Fake Fan Fiction ❯ Verge of Something Wonderful ❯ Huddled House and Huddled Together ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

 
 
Sitting in a Huddle House booth Ryo watched Dee devour all of his breakfast and then start on the half of the breakfast that Ryo hadn't eaten. Apparently getting scared to death did nothing to diminish Dee's appetite. In fact, from what Ryo was seeing, it might even enhance it. Dee had even eaten the grits that came with his platter after watching how another customer ate his, a dash of salt and pepper and two or three of those little packets of butter and he was good to go muttering around a mouthful that these were great and they'd have to make them at home sometime.
 
Ryo just sipped his coffee and stayed quiet. His mind was in turmoil and the rational part of his brain was suffering great difficulty. It didn't fit. Nothing fit. He was even considering whether or not he had been tricked into appearing on one of those shows that Dee and Bikky liked to watch, the one called Scare Tactics coming to mind. Chewing on his lip he thought it might be possible and if that was the case it would be all the more humiliating if he let himself give into superstition and then have everyone laugh at him when the trick was exposed.
 
On the other hand, that frying pan had come awful close to nailing him in the head and the exploding glass and searing temperature of the coffee were extremely dangerous. It was maddening, the circles his mind was running, trying to find an acceptable out to what he just could not believe. He was frustrated and still a bit scared which was rapidly turning into anger.
 
Lost in his own thoughts he didn't notice Dee watching him on the sly. One of Dee's major gifts when it came to detective work, he had the knack of looking like he wasn't paying much attention when nothing could be further from the truth. Shoveling food in his mouth and slurping coffee the only person giving him much mind at all was a waitress who was giving him a bit to much attention, the sort that had less to do with a tip and more to do with flirting even if she knew he was out of her league and had been for some time. Ryo's dark eyes certainly weren't fixated on him for more than a moment at a time before drifting back off to stare outside the window. Dee licked his fork for good measure before returning it to the plate and picking up his coffee. Breakfast was over. He'd have to come back for dinner but not tonight because tonight he was having Krystals, which looked like White Castles to him and he had to find out if they tasted the same or not.
 
Dee bumped Ryo's knee with his own to get his attention. Ryo dark eyes settled on and then looked down at the now empty plates. “Are you done Dee?” He asked quiet and polite. Dee tossed back the rest of his coffee and grabbed the bill.
 
“Sure am. And I need a cigarette. And guess what? They don't allow smoking in restaurants in this part of the country. So why don't you finish off your coffee while I pay the bill and so we can get out of here. K?” Dee didn't wait for an answer, he didn't need to, Ryo was already standing up and tossing back the last of his coffee as well. It was one of those things that had developed over time with them, finishing up quickly to stay relatively in sync so they could continue working in sync. Dee expected it and Ryo didn't fail him.
 
When Ryo held out his hands for the keys Dee dropped them into his palm without a word and watched him as he went out to their rental car while he waited to pay. Dee had expected that too and had already decided to let him drive if he wanted. Dee intended to call Tank anyway to explain what happened and get feedback from her on what they should do, other than clean up that huge ass mess. Dee was not looking forward to it, not the mess or going back in the house. His resolution from earlier to let Ryo say whatever he wanted to their Chief was being sorely tested. He had his own warring emotions to contend with and he had about enough of this stupid house in the middle of God forsaken nowhere. Half his mind was on forcibly taking Ryo home, even if that meant he had to drive the entire way, the other half wanted to go back to that house and do…and do… that's where his mind petered out. He wanted to go back and shove something tangible up against a wall and explain to it in no uncertain terms that throwing things at his Ryo was absolutely not acceptable and then punctuate it with a few punches from his fist. Somehow he didn't think that would work in this situation. Dee had no idea what would work in this situation and that frustrated him most of all.
 
Dee paid the bill and walked out to his waiting partner, lighting a cigarette as he went, planning out the rest of the day. If nothing else they had to replace the food and the coffee maker which would require a shopping excursion. He knew Ryo was also going to offer to pay for the damages to the wall from where the frying pan had dented it, which was another bone of contention with him. Dee couldn't see how they could be held responsible for something they didn't do but Ryo was being quietly stubborn about it and would just pay for it behind Dee's back if he had to. Then there was the slight matter of prying out of Ryo whatever it was he thought he was hiding from Dee. Something had made all the blood leave Ryo's face back when they were leaving the house but Dee hadn't been quick enough turning around to see whatever it was that freaked Ryo out. No such thing as ghosts his ass. The owners didn't need a pair of detectives, they needed the freakin' Ghost Busters.
 
