by Rian Harper
Chapter 2
Qualms
It was just past 2:15 p.m. and Mrs. Hall had been cooing at the house since the top of the hour when we stepped foot in it.
“Nate, this is spectacular. It’s just what we wanted.”
While I was glad she was pleased, for the commission it made me, I wanted to throw my hands over my ears and run out screaming “La-la-la-la!”, until I stumbled onto the street and an eighteen-wheeler hit me. It was more than I could stand to hear her high-pitched grating voice. I needed to step away and compose myself, or I really would act out the fantasy I just had. I pretended that I was receiving a phone call.
I placed my phone to my ear without it vibrating and said
“Hello?” I looked back at Mrs. Hall as I was walking outside, and she whispered that she was going to look at the kitchen again until I got back. When I got outside, I took in a deep breath of cool autumn air and exhaled it slowly. This seemed to clear my head from the day’s activities. I stood there in the front yard, with the phone still to my ear, keeping up appearances for Mrs. Hall in case she was looking out of the window. Everything I had been anxious about all day disappeared in that one serene moment. Every thought I had was pushed out of my head, as though the breaths of fresh air themselves carried them away. Every thought but one…her.
It was becoming ridiculous now. No matter where I was or what I was doing, in the back of my mind, whether consciously or not, she was there. Her eyes, her lips, her hair, her cheek bones, her button nose, her beauty-they taunted me relentlessly as a goddess’ would any mortal. I knew her face like no other. I had studied each curve, each line, and each hue. She was like a priceless painting that never ceased to take your breath away, no matter how many times you laid eyes upon it. She was a masterpiece.
A slightly annoying pain radiating from my right ear alerted me to the fact that I was still pretending to be wrapped up in a highly-important nonexistent conversation. I pulled my phone away from my face to look at the time-2:26 p.m. I had been on the front lawn for over ten minutes fantasizing about Emma, forgetting Mrs. Hall’s presence completely. I shifted toward the house, ready to head back in, when the front door opened. Mrs. Hall came out, appearing not to have noticed that I was ever absent for any amount of time. She picked up the one-sided conversation she was having with me right before the farce phone call interrupted her without skipping a beat.
“It’s everything I dreamed it would be, Nate. I can’t believe it. I think I’m finished looking at it now. Why don’t we go back to your office and get the paperwork started?”
She looked giddier than a mosquito in a blood bank. I, however, was holding in the chagrin I felt over spending even more time with her.
The noises coming from next door to my office were deafening. The construction on Emma and Everett’s electronics shop had been constant since it started two weeks prior. The hammering, sawing, drilling, and general banging of industriousness seeped through my office wall as if it were cellophane instead of drywall. How much longer would this go on? I had work to do and thinking over the ruckus was impossible. Thinking over the mind-numbing migraine I attained was also impossible.
With each sound the tools made next door my head throbbed. What made the situation even that much more unbearable was Mrs. Hall’s increasing volume, and thus shrillness of her voice as we were going over the closing documents. I sat at my large desk, Mrs. Hall on the opposite side shrieking something towards me, thinking why people couldn’t voluntarily spontaneously combust. Oh, that’s right—it wouldn’t be spontaneous. Still, the option would be nice. Anything to escape the hell I was in. Where was that eighteen-wheeler I was fantasizing about earlier at the house?
As I rehashed that thought, a semi-truck whooshed by my office window. Rats. I was daydreaming and missed my opportunity.
“Nate?! Nate?! Are you okay, Nate?!”
I reluctantly snapped out of my stupor when I heard Mrs. Hall yelling my name.
“Sorry Mrs. Hall. It’s really hard to concentrate with all of the noise next door.” I spoke with normal volume.
Suddenly, the noise coming from next door halted.
“Finally, some quiet. How can you stand to come here every day with all of that noise? I already have a headache, and we haven’t been here but fifteen minutes. Is there anywhere else we can do this?”
