Chapter 11

The paper sack crinkled as Nix set it upon the island in his kitchen. The books Billy had requested; four paperbacks in total for Gregg and three hardback for Jade. His countenance was calm and reserved as he walked to his coffee pot, where he pulled the carafe out to fill with water. He continued to replay the scene of the day over and over in his head. How close to death had he been? Why was Billy there that day of all days when Sabaste had decided to try to burn him alive? Was it connected? Was Billy trying to get rid of him too, despite repeatedly asking if it was his fault? Could that have been a cover so Nix wouldn’t think to blame the tall blond? Nix shook his head softly. He couldn’t explain it, but there was something about the broody spirit that he trusted. It didn’t make sense to him, because the man who had been his best friend in life was trying to kill him, and this stranger who acted as if he sometimes hated the world had rescued him. It was just too much of a coincidence to him, however. Something wasn’t flowing quite right with this weird situation.

Nix shook his head as he poured water into the pot, and then got the machine going. His mind continued to tick away, weighing the options of whether Billy was friend or foe. It wasn’t until he heard the comforting gurgle of the pot that he realized he had forgotten to fill the coffee filter with coffee. As he was reaching up to grasp the can, a series of knocks caused him to jump. His fingers brushed the lid of the container and caused it to topple to the counter, bounce, roll once and land on the floor. Nix grunted as he lifted it up and set it down before walking to the door. “Who is it?”

“Nick? It’s Kelly! Are you all right? We got a call from your boss, he told us what happened! Now it’s all over the news!”

Nix unlocked his door and opened it. For the second time that day, he was caught up in surprise as Kelly launched towards him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. “Hey, girl… don’t cry,” he said softly as he wound his arms around her, hugging her gently. He grimaced at the soft hum of pain that came from the rib Sabaste had injured during their fight. When Billy had caused the bay door to implode, the force of it had sent the work bench into him, knocking him into the wall and reminding his ribs that they were almost mended.

“We saw the building,” Kelly murmured into Nix’s shoulder. “It was horrible, like a warzone-- I’m so glad you’re not hurt, or worse!” she lifted her tear streaked face and Nix suddenly wished he could dig a hole and climb in. He just didn’t know how to handle crying women.

“I got out in time,” he said lamely.

“And thank the good Lord for that, do you know what this would have done to your brother? To the girls and I? To your son?”

“I know,” Nix said as he peeled himself out of her grip. “That’s what gave me the resolve to crawl towards the door, flames or not, I just couldn’t give up that easily.”

“Why don’t you stay with us tonight?” Kelly offered.

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea,” Nix started to say, and then paused. “You know, I’ll take you up on that offer. I think I need to be with my boy tonight.”

Kelly nodded, pleased at his decision. “Good. You can sleep on the couch, if that’s all right.”

“Sure,” Nix said. He thought about how sensitive Jayce was, and even though the little boy didn’t know what was going on, he would certainly sense the stress in the family and that would likely trigger a fit of crying or a bought of clinginess. “Yeah, I’ll stay tonight. I have a feeling Jay needs it more than I do.”

“Good. Come on over, he’s playing in his room. As soon as I saw it was your building on the news, I carried him upstairs; the girls were already getting upset. I didn’t want him to worry.”

“Thank you,” Nix said. “I’ll be there in a little while. In fact, I think I’ll whip up a batch of Ade’s chili.”

*****

“There we go, bud,” Nix said as he placed his son down on the plastic shower curtain. It was chili night and he had learned from experience to give the boy a wide birth when it came to chili night. Jayce loved chili, but no matter how hard he tried, Nix still couldn’t get the child’s confidence up when it came to eating with silverware. He tried feeding it to Jayce, but Jayce wouldn’t have it. He was too independent and wanted to do it on his own, so, Nix had learned to place a plastic shower curtain on the floor, wrap his son up in a towel to keep his clothes clean, and then put the bowl in front of him and back away quickly.

Kelly had heard of chili night, but wasn’t expecting it to be so ceremonial. She watched Nix place the shower curtain on the ground, taking care to make sure it was stretched out as far as it could go. “What does he do with it besides eat it?” she had asked.

“He eats it really fast and chili shrapnel tends to fly.”

“So… he eats just like his uncle, I take it,” Kelly said dryly. Nix only smirked at her as he plunked Jayce down. “Yeah, when me and Ade had chili growing up, it was a full contact sport. He learned to make it young and man; I don’t have to tell you how good his is.” Nix placed a bowl down on the floor, filled with fresh chili, sprinkled with cheese, and a nice dollop of sour cream. The final touch, like a cherry on a sundae, was a little blob of Asian hot sauce. Nix put a stack of crackers down next to Jayce, and stepped back. Jayce had a grin on his face like it was Christmas morning.

“No, you don’t. And the girls are addicted to it, too,” Kelly said as she watched the pair in amusement. “I’m surprised you haven’t shucked him down to his underwear if you’re so concerned about him getting dirty while he eats.”

“It’s the principal of the thing,” Nix smirked. “Besides, he’s in his play clothes, we can always take a flame thrower to them later to get the stains out.”