Ryo did not want Dee to smoke in the rental car, despite having been assured it was all right for him to do so and despite Dee having done so the entire drive in. Ryo could be maddening sometimes in his sense of right and wrong. Dee leaned up against the car while Ryo sat half in and half out, finishing up his cigarette and punching the numbers in to Tank's cellphone.
 
“Hello, hello Mr. Detective. What can I do for you today?” Tank's cheerful voice greeted him. Dee grinned around his cigarette.
 
“Well hello to you to Tank.” He chirped right back at her. He liked her, she kinda reminded him of himself in a way. Sometimes you gotta take life by the balls and he was pretty sure she had them firmly in her hand.
 
“Listen, don't freak out or anything, but we had a problem at the house and I need to let you know what happened.” He said, taking another drag of his dwindling cigarette. He heard an amused laugh come through the phone lines behind it was the unmistakable clink of glass and the sounds of someone moving.
 
“Well now, let me see, would that have anything to do with the poor decimated remains of an innocent box of eggs?” She asked, mirth coming through loud and clear. “I wouldn't worry about it Dee. My kid and I are here now cleaning up the mess. I would ask how you and your pretty faced partner are doing but it would seem I already have my answer.”
 
Dee left out his breath slowly watching the smoke disperse. Ryo looked up at him with a questioning look on his face. “Tank's at the house.” He told him before giving his attention back to the phone.
 
“We were going to clean that up when we got back from the store, we're going to replace the food and the coffee pot.” He told her. She just laughed.
 
“Why? Did you throw it against the wall? If not, let the bossman pay for it, I've got an account for such things and it's not your fault that he's a pigheaded man who can't figure out something simple like this.” She told him, her voice showing she wasn't the least bit concerned.
 
“Ryo wants to pay for the damages to wall you know.” He blurted out ignoring the sharp jab to his hip that Ryo gave him and his hissed “Deeeeeeeeeeeee.”
 
“Tell him I heard that and no he's not paying for the wall. No arguments. I promise I'll win.” She told him, her voice humored but firm. Dee grinned again. Yeah, he'd bet she'd win too.
 
“So, uh, should we pick up the stuff since we're out?” He asked. Tank sighed loudly.
 
“Dee, this is a yes or no question. Have you ever been inside a Super Walmart?” She asked. “Well?” When he took to long to reply.
 
“Um,no.” He had never been in a regular Wal-mart much less a super version. Had never even thought about it.
 
“Well then my fine friend, gather up your true love and bravely head in for replacements. Just call and let me know if you actually get them or not. I'll make sure you two get reimbursed. And I'm outta here, we're done and my youngin' is giving me the death glare.” Tank wasn't kidding either, the phone went dead right after she finished speaking and before Dee could question her about that true love bit. Dee put his cellphone away, stamped out his cigarette and went around the car to get in on the passenger side.
 
“What did she say Dee?” Ryo asked his fingers on the keys to start the ignition.
 
“She said you're not allowed to pay for the wall and if we want to buy stuff to go to Wal-mart.” Dee replied. And you're my true love and pretty but I'll keep that to myself for now he thought to himself stealing a glance at his partner's profile.
 
Three hours later they were back at the house with a new coffee maker, couple of bags of groceries and snacks, two new coffee cups, foam paper cups as backup, and one highly irate detective. Dee slammed the car door with enough force to make the car rock, curse words flying out of his mouth left and right. Ryo hadn't even attempted to stop him from smoking on the way home. Dee had been chain smoking and coming up with imaginative strings of foul language and violent threats the entire way home, which they got to entirely sooner than they should have do to Dee's aggravation manifesting itself as a very heavy and lead filled right foot.
 
Ryo had already sworn to himself that whatever had to be picked up from here on out it was going to be him and not Dee going to get it. It had started going wrong with two women blocking the entire end of the aisle with their shopping carts and refusing to move or even acknowledge that other people were trying to get through. Ryo had managed to catch one of their eyes and gave his best smile and asked politely if they could move over so he could pass by. They did, by an inch or two and without saying a word to him, making it seem by and large as though he was the problem and not them. Ryo could literally feel the hackles rising up on Dee. It was with a sinking sensation in his stomach that Ryo realized the type of jam they both preferred was on the shelf the women were still standing in front off, chattering away. Dee didn't bother asking them to move, he just reached over and plucked it out from right in between their heads. Both women were highly offended at his rudeness to which Dee had replied that if they didn't want someone to reach over them than they could move their damn selves somewhere else for their conversation and out of the way of other customers, which had led to the to ladies in question scurrying down the aisle but not before making a comment about rude yankees. It had gone down hill from there to the point that Ryo had made Dee go wait outside for him while he went through the check out line.
 