“I guess we can go to the diner down the street. It’s not far. It should be pretty empty this time of day.”
“That sounds good. I could use some iced tea anyway.” Mrs. Hall stood up, collected her things and started for the door.
“Why don’t you go ahead of me and order yourself some tea. I’m going to see if Em…uh…the owner is next door. I want to talk with her about the noise. I’ll be right behind you.”
Oddly, Mrs. Hall just nodded without a word and went to her car.
I gathered the papers I needed to take with me, my phone, and my keys. I then had to stop and gather my courage. Emma and I had not spoken since two weeks prior when she mistakenly thought I was asking her on a date. We managed to avoid each other since that awkward moment on the sidewalk. I did, however, want to talk to her about the excessive noise that was constantly emanating from the shop. Certainly it couldn’t go on for much longer. They had to be nearly complete with the renovations. I would have been able to assess that for myself had it not been for the panels of paper now covering the windows, blocking out any passing spectators. I could not help but think maybe I was the reason Emma and Everett did that. I had the tendency to absent-mindedly stare at things when I was in deep thought. Perhaps I made them uncomfortable. Regardless the reason, I still had to muster up some semblance of composure in order to approach and carry on a somewhat coherent conversation with Emma. It seemed impossible. I could already hear the stuttering in my thoughts.
As ready as I was ever going to be, I sucked in a final stabilizing breath and rapped lightly on the door of the shop. It took less than thirty seconds for someone to reach the door. I saw it open as if it were happening in slow motion. I suddenly realized that I was not ready to speak to her yet. I stood there wondering where the breath I took escaped to, as it seemed as if I needed to gasp for another. The anxiety came crushing down on me like a violent waterfall, pushing me further and further down with no hope of recovery. The door opened completely and fear flooded through me. It was Everett.
“Hi, Nate.” He said pleasantly.
This I was not expecting. In addition to avoiding Emma the past couple of weeks, I also wanted nothing to do with Everett. Our first encounter left me shaken. The look I saw in his eyes that day immediately began to haunt me once more. It was quickly overtaken by the calm and poise he was now portraying. As I looked into his face, I could see no hint of the madness I saw in him earlier. He was serene. Cool blue pools of still waters replaced the intensely terrifying lightning bolts I remembered his eyes being. His soft, crooked smile showed off dazzlingly white and perfect teeth. I had not noticed before, but he was just as beautiful as his sister. I took a hit on my confidence as I started to notice his rippling muscles through his t-shirt and his fashion-model facial features.
“I’m glad you came over. I wanted to apologize for being on edge the last time we saw each other. I’ve actually been meaning to step next door and properly introduce myself, but every time I would go over, you weren’t there.
“I’m Everett Marshall. You have already met my sister, Emma.” He thrust his large hand in front of me waiting for me to grasp and shake it.
I transferred the papers I was holding in my right hand to my left, clumsily tucked my phone and keys away in the pockets of my corduroys, and reached out to meet his hand.
“It’s nice to meet…” I started to speak, but stopped when I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body when his larger hand engulfed mine. I stood there, almost paralyzed as the current spread through me like a wildfire. I recollected the first time I shook Emma’s hand. The same thing happened, only this shock
was more aggressive. It was painful.
“Ow!” I withdrew my hand quickly, as soon as the pain registered.
“Are you okay?” Everett said this with a little more aplomb than I would have liked. It almost sounded like he expected that I would get hurt by shaking his hand.
“Yeah, you just shocked me, that’s all. Apparently I attract static electricity.” I examined my hand as I spoke, half expecting to see burns on it.
“Oh, okay. Sorry about that.”
“No problem. But, if my arm falls off later, I’m sending you a bill.”
Everett snickered at my off-handed jest.
“Everett, I wanted to ask you exactly when your renovations will be complete. It’s pretty noisy in my office these days.”
“Oh, sorry about all the racket. We should be wrapping up today.”
