Midnight House, page 23
“I think so,” Daniel said. “Looks like fire damage.” Daniel opened his door. Colby did the same.
Colby joined Daniel, and the two stood across from the fire-damaged remains of Austin’s home. Weathered, yellow police tape was wrapped around what remained of the house.
That’s when Colby saw it: the chainsaw-destroyed front door. The piece he could see was propped against one of the remaining walls. In his head, he could hear the screech of the chainsaw as it ripped through the door as he screamed out for Daniel.
He felt sweat under his arms and on his forehead. His heart beat faster in his chest.
“They’re not here,” Colby said out loud.
“What?” Daniel asked.
“They’re not here. They’re not here,” Colby repeated.
Daniel took his hand, and they walked across the deserted gravel road toward the abandoned remains.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT
Daniel was amazed at how much was left of the house. He, too, noticed the chainsawed door. As they approached and walked up the driveway, the collapsed garage door exposed the charred remains of the couch he woke up on after being knocked out in the clearing.
Even the fridge that he and Colby had pushed in front of the door leading to the garage was still where they had dropped it.
“Let’s stay outside,” Daniel said. “I don’t want the house to collapse on us.”
“Good idea,” Colby said.
They walked around the side of the house, and Daniel spied the blackened frame of the shed he was imprisoned in. The tetherball pole inside the burned structure was still intact but rusty from weather and age.
Daniel took a step toward the shed, but Colby froze in place. Daniel turned to him.
“If this is too much for you...”
“No,” Colby said. “I have to do this.” He walked past Daniel and walked toward the shed.
Daniel followed.
“This is where Austin first took me,” Colby began, pointing at what remained of the shed. Daniel listened, a lump in his throat. “He covered my mouth with silver tape and put me in here.
“Then Austin put me in the tunnel,” Colby continued. “He made me take off my clothes. He burned me with cigarettes. He told me he was going to kill me and my dad.”
Just hearing it made Daniel want to have a shot at Austin and James right now, right here. His fingers dug into the palms on both hands.
“Austin said he had another use for me, but James told him it was going too far,” Colby said. “But that didn’t stop Austin from telling me what he wanted to do to me.”
Daniel felt a growl rising in his throat. Just hearing the basics and not the details was enough for Daniel.
Colby turned to Daniel. “They were gonna take me to another place,” Colby said.
The news stunned Daniel, who knelt down to Colby’s eye level. “Take you where?”
He exhaled. “Austin said he had another place in Cottonwood. He was going to move me there so James would never know what he did to me. He showed me pictures of what he wanted to do. I still see them when I close my eyes at night.”
This was news to Daniel. Another place? Daniel thought. Jesus.
“But then you came and saved me,” Colby said, tears welling in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry about what they put you through,” Daniel said. “I hope coming here helps you.”
“What about you?” Colby asked.
“Um,” Daniel stood and looked around. He recounted his story from the moment he and Kyle decided to play one more round of hide-and-seek, to when he and Colby finally escaped and ran into Kyle.
Daniel looked out beyond the rusted chain-link fence to the burned-out woods beyond it. “Let’s go one more place,” Daniel said.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND NINE
Daniel walked cautiously down the trail that led to the location of his final showdown with Austin. Without the smoke and orange glow of flames, it was a serene place to walk. He was unsure if any more of Austin’s traps were still in the trees, so he had Colby follow close behind for safety.
Twenty feet in front of him, he saw the pile of bricks. It was now overgrown with weeds, but he knew it was the pile he had dropped on Austin as Austin strangled and beat Daniel’s head into the ground.
He looked up and saw no other discernible traps and took a step forward. As he neared the area, he thought he could see dried blood on one of the bricks, but it could have been moss or dirt.
Daniel’s foot caught in a pile of leaves, and he kicked something out from under it.
He heard Colby’s breath quicken. Daniel’s heart raced.
On the ground in front of them was Austin’s black baseball cap.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND TEN
Daniel was unsure about how to handle the situation. It was clear that Colby was having some sort of panic attack, and Daniel knew he wasn’t far behind.
“Maybe we should go,” Daniel said.
“No,” Colby said boldly, staring at Austin’s hat. “We need to stay and finish this.”
Daniel couldn’t help but notice a change in Colby’s voice. There was an odd air of confidence and anger bubbling under the surface.
He turned his head and saw Colby with a piece of wood in his hand. A weathered piece of wood with two nails sticking out of one end.
Colby advanced forward, weapon at the ready, and screaming, attacked Austin’s hat with a level of aggression and violence that at once disturbed and satisfied Daniel deep down.
“You piece of shit!” Colby yelled out as he stabbed the hat over and over with the nails. “I’m glad you died, and I hope you burn in Hell, asshole!” Colby stopped pummeling the hat, threw the piece of wood away, dropped to his knees, and wailed up to the canopy of branches above him.
