Darling (4 page)

“You coming, kiddo?”

“I’m coming.” He rushed into the doorway. He hoped the heat he felt in his cheeks wasn’t visible.

Dennis glanced back at the statues and smiled. “You dirty young man, you.”

Mike ducked his head low and hurried down the hall.

* * *

“And here we are.” Dennis threw the door wide and sauntered into the middle of the room.

“Wow,” Eileen said. “This blows my apartment away.”

Mike paced through the room, running his hands along the walls.

“Well?” Dennis placed a hand on his shoulder. “What do you think?”

“It’s…it’s perfect.”

“Of course it is.”

“And you know what the best thing is?”

“What’s that?”

“My parents aren’t here.”

All three of them laughed. They took a tour, each impressed that such a building could house these large and beautiful apartments, before sweeping, dusting, and trying to puzzle out where they would place their furniture. Sometime after sunset, Eileen brought a cooler with a six-pack of beer up from her car. After coercing Mike to drink (“I’m underage,” he had argued), the three of them sprawled out on the floor and sipped from their cans.

“We should get cable,” Mike said.

“Hey, what my roommate wants, my roommate gets.”

Eileen wiped foam from the top of her can with her shirt. “I’m surprised there wasn’t more cleaning to do. My apartment was filthy when we moved in.”

Mike ran his forearm across his lips. “I thought they had to clean apartments before renting them?”

“They’re supposed to,” she said. “But what are you going to do? Take them to court?”

“You could put some of those burgeoning lawyer skills to use.” Dennis nudged her in the ribs.

“
Pre
-lawyer skills, you mean. I don’t even know where to stand in a courtroom.” She took a long swig of beer.

“Have you decided what you’re going to major in yet, Mike?”

“I’m thinking Anthropology, with a focus on religion. After Allison...well, I don’t know that I really believe inGod anymore. But I’m fascinated with why people believe what they do, ya know?”

At the mention of Mike’s sister, Dennis stood and went to the window.

Mike leaned against the wall and took another sip of beer. He scrunched his face up. “Still say this stuff tastes like piss.”

“Hey.” Dennis tapped on the glass. “You guys see these weird buildings over here?”

They squeezed in on either side of him and Mike pressed his face against the glass. “Looks like a strip mall and a grocery store.”

“Yeah,” Eileen said. “It was supposed to be.”

Dennis put his arm around her. “How do you know?”

“You know my uncle Gary?”

“The drifter, right?”

“Yeah. He was working construction, probably around the time they converted this place to apartments. They were going to build an entire shopping center up here, but never completed it.”

Mike finished his beer with a grimace. “So it never opened?”

“No. Gary said there was an accident or something.

Some piece of equipment malfunctioned and a bunch of workers were killed. Everything stopped for a while. I think the guy that was in charge of it died not long after and they never finished. I don’t really remember. Just one of those stories Gary told us when we were kids and would drive past here on Sundays.”

They turned back into the room. Dennis gathered up the beer cans and placed them in a small grocery bag. “So where’s Ol’ Gary at today?”

“Who knows? Probably the same place my father is, wherever the hell that might be.”

“Aw, shit.” Mike smacked his hand against the wall.

“What?”

“What time is it?”

Eileen glanced at her watch. “Eight thirty.”

“Dammit. Can I use your phone?”

“Sure.” She handed him her cell. He rushed into an empty bedroom and shut the door.

She whistled. “What was that about?”

“I think he has to check in with his parents.” Dennis slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“At his age?”

“Don’t rag him about it, okay? That house hasn’t been the same since everything happened.”

She leaned in and kissed him. Her lips were warm and soft and he tightened his arms around her. After a moment she pulled back. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

The door to Mike’s room clicked open and Dennis took a step back from her.

“I’m sorry guys.” Mike handed Eileen her phone. “Igotta go.”

“That’s cool.” Dennis patted him on the back. “I need to pack, anyway. Dinner here Friday?”

