Chapter Fourteen
It’s been almost two weeks since this Autumn bitch has waltzed into my Blakey’s life, and ever since she’s made an appearance, the man’s been hard to reach. They’ve been spending way too much time together.
Now they’re strolling through town like a couple. His hand guides her along, making sure she stays on his right side, so no cars hit her. The only reason they’re even in town is because she wanted to buy something from the store—more sage if I had to guess—and he volunteered to go with her.
The way he looks at her makes me sick. That stupid gleam that sparkles only when she smiles. Or how his smile annoyingly upturns every time she laughs. He’s enamored with her, and it looks like she’s just as enamored with him.
It’s so… ugh.
They lock hands, their arms swinging carelessly between them, neither of them remembering they aren’t alone.
“Fuck this shit,” I snap, moving between them with enough force to break them apart. Phantom stumbles just a tad, but it’s her that falls to her knees, still weak from the séance.
“Autumn, are you okay?” He helps her to her feet, their eyes locking so intensely, it makes it hard to breathe.
She shyly pushes one of her curls behind her ear. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You know, you’re trying to look adorable but failing miserably.”
Autumn laughs.
“What’s so funny?” Blake questions.
“Eve. She’s a petty ghost.”
“I think you mean pretty. I’m a pretty ghost. Get it right.”
Blake frowns. “Any idea how to get her to cross over yet?”
Autumn shakes her head. “No, I’m sorry, I wish I did, but her tether to you is stronger than any I’ve seen before.”
They’re swinging hands again, but this time she’s got that stupid barrier up, so red-rovering them apart is not going to happen this time.
“Have you seen a lot of ghosts attach to people?”
“Poltergeists? Sometimes, but usually they just tell me what they want and move into the light. Eve’s different… she’s…”
“Difficult?” he finishes for her.
She chuckles. “And then some.”
“Difficult? I’m the difficult one? You’re the boyfriend stealing tramp who wooed him with her ghost-talking ways.”
Autumn shifts uncomfortably.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Blake questions, gripping her hand a little tighter.
“Every time she gets angry like this, I feel weaker. My tricks for keeping her out of my head are not as easy anymore. She doesn’t like us being together.”
“Well, she doesn’t really get a say…” Blake blurts, the lie rolling off his tongue like a lemon drop. He knows, just as well as I do, that I get a say whether he likes it or not.
Autumn chuckles. “Tell that to her. Pretty sure she’s already picked out China patterns, and is ready to meet you at the aisle, Beetlejuice style.”
Blake’s the one laughing now. “You know, it was never this easy with her. I can’t remember the last time she and I laughed together like this—”
“I can. It was—” But the thought fizzles out, almost like it never existed in the first place. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time we laughed together, either. Fuck. Why is it getting harder to remember things?
She stops just outside a strange building. “I’m gonna go inside and pick out a few things, but I need you to stay out here, please.”
“Why?”
She grins a little too widely. “Because there are a lot of things she can pick up and throw in there.”
The way his eyes light up when he laughs, throwing his head back so carefree and happy, it hurts. Hurts more than I thought it would.
She disappears inside, leaving Phantom and me alone together. Finally.
I don’t know if he can sense me, or just assumes I’m always listening, but he takes out a cigarette and lights it, then rests his head against the side of the building.
“This would be so much easier if you weren’t still hanging around, Eve.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
He keeps going. “I know you love and care about me, but I honestly don’t know what to do anymore. I like her, Eve. A lot, and I don’t want you fucking ruining this for me.”
An older couple walks by him, notices him talking to himself like some crazy weirdo, and quickly rushes up the path.
“Ugh, I just want this to be over with.”
“Stop saying that!” I scream at him. “Stop trying to get rid of what we have.”
He’s seconds away from getting another earful when he suddenly straightens and carefully ducks into the space between buildings.
“Fuck!” he grumbles, using the shadows to conceal him just as three guys in Misfits cuts appear across the street.
You can hear them talking from here, and it’s not good.
“Yeah, after the shit they pulled at the pool hall, we gotta hit them where it hurts. If we take out their leader, we can get them back for taking out Joker the way they did.”
Another one steps out of the building with a girl who looks rather familiar on his arm.
“We know where their next shipment is, so we need to make sure they have no idea we’re coming.
” He’s ungodly tall, with a large mustache, arms as big as boulders, and a strange evilness in his eye.
The girl, she’s seen better days. There’s a fresh shiner on her eye, one that’s already bulging and bruising.
She’s wearing an oversized hoodie and looks way too thin. Whoever they are, they’re important.
