Note: Three updates today simply because I don’t know if I’ll have the energy for it over the next three days, where I will be out of the house a lot. We’ll see if I do. But if I don’t, I will write as soon as I have energy for it again. The plot haunts me through my working hours and into my sleep. Not even kidding. However the characters do not belong to me, but to MysteryBen and Artsy.
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Arthur woke with a cramp in his side and a crick in his neck, curled up on the floor and still clinging to a snoring Mystery. Sunlight filtered in through his broken window, prodding him awake.
He was on day four now. The ink smear on his floor was happy to remind him of his shrunken lifespan. But the despair had lightened some, at least for now. By now he understood he could sink under it at any moment, but opening the floodgates had lessened the pressure some.
He glanced down at Mystery, shaking him slightly. “Hey, buddy.” He noted an extra couple of charms on Mystery’s collar, and wondered if Vivi put them there. They looked harmless, maybe random presents for the dog.
I should board up the window. The thought crossed his mind, and he dismissed it just as quickly. In a few days, it wouldn’t matter. And he didn’t feel like spending any time doing something that wouldn’t matter. “How ‘bout we go for a walk, Mystery? I haven’t walked you in a few days.”
The dog blinked up at him, dipping his head somberly. Arthur stretched as he stood, then walked over to the closet and grabbed the dog-leash off the knob. He clipped it onto Mystery’s collar. “Y’know, appearances,” He apologized, knowing full well the dog was the very model of self-restraint and propriety in public.
They left the house together, strolling down the street as the breeze swept autumn leaves across their path. Arthur let his mind wander as they walked. He wondered what he could really leave Vivi to explain. The note on his end table wouldn’t cut it, he would get that sanded off by that evening, he decided.
He’d like to see her again. Apologize. He shouldn’t have shouted.
But again, he couldn’t have her in Lewis’ path again.
His mind was tired. Tired of running over this scenario over and over again. But he felt trapped, unable to change the line of his thoughts. They just circled around with each other over and over and over again, an endless parade of shame and failure. Really, there would be no winning in this situation. He would die with Vivi angry at him, Mystery mourning him, and Lewis giving him his due.
He hadn’t been paying attention to where they were walking, just aimlessly following as Mystery tugged him along. When he finally came to himself, he stood in the last place he would have ever have thought to come.
The graveyard.
Arthur looked down to Mystery, who stared up at him through yellow tinted glasses, expectantly.
“Buddy, why’d you bring me here?”
Mystery tugged him forward again, bringing him to stand in front of the grave he’d only visited once in his life. He gently took his leash in his mouth and tugged it out of Arthur’s slack grip, removing himself several feet away to give Arthur privacy.
Arthur stared at the headstone. It was a beautiful piece. The three of them had moved to the most ghost-infested city they could find and applied to the local college, so by rights Lewis’ body should have been shipped home. Only, he’d never had a home to go back to. Not one he’d ever talk about anyway. He always got very quiet and stony when it was mentioned. He suspected once or twice, by the way Vivi would slip her hand into his, that Lewis had told Vivi. He’d only ever told Arthur that his family was as good as dead to him, and left it at that.
So without any family to notify, they had buried him here. Money had never been an issue for Arthur, his robotics patents kept him afloat and comfortable, and he’d owed it to Lewis to lay his body to rest at least.
But he never came here. He had no right to, he knew that. Even now he should leave, but for some reason he found himself sitting cross-legged on top of the grave, staring at the headstone. It was surely the last place Lewis would look for him, and maybe he could have a few moments to sort his thoughts. Bluebells decorated the grave, not yet wilted. Vivi must have been there recently. Withered blue petals indicated several other past visits.
“She really loved you, y’know that right?” His voice came out more cracked than he intended. “She’s always been my buddy, my pal. But she fell hard for you. I didn’t get why it bothered me so much, until I realized you’d take her away from me someday. And maybe I wanted to be best friends with her forever. You know, like how some people get married and never stop being best friends and hanging out? I’d just never thought of it before. And you thought of it first.” He turned his head away. “But maybe you needed her more. It always kind of bothered me, you’d tell her things you wouldn’t tell me. I couldn’t get that. There was something tying you two together, and it was shutting me out.”
