“Huh? Oh, nothing,” I rushed my words.
“Are you sure? I know Valerie called you on the phone earlier,” he pointed out, one eyebrow creeping upward. “You didn’t happen to get butthurt over what she said again, did you?”
I shook my head. “No, dude. I’ve just been watching golf and eating my chicken pot pie,” I said, gesturing toward the plate of half-eaten food growing colder by the second.
“Huh.” He examined the plate’s contents, poking at a chunk of meat with my fork. “I’d have thought you’d have tried some sort of funny stunt by now. The way the Eckertys pulled out of here, I assumed they’d stashed you in the back of their Caravan.”
Too bad I never asked Mrs. Eckerty to do that for me. Now I wanted to kick myself for not jumping at the chance to run when it had presented itself to me.
“You told me not to go near them,” I said. A thought occurred to me and I arched my lips downward. “Did you just doubt me?”
Keith’s eyes grew wide, the air he exhaled still reeking of smoke. As he drew his lips into a smile, I could see the yellow stains on his teeth.
Oh, God. How am I going to avoid kissing that?
“I guess I did, Tyler. Glad to know you respect me enough to listen to me.”
He moved around the coffee table and collapsed onto the sofa next to me, throwing an arm around the back of my neck. He drew me deeper into his frame. I fought the urge to clobber him in the jaw.
“Do you really have to smell like burnt tar?” I said, somehow able to unwind his arm and slide to the furthest edge of the couch.
A glimmer in his eyes suggested that my words stung him.
“That’s a little rude, don’t you think?” he said, quickly catching himself.
I shook my head. “Dude, do me a favor and go take a shower. I can’t even be around you when you come in smelling like that.”
Just as I went to stand he snatched my wrist and twisted my arm hard, almost to the point of breaking my bones. I winced at the throbbing, still tugging on my limb for him to let go. He didn’t.
“You’d better play nicely, Tyler.”
“Seriously, let go of me,” I demanded, a growl punctuating my frustration with him.
Evidently, he hadn’t expected me to fight back, as he fell back in his seat.
“I just want to cuddle with you. Is that too much to ask for from the man I love?”
“Look, you need a shower. Can you just go take one, and I promise you we’ll talk later, all right?”
He made a slight pout with his lips, but didn’t offer another protest. Instead, he slid off the couch to wander off. Moments later, the door to his bedroom slammed shut.
I returned to golf and finished up what remained of the chicken pot pie.
######
Keith’s Apartment,
Monument, Colorado,
1:45 pm,
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Two showers later, Keith and I were cleaned up and dressed, with nowhere to go, or so I thought. Just as I got through washing off the last of the pie crud from the dish I’d used, a knock sounded on the front door. I looked up but saw Keith already springing forth. The slight bounce in his step hinted at the possibility that he’d forgotten our earlier conversation.
At least I hope he’s forgotten about it.
“Why, hello there, Sissy! How are you doing?” he said with unbridled enthusiasm the second he opened the door.
Sissy stepped into the house, chewing bubble gum loudly and offering Keith a brief embrace.
“I’m good. Sorry Regina couldn’t make it. Apparently, Valerie needed her help with something,” Sissy said.
“And you didn’t go with them?” Keith asked. I couldn’t tell whether he was genuinely shocked to learn of this, or if he merely slapped both of his hands against his cheeks in an exaggeration.
Sissy cast a side glance my way before answering him.
“Valerie told me what happened the other night. She said someone was giving you attitude.” Her lips turned down in a scowl that I barely caught.
“Well, it was very thoughtful of Valerie to fill you in on my little tiff,” Keith said, drawing her in for another hug. “I can’t tell you how hard it’s been having Tyler out of the hospital. Sometimes I feel it would’ve been easier to keep him in there.”
“That costs too much and you know it,” she said, turning up the rage in her glare.
Keith let loose with another sigh. “Always the faithful advisor, Sissy. What would I ever do without you and Regina?”