“Oh, great. I should bill you for all of the ibuprofen I’ve had to take too.” This comment garnered another snicker.
“It was very nice to officially meet you, Everett, but I have a client waiting on me. I would shake your hand, but I’m still recuperating from the first time. See you around.”
“Later, Nate.”
I turned around and started walking to my car. I pulled my phone out of my right front pocket to look at the time—in my rush to leave the house that morning, I forgot to grab my watch—it was 3:12 p.m. Just as I was about to return the phone to my pocket and retrieve my keys from the other, it started ringing. I looked at the caller ID. It was Mrs. Hall. I decided to ignore it since I would be at the diner in two minutes anyway. No use subjecting myself to any extra time listening to that woman’s voice, unless it was necessary. In this instance, it was not. It would only take about twenty more minutes to finish the paperwork, and then I was going home. Home-quiet-home.
It was 4:30 p.m., and I was exhausted. I climbed into my car, selected a soothing selection of jazz to listen to, and headed to the house. Tomorrow was Saturday, and I was sleeping in. I never looked forward to the weekends. They were just a gigantic reminder of how alone I was. No friends. No family. I usually spent my weekends watching old movies and painting when inspired. Occasionally, I would get a whim to drive to Hartford and go shopping. My life was simple. Mundane and predictable.
As I was contemplating my mediocrity, something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I slowed the car down to a roll and gazed out across a grassy knoll littered with a few autumn-colored trees. There was something coal-black moving a ways away from where I was. I narrowed my eyes to try honing in on what it was, but couldn’t quite make it out. I stopped the car entirely when the notion of this strange figure being the mysterious animal reported popped into my mind. I could not tell from where I was exactly what animal it could be, but I knew one thing for certain: it was walking toward me.
Could this be the elusive animal that the newscaster hinted to in the shocking mauling of a young woman? It was big and noticeably out of place. It was only a couple hundred yards away from where my vehicle sat. A feeling of uneasiness fled through me as I contemplated what might happen to me if I continued to cultivate my curiosity. I quickly came to and hurriedly pushed the gas pedal. The car jolted forward in the direction of home. Fortunately, I didn’t live too far away. Just around the corner was my haven. Unfortunately, the beast could easily follow me if the urge overtook him to do so.
I pulled into my paved driveway, collected my things, and bolted up the steps leading up to the front door. Nervousness hindered me from quickly unlocking the door. I struggled for a few seconds before I got both the knob and deadbolt unlocked and the door open. I placed what I was carrying on the console table that sat in the foyer, and turned to make sure my locks were engaged. The relief I felt of being safely behind a locked door was short-lived as I noticed a shadow pass in front of the blue stained glass that lay on either side of the front door. A huge lump of nothingness stuck in my throat like peanut butter I couldn’t swallow. It followed me. I was being stalked by an unknown thing. What happened next, I didn’t expect. It spoke.
“Hello?! Hello?! Can you help me?!” The voice was gruff and certainly in distress. Clearly, it wasn’t a man-killing beast. Still, why was there a stranger at my door, and what was wrong with him? I swallowed hard, but the fear remained lodged in my throat. I unlocked the knob and deadbolt, but kept the chain securely latched, just in case I was dealing with a crazy person. I slowly turned the knob and inched the door open. “Hi. Do you have any clothes I can borrow?”
Not only was there a strange man standing at my doorstep…he was a naked strange man.
Chapter 3
Cade
“Uh, yeah. Sure. Come on in.” I couldn’t help but feel sorry for this unclothed man on my porch. I unlatched the chain and motioned for the unfortunate stranger to step inside. As he walked passed me, I noticed he was filthy, as if he’d been without clothing for quite a while. He was tall, about my height, with pale skin and dark brown hair. He made a wide berth around me and stood in the middle of the foyer, keeping his eyes down, and his hands over his crotch the entire time.
