my head down on the pillows and closed my eyes for a minute. This morning’s events had me exhausted as well. Just then my phone buzzed and I saw it was Daryl.

  “Hey Daryl. What’s up?” I had to hold the phone away from my ear as he let loose a string of profanity with Marcus’ name mixed in. “Hold it, slow down, what is it?”

  “Dat peckerhead just about drove me to homicide. Are you all right, chère? He drug hisself over here a little while ago and tole us what he said to you. He’s lucky he ain’t walking with a limp I’s so pissed at him.” I could hear him breathing heavy. “I’m sorry, Jaylene. Real sorry. I never thought he’d treat you like dat or I never would have recommended you go there. But don’t you worry. I’m gonna knock some sense into him.”

  I cut him off before he made any more threats of bodily harm. “Daryl, relax. No need for you to go into cardiac arrest over this. You know, you need to take care of that ticker of yours.”

  He grunted and rumbled some more about young people...

  “Did you just say whippersnapper? You really are dating yourself.” That finally got him to laugh. Good, progress.

  “I’m so sorry, chère. What you want me to do wit him? He’s a total disaster here.”

  I told him about the plan. “Devon is going to his mother’s tonight and then he wants to see Marcus tomorrow. Will you referee so the two of them can work this out?”

  “Of course. Dat’s what I do. But dat don’t mean I’m forgiving this shithead for the way he talked to you. Fucking numbnuts...”

  “Daryl, your ticker! I’m fine. It’s not the first time I’ve ever been insulted and it won’t be the last. I’m just glad he came to you. Look, we’re all getting out of here tomorrow for a weekend away. I think it will be good for everyone.”

  “You’re right. I’m sending Katie and the girls to her parents for the next couple of days, don’t need my babies hearing me put the beat down on this dipshit.”

  I couldn’t help it. “Why not? They’d learn some colorful language!”

  He growled at me. “Jaylene Renee, you a naughty one, you! All right. Tell Devon to call me and tell dose boys we’ll fix it, ok?”

  “I will. Just go easy on them, Daryl. They’re so raw from all this and unfortunately I seem to have gotten in the middle. I think Marcus isn’t comfortable with me being involved with Devon.” I heard something crash on the other line and Daryl was breathing heavy again.

  “I don’t give a fuck what he’s comfortable with! He knows better dan to talk to someone in my family like dat. And he has no right to get into Devon’s affairs. He should be happy for his cousin, not bitchin’ and moanin’ about not getting his little weenie way!”

  I was really going to start laughing, part out of nervousness because Daryl really could be scary, but the way he was talking about Marcus was just too much.

  “Well, regardless. Take it easy, ok? I’m fine. Devon will be fine. I’ll tell Devon to call you. Now go drink some water and calm yourself down!”

  He growled and grouched some more and then hung up.

  When I stepped out of my room, I heard Devon answering his phone downstairs.

  “Hey Uncle Daryl I was just going to ca...”

  I peered over the railing to see Devon holding the phone away from his head and I could just make out Daryl’s voice still yelling from the other hand. Devon looked up and saw me and I shrugged my shoulders, saying, “Good luck with that!”

  He smirked and waved at me.

  I went back to my room to call Mackenzie and tell her what was going on. She was excited to hear about our plans for the weekend, pissed off about Marcus, and used very descriptive language to vividly explain what she was going to do with his penis if she saw him again. It made me squirm a
nd I’m sure any males in earshot were cupping themselves in fear.

  I reassured her everything was ok. She said she’d call me when work was over and we hung up. I took in a huge breath and knew that I needed some rest, but the colors in the corner of my eye caught my attention.

  The roses Devon had brought me had opened a little more and were even more spectacular than they were at first. I grabbed for my sketchbook and drew them from several angles. I took pictures with my iPhone and thought I just might have found the perfect tattoo for my right side of my torso. Maybe. I wasn’t going to get carried away, but the idea did make me smile.

  Later in the afternoon I wandered downstairs and listened to them play. They really sounded good together, but with Marcus gone it sounded a little empty. The guys were all business as they ran through their songs. The list was growing and while they were still playing with arrangements, they were about half way there.

