Chapter 13

The porch swing creaked as Nix added his weight into it, the sound causing Gregg to turn his head over his shoulder and acknowledge his friend. “Hey, Nix.”

“Hey kiddo, what are you doing up so late? It’s nearly ten in the morning,” Nix said, and then dug his cigarettes out of his front pocket. “Pretty day to be up, though.”

“Yeah, it is. I didn’t feel like going to bed yet, and since Jayce was in the yard, I thought I’d watch him play.”

Nix nodded as he lit up, and then exhaled twin jets of smoke from his nostrils. He rested one arm across the back of the swing as he began to rock slowly. “It’s nice being here,” he said thoughtfully. “Back home, in Quebec, it wasn’t safe to let a little kid like him have free rein to run and jump and explore.” He paused. “Well, it’s a nice place, but it was city. Cars and strangers and the like. Here, well, you know what I mean.”

“Oh yes,” Gregg said.

“Yeah, so he can have all the free rein to be a kid that he wants.”

“Like trying eat bugs?” Billy asked as he stepped through the wall. He gestured to the child who was holding a particularly large grasshopper in his palm.

“Jayce,” Nix said, drawing his son’s name out with a warning inflection. “Don’t hurt the bug.”

Jayce turned and lifted the unhappy captive up. “Hi, Poppy! He spiddin’!”

“He’s spitting because he doesn’t want you to hurt him,” Nix said. “Go ahead and let him go.”

“Wanna kiss ‘em,” Jayce decided, and then brought the large squirming thing to his face, where he gave it a loud kiss on the head.

“That’s good, Jay, now let him go so he can go eat grass,” Nix said.

“Kay.” Jayce gave the insect another kiss, and then tossed him to the ground. “Bye-bye, hobber, bye…”

“That is so gross, poor grasshopper!” Gregg chuckled.

“Poor grasshopper?” Billy scoffed gently as he took a seat on the top step. “When you were little, younger than Jayce there, you’d catch a frog, and then squeeze it until its guts came out of its mouth.”

Gregg looked at Billy in horror. “I did no such thing.”

“Ask your mother the next time you speak with her. I’ve never heard a woman shriek so much in my death. I swear you went through a frog serial killer phase when you were two!”

Nix grinned at the two. “So, Billy, you got to watch Gregg grow up, I take it?”

“I was there the night he was born,” Billy said.

“You told me once or twice that you were,” Gregg said as he sat down next to Billy. Together they watched Jayce pick blades of grass. “Poor little frogs,” Gregg said softly.

“Yeah,” Billy said, going back to the question Nix had asked. “It was a beautiful thing, seeing you come into the world. All sweet and innocent. Then you learned to talk.”

Gregg laughed at that. “There’s nothing wrong about me talking.”

“And forming opinions. And walking and getting into trouble. I don’t know who you had running around more; me or your parents,” Billy said. He turned his head over his shoulder to address Nix. “And getting him into clothes was a whole other matter. I’d come over to check on the family and there he’d go, running along the yard naked as a jaybird with his parents laughing and chasing after him to get the clothes back on him he’d just shucked.”

“Oh how familiar that is!” Nix exclaimed with a laugh. He laughed harder when he realized that Gregg’s face was beet red, though he was still laughing softly at the story.

“And then, they couldn’t get him to eat. He’d fuss over the simplest things. I swear he was going to starve to death by the time he was four. Picky, picky, picky,” Billy clucked as he shook his head. “But, in the end, I guess he turned out all right,” he sighed.

“Oh you guess I turned out all right, huh?” Gregg smirked. “I think I turned out just fine.”

“Well, we aren’t here to ask your opinion; I’m here to tell embarrassing stories about you.”

“I wish I could share that compliment!” Gregg said.

“I do have one proud moment I’d like to share,” Billy said. “Gregg’s family would often share crop on my property during the warmer months to make extra money and to get some goods for themselves. Well, one of my cousins was a real jerk, and it used to infuriate me how he’d pick on Gregg. Mind you, when this happened, I was still a new ghost and trying to figure things out. He’s lucky he didn’t end up being born today and pulling that stunt, or I would have flicked him like the booger he was.”

“I remember him,” Gregg said with a frown. “He was bigger than I was and always made fun of me because my mother was Japanese.”