“You’ll never have to worry about that.” Sissy prodded her chest with her thumb. “I’ll make sure of that.”
She crossed the room and sat down next to me on the couch. A raspberry scent carried over from her and I bit my lip to keep from gagging.
“I’m going to make sure no one gives you any grief, Keith,” she said. “If you have any errands to run, now’s the time to get them done.”
“Well, the banks have already closed for the day,” he grumbled. “I’m going to have to wait until Monday to take care of a little money matter.”
“Can’t you do it online?” Missy asked.
“I have to go in and talk to a representative down at the bank,” Keith said with a sigh. “And no, I can’t just talk to them over the phone about this.”
“What about a credit union? I hear there’s one that’s open until three down the street, if you hurry,” she said.
Keith shook his head at that. “Tyler, here, says credit unions are the tool of the devil and we should only put our money in legitimate banking institutions.” He smirked at this. “Isn’t that right, Tyler?”
I threw my arms up in defeat. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.”
He nodded his approval at me before crossing over to my side of the couch. “Hey, Tyler, do you mind if I sit here next to Sissy? She’s more my friend than she is yours.”
My tongue made a slight clicking sound against the roof of my mouth as I considered his request.
“Whatever,” I said.
Rising to my feet, I went right into the kitchen in the hopes of finding something to eat. Unfortunately, there was no wall blocking their view of me, or mine of them.
“Smart man,” Sissy said.
I held my hand against the refrigerator door, telling myself not to offer her a response. She was just Keith’s friend. She honestly didn’t know what went on behind closed doors, aside from whatever Keith and Faux-Mom told her.
“Hey, while you’re over there, Tyler, you mind cooking up a meal for me and Sissy?”
“Only if he has soy,” she said. “I’m not going to eat any of that real meat crap. I’ve decided to give it all up.”
“Really?” I asked, my tone sincere. “Since when?”
She giggled, and offered a slight shrug.
“Only since yesterday.”
“I don’t suppose that means you’ve given up yogurt and cheese, too,” I said.
She dipped her head again. “Looks like your man’s finally wising up, Keith. Too bad he didn’t offer me the couch to start with when I first got here.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to talk to him about that,” Keith said, flinging invisible knives at me with his gaze.
Finding nothing of substantial value in the fridge that Sissy would willingly eat, I went into the pantry and found a jar of tomato sauce and a box of rotini noodles. I set to work at once, twisting the stove knob to the high setting. The burner warmed up while I got out a large pot for the noodles.
“What’s going on?” Keith hollered my way as I shoved dishes out of my way, causing them to clang against one another.
“Nothing,” I dutifully answered.
A sudden roar came from the living room. The sound of a sportscaster carried through the air and I realized that one of them had changed the station to basketball. I sighed. At least maybe the game on TV would keep them from heckling me for a while.
“Oh, come on! How was that not a foul?” Keith roared.
“That referee needs to be fired,” said Sissy.
“Who’s winning?” I asked.
And suddenly Sissy stood at the edge of the kitchen, the glare in her eyes venomous.
“Hey, I don’t recall me or Keith asking you to speak.”
I opened my mouth to apologize, a great mistake on my part. Sissy flew towards me fist-first. I barely had enough time to duck before her knuckles connected with me. A thud behind me indicated she hit the wall. She squealed in pain and I scurried off to the side, opening the refrigerator door to give me one last barrier from her.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked her. “Keith, do something!”
Keith came over, his arms crisscrossed over his chest.
“I don’t have to do a single thing,” he muttered just over Sissy’s whimpers.
“She just tried to punch me.”
Keith examined the slight dent in the wall where Sissy’s fist had found purchase, and then over to her clutching her injured hand with her healthy one.
“You’re the one who attacked her,” he said in a slow drawl after a moment. Then he crossed over to her side and held her in his arm, stroking her hair gently. “Are you okay, Sissy? I’m so sorry Tyler struck you.”
Sissy looked up at Keith and he wiped a tear from her eye.