“Of course.” Eileen smiled.

Dennis turned to Mike, but he was quiet. “Mike…?”

“Yeah. I…I guess.”

Dennis sighed. Eileen leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. See ya, Mike.”

“Later.”

She grabbed her broom and dustpan and went to the door. She paused to smile again before leaving.

When she was gone, Dennis turned to his friend. “You
are
still moving in here with me, right?”

“I…I should…I mean, uh…”

“C’mon, man. You can’t live with your parents forever. I was already on my own at your age. Eileen, too.”

“I know, I know. It’s just such short notice and I—”

Dennis grabbed him by the shoulders. “You have to do this. You know it’s the best thing for you.”

Mike nodded. “I’m just not looking forward to telling them, that’s all.”

Dennis slid an arm around his shoulder and walked him to the door. “How do you think they’ll take it?”

They both knew exactly how they would take it. Mike’s relationship with Dennis was a poison to the Pritchett family.

Mike was quiet as they sped along the East Tennessee highway, consumed by thoughts of how his sister’s death had derailed so many people. He should have been a sophomore in college by now. Dennis should have already graduated. As it was, they were behind in life, desperately scrambling to catch up.

He glanced over at his friend. Dennis’ lips moved in time to the AC/DC blaring from the speakers, the volume hiding his voice. His dusty hair blew around the sides of his face and his shoulders barely seemed to fit inside his T-shirt. His hand tapped out the rhythm on the steering wheel and Mike could see the large muscles in his forearms move with every beat. He looked at his own arms, pale and stick thin, and wondered why Dennis was friends with him.

Dennis only hangs out with you because he feels sorry for you,
a voice inside of him said. He heard that voice a little too
often. He wished he didn’t, but it always lurked around,
sneaking out to cajole him whenever his guard was down.
Don’t you hate living in his shadow? Don’t you hate how he always dates the pretty girls and has the great accomplishments, just to rub them in your face? That even the low points of his life garner sympathy, while everyone looks down on you for yours?

“What are you thinking about?” Dennis turned down the stereo.

“Huh? Nothing. Just trying to work out what I’m going to say.” Mike pushed the little voice back into the shadows. It made him feel guilty. Dirty. Dennis had done so much for him and he should be thankful.

“Wish I could help you, man.”

“Me too.”

As they took the exit to Mike’s house, a ball of acid formed in his stomach. He couldn’t do this. There was no way he could tell his parents he was moving out.

He looked to Dennis and his friend smiled.

“I’ll have my phone on me. Let me know if you need anything,” he said.

Mike nodded. Dennis was right. He had to stand up to his parents. He just wasn’t sure how.

Chapter Three

The following was found scribbled on the open page of a notepad inside apartment 114 when the police arrived that Friday:

I dowsed the floor in some chemical that punk rock bitch at the drug store gave me she said it would kill them all but its not working or doesnt seem to be cause their still running round here like they own the goddamned place I cant take the filthy fuking things anymore I went back to the store and spent fifty dollars on more roach motels and put them up everywhere all over my bed the fridge the bathtub the closets even outside on the door frame I havnt had food here for weeks to keep them out but their everywhere there was one crawling across my face when I woke up from my nap a big fat red fuker with these spiny little legs just tapdancing his way across my face I think he even touched my lips I washed my face so many times today that my lips bled but now Im worried it laid eggs in my mouth or up my nose or in my ears or eyes even and I now

I cant sleepe again everytime I close my eyes I can here them so Im just going to stay awake all night and try to catch them

I know how their getting in but NO one listens to me or seems care but you no what fuck them cause those littel bastards will be in there apartments soon and lets see how they like that fuking lazy Rudy mite finly do something about them if that happens they nest in that goddamn grocery store and run through the field at night just to fuking torment me I dont know how much of this

I can take did I sleepe last night I don’t think I did seems like they where running all over me then to I dont know when I sleeped last I mean you cant sleepe cause that’s when they crawl between your teeth and shit on your tongue or nest inside your ears

I cant take much more of this I swear to

fuking christ I cant

Chapter Four

Mike slammed the door. It caught a pocket of air two inches short of closing, slowing it down and stealing any indication of anger. He collapsed onto his bed and sighed. The door had stolen all of his resolve.