  Marie came in and walked straight to Devon. He pulled her into a hug and spoke quietly to her. She looked really worried as she spotted Jade. She quickly walked over to him, hugging him tightly. Jade seemed to melt into her and hold on like the little boy that he mostly still was inside. After a few minutes the guys all crowded around them and they spoke quietly. Devon looked around for me and when he saw me, he walked over to join me on the stairs.

  “After we eat, I’m going back to Mama's. Then tomorrow I’ll go over to Daryl’s.” He took in a deep breath, feeling around his pockets for his cigarettes.

  “You out of smokes?”

  He nodded. “It’s probably a good thing, but I’m not sure I’m ready.”

  “Now might not be the time to try to quit, but I know you’re worried about it.”

  His blue eyes showed so much conflict. I’d truly never known anyone with such expressive eyes. I figured the good thing about that is I would always know what his most dominant feeling was at the moment. I might not be able to tell what he was thinking, but I’d know how he felt. We sat quietly for just a few minutes holding hands before he ran upstairs to pack and I went to help Marie with dinner.

  When I entered the kitchen, she came over to me and held my hands in hers.

  “Jaylene, I am so sorry about my nephew...”

  I stopped her. “I’m ok, really. I already talked to Daryl and told him the same thing.” But I could talk to her woman to woman about this.

  “Marie, can you think of any other reason why Marcus would feel so threatened by me? He was so protective of Devon, and I just can’t help but feel like there’s something else going on with him.”

  She frowned at me. “I don’t rightly know, suga. I know Marcus has never cared much for women who didn’t buy into his charms. He was always a little selfish with the attention and a little stuck on himself growing up, but between us, L.A. did terrible things to him. He hasn’t been the same loving boy since they left. Maybe he is a little jealous of Devon. I know he was angry when Devon left for college. He thought it meant they’d never be in a band together and honestly, I don’t know if Marcus could have done it without Devon. Marcus might be the mouth of the band, but Devon is its heart.”

  “I believe it. Your son has so much depth, Marie. He amazes me.”

  She smiled and pulled me into a hug. “I’m so happy he’s found you,” she whispered to me.

  I squeezed her back. “Me too.”

  We ate together and besides some small chitchat, it was pretty quiet. When we finished Devon went upstairs for a few minutes and came back with a backpack and a guitar case.

  I smiled as he walked toward me. His eyes were sad again and I hated it for him. He pulled me into a hug so tight my feet were off the ground.

  “I don’t know if I can stand this,” he whispered. He set me back on my feet and my hands came to his face.

  “We’ll make it because when we are together again we know it will be that much better.”

  I’m not sure I was fooling either one of us. I felt sick at the idea of not seeing him for a whole day and that was very wrong. If this continued after the 17 days, there would likely be long absences from each other while he was on tour and I’d have to be willing to deal with that. Holding him like this made me feel like it would be worth it.

  I pulled back and held his hands, “Take care of you and I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  He tried to smile but he wasn’t there yet. He bent down and pressed a tender kiss to my lips. Then he leaned close to my ear and said, “I love you so much, Jaylene.”

  Tears sprung to my eyes and when he leaned back the smile on my face felt ridiculously huge.

  “Me too, baby,” I whispered back and then he was grinning, too. I felt someone behind me and turned to find a chin on each shoulder.

  Mage and Star cooed, “Us too, baby.”

  I elbowed them both in the stomachs while they both cracked up.

  Jade wrapped his arms around my waist from behind and nuzzled my hair. “Yeah, get out of here, Devon. We want to have fun with Jaylene!”

  If it was anyone other than Jade to say that, I think Devon might have been irked. Instead, he just shook his head and pulled his face into mock consternation.

  “You kids be safe, now. No throwing a party or any of that loud rock n’ roll rubbish while I’m gone.”

  “Loud rock n’ roll rubbish! Anyone else feeling what I’m feeling?” Jade was hopping back and forth again.

  Mage and I looked at each other with big eyes and shouted, “ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL! ! !”