When Billy came into the house, he looked over at Jayce before going up the stairs. Moments later, he was floating rapidly back down the stairs, his hands gripping the ornate newel post as he stared at the little boy in shock. Jayce was happily eating his meal, most of it smeared on his face, a little in his hair, and his little arms slathered with chili gore.

“Uh, why is the baby eating alone in the living room?” he called as he floated over to Jayce. When Jayce saw his friend, he dipped his hand into the bowl and then offered Billy a fistful of crackery mush. “No thank you,” Billy said quietly, and then came into the kitchen.

“He won’t be alone for long; we’re all coming to join him,” Nix said softly as Kelly finished sweetening a pitcher of iced tea.

“Tables are for eating, not living room floors!” Billy said in indignation.

“I agree,” Nix said. “But chili night is special, it’s special to Jayce. Why don’t you come join us? If you can’t eat, you can at least sit with us and enjoy family time.”

Billy actually considered it for a moment. “Thank you, but no, I need to do a few things around here. Don’t get that crap on my ceiling.”

“No promises,” Nix grinned.

“And don’t make a habit of eating in there, either!” Billy called out.

“You got it, boss!” Nix called back.

“I can’t believe I’m letting you people squat in my home,” Billy muttered to himself.

*****

Nix was right; Jayce had been fine at first, having a great time eating in the living room with the family, but as the night wore on, he sensed the stress the day and his emotions finally rose to the surface. It was just past eleven thirty and Nix was walking back and forth along the living room floor. Jayce clung to his father like a burr, having cried himself out until there was nothing left except for soft whimpers. In his vulnerable emotional state, he felt like he needed to hold his dad. Nix understood how he felt, he couldn’t stop replaying the incident over in his own mind and he felt like having a good hard cry, too. However, he had to stay strong for his son.

“What are you doing up? Don’t you know this is my time to be up?” Billy’s voice was gruff and a little demanding. “Why isn’t that baby in bed yet? It’s way past his time to be up.”

“Now’s not the time, Billy. Jayce is having a bad night,” Nix responded. “I told you how he picked up other people’s emotions and he’s picking up what happened today and it’s stressed him out.”

“Don’t they have some kind of sleepy time medicine for that?” Billy asked.

“If we’re going to talk, why don’t we do it face to face. I hate talking to disembodied voices.”

There was a loud sigh and Billy slowly manifested before the great picture window. He had his back to the room and Nix saw that he could see through him. That seemed unlike the tall blond, who usually came through solid as a rock on his side.

“You all right?” Nix asked as he gently patted Jayce’s back and bounced him in a soothing manner.

“No, I’m not, thank you very much.”

“Are you still upset about what happened today?”

Billy slowly turned his face over his shoulder and pinned Nix with a smoldering glare before grumbling something unintelligible. Nix sighed as he walked closer to his friend. “You’re gonna have to just tell me what’s wrong, because I don’t think I can pack you around on my hip and pace the floor and pat your back, man. Your knees would drag the ground.”

Billy’s upper lip curled in a sneer before he turned his face back to the window. “You want to know what’s wrong with me?” he snapped.

“Yeah, I do,” Nix said. Jayce had finally fallen asleep.

“It’s that… thing,” Billy said as he turned and pointed to Ade’s chair. “I had nightmares about it all day. I dreamed that the only clothes anyone had to wear came from that thing, but it gave birth to the clothes by laying eggs. It’d scoot along the floor, just dropping them wherever and people would scramble to pick them up, and then crack them open and voile, ugly clothes.”

“Wow, dude, that’s messed up. Can I buy some drugs off you?” Nix’s attempt at humor dried up quickly as Billy slowly lifted his arm, the boar bristle brush wagging gently from side to side, as if taunting him.

“Sure,” Billy said, his smile turning mean.

“One of these days, you’re gonna have to tell me where you keep that brush. I find it… intriguing how you can whip that sucker out so fast.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” Billy said, and then dropped his arm. The brush disappeared in a fine mist that dissipated quickly.

“I saw something in you today,” Nix said as he sat down in Ade’s ugly chair. Billy couldn’t help but to grimace at the fact that anyone would willingly sit in that thing. “I saw a side of you that I don’t think you let many people see.”

Billy tossed his head arrogantly and gave a soft huff. “You didn’t see nothing, pal,” he snapped as he pressed his knuckles into his hips.

“See? That,” Nix pointed out. “That’s something you want everyone to see. That’s not what I saw of you today. I saw a real human being capable of worrying about someone other than himself.”

“I don’t worry,” Billy said. “I don’t know where you got this worrying deal from.”

“And now you’re deflecting,” Nix said as he gently patted Jayce’s back when the child stirred in his arms.

Billy scoffed and turned his head to the side. “You were suffering from smoke in your eyes, nothing more.”

“And furthermore, like I said this afternoon,” Nix said, “you sure do a lot of socializing with us when all you do is complain that we’re in your space and that you don’t want anyone here. Three out of six people living here can see and interact with you. As far as I can tell, you really don’t come off as that unhappy that you’ve got friends.”