The evening hadn’t gone the way he had wanted it to. He knew it was going to be a war, but had hoped he could at least mention moving out. Instead his father had erupted the second Mike walked through the door.

“Don’t tell me your appointment ran late. And don’t try to spin some other lie. When in the hell did you become such a selfish little shit? Is this the kind of influence Dennis has on you?”

They had argued for an hour. Mike had pressed the issue of being treated like an adult, his father argued that he was still a child, his mother sat in the kitchen and sipped brandy, and the shadow of Allison fell on them all. When his father had tired of the old arguments, he banished Mike to his room like he was a teenager.

It did the trick. Mike felt thirteen again, kicking his heels against the foot of the bed and contemplating the repercussions of running away. He chided himself for it. A grown man shouldn’t be “running away.” He should be moving out.

And what would he tell Dennis? He’d promised to move in with him tomorrow. Yet here he was staring at the movie posters on his wall while his parents were downstairs, oblivious to his plans.

The building tension forced him to his feet. He paced around the room, his stomach twisting from the dueling responsibilities. Why did everyone want so much from him? Why couldn’t he just do what he wanted?

What
did
he want? He shook his head. He wasn’t sure. His mind was murky.

A tremor started in his bowels. It shook its way up his torso and into his limbs. When it was too much to bear he lashed out, throwing one of his action figures across the room. It crashed into the wall and exploded, showering his bed with small plastic shards.

“Shit!” Why did he do that? That was his favorite. Now he felt even worse.

“Mike?” His mother knocked on the door.

He ran to his bed and threw his covers back, hiding the evidence of his tantrum. “Come in.”

The door creaked open and she peeked inside. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah.”

She stepped in and shut the door. “Are you sure?”

He nodded.

“Your father’s just trying to take care of you.”

He snorted. “I should be taking care of myself.”

She hugged him. “You need us. You know that. We need you, too.”

He squeezed her back and tried to think of what he would say to Dennis.

Friday morning, after his father left for the office, Mike crept into his parent’s room and stole his check card. He once again felt foolish and childish, stealing his
own
check card, but his father kept it hidden to ensure Mike’s money wasn’t spent. He always gave his son a line about helping to save for the future, but Mike suspected it was a way to maintain control.

He walked a mile to the closest shopping center and withdrew a few hundred dollars. Then he went to the street corner where he had told his friend to meet him and waited.

At a quarter past the hour, a small U-Haul truck pulled up. Mike opened the door and hopped in.

“Morning.” Dennis handed him a cup of coffee and took a sip from his own. He had a giant smile plastered across his face.

“Hey.”

“So, why did you want me to pick you up here? Your Dad going to work late?”

“No. He left already.”

“Well, let’s go pack your stuff.”

Mike stared at the lid of his coffee.

“Fuck, Mike. You didn’t tell them, did you?”

“I was going to. I swear. It’s just that Dad tore into me as soon as I got home and—”

“Okay, okay. So when are you going to tell them?”

“I don’t know.”

“How about tonight?”

“I guess.”

Dennis sighed. “This is what you want to do, right? I’m not pressuring you into anything, am I?”

Of course he is.
The voice returned.
He always pressures you. Everyone does. Tell him that’s what he’s doing.

“No, you’re not pressuring me. I want to.”

Pussy.

“Good. So tonight, then?”

“Yeah.” Mike pulled the wad of twenties out and handed it to Dennis. “That’s the most the ATM would let me get, but I can give you the rest tomorrow.”

“Cool. Then you and Eileen can talk about her car.”