Daniel moved toward him, and without a word, Colby turned and ran into Daniel’s arms, crying and screaming into his chest. Daniel felt the hot sting of tears burn his eyes as they streamed down his face, dripping onto the top of Colby’s head.
Daniel could still see Austin’s hat. Sneering through the tears, he flipped it off with both hands, then embraced Colby once more.
If this was closure, Daniel thought, this kid just had a big breakthrough.
Daniel hoped, for his mental health, it would help him as well.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND ELEVEN
Daniel drove in silence, occasionally looking over at Colby to make sure he was okay. Daniel was still trembling from what had just taken place behind Austin’s house and was sure Colby felt the same way both physically and emotionally.
“Don’t tell my dad I used bad words,” Colby said, breaking the silence as he looked out the passenger-side window.
Daniel smiled, chuckled to himself. “Kid,” Daniel said, “after what you went through, you have my permission to use any words you want!”
Colby laughed. Daniel joined him.
As the laughter slowed, Daniel could see Colby look his direction. “Do you think the nightmares will stop now?”
“I hope so,” Daniel said. “I hope so.”
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND TWELVE
Finally, safe at home, Kyle stepped out of the shower. His bruised backside still throbbing along with his toe. Was what had happened in the locker room enough to make him quit basketball for good? Who could he tell? Who would believe him?
Was Luke involved?
As he entered his bedroom and started to get dressed, his phone dinged. He picked it up.
A text from Luke: My house tomorrow at 3.
Kyle’s heart raced. Was it possible that Luke had no clue what had just happened to him? Maybe it was the other Varsity players who had been at Midnight House who were taking advantage of Luke’s absence to inflict more damage on Kyle while they had the chance.
There was only one way to find out.
Luke’s text was a definite sign that Kyle could fix the damage he had caused and get things back to normal.
Kyle texted back: OK
Kyle knew this was his last chance to make things right.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEEN
Luke sat in his parents’ living room, drinking beers with Tyler when he sent the text to Kyle.
As he waited for a reply, which he knew would come soon, he and Tyler watched a video sent to Luke of Kyle’s attack in the locker room.
It was brutal, but good stuff.
Kyle texted back: OK
Tyler’s plan had worked. He had told Luke to give Kyle the cold shoulder over the weekend. Then after the shower attack Monday, reach out and invite him over Tuesday. At that point, Kyle will be so desperate for a response, he’ll do whatever’s asked of him.
It had worked.
He showed Tyler the text, who just looked over and nodded, then went back to watching the locker room attack for a second time.
For better or worse, his older brother knew how to read people. How to get under their skin. How to control them.
Luke took another drink sip of his beer and started watching the locker room attack again.
TUESDAY
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN
Daniel couldn’t believe it. It was Tuesday morning, and he had slept through the whole night. When his alarm went off, he was surprised to reach over and turn it off. While he was sure the nightmares weren’t gone, he was convinced that visiting the house with Colby had helped move the process of closure along.
But there was one more thing that he wanted to do after school today. Something he was sure would help end the nightmares once and for all.
At least, that’s what he hoped until he saw the counselor later this week.
As Daniel got ready for school, his phone rang. It was Amber. “How did you sleep?” she asked.
“Great,” he said. “And that’s not a lie. I really did.”
“I did, too,” Amber said. “I’ll see you at school. Love you.”
“Love you, too,” he said as he hung up.
“Hold on,” he heard his mom say behind him. He turned to face her. “I really hope that was Kyle on the other side of that phone call.”
“It was Amber,” Daniel said. “She said it, so I said it back.”
“Daniel,” his mom began, “I like Amber a lot, but maybe you two need to slow things down a bit.”
“Slow things down? We just finally kissed after dating for, like, six months. How much slower should we go?”
“I’m sorry. I’m just not used to one of my kids dating someone and acting all serious about it.”
“Look, I care a lot about Amber,” Daniel said. “Is it real love? I don’t know. But I know she cares about me, and I care about her. Isn’t that a good start for any relationship?”
“I think you, me, and your Dad need to sit down and talk about this tonight.”
“You mean, talk about sex?”
“Well, yes.”
“I know about sex, Mom. I’m sixteen.”
“Porn doesn’t qualify as sex education, Daniel,” his mom said.
Daniel felt his face heat up. “Um, well, I agree. It doesn’t.”
“Good.”
“And Amber and I are way far away from having sex. Any kind of sex. At all.”
“We’re still talking about this when you get home tonight,” his mom said. “Understood?”
“Yes,” Daniel said.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN
Kyle rolled over in his bed and looked at the time on his phone. He had still beat his alarm – which he had set an hour later than usual – but now he was seriously contemplating calling his mom to have her call the school to say he was sick.
He didn’t want to go to school. His head hurt. His body ached. His butt hurt. And his toe was still throbbing. He was a mess.
