Chapter 14: Past Haunts

Blake stood outside the locked doors of his old home just staring at the front walkway as if it was some angry snake waiting to strike him for his trespass. The look of the place was dark and ominous and remained the resolute, chilling reminder of days long since passed and the man he could no longer be. The yard was trimmed and had been well cared for by his dearest friend and he could see through the partially uncovered windows not much had changed on the inside either. “Are you going in or plan on standing out here all night?” Nick’s voice broke through the silence and he moved around Blake towards the front door.

Pulling out the key he unlocked the entry and waited for Blake to join him before stepping over the threshold. Just as he’d noted, the décor within the foyer as well as living room and lounge areas were still as he’d left them. “I couldn’t watch them sell the place and auction off all of your belongings. Your Mom sold it to me and I-I don’t know I just couldn’t part with anything. Every piece of furniture, every nook and cranny in here was just a reminder. The couch we watched the Superbowl on, the stain on the hallway carpet where I made you spill your drink on that model’s shirt, right down to the hole in the dining room table where I dared you to stab a pencil through my hand and you missed. I didn’t want anyone to take those things away.”

“I appreciate this Nick; more than you know,” he finally spoke and stepped deeper into the home. “The closest I felt to ‘home’ again was watching Natalie back at your place enjoying dinner like a regular person. How was she, by the way, when you drove her home? Did she seem annoyed at all?”

“No she was fine. I met her Mother at the door and she thanked me for taking care of her daughter and invited me as a special guest to her Women’s Club charity event. From the look on Natalie’s face though I could tell it was something she didn’t think I should attend, so I agreed,” he smirked. “Before I left she warned me that her Mother’s friends were going to drill me and possibly try and squeeze me for more than I’d want to ‘donate’. I told her I could handle it no problem.”

“Did she say anything about me?” Nick shook his head no and Blake sighed. “Natalie invited me to the Masquerade also. I told her I’m not one for social events so much anymore. Um did she burn the sage I gave her?”

“I don’t know Blake I only stayed long enough to make sure she got in safely. Why all the questions?” Nick asked and narrowed his gaze towards his friend.

“I was just curious; no big deal.”

“No it’s something else, something deeper than that,” he teased and poked at Blake like an annoying kid brother. “You like her,” Nick replied in awe as he watched Blake’s face run a gauntlet of emotions before stopping on obvious denial.

“What?”

“Yeah! I don’t know why I didn’t see it earlier but you like Natalie! That’s the reason you’re so overly concerned about her well being!”

“I d-d-don’t…I’m just her friend is all.”

“Blake I’ve seen your ‘just friends’ female friends and NONE of them have ever made you smile as much or go out of your way to help. Admit it, you like her!”

Blake walked towards his couch and dropped his bag to the ground with a huff as he thought about the long days he’d create for himself just to catch a glimpse of Natalie jogging through the park. He liked her sure enough; he could even say he’d fallen in love with her but none of that made a difference. He was what he was and there was no way around it. “It doesn’t matter anyway,” Blake growled and dropped to the sofa with his back still to his friend. “If she knew about me she’d never want to be around me again. It’s not something everyone accepts and it isn’t something I can just turn off.”

“Have you even thought about telling her? Seeing how she would feel?”

“Of course I’ve thought about it! Sometimes it’s ALL I think about. But do you have any idea how dangerous this could be for her? I’m not a part of her world I know that. And what little she graces me with when she’s around is…it’s way more than I could ever even ask for.”

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future, Blake. You can’t expect people to accept you when you haven’t even accepted yourself.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because you’re my friend and I love you regardless of what you are. And if Natalie is everything that you think she is, she’ll be able to accept you too.” Nick paused for a moment and moved closer to where Blake sat. “You should do something nice for her. Something that shows your interest but something no one has ever done or that she would expect. It might make her a little warmer to the idea of…you.”

Turning with a small half smile towards Nick he looked past him to the stairs leading to the art room and felt his feet moving him forward before his mind had a moment to object. The door opened with a faint groan as if the lid of a time capsule was being removed for the first time in years.

He inhaled quickly reeling in the scent of fresh paints and ink that consumed the space he’d set aside as his place of solace. Dozens of prints from his ‘younger years’ covered the walls and floors and even more were scattered unfinished over any clear surface that occupied the room. “Wow,” he gasped and picked up a framed photo from his piano of him, his mother and Nick that was taken a few birthdays ago.

“It’s like waking from a dream isn’t it?” Nick ran his fingers across an oil sketch of a woman hanging on the wall. The portrait was of someone Blake had familiar run-ins with no doubt. They often found themselves the subject of his work as he once confessed that sex was a very motivating muse for him. 

All at once the thought of his lost portraits and photos of Natalie flooded his mind and he yelled in anguish at the loss. “FUCK!” Nick turned to watch as Blake angrily tossed large canvases to the floor spilling paint and brushes throughout the room. “Natalie!”

“What?”

“They’re gone! All of them!”

“What’s gone Blake? What are you talking about?”

“My sketches, my photographs, my…fuck! It doesn’t fucking matter now! It’s all gone! Those bastards are going to pay. I’ll fucking murder them all!”