Dee was still in a snit, stomping right into the house behind Ryo and following him right into the kitchen. It wasn't until he sat down the bags in his arms that Dee's fire ran out, his eyes coming to rest again on the dent in the wall reminding him of just why they had had to go to Wal-mart in the first place. Troubled eyes came back to Ryo's with a lot of unanswered questions in their depths. Ryo chose to break eye contact and go about putting everything away even if he was doing it in a matter slightly more hurried than necessary. He wasn't going to admit it to Dee but he was nervous and on edge. He couldn't get the mornings events from his mind, they just kept replaying over and over again.
 
He didn't want to admit that maybe he had been wrong, maybe the place was haunted, maybe there were such things as ghosts. It wasn't a train of thought he wanted to go down. If ghosts were real than what else was real, it was a slippery slope for Ryo. Part of getting through his parents death had been dealing with a God that would let such things happen to people in the first place and that a loving God would have saved them, wouldn't have let their reputations be drug through the mud after their deaths, it wasn't hard for an eighteen year old Ryo to decide that there must not be such a god after all and he had buried away all the rest with that god. No angels, no demons, nothing beyond the grave and beyond the known, no more real than the tooth fairy. He didn't like having such certainties shaken so hard and so frequently.
 
But what he wasn't saying to Dee with his mouth he was saying with his body, with the tenseness in his back, the way he held his hands, the way his teeth were clenched but his lips were slightly open. Dee could read him easily, his favorite book, laid open and the writing clear and precise across the pages. And so Dee went about quietly putting his part of the groceries away, tucking away the new coffee maker on the counter and staying wisely out of Ryo's path. He didn't say anything as Ryo left the kitchen and went through the living room and into the main bedroom, listening as he heard the bathroom door click closed and knowing Ryo undoubtedly locked it for good measure.
 
Dee moved out into the living room and stood in the center of the room. He made himself quiet and still and tried to see the room for the first time. It wasn't just the age of the room that made it feel off it was the sense of being stuck in time, the sort of feeling, crushed and depressing, he would experience when he would go with Mother to visit shut ins. It was a terrible feeling, a feeling of life having not so much slipped away as wasted away, lives that had not lived fully and had sunk in on themselves. It was a nasty, feeling, musty and needy all at once.
 
He closed his eyes and tried to open his other senses, still keeping part of his attention trained on Ryo's closed door. He could hear it then, it wasn't loud but it was pervasive, a whispering sound of muddled words and muddled voices, far away and yet up against him. He shuddered but pushed himself to keep his eyes closed. He knew these sounds. They could be heard in the orphanage he grew up in late at night when everything else was quiet. He knew from experience that if he were to lay down, his ear pressed to his pillow and his eyes screwed tight, just as he had when he was a kid, the voices would get louder and closer but not any clearer.
 
When he opened his eyes the voices slid back into nothingness and he blinked to readjust his vision to the dim light. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ryo leaning up against the doorframe of the master bedroom, arms crossed over his chest watching him, he hadn't heard him come out after all. Dee twisted his head to look him fully in the eyes.
 
“Dee? You all right?” Ryo asked softly, gently.
 
“I don't know Ryo, are you?” Dee returned the question back to him, waiting.
 
“I'm fine Dee it's you I'm worried about.” Ryo responded with a frown, straightening up and coming over to stand in front of him. “What are you doing Dee?” He asked, worry in his voice, his hand coming up to brush Dee's hair back away from his cheek.
 
“I'm just listening to the house, that's all.” Dee said catching Ryo's hand in his own and holding it. Dee led him over to the couch and sank down in it. Ryo let himself be pulled down nearly in Dee's lap. “Why don't you tell me what you saw when we were leaving this morning?” Dee questioned, keeping his tone low, his grip firm on Ryo's hand, his other arm snaking around Ryo to pull him closer to himself.
 
Ryo's eyes searched his desperately searching for something, Dee just hoped he could give it him. He watched Ryo's tongue dart out and moisten his lips, watched Ryo's neck move as he swallowed air and tried to work his throat. If it were any other time, any other place, this would be the point where Ryo would start fighting him to get away and more times than not Bikky or someone else would show up to interrupt them. No one was here to save Ryo now. Dee recognized the irony in the situation clearly because if it were any other time he would have already moved in on those wet lips and used the rising body heat between them to push his advantage. But not now, not this time, not with this mess going on around them and between them. Now he needed Ryo to trust him and open up to him. The quickest way to make that not happen was to try and kiss him, no matter how much he wanted to.
 