He grips the girl by the arm and throws her toward his bike. “Get on the fucking bike, Poppy.”
She flinches, then reluctantly obeys before he’s hopping on in front of her. “We need to make sure we do this right. I want Drac’s head. We already got his father; now it’s time to erase the bloodline.”
One of the guys snickers. “We could kidnap his kid and wife too; that could be fun.”
The man shakes his head. “Nah, leave them alone.”
“Really? But Warden always had us kidnapping bitches to teach our enemies a lesson.”
“Well, Warden and his little bitch went into hiding, and I’m the fucking one in charge now. So, do me a favor, Razor, and fucking learn your place. Warden left me in charge, so what I say fucking goes. I’m acting Prez, and if I say leave his wife and kids alone, I fucking mean it.”
“Okay. Okay.” He holds up his hands like he’s afraid.
It’s then I realize the big guy has got out his gun and is pointing it at the lower member.
“Now, I need eyes back on the warehouse on 45th Street. We need all available men there to intercept Moseley’s latest shipment.”
“It feels wrong to be going up against Moseley like this. He’s always been good to us.”
The big guy snaps. “Moseley is a fucking weasel who thinks he has power in this town. Yeah, I saw him bringing in some of his better contacts, but the man’s got nothing.
If we’re going to survive out here, then we need to make sure that Moseley and the Elm Street Riders know exactly who’s in charge around here.
” He turns so they can see his cut. “And that’s the goddamn Fernley Raging Misfits.
I didn’t take over this club for you all to become a bunch of lemmings who follow some pompous prick around.
The Misfits will do what the Misfits do best…
cause chaos and anarchy. Now fucking get to the warehouse. We strike tonight!”
The big guy pulls off with the girl behind him. I feel bad for her because it’s obvious he’s smacking her around. Unfortunately, she’s too fucking deep to back out of it.
“Fuck!” Phantom swears, pulling out his phone the second the last of the motorcycles rides by.
I can’t hear who he’s calling, but whoever it is, picks up after the first ring.
“Yeah, I just had a run in with the Misfits and their new leader, Arturo. You aren’t gonna like what I have to say.” He pauses for a few seconds while the other person says something.
“Yeah, I’ll just have to drop off Autumn, and then I can be there.”
He smirks. “Shut up, Voorhees. It’s not like that. At least not yet.” There’s a strange reddish tint to his cheek, and I realize he’s blushing again.
“Yeah. Yeah. Fuck off. Let me take her home, and I’ll be right there.” He hangs up just as Autumn comes out of the building. She looks around the street, thinking he ditched her. It would’ve been better if he did. She’s deadweight, anyway.
“Phantom?”
He emerges from the alleyway, scaring her enough to make her jump.
She grasps at her chest. Those green eyes are too wide and stupidly beautiful to be frightened. Could she be any more annoying? “Jesus, you scared me. I thought you left.”
He laughs. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you.” He looks around nervously. “Let’s get you home, okay? I gotta get back to the clubhouse to handle some business.”
“Yeah, he’s about to get himself killed.”
Autumn frowns. “You’re not going to be doing something dangerous, are you?”
His hand rubs the back of his neck. “Nah, just need to meet for Church.”
“He’s lying to you, Autumn.”
She straightens a little, clutching her bag that’s wafting out sage like chemical warfare.
“Eve says you’re lying to me.”
“Well, Eve needs to stay out of it. The less you know, the better.”
Autumn’s bottom lip juts out just a tad before she drops it. “Okay.”
“Aww, come on. Don’t do that to me, baby.”
“Baby? Stop calling her baby. I’m your baby, not her!”
Autumn moves into his outstretched arms, her frown doing nothing to muddle up her pretty face. Even sad and depressed, she’s still goddamn beautiful. Is there anything this woman can’t do?
“I’m just worried about you, Blake. I like you, and the last thing I want is for something bad to happen to you.”
He melts at her words. “I really like you too, Autumn.”
Then they’re kissing, and not just a quick peck on the lips, either. One of those suck your soul right out of you, toe curling, masterpiece kisses he never gave me when I was alive.
And yeah… it does something to me.
Ripping the bag from her arm, I throw it to the ground, ready to stomp all over her little sage sticks and ruin them.
“God, I really wish she’d just cross over already.”
Autumn shakes her head. “She has to be ready, Blake. And right now, she’s too jealous to do that.”
He gives her another swift kiss, then takes her hand, just as she puts up that stupid bubble of protection again.
This bitch needs to go.
I just need to figure out how…
And I think I know just the ghost to help me.