“Whoa, ok slow down, Blake. Don’t get yourself worked up like this! You can’t just go running off and…” Nick stopped himself as he looked up into the cold yellow eyes of his best friend. He backed away slightly but tried to remain calm in the face of what was quickly becoming a heated situation. “Think about what you’re saying alright? You’re talking about killing people Blake, that’s not you.”

“You don’t know me anymore Nick!” he growled and a thick puff of hot air rolled visibly out of his flared nostrils. Nick swallowed hard and shook his head in agreement.

“You’re right, I don’t, ok? But the Blake I did know wouldn’t allow his emotions to control him to the point of killing someone. Think about what you just got back! Do you really want to lose it all again? Think about Natalie, Man, I mean…you want to try something with her but you might be going off to get yourself hurt, then what?” Nick noticed how nearly instantly Blake began to relax and made note of the fact. “It’s her; she’s your anchor. That’s good, it’s good you have a shut off valve because I spent four years keeping this place in pristine condition I’d hate to see you ruin all of my hardwork in one day,” he joked and headed towards the kitchen.

Blake looked at one of the paintings on his wall then towards his back yard and an idea struck him. There was a lot of empty space just near the ledge between the two mountains that hid his home. When he first bought the place he was hoping to have a pool installed beneath the willow tree and have a perfectly shaded Gazebo just nearby but something else would have a much suiting home in that open space. He smiled to himself and quickly started after his friend hoping to make the vision in his head come to life.

The song slowly died down and another quickly started behind it as DJ Rude Dude rocked the house and kept the floor bumping. Natalie, Jessica and Roxanne let the music guide them and laughed and danced together beneath the hot, rotating lights overhead and the glass floor at their feet. It was Jessica’s idea although hearing that they had supposedly taken a trip out to their favorite hotspot when they hadn’t was cause enough to come out.

With a head motion to her friends, Natalie started off the floor and towards the wall of glass that separated the dancing club hoppers from the lounge and more relaxed atmosphere. “Whew, this was a great idea!” Roxanne grinned and grabbed a bottle of Cristal from a passing waiter. “So glad you lied to your Mom to get us out here Nat,” she kidded and popped the cork on the bottle to pour into the glasses on the table.

“It wasn’t exactly a lie. Besides you would have too if you were feeling smothered and just wanted a night to breathe!”

“Yeah and about that, tell us more about Nick DeLong,” Jessica wiggled her eyebrows at Natalie and stretched the last part of his name as the three of them slid into their VIP booth at Club Liquid. “What’s his place look like? I mean I’ve seen it from up on the hill or whatever with those thick iron gates that no one can get into but, how does the inside look?”

“Yes! Is his bathroom really as big as a football field like they showed on Cribs?” Roxanne joined. “Oh! His bedroom, I KNOW you had to have seen it up-close!”

“What? What kind of girl do you think I am? I stayed in the guest room and he went out for the night with some model. I can say though that his cooking is great!”

“Wait what were you even doing there in the first place? How did you two meet?” Jessica asked taking a sip of her champagne.

“Um he’s a friend of a friend. I didn’t really know where Blake was taking…” Natalie stopped as she realized what she was saying and looked up into the expectant eyes of her friends as she paused.

“Go on? Who is this ‘Blake’ and what friend of Nick’s have you been keeping from us Nat?”

“I knew you were distracted lately!” Roxanne gasped. “I told Jess you seemed out of it the night of her party but even more I hadn’t seen you rushing off to practice in the late hours of the afternoon. Come on girl, spill! Who is this mystery guy huh? Is he cute? Is he buff? Does he have any tattoos?”

“Is he better in bed than your worthless ex?” Jessica tossed in as she watched Riley make his way into the VIP area with his arm wrapped around a blonde. “I’d love nothing more than to wipe that stupid little smirk off his fat face,” she scowled as he noticed them and excused the people in his company.

“Ladies!”

“How’s the Littlest Dick in the World doing these days? The doctors figure out what that green vomit is spewing out of your baby dick? Or are they just calling it Riley Scum?”

“Jessica! Witty as always! How is the Cum ‘N’ Go Open all night business going for you? Suck any interesting dicks lately?”

“You fucking…” Jessica growled and swung her fist sharply. Riley caught her hand before it could connect and smiled and she quickly jerked away.

“Right. Anyway, I was just coming over to see how my favorite girl was doing. I spoke to your Mom earlier Natalie. She confirmed our costumes for the Masquerade; Romeo and Juliet. Suiting don’t you think?”

“I’d rather suck down a bottle of poison and die like Juliet before I ever go anywhere with you!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that sweetheart. Your parents have already given us their blessings. It’s only a matter of time before I win you back. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the rest of your night. Roxy, Skank.”

“We need to find a better place to club,” Roxanne replied noticing the soured expression on Natalie’s face as she watched Riley head back to his friends and swap spit with the blonde sitting beside him.

“Or someone willing to kill that bastard for cheap,” Jessica joked and watched the smile grow on everyone’s lips. “Come on, let’s get out of here. And don’t think we’re done talking about your mystery man Talie!”

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