  Star started singing in his best Joey Ramone impression. Jade grabbed his guitar and started playing the riff. Mage and I started moshing and dancing around. Devon watched all of this with his bemused expression. I caught his eye before he walked out.

  “Love you,” I mouthed to him and he smiled and headed out the back door.

  Chapter Fifteen

  We finished the song and Jade had the brilliant idea that we should watch this classic cult movie. Star and I made popcorn, still dancing and singing downstairs in the kitchen. We ran back upstairs just as Mage was turning on the film and we all collapsed on the couch together. After the heavy day we’d just had, having some silly guy time sounded like heaven!

  We got as far as Eaglebauer Enterprises in the boys’ bathroom when Mage hit pause on the remote and the guys all turned on me. He mustered up all the seriousness he could. “Ok. I don’t want this to be weird or anything, but I have to know that you are a good match for our boy.”

  My face must have turned as red as it felt.

  Star jumped in for the save. “Dude, there are better ways to go about this, you know. I don’t think a tarot reading is going to really matter. They’re in deep, man.”

  I felt like someone had turned a giant hot spotlight on me. I was even sweating a little.

  Jade, who was sitting on my right between he and Mage just shook his head and threw out his hands. “Guys, why don’t we just do Twenty Questions?” He turned and looked at me. “Are you up to the challenge?”

  I blinked. Really? “I guess. You guys can ask me anything you want and I’ll answer if I can. I’m not spilling national secrets though. They told me they’d kill me if I did and even Devon isn’t worth that.” Deadpanning outrageous statements had saved me from embarrassing moments before. I was counting on it to work now.

  “Do you really? Know like secret stuff?” Jade was incredibly gullible.

  I can’t believe after all they’d been through he hadn’t been broken of that habit. “Jade, I am totally kidding. How would I possibly know any national secrets?”

  He frowned at me and then got that recognition look on his face. “How should I know? I get it. You like to tease. Ok, I’m going first since he’s my cousin. Here goes...are you currently involved in a sexual relationship with anyone other than Devon?”

  I balked. “Boy, you don’t mess around! You do make assumptions, though. No, I am currently not in a ‘sexual relationship’ with anyone. At least not one that actually involves intercours
e.”

  He looked thoroughly confused. I glanced at Star to my left and Mage. They both looked just as confused.

  “What? We haven’t had sex yet, ok? Do I have to give you specifics?” I was a little flustered. I didn’t mind being honest with them, but I wasn’t going to give them details.

  Star spoke first. “Sorry, Jaylene. We’re being rude. I guess we just assumed, like you said.”

  I shook my head. “Can’t you guys even imagine two people spending time behind closed doors without penetration?”

  They giggled.

  “I guess not,” Mage answered. “At least no one we know. Look, it’s none of our business really, but why haven’t you?”

  I laughed. “Wow, invasive much? We haven’t because, well, I haven’t, like ever, and Devon didn’t want it to happen while others might be listening?”

  They looked shocked.

  “You mean...you’ve never...Oh shit.” Jade held his hand to his mouth. “Oh my God. We are such assholes. I’m sorry, Jaylene. I can’t believe I even brought this up.”

  I shook my head. “Guys, it’s not the first time someone has made assumptions about me. Don’t worry about it.”

  Mage frowned. “But why haven’t you? I mean, you’re fucking gorgeous! Guys had to have been waiting in line to...” He stopped before he got any more uncouth.

  “Bang me? Sadly no, Mage. I’ve dated, but never found anyone who didn’t make assumptions about me and what I would be into.” I didn’t mean for it to sound like I was upset but they all scooted closer.

  Star put his hand on my knee. “This was a bad idea. I’m so sorry Jaylene. You don’t have to say anything.”

  I shook my head. “No, guys. I really don’t mind talking to you about this. Really. If anything, maybe it will clear up any other assumptions you have about me, or other women for that matter.”

  They all looked down sheepishly, probably afraid to open their mouths again.

  I confronted them, “Tell me why you assumed I’d had sex before.” They all looked at each other but no one spoke. I blew my bangs out of my face and Star snickered. “Oh, come on! I’ve worked with guys for years now and not one of them has ever held back on my account. Tell me!”