Chapter 14: "When it rains, it pours."

The farther away from Adam’s house I walked, the more depressed I felt. It didn’t hit me like a ton of bricks, but my spirits gradually lowered when I thought more clearly.

I told myself, “Don’t… don’t… don’t… please, don’t...” I kept repeating that to myself.

After what I had almost done to myself, I wanted to feel safe.

Clementine faded and Clint woke up. This time, I was aware of what could happen if I let myself slip too far into the rabbit hole.

For just a minute, I stood still and tried to relax. I had a goal and I let that be my main thought rather than what all had happened with Adam.

I shook my head a little and clenched my jaw tightly. “Careful. Tread carefully.” I took a shaky breath and stopped for a moment.

Looking around me, I knew where I was and how far my home would be. I was myself again, and that meant I was cool and collected. I was in control.

For what it was worth, I could turn around and head right back home. It wouldn’t be too difficult to explain myself. I’d get into some trouble and maybe put into some kind of house arrest until my dad returned.

“That is possible.” I liked the idea, and I could embellish it enough to avoid another fiasco.

All I needed to do was tell Mike that I had walked away in my sleep and Adam came by to let me rest at his place. They could talk with each other about it to clear up all the confusion.

“Or maybe Helen could explain for Adam?” It sounded like a good plan.

I’d be free from temptation.

At that realization, I should’ve been smiling ear to ear. Instead of that joy of obtaining freedom, I felt a swell of emotions rise up and lodge itself in the back of my throat, choking me.

And there was a build up of uncomfortable pressure like I had a minor headache.

For a blink of a second, I had shut the morning light out to further my attempt to relax. I could feel the cool tears run down my feverishly hot cheeks.

Shaking my head, I cursed myself through gritted teeth. “Fuck me… Just fuck me.”

Closing my eyes again, the tears wiped clean off my face, I took another deep breath and counted down from ten before I resumed walking. I had wanted to go home --

-- but I changed back to the initial plan: school.

All I could think about then was how to approach Roger. If I strayed from that thought, I would stop and struggle with myself to not break down again. I didn’t want to be caught by anyone, especially if I was discovered crying.

Passing my street, I saw there were two police cruisers situated outside of my home. They knew I was missing.

The question that boggled my mind was, ’Should I approach them and explain my situation or ignore this chance? Should I keep going?’

In I supposed a minute, my mind strayed.

I stopped and stared at my home. “It would be easy to return.” I thought, ’What could they really do to me for leaving in the middle of the night? Arrest me?’

That was something they could do and I wouldn’t protest. Behind bars, I might be safe from the invisible thing that stalked me and it would excuse me from staying any longer with Adam.

“...But would she leave him alone?” I worriedly thought, ’What if she becomes angry? Will she hurt him?’

I saw myself standing in the middle of an intersection.

“Fuck.” Any direction I went, I was fucked. It was just a matter of how badly I was going to bend over and receive it.

First off, my life at school was over, so that was a dead end with me simply tying a loose end with an asshole.

Secondly, returning home would land me in a heap of trouble with the police -- indirectly, but still trouble for someone.

On a third note, turning back to Adam meant I would blissfully lose my mind once more.

And on the topic of losing my mind, then there was that mysterious Hell where I’d lost my dad.

School was the less painful direction to go in at the moment. “For now...”

To be honest with myself, I thought of the way I would be confronting Roger was perhaps one of the most stupidest ideas I had ever had. Discovering the truth was a good thing, but I should’ve done it before when I was still myself and had attended school.

Not like this.

“I need a better plan.” And I had time to come up with one while mentally mapping what neighborhood I was in and where I needed to be… I figured it out, eventually.

When I crossed the street and stood in front of the Italian restaurant, I had an opportunity to see myself. Immediately, I could tell that I was asking for trouble in this outfit.

“Yikes.” I internally cringed at my reflection.

No one would recognize me at all, but that wasn’t the concern here. If I stood still, the tank top I had on was covering more of my thighs than the shorts I wore. Once I started walking again, I could see the bottom of my frayed jeans and the slightest cleft peeking out behind me.