He clenched his eyes shut. “I didn’t want to be shut out, Lewis. But I didn’t want you dead. I swear. It crossed my mind for like, half a second, then I threw it out. But it was enough…” He shuddered. “Lew I’ve never felt anything like it in my life. I could feel my arm going dead, like it was rotting on my body, and something was reaching through my arm into my chest, and pulling on those feelings. Feeding off them. And then…” He bowed his head. “My arm moved. I didn’t move my arm Lew, I swear. I didn’t want you dead. I couldn’t even move to grab you, cause it was spreading. It wanted more, it wanted all of me. It was going to do things, terrible things.” His chest constricted. “It needed me to leave the cave and do terrible things. And then Mystery saved me.”
Thin laughter shook his frame. “I could really use your help you know. I hate research on stuff like that, and I still don’t know what that dog is. But whatever he is, he ripped my arm off, and it stopped. Just like that. But it was too late.”
He reached out his arm, touching the stone lightly with his fingertips. “Look, Lew. I know you want me dead. And I know you have every right, and I’m not gonna stop you.” His voice was quiet. “Even if I didn’t shove you, I let it in, and that’s my fault. I should have talked to you. To Vivi. I let it build up, and if I hadn’t… well.” He took a deep breath. “But for now… just for a little bit, can I pretend we’re still best friends?” He blinked back the blurriness. “I just wanna talk about the old days a little. Cause I miss you.”
And so, as the hours passed, he talked. He talked about the first time he’d met Lewis, how bullies were ruining his science project, but Lewis had come up and quietly asked them if there was a problem. Lewis, who was taller by a head than any of them. The bullies had slunk off, and Lewis had asked if Arthur could help him figure a few things out on the assignment.
He talked about the first time Lewis had met Vivi, nearly bowled over by the ecstatic girl’s speech patterns. She’d heartily thanked Lewis for being so gallant and saving her best friend, leaving out the fact that she suffered equally under their abuse. The day Lewis had found out about that, he was sent to the principal’s office under consideration for expulsion, and the bullies had been admitted to the ER with broken bones.
Arthur chuckled about Lewis’ silence, and how it fit Vivi so well. She could go on and on, talking to him about everything and anything, and he would just listen, a small smile on his face.
He talked about the big move. His and Vivi’s parents hadn’t been thrilled, but had sent them off with good wishes. With his finances already well in hand, he’d rented a tiny house and invited Lewis to be his roommate. Vivi managed an apartment and college classes between scholarships and work as a parttime barista. It was a perfect setup. They worked hard at jobs and classes all week, and on the weekend they would gather up their gear and go ghost hunting.
He talked about Lewis’ clothes. Arthur couldn’t believe Lewis was such a dandy about clothes, always dressing to the nines no matter where he went. It made no sense to him, it never had, but Arthur had to admit, Lewis was always the biggest presence in the room whenever they went anywhere.
Arthur had never had much appreciation for music beforehand, but he’d grown used to hearing it as he whiled away time in his workshop. Lewis would often dissect popular music, classical music, and any genre he came across for themes, sounds, and flaws. Lewis had an ear for rhythm and rhyme that Arthur could appreciate mathematically, and he would often work on his projects while listening to Lewis test some of his own creations out.
He admitted to Lewis that he’d always been afraid of his temper. Ever since he’d heard about the bullies going to the ER, he’d always been very careful to never provoke his friend. But once, they’d gone to a party at a bar and gotten carried away. Arthur had said something stupid, and had gotten a nasty punch from it. Before he knew it, Lewis had leaped on the guy, pounding him like a drum until police lights flashed outside. Arthur had to post bail for him that night, but when they went home they never spoke of it again.
“You know, Lew, I gotta admit. Between what you said about your family, and stuff like that, sometimes I wonder what they did to you. You were always really quiet, y’know? Quiet like people who’ve seen too much, or are hiding to keep themselves safe. I wish you’d let me in more, like you let Vivi in. Well,” he checked himself, “Not like that, I mean, look I know it’s different, but I was your friend too. You could have told me anything.” He sighed. “But at least you told Vivi, or at least I think you did. She was always able to draw you out better.”
He sighed. The headstone was cast in an eerie orange sunset glow now. He’d been going on for hours, and another day had passed him by. Time was running out, and he still had to set his affairs in order.
He stood, his joints cracking as he did. He brushed the top of the headstone one last time, mumbling, “I’ll see you soon, Lewis.” Before turning and walking back toward the path. He whistled a low note, and Mystery padded up along behind him. The leash slipped back into his hand, and he headed back into town.
Three days to go.