Billy nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah, that pissed me off, too. Anyway, when they were walking home from school one day, they had to cut through the side field over there,” Billy said as he pointed to his left, just down the road. “Well, I had gotten into the habit of meeting Gregg at the road, even though he couldn’t see me, I just wanted him to know I was there. So, here I came one day down the field, and the group of kids were going under a barbed wire fence and there I see Gregg holding up the bottom strand. The kid looks at him, shrugs and starts to crawl beneath it. Halfway through, Gregg lifts the wire just a little bit higher, and then just lets it snap down on the kid. Before anyone could say boo about it, he’s down on that boy beating the hell out of him. I think that lasted a good five minutes and then he got up and let the boy finish going under. After that, he didn’t have a problem with the bully.”

“Wow!” Nix said. “You’re a little scrapper!”

Gregg chuckled. “Well, you just get tired of being a victim, you know?”

“Atta boy,” Billy said. He leaned back and watched the child play while Nix and Gregg fell into a comfortable discussion about things he personally had no vested interest in. Billy’s mind decided to wander, instead, to things that were causing him stress. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but he was sure that there was danger lurking close. Unseen and unheard, it didn’t set well within his soul. His eyes slowly scanned the yard, lingering briefly on the little boy who decided to lie on his back in the grass and open and close his legs as if making a snow angel. There was danger, every instinct he possessed warned him of that. Well, so be it, he thought to himself. Whatever was out there, waiting, would have to go through him if it wanted to hurt the family bad enough.

*****

For the past month, Sabaste had used the secret entrance onto Billy’s land via the culvert; that one vulnerable spot the tall blond failed to notice when he put up his nightly barrier. He discovered that the property was so large, that he could move undetected wherever he wished, until he drew near the house that was. Several times, he had tested his boundaries on just how close he could come without alerting Billy, and then he would mark the safety zone with palm-sized stones until he had his own property line.

Sabaste didn’t like the speed the apparition could suddenly manifest himself as he sensed the intruders presence. For the most part, Billy would appear on the front porch, still as stone as his eyes scanned the front and side yards. Then, he would disappear to investigate the back of the house while Sabaste hunched down in the tall grass of the field that surrounded the old home. He knew that Billy was holding a grudge about what had happened at the garage—about not pounding him into an ethereal nub after saving Nix’s life—and word got back to him that if Billy got his hands on him, the first beating he took would be a handshake compared to what was waiting for him. Typically, he would have dismissed the news as that of injured ego, however, Sabaste knew better and had no desire to be on the receiving end of that foul temper.

Billy wasn’t happy with his instincts firing off every few days, alerting him to the presence of an intruder. The more Sabaste tripped his sensors, the crankier he got. It was affecting his night-to-night routine and he began to take out his frustrations on the family. He began to haunt them as if they were enemies, starting three weeks prior when he flipped the kitchen table to lie on its side. There was no denying the fact for Kelly, as she and Jade set it back to rights, that the house was haunted. Jade, of course, blamed her sister. She didn’t want to acknowledge the heavy lead-like feeling of fear in her stomach at the prospect that perhaps she once again had to face the reality that there was a ghost in her house. The following night, he spent the hour before twelve slamming doors and stomping up and down the staircase, rambling to himself that something was out there; Jenn listened to him as she put her arms behind her head while gazing up to the ceiling. Jade had suddenly decided, upon hearing the out of place noises, that perhaps she should listen to music and promptly put her ear buds in while cranking techno music as loud as she could. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Nix had asked Billy nine days ago. “You’re scaring the girls, Kelly’s freaked out and wanting to call in paranormal investigators to see if they can’t get rid of you!”

“Let them try,” Billy had snapped, and Nix could see the stress and frustration etched on the beautiful face. “They won’t be the first ones to come into this place.”

“Just relax, Billy. Whatever it is that’s going on, just try to calm down.”

“I can’t. Something’s bothering me…”

“Understatement of the year,” Nix had commented as he lit a cigarette. The evening was cool with a slight breeze blowing in from the West. It pulled the plume of smoke apart that he exhaled through his nostrils.

“Something’s bothering me,” Billy had only repeated. “Something’s…wrong.”

“What do you think it could be?”

“I think it’s your little friend, but I don’t know how.” They were both leaning against the old stone house, enjoying the night. Summer was almost over and the days were already becoming shy as they began to turn in earlier to give night its due. Billy held out his hand for a cigarette and Nix obliged.