As I closed the door, I asked, “Would you like to take a shower while I find you some clothes?”
“Just some clothes will be fine.” He spoke so low, I could barely make out what he said.
“But you look cold.” I noticed him shiver a little. “A hot shower will do you some good.”
“I really don’t want to impose too much.” This time he spoke was the first I’d noticed his slight European accent.
“Don’t worry about it. You’re welcome to anything you need. Really.”
“Well, I thank you for that.”
“Let me show you where the bathroom is.”
I started walking down the hall toward the guest bathroom, and he followed behind. I opened the door and turned on the light.
“I’m going to get you some clothes while you’re showering. The towels are in the cabinet above the toilet, and there’s soap and shampoo on the shelf. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I was turning to walk back to my room, when I realized he didn’t know my name, nor I his. I quickly pivoted back and said, “I’m Nate, by the way.”
“Cade.” He finally looked up and met my eyes when he spoke. He had brilliant emerald green eyes with thick, dark eyelashes. The kind only seen in mascara commercials.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cade. Take as much time as you need.”
“Thanks.”
I closed the door and walked down the hall a little further to my bedroom to find him some clothes. Before I reached my bedroom door, I heard the shower spurt to life and the sound of the shower curtain rings being pulled across the rod. I felt unusually good about myself for helping a stranger in need.
As the feeling of being a do-gooder sank in, I began considering more in-depth about the situation. What was I thinking? Sure, I was doing something hospitable for someone else, but I didn’t know this man from Adam. The extent of my knowledge was his name and that he was awkwardly nude. He could be a sadistic serial killer for all I knew. What was I supposed to have done, though? Throw some clothes at him through a cracked door and tell him to get lost? He was not some feral dog that wandered up begging for food. He was a human being. I certainly didn’t get any creepy vibe from him. The mystery of his lack of clothing still remained, however. Unclad men don’t just randomly show up at your door every day; never, in fact. It was bizarre, I had to admit. I decided to question him further after he’d cleaned himself up and tried on the clothes.
I opened my closet doors and picked out an older pair of blue jeans and a long-sleeved black t-shirt I had never worn. I folded the clothes neatly as I took them off the hanger and placed them on my bed. I looked down at my selection and realized there were too few garments there. It then occurred to me…underwear. I opened my armoire and pulled out some new boxer briefs and socks, then laid them on top of the other clothes. Next, I picked up some hiking boots out of the bottom of my closet that I’d only worn once, hoping the
y would fit Cade. I collected the clothes and walked back down to the bathroom. The shower was still running, so I knocked and let myself in. The room was filled with thick steam.
“I’m going to leave the clothes on the counter. I have some boots here. They’re size 12. I hope they fit.” The shower stopped and I heard the curtain slide open. Instinctively, I looked over, like anyone would look at any sudden noise in the room. Cade stood in the shower with his head down, reaming the water out of his shaggy hair. He had the body of a Greek sculpture. Any sense of discretion about his nakedness he had before was gone now. I quickly averted my eyes to the cabinet that held the towels and handed him one with my head turned away.
“Thanks. They’re perfect.” His Irish accent was obvious now.
“What’s that?”
“The shoes, you said they’re size 12. That’s just the size I wear.”
“Oh, good. I hope the clothes fit too. I’m going to step out while you get dressed. I’ll be in the great room down the hall. Just take a right out of the bathroom.”
“Thanks.” He replied with appreciation in his voice.
I turned to leave and quickly closed the door behind me. When I reached the great room, I glanced at the huge clock that hung above the mantle—5:25. It was later than I thought. I paced around the room for a few more minutes before Cade emerged from the bathroom fully clothed.
“I really appreciate this, um…”
“Nate.”
“Right, Nate. You said that. I’m glad you were home. It was getting late and cold, and I’d already been to the house up the road, but no one was at home.”
“Yeah. I don’t mean to pry, but why were you naked?”