“Not sure here, but I think I felt less exposed last night.” At least that thought made me smile.

I crossed the street and walked to the front gate of the school. Leaning back against the wall, I stood and waited for when the school would let out.

“Should have checked the time to see how long until then.” I turned to face the school to see if I could catch any sign that told me the time. I knew school was still in session, but that was it. I sighed and turned back around to sit my ass down against the wall. “Time for the waiting game.”

Time passed by slowly and my thoughts were the ones dragging it out. I kept thinking about where I would go from here. I had no way to return to that Hell, which I was not too disappointed about.

Honestly, I would rather have my dad return from there than for me to go back.

My last memory of being there was in a nightmare. That ever reaching height of limbs writhing en masse in a search for all that they could violate. Dad’s voice had come from there. I wondered, ’Was that really him or could I have been tricked?’

Knocking my head back against the wall, I thought of the undesirable other direction I could’ve gone earlier before coming here. If I had gone home, Mike would’ve been pissed at me if, by some miracle, he hadn’t lost his job by my abduction under his watch.

“Well… yeah.” That was what that invisible thing had done to me. All I would have to do would be to tell them I couldn’t describe the face of the person who took me. That being the case, I doubted I would be in any great extent of trouble, but they would follow up on my story, how I disappeared and where I’d been.

That would be easy to explain…

“I’ve already gone over this.” I had only been fantasizing about the possibilities. “I’m not getting him into trouble.”

After all, if I went with that dumb idea, Adam would be suspected and he was absolutely not to be blame for any of this.

So while I continued to keep composed and relaxed, my mind continued to wander on...

My final destination was the most difficult to contemplate. Not because I would be in trouble or a tough situation.

I simply wouldn’t be me. “Clementine Perot.”

It would be like I no longer existed. Someone else would take over. I shook my head, knowing that wasn’t really the case.

As I raised my sun-shielded gaze up to the bright blue sky, I asked: “That’s who I am now?” Sighing, I looked over the roofs of the houses across the street. In the distance beyond the roofs, I could see dark clouds had formed. “Great. Please let out soon.”

I didn’t want to get caught in a storm while I was wearing this getup.

Off to the side of the sidewalk, I heard the approach of footsteps and faced that direction to see who would pass by me. Or in this case, stop and stare…

A long haired girl, who appeared around my age -- maybe younger -- knelt down by me. I never met her before, and I would’ve known if I had.

She stared at me with a pair of unusual eyes. I would’ve recognized her, otherwise.

Highlighted by amber, the colors within her iris swirled weirdly. I reasoned, ’Had to be contacts, right?’ I wasn’t really sure, but if I’d seen myself sitting here, I would have assumed I was a zoned-out misfit on something wicked with this kind of outfit.

She asked me in a sweet melodious voice: “Are you one of Mr. Corso’s?”

“Who?” I saw her smile and shake her head.

In that same sing-song voice, she said: “Never mind. Have a good day.” 

When she got up and left me, I saw her wave across the street to gesture for someone to follow along. And I saw who.

Two bad guys I recognized from last year.

They hung around Fester and followed my orders when I was the one in charge. I wondered, ’Was she their tail?’ I guessed they were pretty tight to share the same girl.

After I shifted my attention back to the girl, I appraised their choice. They’d certainly hooked a pretty one. But I didn’t feel good about that.

These two were not nice.

Shame I couldn’t recall their names. A year back, they were merely numbers to me, and that hadn’t changed. Back then, they didn’t have anything that stood out. Not real bully material. Just older, because they’d repeated grades.

Too stupid.

“Wait… Why are they -- Oh who the fuck cares.” They were dumb as they come and it made sense they would’ve ditched school for some nice ass.

That had me realize something. Those two had not once looked in my direction.

When I considered what I wore, I supposed I should feel lucky, but instead, I felt concerned. Their full attention was on that strange girl.

“It shouldn’t be my concern. I have enough to worry about.” I shifted in my seat on the ground to look past the gate at what kind of activity I could catch.

There appeared to be a number of people in the front of the school now. I assumed that was them ready to head out. Which meant I still had to wait for Roger’s wrestling meet to end.