“Could he have snuck in before you could put your little ghost fence up?” Nix asked as Billy produced an old zippo and lit his cigarette. He reached out for it to have a look, and when it was dropped into his palm, he rubbed his fingers over the old design on the front as Billy began to pace.

“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know. If they would just stay up during the day, that would help me out, but they disappear as soon as the sun comes out.”

“Sorry to hear that, it must suck to have an anti-solar security system.”

“Life’s tough on this side.” Billy paused and tipped his head back, watching a handful of clouds as they darted across the sky. “How’s work?”

“They’re still rebuilding the garage, but my boss Ben knows the guys doing the reconstruction and they have me doing the wiring.”

Billy nodded his head, and then lowered it, cutting his dark eyes over to his friend. “I’ll make him pay for that. I never meant for him to follow me, if that’s what he did.”

“It’s in the past, Billy. He would have found me eventually. Hell, he probably already knew where I was and just used you being there to his advantage. You had to know Phantom to know how he worked. I knew him.”

“I’d never hurt you,” Billy said softly as he tossed the half-smoked cigarette to the faint gravel of the old driveway that ran between the houses. He turned his face back to Nix, his voice still soft. “You’re my… friend.”

Nix smiled. “With benefits?”

“Pervert.”

*****

“You have… feelings for her, yet you won’t even sit near her?” Billy scoffed as he approached the back porch. His talk with Nix had eased a burden of stress from his shoulders. Perhaps Gregg was right; it was good to talk about things.

“No, it’s not that I’m timid, I just don’t want to drain the battery in her iPod. She’d go inside if I did that and I just want to see her as she is; with the late evening sun casting it’s warm glow against her pale skin,” Gregg sighed, speaking as one who had fallen deep into the canyon of love with no hope of escape.

“Do you have any idea of how foolish you’re being?” Billy asked as he put one foot upon the back porch step, his hand resting on the railing. “Jade can’t even see you, Gregg! You’re wasting your time, besides, you’re dead. She’s not. You should let her move on with her life.” He was almost sorry for the acerbic sting of his words, but they needed to be said. Gregg’s face reflected the pain of that truth as he leaned his back against the other porch swing. Jade continued to read her book while lost in the strains of her music.

“I know,” he said softly. “But we take our hearts with us, Billy; you know that as well as I do. Just let me love her.”

“I can’t do that in all good conscience,” Billy answered as he walked up the steps. He took a seat on the comfortable wicker chair and dropped his arms on the rests. “I can’t let you do that. I can’t stop you, but I can’t let you, either.”

“That makes no sense.”

“I know, but you’re a smart boy, you’ll figure it out.”

“If only she could see me the way Nix and Jenn and Jayce can!” Gregg lifted his hands and pushed his bangs back as he closed his eyes. “If only—“

“If only, if only,” Billy interrupted as he lifted his hand in a sweeping gesture. “This is why I am trying to get you to set your head straight. It cannot be.”

“If only she knew me,” Gregg finished softly.

“Life,” Billy began gently as he gazed out into the field beyond the old stone smoke house that the family had converted into a storage shed, “is often full of broken hopes, lost dreams, and bitter disappointments. Yes, we take our hearts with us, but we also take truths with us too.”

“I’ve been dead around a hundred and eighty years,” Gregg said as he finally released his face from his hands. “I’ve seen people come and go, I’ve seen the world grow and change, but never, not once, have I ever felt the pull to my heart the way she does mine. And we’ve not spoken a single word to each other.”

“Yet, consider it—how unfair that this is so one-sided. If she could see us now, see how you felt, it would be unbalanced and not in your favor. You know so much about her, yet she knows nothing about you. You’d probably frighten her; being something she could see yet not explain.” Billy paused. “Besides, do you really know her? You’ve observed her, but do you know her?”

“I think so,” Gregg said. “And perhaps I shall have to make myself known in other ways…”

Billy cut his eyes over to the side, and then gave his head a slow shake. “Leave her be,” he said wisely. “Let her dreams be dreams, what you’re thinking can only make things worse.”

“You don’t have a romantic bone in your body, do you?”

“Not anymore,” Billy sighed, and then cut his eyes over towards the stone fence close to the old smoke house. It was topped with intricate wrought iron on top and within the confines was the small graveyard where he was buried.