“It was awful, Keith. I only wanted to make sure he fixed us a proper lunch. I didn’t think he was going to throw me against the wall like that.”
I just about sputtered at this. What the hell were these two smoking?
“I never laid a finger on you! You’re the one who threw a punch at me,” I protested.
“We’ll just see what the police have to say about that, won’t we?” Sissy glared at me again, her face a purple blemish. The knuckles involved in the plaster-bash looked about the same color.
“No, no,” Keith said, striking the idea down with a singular wave of his hand. “There’s no need to get the police involved. Those damn Eckertys already got to them. I called the local police to report that family for harassment, and the one cop who took five hours to get here told me I didn’t even have a case. Oh, I just know that bitch Mrs. Eckerty paid them off.”
“You’re insane,” I muttered under my breath. I looked up to see if he had heard me at all, but all his attention fell on Sissy.
“We should at least get you to the hospital to have you examined,” Keith said.
Sissy looked at him with a confused stare.
“I’m not going to the hospital. There’s no blood on my knuckles. I’m doing just fine. But you might want to consider ditching your worthless excuse for a partner before he drags you down to his level. He’s the sorriest excuse for a man I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen plenty of pitiful ones!”
I made no sudden move, and waited until Keith moved her out of the kitchen area without putting a bag of ice over her injury.
“Does she need an ice pack?” I asked, legitimately worried about her hand regardless of how those two felt about me.
Keith led her out of my sight for a second then doubled back around the corner, almost at a charging pace. He stopped just short of the threshold separating the kitchen from the dining room.
“Stay away from her,” he whispered to me, spraying me with spittle. “Haven’t you done enough damage already?”
I stood there with my jaw clenched, letting no other words slip between my lips. The tone of his voice underscored a guilty verdict.
“Once again, I asked you a question, Tyler,” he hissed. “Are you too stupid to answer?”
A growl massaged the lining of my throat. “I don’t have to take this,” I blurted out.
“Yes, you do,” Sissy said, charging right back at me as though she’d never been injured to begin with.
“I’ve done nothing wrong! The two of you are attacking me like I’m dog crap on the devil’s boots. What the hell is up with that?”
Keith sneered at me, his yellow-stained teeth gnashing against each other as his jaw rolled from side to side.
“You’re a loser, Tyler. If I didn’t love you so, I’d kick you to the curb.”
“You’re pathetic, Keith,” I said to him, sporting a dumber-than-fuck grin for them both to see. “You can’t control me. I’m not your damn puppet. The Tyler you married died in a car accident weeks ago. Somehow, you kidnapped me from Seattle, and you’re doing your damnedest to make sure I don’t ruin your psychotic fantasy.”
I bared my teeth at him, my fingers wriggling in sweet anticipation of wrapping themselves around his neck. But doing that would do me no good. It would only ensure I never made it back to Seattle.
“Austin! Wake up!” Tony’s voice startled me, leaving me wide open for a fist to my jaw from Keith. Blood and teeth filled the air as I crashed against the wall behind me. Fire raged inside my skull.
“Tony?” I grumbled.
“No, I’m Keith, dumbass! The man you eloped with two years ago this coming Tuesday. How could you not remember that, Tyler?”
The way he kept saying Tyler’s name made me wonder whether he had tried to subdue me through a means of repetition. Maybe he thought if I kept hearing the name over and over, it might make me finally accept his reality as the truth.
“Austin, you’re bleeding!” Tony called at me again. I didn’t see him in Keith’s place, but his voice was near me. “What the hell, dude? You’ve been studying too hard again or something?”
I rolled over on my side just in time to take a booted foot to the face. More agony washed over me, dulling out some of Tony’s words. But a spark lit up in my heart. Tony was close. I could almost feel his presence. If I could only figure out how to reach out to him, it might save me from Keith and Sissy.
“Loser. Stay down. You want me and Valerie to have you committed?” Keith said.