Ryo edged in a little closer of his violation, cautious and slow true, but it did happen their chests coming together and Ryo's bottom coming to settle in Dee's lap, his long legs out to the side. Dee could feel Ryo's heart hammering in his chest. He started to stroke Ryo's back slow and sure, his wide palm pushing into the muscles in firm half circles. Ryo closed his eyes and laid his head against Dee's shoulder. Dee just waited. Sometimes Ryo needed to be pushed, even goaded, into doing things but sometimes he needed all the time in the world, Dee was sure this occasion was of the later types.
 
Ryo took a deep breath and then another. Dee pulled Ryo's hand up to his mouth and kissed the palm softly and used his thumb to rub this kiss into Ryo`s skin. Ryo wanted to tell him. It was just a matter of encouragement and being steady. When he did start to speak it was soft and unsure, the voice of man who couldn't quite make himself believe what his senses told him was real.
 
“When we were backing out of the drive way. I thought I saw something in the living room window looking back at us. It.. Uh. It looked for all the world like the curtain had lifted back, that's what caught my eye was the curtain moving and when I looked at the window I thought I saw…” Ryo's words died on his lips, trailing off. Dee continued to rub his back and kissed the top of his head.
 
“Thought you saw what Ryo? You can tell me. You can tell me anything, you know that.” Dee encouraged. Ryo nodded his head against his chest making Dee smile.
 
“It looked like a woman was looking back at us but it couldn't have been because we were the only ones here. And there was no body just the face and a hand on the curtain. I couldn't have seen that but I don't know what else it could have been. Something made that curtain move Dee. I'm sure I didn't imagine the curtain moving. But the face… it wasn't like in those ghost hunting shows you and Bikky watch. It wasn't some glare on the window or anything like that that people see and think they've seen something else.” Ryo told him, sitting up a little to look Dee in the eye to see if Dee was laughing at him or was going to tell him `I told you so.' Dee just looked back at him, all calm assurance and serious intent. Ryo settled back down and listened to Dee's heart.
 
“So what did she look like then?” Dee prodded him gently, pressing another kiss into Ryo's soft hair, right at the part. Ryo took a moment to gather himself together again.
 
“It looked like a maniac was grinning at me from the window. Its eyes were wild, like the addicts we see strung out on a bad high. Its face was wide and moon shaped and its mouth was thin and twisted up laughing at me. It wasn't the least bit transparent. I thought ghosts were suppose to be see through. It wasn't, it was horrible. It looked like someone had taken the head off a corpse at the morgue and hung it in the window by its hair. Just suspended there whole and solid with awful mottled grey skin, hanging in the air grinning and laughing at us.”
 
Dee hugged him tight to his chest and rested his cheek on Ryo's head. He thought he'd received the worst of the haunting but from the way Ryo's body was trembling against his and however horrible the description was, it must have been much worse for Ryo to see it in person. He didn't bother trying to talk about it with Ryo, for the moment he just wanted to hold him for as long as he could. They needed to get out of this mess and get back to New York, the sooner the better.
 
Ryo stirred in his arms again pushing himself up with one hand steadied on Dee's chest. “There's something else I need to tell you, Dee. The other day when you were in the attic, I heard someone calling my name outside. I thought I saw something out in the trees but it was gone to fast to be sure. You know I don't believe in this stuff and I've never paid attention to things like this. What do you think it means? That I saw that…” Ryo fell quiet for a moment but then pressed on. “That I saw that horrible thing in the window and heard someone call my name. Aren't ghosts just suppose to be repeating themselves from the past, like a recording or something?”
 
Dee searched Ryo`s eyes this time, taking in the uncertainty in them before replying. “Not all ghosts are like that Ryo, some are intelligent and can interact with people, the environment. Some things that haunt aren't ghosts at all. I tell you one thing though, something Mother taught me when I was very little.”
 
“What's that Dee?” Ryo asked his head tipped back, listening.
 
“If you ever hear something call your name and you don't who it is, don't answer. You never know what you'll be inviting in if you do. You got that Ryo? I'm serious here.” Dee told him, shaking him a little to get his point across. Ryo stared at him wide eyed. He gave a half nod and settled back into Dee's arms. He didn't care how it looked. He hadn't really wanted to come back to the house. The longer he mulled over what he had seen the more the horror of it settled on him like a weight. Dee's warm body and strong hold were keeping that horror at bay, making it easier for him to breathe a little while his mind tried to cope with its new understanding of reality. A reality he just couldn't wait to get away from.
 
_________________________________________________________________ _________________
 
Author's Note:
I know this is sort of a slow burn story but it is rated at the highest rating for a reason, we'll be edging into more physical territory in the next few chapters as well as some more hopefully scary adventures, yes?
 
All thoughts are welcome, including criticism. Love and kisses to all.