I got up, so I wouldn’t be trampled over when the gate opened, and waited. A wall did offer protection from being accidentally stomped on, but when school let out, we were in a blind rush to escape.

Eventually, the gate did swing open and my former classmates broke out like a flood. Once there was enough room for me to slip in, I did.

“Hey! You in the -- in the sunglasses. Where do you think you’re going?” I stopped and turned to see Mr. Hillside approach me. I fucking thought, ’Isn’t he the wrestling coach?’

Seeing I was caught, I used my initial story. “I’m here to see my boyfriend.”

Mr. Hillside asked and explained to me politely: “Would you mind waiting for him to come out? We don’t permit anyone who doesn’t attend this school on the grounds.”

That I wasn’t aware about, but it did sound reasonable. This way, they would’ve prevented people like me from sneaking in to cause problems with their students.

But I asked him a legit question I would like to know. “He’s in wrestling. How long will that be?”

He looked past the students still fleeing the school and then out the gate at those who were making their way home. When he faced me, he sighed. “It will be another hour. Maybe more if there’s a match.”

I didn’t mean to ask him this, but I instantly did. “Just one match?”

He explained. “Yes. Wrestling isn’t as popular anymore and one match gets to be a big deal to the whole team. They will compete with each other on who gets the honors to face off against another school. If they are real lucky, maybe two matches.”

“Oh.”

In other words, not really a single match, but everyone would get worked up and prepared if there was a potential upcoming match. That made more sense. It didn’t sound too fair for the whole team having to sit it out as only one member would gain all the glory between the schools’ competition.

Looking around, he waved for me to come with him. “Come on. If you keep a low profile, I’ll escort you to the meet.” 

Amazed, I nodded and thanked him. “Thanks. Yeah, I won’t stand out more than I already am.” Then being said, I followed Mr. Hillside around the side of the school toward the gymnasium.

Through double doors, we entered the huge open space of the gymnasium to a sight of bleacher stands pulled out from their tall folded cases like raised steps. Multiple people sat on them, their attention centered on the blue mats on the floor.

A group of guys in leg high leotards sat on standby as a couple contended in the center of a drawn ring on a mat. Instantly, I spotted Roger as one of the two; he was locked in battle with another equally formidable wrestler.

Mr. Hillside pointed at the bleachers. “Go have a seat. I’ll be back to check on everyone once it’s low tide.” I took that to mean when there were fewer classmates headed out the front door and school gate.

“Thanks. I won’t be any trouble.” I smiled and waved at him as I headed for the bleachers to take a seat.

Supposedly since it was his duty, I expected Mr. Hillside had left and went on his way back to the gate.

After I found a seat, I faced the current bout on the mat and watched the two roll around and grapple one another until Roger forced the other out of the ring. Each time, Roger failed to pin the other guy, but he always managed to throw him off balance to be out of bounds.

My guess was that they were too equally matched in strength, but Roger had a bit of wit behind his prowess. Not that the other guy had been making a fool of himself, he just wasn’t as quick to react against Roger’s strategy.

“...Wait.” I blinked and stared harder at the other guy. “Fester?”

He had hair! Not only that, but he actually didn’t look like a creep anymore.

“Hey! Don’t say that too loudly. He doesn’t like that name.” I glanced over my shoulder and went wide eyed as I spotted Erin. I gulped and nodded.

“Sorry. Just haven’t seen him in awhile. He looks... good.” Looking back at the two, Fester, or rather David, did appear far better-looking than I last remembered.

I heard her tone soften. “That’s what happens when you encourage someone with a positive outlet.”

I had to nod in acknowledgement at Erin’s words. If that were the case here, it was incredible how much David had transformed. He was still a mean-looking guy, but the kind that could work as a bar bouncer and still be warm enough to joke around with after hours. I wouldn’t be surprised if that became his career.

He still appeared to take enjoyment in bouncing people to the ground, but now for sport.

Now it made sense why David had befriended Roger.

And going by what Erin had said, that might suggest Roger was a positive influence. Seeing them and thinking about it, I questioned whether or not Roger really was such a bad guy.