Almost at the same time, Tony said, “What’s your mother’s name again? Damn it, dude. Your phone is old as fuck. Come on, contact list! Oh, there it is. Anne Teph. That’s it, right? Oh, I hope it’s her.”
Just dial, Tony, I thought as another thrust from Keith’s foot came at me. This time, his toe didn’t strike my eye. I felt no pain at all, no physicality. Whatever had first brought me to Colorado a few days ago, it now seemed to draw me back home. I focused on Tony, willing myself out of Keith’s demented fantasy. All I wanted to do was to go home. As long as Tony remained where he was for a few more moments, I might just make it there. I had to push myself. Tony’s voice grew stronger with every passing second.
Then a brilliant flash of light filled the air. I heard Keith roar in rage and Sissy scream in fear, but then nothing else from either of them.
The only thing to return with me was the pain I felt the instant I regained my body. Only, the pain seemed centered elsewhere, still beneath my skull but not right where Keith had booted me minutes earlier.
“Tony?” I groaned, my voice barely able to produce the word.
“Austin?” The hulking mass of Tony Mason towered over me. I lay on my back on the shag flooring of my dorm room once more, my workstation completely disheveled, my laptop and half of my textbooks lying on the floor next to me. “Thank God you woke up! The ambulance is on its way. I tried to leave a message with your mom, but it went straight to voice mail. We need to get you to a hospital as soon as possible.”
At once, thoughts of The University of Colorado in Denver swam in my mind. I didn’t want to go to the hospital, not after Keith had caused me so much pain. But at least now I wasn’t going to have to see him or his friends again.
“I’ll try to hang on,” I said, my vision fading in and out. I tried to concentrate on something tangible, my laptop. Slowly I spun it around and got a glimpse of the screen.
“Stay still, dude. I’ve got you,” he said, picking up the computer and placing it back on the table where I’d been studying a whole other lifetime ago.
I rolled my head back and looked up at the sky. Tony came into view, his hairy head blocking the ceiling light abov
e us.
“You’re going to be okay, dude. Just stay awake and stay with me. Help is on the way.”
I tried to believe him, really, I did. Yet all I could think about was what I had seen a moment ago, when the screen to my laptop faced me. Four words had popped up in big, bold letters:
You can’t escape me.
CHAPTER 9
IN THE HOSPITAL AGAIN
Harborview Medical Center,
Seattle, Washington
Time and Date Unknown
I awoke to find myself in a hospital bed again. Exhaustion tapped into every muscle, refusing to let me do little more than wiggle my fingers. There was a TV in my room and it was on. I waited to see what other dire Denver news was about to be shared with me.
Then I opened my eyes wider and found that the station had Seattle call letters. A glance outside my window didn’t reveal the Space Needle, but I did catch Columbia Tower in the distance.
For now, it seems I’m safe.
Still, thoughts of what I’d read on my laptop screen flooded my mind. I chafed my arms even though the hospital air felt rather warm. I had half a mind to ask the nurse’s station not to admit any visitors for me for at least a week, assuming I stayed that long. I couldn’t run the risk that Keith somehow made it all the way to Seattle just to drag my ass back to his apartment.
Then again, how was it that I’d escaped from there to begin with? Somehow, I’d wound up back in my dorm room. I had no idea how much time had passed since I’d somehow slipped away from Keith’s kitchen.
You haven’t left my kitchen at all, idiot. Keith’s words whispered in my mind.
“You can’t get me now, Keith,” I muttered under my breath, watching for anyone near my open door who might’ve overheard me.
Keith cracked a dark laugh. You can’t get rid of me that easily. I’m the best thing to ever happen to you. Without me, you’re nothing.
Footsteps clapped against the tiled floor in the hall just beyond my room. A second later, in walked a familiar sight, my real mom, Anne Teph-Smith. She wore her standard gray business suit, but her hair was unkempt, strands falling into her eyes as she walked toward me. I offered her as strong a smile as I could muster under the circumstances.
Life Flashes Page 6