“Friends?” Billy said as if the word tasted bad. “Do you realize how hard it is to haunt someone when you can speak to them like they’re real people?”

Nix chuckled. “Real people, huh? You mean flesh and blood people? Because we’re all real here, Billy. Even you.” Nix’s mood suddenly grew somber. “We need to have a serious talk, because this is something that’s been on my mind all day.” He rose out of Ade’s chair and carried Jayce to the loveseat, where he placed his son down and pulled the small granny square quilt off the back, covering the child up. When he turned, he pinned Billy with serious eyes. “I… I’ve lived quite a while on the streets, I’m not stupid and I do know what it’s like to live by my gut. I’m sure you do, too.”

Billy lifted his chin and gazed silently down to Nix. “What are you saying?” He finally asked.

“I’m saying, did you have anything personally to do with Sabaste coming to the shop today?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Are you sure it’s not subconscious? Maybe you knew he was following you?”

“I don’t like where this is going. I asked you twice today if this was my fault!” Billy’s voice rose. “I didn’t have anything to do with what happened today! If I want to hurt you, I’ll do it myself, I don’t need some little man doing any of my work for me! Is that what you’re saying? Huh?” he began to yell. Nix lifted his hands in a placating manner.

“Let’s talk, Billy, not yell.”

“It’s hard to talk to someone who’s suddenly accusing them of trying to kill them! If I had known Sabaste was following me, I would have stopped him! Are you saying that you don’t trust me?”

“I don’t know what I’m feeling, or what I’m thinking. But I do know that I need to hear the words coming from you. It’s just nagging at me; it’s chewing my guts up. I need to know that I can trust you.” Nix blinked as Billy was suddenly standing chest to chest with him.

“I didn’t do it,” Billy said in a quiet tone. “I didn’t lead him to your work.” His dark eyes were dancing with something other than anger or frustration and Nix realized that he was hurt. Probably right down to the core.

Nix studied Billy’s eyes for a few long seconds, and then gave a little nod. “Thank you. I believe you. I just needed to hear it for myself.”

“If I didn’t care,” Billy spoke in that same, slow, calculating voice. “Trust me, you’d be nothing more than paint on these walls.”

Nix suddenly gave Billy a lopsided grin. “You know what? You really are pretty when you’re angry,” he said, and then moved away from the ghost to check on Jayce. He cried out suddenly, his hands coming up out of reflex as something bounced between his shoulder blades. When he cast his eyes down to see what it was Billy had pelted at him, he felt a shudder when he realized he had been beaned with the boar bristle brush.

*****

There was a small campfire going beneath the bridge when Sabaste returned home that evening. He had stayed low, fearing Billy would stay in town to try and hunt him down. When he felt enough time had passed, Sabaste had returned to the only shelter he knew. Lance was sitting by the fire, staring into the flames as if they had something important to say to him. Sabaste shook his head, still feeling that Lance was seriously off.

“Hey.”

Lance lifted his head slowly, looked at Sabaste, and then returned to watching the fire.

“I almost got Nix today,” he said as he sat down on the rock. “You should have seen it. I burned that building down. He was trapped, but at the last moment, that blond bastard got me.”

“Have you ever considered that almost doesn’t get the job done? Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.”

Sabaste frowned. “Hey, I caused a lot of damage, I blew the garage up, and you’re talking about horseshoes and hand grenades?” He was offended that he wasn’t being praised for such an accomplishment.

“Yes, but the man you were trying to kill is safe at home. And where are you? Under a bridge. That is why you failed, young man. You’re a failure; you can’t even kill the guy who killed you.”

Lance cut his eyes up to Sabaste, masking the jealousy on his face. He wasn’t expecting the young spirit to be so powerful, so destructive. The fact that the young man had traveled for days trailing his friend should have given him his first clue on just what he was dealing with. The good part of this, however, was that Sabaste was naïve and had no idea of how powerful he really was. That was good for Lance, who decided that he would use him as much as he could to bring revenge upon the blond. He really didn’t care about Sabaste’s agenda; it didn’t benefit him in any way. It was then that he decided to put a halter on this wild horse before Sabaste realized what his true potential really was.

“Things are going to change around here and I want you to know, that without me, you’re nothing. With me, you’ll have all the opportunity in the world to get back at your little friend. You don’t know what I am capable of, I’ve been quiet until now, but I want you to know that if you offer me any resistance, I am going to put you in a special cage and use you for my own spirit charge, and then kill that little boy in front of you.”

Sabaste fell quiet, the fight draining out of him. This wasn’t the first time he had succumbed to a will stronger than his own and it was second nature to take on the role of follower when abuse was meted out.

“First, we’re going to write that oldest girl a note from Kevin. I think the best way to get back at the blond is to go after the family. Besides, I think the Oriental ghost is in love with Jade.”

“I think the term’s actually Asian…”

“Don’t interrupt me. Don’t you ever interrupt me or dare correct me,” Lance warned. “The blond is close with that little Asian ghost, so we’ll hurt him and Jade. Do you see where I’m going?”

Sabaste nodded his head slowly. Yes, he did understand, though that didn’t mean he liked it.