I thought, ’Maybe I have the wrong guy?’

Right at that moment, I was ready to call it quits with my search for the one who’d framed me. There were too many school lives I had debased in some manner over the years. Almost anyone might have had the motive.

Very carefully, I used my peripheral vision to stare at Erin. It was kind of easy to get away with this while wearing sunglasses.

She was still every bit as beautiful as I remembered. From top to bottom, she was my ideal girl, but my current point of view only allowed me to admire those alluring legs.

Even if nothing ever went further between us, I missed being between those strong kickers. Between us, after our countless arguments, there would only be the steamy passion left burning.

A loud smack on the matte had snapped me out of my pervy ogling.

After David lost enough times, Mr. Hillside returned to call the rounds in favor of Roger. 

Apparently, Mr. Hillside didn’t have to witness the bouts to know the outcome.

Since the main attraction was over, they had a pep talk and were headed off to the lockers for their shower and change of clothes. I was surprised that an hour had passed while I watched in silence.

The wrestling team came back out in their casual clothes and most of the bleacher peeps walked off with them. Erin came down to meet with Roger and I held back a moment to contemplate whether I really wanted to do this anymore. I thought about it: ’It couldn’t hurt to at least ask, right?’

Steeling my nerves, I got up.

Approaching the two, I called out: “Roger?”

He turned to face me and smiled. “Hi there.” Roger looked to Erin and asked: “Friend of yours?”

She glanced at me and shook her head. “First time seeing her.”

I smiled and gave them a friendly wave before half-bowing apologetically. “Sorry, I just had a question. I’m -- I was wondering if you, either of you, knew who was responsible for the nasty prank done in the teacher’s lounge this year?”

Roger stated the obvious. “Clint. His last name is Jeter, right?”

In response, Erin sighed and nodded.

Sighing too, I nodded and waved again. “Sorry to bother you two.”

Shaking my head, I turned to leave.

“It wasn’t Clint.”

Unsure if I heard right, I quickly glanced over my shoulder to see who said that and caught David staring at me.

To be sure, I asked: “What did you say?”

He said it again. “Clint didn’t do it. He never got his hands dirty. Not his style.” I smiled and acknowledged that at least David knew me well enough.

Roger asked me the question I dreaded to hear. “Why are you curious?”

I told him a semi-truth. “I’m helping Clint.”

Erin smirked at me. “You his new girl?”

I cringed and shook my head. “No, uh,” I said quickly, “that would be incest.”

That caused Erin’s eyes to light up in surprise.

David interjected before more was said between me and the couple. “You do look familiar. I guess that narrows down the reasons. Cousin?” Going with it, I nodded. “Glad to know he’s not alone.”

“He is.” That just came out of me. It wasn’t exactly true anymore, not with Clementine, but as Clint: yes. I told them what I thought about myself. “He’s in a bad way right now. Real bad. I don’t think he’s going to school anymore and may not live here at all in a few days. Don’t know where he’ll move to, but his dad’s missing and he’s been attacked a few times by someone.” I shook my head and told them why I was here. “I just wanted to help him a little bit. Find out about this prank and who set him up. It’s not much, but he could use whatever good news to keep him going.”

Both Roger and David looked at each other, then back to me. “We heard he wasn’t looking good yesterday,” David said. “Casey, the coach, had to help him to the nurses.” 

Roger nodded and said, “We’ll find out what we can. My mother wasn’t in the best shape after that stunt in there and I’d like some payback on the asshole who was truly responsible.”

Erin tugged at Roger’s shoulder and stepped up to me. “So would I. I thought Clint was responsible.”

Roger comically narrowed his eyes on Erin and said, “And you put me on a leash for most of the year. Now that he’s gone, I’m not going to learn any secrets about you.” Erin gave that same shoulder she tugged on a smack.

Although when Roger said that, I finally understood why he had avoided me all year long. Erin had tried to keep me safe from Roger.

David spoke with a smile on his face. “You two looking for the asswipe, I might as well join in and see how high he bounces.”

...That line sounded familiar to me.