But he also knew he had a big quiz in science in the afternoon that he didn’t want to miss, which complicated things.
Screw it, he thought as he watched his ceiling fan’s blades whirring around overhead. Guess I’ll do the responsible thing and go to school.
Plus, he did have that meeting with Luke at his house at three, and school would be a good distraction from thinking about that all day.
He got out of bed, walked to the bathroom, and turned on the shower.
This afternoon was a big deal, and he wanted to make sure he not only apologized to Luke, but told him about what had happened to him in the locker room. Maybe he knew who was responsible and why it had happened.
If he could do that, it would show that he was a strong person and hopefully show Luke that he had the guts to lead the Varsity team next season.
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN
Daniel waited patiently at the doorway of the Enterprise High School library. Amber turned the corner down the school’s main hallway and walked toward him, a cautious smile on her face.
“When I told you about the whole closure thing,” Amber said, “I didn’t think you would take it this far.”
“This is how I want to do it,” Daniel said as he opened the library door. “After you.”
Amber entered, followed by Daniel. “Where should we start?” Amber said in a low tone.
“Let’s find the papers from that summer. See what articles were written that mention it.”
“You didn’t read them when they came out?” Amber asked.
“I didn’t want to hear, see, or have anything to do with it after it happened,” Daniel replied.
“Understandable,” Amber said. “Couldn’t we just do this at your house? Maybe take kissing breaks between articles?”
“We don’t have a subscription to the Record Searchlight online, but the school does. We’ll have access to the archives here.”
“I see.”
He leaned into her ear. “But I don’t see why we can’t kiss here,” he said with a smile. “Just not as long.”
She smiled. “Let’s get to work.”
CHAPTER
ONE HUNDRED AND SEVENTEEN
Kyle arrived in front of the Darden house and parked. He took a deep breath, exhaled, then stepped out of his truck. He was grateful the rain had finally let up, but the clouds in the darkening sky threatened rain in the coming hours.
He walked up to the front door and knocked. He heard footsteps inside; the light across from him on the front porchlight blazed to life, illuminating his surroundings.
The door opened, and he was met by a smiling Luke. “Hey,” Kyle said.
“Hey, buddy,” Luke said. Kyle noticed that Luke’s nose looked much better than it had the last time he saw him, which was good news. “Come on in.” Luke opened the door wider and walked back down the hallway into the house.
This is good, Kyle thought as he walked inside and shut the door. He’s smiling.
Upon closing the door, Kyle noticed shoes in the entryway and removed his as well. He put his jacket on one of the free hooks on the hall tree, then headed toward the light ahead of him. He could hear classical music grow louder as he entered the spacious kitchen.
“Thanks for seeing me,” Kyle said as Luke stared at him. “I appreciate it.”
“Of course,” Luke said. “Sorry I was MIA this weekend and yesterday. I had to clean up at Midnight House, then I thought I was getting a cold.”
“So,” Kyle began, “you don’t know what happened yesterday at practice?”
Kyle put two shot glasses on the kitchen island in the center of the space. “No,” Luke said, “What happened?”
Kyle told Luke what had happened. Luke’s face went from shock to anger to sadness as he told the tale.
“I am so sorry that happened to you,” Luke said when Kyle was finished. “But I think I know why. It’s all my fault. You see, I let it slip out to some of the Varsity players that I had chosen you to be Captain next year. And they didn’t take it too well.”
“So, these players...” Kyle began.
“Took it upon themselves to teach you a lesson,” Luke said. “But, you are, thanks to me, the new Varsity Captain next basketball season. Congratulations!”
Luke put out his hand, a big smile on his face. Kyle shook Luke’s extended hand, a flutter of stunned excitement and relief swept over him.
“You know,” Kyle said, “I was pretty sure what happened on Saturday at Midnight House was gonna cost me.”
Kyle watched as Luke pulled out a bottle of whiskey from a lower cabinet.
“I told you,” Luke said, “I had to see if you were up to the challenge, and you were.”
“What are you doing?” Kyle asked.
Luke held up the bottle. “Thought we’d celebrate,” Luke said as he unscrewed the black cap.
“Umm,” Kyle said, his stomach recoiling from his recent encounter with alcohol, “you have any water or juice?”
Luke looked at him, then smiled. “Yeah, we do. Hope you like grape juice.”
“Love it,” Kyle said.
Luke went to the fridge and took out a bottle of grape juice. He poured a little into the shot glasses he had placed on the kitchen island between them, then pushed it toward Kyle.
Luke lifted his shot glass. “To forgiveness and new friends.”
Kyle lifted his shot glass. “To new friends,” he said.
Luke downed his shot. Kyle parroted his action. The juice tasted a little bitter, but was still good. He put the glass down, and Luke filled it up again.
“I can get you a bigger glass if you want,” Luke said.
Kyle did another shot of the grape juice. Still tasted funny, but he didn’t want to be rude.