*****

“Little mouse, what are you doing?” Billy asked as he floated up through the floor in Jenn’s room. She was sitting in front of her dollhouse with a large box next to her. Ade was coming home in six weeks, so he decided to send the family some gifts. Jenn had been the recipient of a large haul of replica antique furniture. Her squeal of joy had drawn his attention.

“Don’t you know how to knock?”

“Nope.”

She tilted her face up to him, gazing at him stubbornly before lifting out a little couch, still wrapped in plastic, from the box. Billy sat down next to her and peered into the dollhouse. “My sisters used to have these,” he said, tapping the wood frame with a long, slender finger.

“Please don’t tear up my dollhouse.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“How many sisters did you have?”

“Oh, more than I can count,” Billy said as he leaned forward. “This is well made, where did you get it?”

“Dad made it for me.”

“You’re kidding me,” Billy looked at her, one pale brow cocked high. “That’s pretty impressive.”

Jenn smiled, pleased at the compliment as she took the small piece of furniture out of the plastic. “I got it for my fifth birthday present. It’s really big, but everything works like it’s supposed to.”

She placed the couch in the living room. “Jade makes me curtains and throw rugs, too, sometimes. I love them, they’re really real.” She lifted a small blue and white area rug. It was oval and woven, just like their larger counterparts. Billy took it in his hand and examined it. It fit perfectly in his palm.

“So Jade made this, huh?”

Jenn nodded her head, watching him curiously.

“Fantastic workmanship.” He handed it back to Jenn, who was a little more than relieved that he hadn’t destroyed it. His mood had been unstable for the past month and she was a little on edge. That was also the reason he had decided to come visit her that night. To set her mind at ease. “I’m surprised she can do this, most kids her age, and yours, like to sit in front of that idiot box while it sucks what brains you have right out of your head.” He rapped his knuckles gently against her temple for emphasis.

“Momma doesn’t let us watch a lot of television,” Jenn replied as she reached back into her box to retrieve another treasure. “She says the same thing you do.”

“Smart woman.”

“She is. Can I ask you a question?”

“Can you?”

“May I ask you a question,” Jenn sighed. Billy was starting to remind her a lot of her mother the more she grew to know him.

“Shoot.”

“Are you mad at us?”

“No,” he answered softly. “I’m not mad at you.”

“Then why have you been making such much noise and tearing things up?”

“Because I am mad. Just… not at you.”

“Are you mad at Jade?”

“I’m not mad at anyone in this house!” he snapped, and then took a moment to collect himself. “No, I’m not mad at any of you. I’m mad at someone else.”

“Was it that scary guy that keeps walking up and down the road in front of the house?”

“Scary guy?” Billy’s eyes flashed for a moment before he guarded his expression.

Jenn nodded, and then sat patiently as Billy reached out to gently push her bangs out of her face.

“What did the scary guy look like?” he asked while forcing himself to remain calm.

“He was really skinny and really tall. He had an ugly beard and he stared at me. I had ridden my bike down the driveway to get the mail because Daddy was sending us letters and I wanted to get mine first, before Jade got hers. And when I got back on my bike,” she failed to mention that she had stuffed the rest of the mail back into the box once she had gotten her letter. “He was just… suddenly there. I pretended not to see him.”

Billy nodded his head, his full lips drawn into a tight line. He knew exactly whom it was that Jenn had spotted and it had him boiling with rage on the inside. “That was very wise,” he said softly as he gazed through the dollhouse. “If you ever see him again, calmly come get me, even if I’m asleep, do you understand? You did the right thing by pretending you didn’t see him. You ignore him, walk, don’t run, and come get me. I’ll take care of him.”

“I understand, who is he?” she asked as she unwrapped a kitchen table. It was the warm rich red of a fine cherry finish, trimmed in black with matching chairs waiting to join it.

“He’s… just promise me, little mouse, if you ever see him again, calmly come find me. Do not panic and do not acknowledge him, do you understand?” He felt it imperative to drive home the notion not to panic. It only gave spirits an adrenaline rush for the chase.

“Pretend he’s not real?”

“Exactly.” Billy reached out again and this time, put his hand on top of Jenn’s head. She looked at him, mistrust replaced by open confusion about the sudden bought of niceness laced with concern. After a moment, she shrugged and put the table into the kitchen of the dollhouse.