“Or she,” Erin corrected as she gripped a fist and cracked her knuckles.

From my experience with her, I didn’t think she would actually hit someone -- the playful smack didn’t count. They would probably wish they’d been punched or something once her temper flew off the handle.

I told them what I thought. “I don’t really think he cares anymore who did it. But he may enjoy the thought that his name was cleared of this wrongdoing.”

David mentioned: “That’s more difficult without having the guy who did it.”

An irritated voice, we heard: “Are you lot taking a hike sometime soon?”

I hadn’t noticed until he spoke, but there stood the janitor, Alex, leaning his bulk down on a broomstick… or a mop. Whatever it was, the end of it was in a such bad condition as to be unidentifiable. Hard and flat, like a bristly broom, but the janitor was using it like a mop.

He didn’t wait for us to respond as he pushed the yellow wheelie full of grey water towards us so jerkily that it splashed, and “mopped” too close for comfort around our feet. I cringed as my flip flops did nothing to protect me from that murky floor cleaner. At least I could wash my feet, but the other three had shoes that might get a bit bleached from whatever he had in that yellow bucket.

After we walked away from a couldn’t-care-less Alex, Roger paused us all by the gymnasium entrance a moment longer before we left.

“Sorry to do this, but you know who I am. What’s your name?” Roger asked me another question I dreaded to answer.

“It’s Clementine.” I shrugged as my name didn’t appear to have impressed them much. “And thanks. I’ll give him the heads up.” I liked how the three banded together. It felt like a cliche all for one and one for all friendship. That was something I’d missed out on and would walk away from. “Maybe I’ll see you all around sometime.”

“Don’t be a stranger.” Roger gave me a wave, as did Erin and David before I started to walk out of the gym. I heard their footsteps close behind mine, but they were obviously headed for the gate like I was.

Then Erin called out to me. “Hey Clementine, wait up.” I glanced over my shoulder to see that she had given the two guys a go ahead. After they went on toward the gate, Erin walked to where I was waiting for her. “What’s the story here?”

“Huh?” I was a little confused, and maybe a little worried. I wondered, ’Did she catch me watching her during the bout? Or was it something I said?’ There was only one way for me to find out. “Story? I thought I explained it?”

“You knew Roger and David by sight. I could buy Clint telling you about them, but you recognized them. What you said about David was a dead giveaway you knew them.” She caught me on those good points. I wondered, ’What can I tell her?’ “Who are you? Really. You’re not Clint’s cousin. I remember him mentioning it was just him and his dad.”

That wasn’t exactly what I’d said. I remembered I’d told her that I wasn’t aware of anyone else, not that there was no one else. For all I know, the police might have contacted some out of touch relative of mine by now.

All I could do was change the subject in my favor. “Erin, did you believe me when I told you that Clint is in a bad way right now?”

“Even if I didn’t, I know where he lives and can pay him a visit to find out. I’d rather you come clean about this first before I go there.” Of course she would fight with me. She was always capable of butting heads with me.

“I don’t know how to explain this. You can do what you want.” I shook my head and told her what I knew would happen. “You won’t find him at home.”

“Where is he?” I shrugged in response to her question. “You know where he is, otherwise you wouldn’t be capable of passing on what we talked about.”

I shook my head. “I can’t tell you that.”

Her face dropped as she glowered at me. “You will tell me or else.”

“Or else what?” I didn’t need this right now. “You have to believe what I --”

“I’ll believe who I want: those I trust. If you can’t give me where he is, then give me a number to reach him.” I just shook my head. “You expect me to believe everything you said? His father is missing and he’s been repeatedly attacked, right? To believe that, I want to hear it personally from him.”

“Why would he... You’re not going to hear from him.” I shook my head again and asked: “Why don’t you believe me?”

“Because I don’t believe everything I hear.” Before I could retort, she stepped forward and held up a finger to shush me. “Listen, I didn’t believe he pulled that prank. I didn’t say anything to defend him. You know why? He made everyone’s life miserable for years. The teacher’s tried, Mr. Jeter tried, and I tried. This year, he's been fucked for a reason.”

“What are you saying?” I did my best to keep all the emotion out of my voice.

As we argued more, I caught the baleful look from the janitor for not fully vacating the school ground yet. That wasn’t going to happen until I knew what Erin was getting at.

“I’ve only met you, and maybe you are telling the truth about his situation and condition, but I want to hear from him. I will know if he’s lying.”

“Lying!?” I couldn’t believe this.

“Yes!” I blankly stared at her as she gave me this tiny smile. Then she said, “He was always smiling like this when he’d been up to no good.”

As I stared at her, I thought back to our last time together. “You thought he could be a better man.” I shook my head and corrected myself. “No, you knew he was better. Now you want to go back to him and see how he fared? I can tell you.” I took a step closer to her. “He’s royally fucked.”

Erin smirked at me and retorted with a question. “Are you telling me it’s my fault? That he lost his reputation, friends, and family because of me?”

“You left! One word.” I threw up a single finger. “One fucking word, done. Done! Then you left without there ever being a chance to repent. How did you think it was going to go?”

She muttered and then yelled what she thought would happen. “I can’t believe he told you -- Fuck! I thought he’d grow up!”

I nodded once. “Yeah. He did.”

“Then why the fuck didn’t he show it?” With a finger pointed right at me, she yelled louder a list of things I had done. “An instigator who got so many of us in trouble or hurt or both!” I’d heard that one before, but kept quiet. “He never once stood up for himself, only acted like it.” I thought, ’If it was all an act, why’d it hurt so Goddamn much?’ “Just for fun, he’d go and get himself smacked around for his so called friends to come and rescue him. That was his way of getting out of trouble with the monitors.” I glanced away for a moment and reflected on that tactic. That was true. “They see him get hit, then anything else that happened was justified.”

I faced her again and called her out. “Bullshit. They didn’t tolerate any fighting.”

The redhead huffed at me. “He never lifted a finger! Others had to do all the shit and get dirty for him. They were the ones to get punished.” That was because I’d paid them the share of money we took, but again, I kept quiet about it. “How long do you think it would have taken before he got me involved?” She threw her hand down and patted her chest. “When was he going to fucking show me he was safe to be around? Not once did he give me a single sign that he’d turned from his way of handling all the bullshit he caused.” When she said that, I almost laughed at her as I shook my head.

“Don’t you remember? Your exact words were, ‘If I’m going to be around you next year, I want it to be at a distance. Stay away from me.’ You remember that? I sure as fuck do.” In response, Erin stood completely still, stunned, with a wide pair of eyes locked onto my sunglasses.

Clenching my jaw tightly, I realized I’d fucked up. I shook my head again and turned away. I was done with my school life anyways. Erin just needed someone to blow off some steam, and as per usual, I was her target.

She knew… They knew I hadn’t done what I had been accused of doing. That was enough.

Going quickly around the side of the school, I saw Roger and David around the corner, patiently waiting over at the gate.

With my head low, I waved them goodbye as I passed by them. I wanted to run, but these flip flops were not real good for escapes. I just hoped that Erin would remain paralyzed long enough for me to get clear of there.

Thinking about her and what she’d said, I realized that none of it was wrong. I could feel myself weep under those coppery sunglasses as my voice cracked. “I was a fucking bastard.” I tried to hurry the Hell up once I removed the footwear from my feet. I didn’t care anymore what I stepped on. If I felt any pain, it would simply get my mind off of the truth. “She was afraid of me.”

That was the main reason she’d wanted me to stay away from her this year. I wouldn’t have had her get hurt. And those guys knew what they were getting involved in.

But I was their bad influence. Without me, David was proof he became a better person. Even Erin appeared happier before this encounter.

...I didn’t want her to see me again.

The very first thing I knew, I was headed for the Italian restaurant. Erin knew me; even though she’d never seen me walk to and from school, I’d taken her here before and this would be a likely place for her to find me.

That was if she looked for me.

Slowing down, I caught my breath and took a look around behind me. I didn’t see a redhead in hot pursuit of me.

“I could go home. Maybe all I need to do is not mention Adam and everything will be okay.” I shook my head as I laughed. “Why didn’t I think of that sooner?”

Since waking up this morning, I supposed I wasn’t entirely thinking straight.

First on my shoulder, then my forehead, and then all over me I felt drops of rain. I decided to quicken my pace to home.

When I was close to my neighborhood’s block, I knew something was wrong at the sight of emergency vehicles having practically blocked my street.

Then I saw smoke. Large quantities of the black cloud rose high, still, into the now darkened sky.

In a few seconds, I registered that there must have been a large fire.

And I already knew where. I stood on the corner of my street and stared from afar at what used to be the front of my house.

Half of it was blackened, charred beyond recognition, while the other was still ablaze. It wasn’t as big of a fire I had expected it to be. My imagination had seen it engulfed in flames. This was more like one room had initially caught on fire and smaller flames licked along the outside wall.

I could’ve been wrong, but it looked like my dad’s room was the origin by how much devastation surround that outside portion of my home.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gawking, I just continued to stand and stare. “This is unbelievable.”

I turned around, searched for someone or something to tell me what all of this was about. An answer to what was going on here. There were neighbors I recognized who stared back at me, but I had yet to process the way they looked at me. Instead of being worried, I turned back to the flames eating away at my home and still couldn’t believe the sight I was seeing.

“That bitch.” I was at first quiet, and then yelled: “That fucking bitch!”

Now that I a moment to wonder, I probably should have been worried over whether anyone had been in my house when the place lit up in flames, like Mike, but my head was self-centered in loathing. I was playing the blame game, and my idea was only a theory, but it was a highly probable one.

The invisible creature had torched my home.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I continued to watch my house burn. Firefighters and the rain both fought against the fire, but they failed to save my home.

“You wanted me to go back to Adam, didn’t you?” I yelled as loud as I could when the rain became heavier. “YOU FUCKING BITCH!” I turned around, searching for her in the chilling downpour.

While I was searching for her invisible outline in the showering rain, I caught how the bystanders who were watching my home burn were now glancing at me like I was nuts. Luckily, they didn’t stick around to alert the police, let alone stare at me. Neighbors, rubberneckers, and passerbyers headed back into their own homes, drove off, or ran quickly to escape the weather. I couldn’t care any less how I would be seen.

Angry emotions boiled up in me and I wanted to let it all out on my tormentor. “Where are you?!” I looked back at my home and had a guess. “Keeping cozy in my home’s new fireplace?”

That would explain why the flames would not die down.

The only people that would tolerate the downpour were the emergency dispatch, firefighters, and police that kept watch of the boundaries to the now dangerous house. I remembered how she had taken me out of the house through the backyard.

All I needed to do was go around the block and come through the other side. It was insane, but I desired nothing more than to throttle her inside that inferno.

As I got halfway around my block, I stopped to consider how disasterly foolish I was being. I still wanted to settle this.

“She doesn’t like cold showers.” I could wait out here for her. I just had to watch.

But after a moment had passed, I came to realize there was a fatal error to my logic here. Since the visit to the doctor’s clinic, going anywhere near that fire would implicate me as an arsonist if I was recognized. Mike or any of the officers that had seen how I appeared during my transformation wouldn’t be quickly fooled. I really didn’t believe Mike would still be there, but that was a sore chance to take.

Then there was the looks those neighbors gave me. It wasn’t funny looks because of how I dressed.

It was recognition. I wondered, ’Did she set fire to my home while visible?’ We closely resembled each other. I had envisioned a clear picture how she planned this.

If I was correct about my theory, I was being framed.

Hugging myself, I shook my head while I spoke in dismay. “What now? I go to Adam’s, I’m fucked. Or I could find some hole to crawl in? Fuck that, I might as well return to that Hellish world or turn myself in.” I laughed at that. “Maybe I should turn myself in? I really didn’t do anything…” Again, I shook my head. “This is just like the prank. I was the last one there that would have done -- Jesus, why the fuck...”

This was too much in one day. I fell into silence and walked past the road I would have turned on to get behind my home.

The only good thing I found in the heavy rain was how well it hid my tears…