I is for Injured Innocents

"I can't believe it was a man, just a guy, standing there!"

"Keith calls him 'Kirkman.' Guess he was the minister that built the place."

Makale shook his head and slouched further down the couch. The movement exposed his stomach as his shirt rolled up the back. Court leaned in and kissed Mikale's stomach and smiled at his face.
Mikale moved his head from side to side and placed his hand under Court's chin, bringing the young man's face to his own. He kissed it briefly. Court moved back to his side of the couch.

"I thought you, you know, wanted to see a ghost. You got you in here."

"I didn't realize it would be that intense. I thought like a flowing white sheet, floating down a distant hallway. 

"A mist. Not an angry dude just standing there in the doorway. It was wild and, I don't know, changed my perspective today."

Court rubbed his chest as if to alleviate heartburn.

"You aren't going straight, are you?"

Mikale laughed as a courtesy. "I think we're safe there. But, well, I hope this doesn't throw you too far back into the closet."

"No, we're good. There's always porn, right?"

"There's always porn, right."

"Do you want me to turn on the television? Or do you want to head out?"

Mikale pondered the comment and smiled. "I'm, well, I'm impressed," he rotated and leaned across Court, lying upon his chest and looking into his close face. "Most guys just want to get it on and get if over. If they didn't see one of the school plays, they'd never see me again. You are willing to risk that? You're willing to risk sending me home and not seeing me again? Just for my own comfort?"

"I did not see anything, but I trust you. I'm here for a week, I gotta watch the dog and the cat. Me? I'd prefer you stay. Heck, maybe I wanted you to crash here overnight, even if its a school night."

Mikale moved upwards.

"No, we don't have to do a thing, I can even sleep on the couch, if you're comfortable. I'd make breakfast. Which is more of a threat, since I'm a shitty cook."

"Whoa. You swimming boys are a worthy group."

"Thanks," Court demurred and looked around the darkening living room as he blushed. "Guess I didn't have it in me."

Mikale moved his hand across Court's midsection.

"Like the ribs or my awesome abs?"

"Neither. Both. There's, it's warm. Here."

"You're leaning on me."

"No, like really warm."

Court had felt it too, but dismissed it with the prize so close.  He moved in for further kissing.

But the pain twinged and pushed harder on his abdomen. 

Mikale looked down and pulled up his mate's shirt. Any other situation, this would have been exciting. 

But the rolled back shirt revealed the culprit. Five cuts, thin, but straight across his chest and stomach. Court pressed his hand down instinctively. 

"Oh fuck."

"Something on my shirt?  I must have cut you, with a button on my shirt or something," Mikale had moved back to the other end of the couch. With a quick tic, he put a hand to his cheek.

Blood came down between his fingers. 

"Let me see!" He peeled Mikale's hand back and looked.

More scratch marks. The lights dimmed slightly and went back to full. 

"Oh shit!"  As he leaned over his friend, he left the sting of another cut forming on his calf, exposed from his shorts.

"We're out of this."

"Let me get the animals."

"On it, I'll get the dog and you find the fucking cat!"

Another stream of blood formed on the back of Mikale's hand as it held his face.

The blood was not profound but in enough amounts to be noticeable n the two victims. Something was hurting them, badly.

Court tried not limp on his now cut calf. The wound was superficial but made him wonder what else the spirits of the house could do to him. He had stayed in the house numerous times prior. Keith never reported a thing of his magnitude. 

"Why is this happening?"

"I don't know, man," he looked out the back window, above the sink. The cat sat coldly, on the crossbeam of the high fence at them. As if the two men were on fire, the creature leaped over the side. The dog was digging nearby, trying to escape the back yard, burrowing to the open forest beyond.

"Fuck the cat, she'll be fine. Let's get the dog!"

They circled to the back door and reached for the deadbolt.

It clicked back into place. Court stopped his hand.

"Did that just lock itself?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go with we're totally screwed here, my fri..." another slight twitch and Court buckled over, but failed to drop.  "Bitch cut me again."

Mikale pressed Court upright and held him and reached for the deadbolt. With a flick, he unlocked it and moved his hand to the doorknob.  

The deadbolt clicked back into place. 

"Aw shit."

"Front door."

They both moved in unison.

H is for Haunted Housesitting....

   

     "That is one seriously big fence."

        "I know," Court responded, "Keith was telling me that the oldest daughter of the preacher who built this place had a tendency to pull all Lady Godiva."

        "Lady Godiva?"

        "We'll wiki it later."

        Mikale pulled the backpack out of the hatchback and slammed the trunk. The clink of the unhindered beer cans made him worry they might be worrying the evening's libations. He felt the bag and informally checked the temperature.

        "You know Keith Tremain? Is that who's house this is? I wondered why his mother was dropping him off every morning at school."

        "Yeah, Mizz Tremain," Court explained, emphasing the 'Z' sound, "didn't want him to change schools in the middle of his senior year, with being on the swim team and all."

        "Ummm. Swim Team."  Mikale rubbed Court's stomach. 

        "Dude, don't, wait until we're inside."        

        "You see people? There's nothing out here." 

        

        The inside of the house had settled some since Court got the grand tour last week.  Keith and his mom had trusted him with taking care of the animals several times before, the two boys were friends since elementary. No one was surprised at all that Court was willing to make the trip all the way out to the new house.

        And Court used the rumor of the house to be haunted to tempt the lead of the school musical for a night out. The ruse was great. Keith had said some weird stuff was happening, but Keith was never any good at texts and emails. If Court wanted more of a story, he had to sit next to Keith.

        Court lacked awareness that Keith suspected that he was dating anyone. The closet Court and Mikale had many layers. Surely, everyone at school knew about the male lead. He was not necessarily flamboyant  a talent one would suspect, but society had opened up to him and he was comfortable enough to be himself in the pressures of high school. 

        The beer was cleaned quickly enough and Court kept the lights low, in part for mood and in part since he was not sure where all the lamp switches were. They were old pieces of work, a press-button system and were just waiting to electrocute the next one.

        Court was not wasted on the details of the house; if this was a haunted place, it had all the trappings. Toile. Thick velvet drapes without pull strings. Furniture built directly into the walls. 

         And a strange attic with some round tower-y thing. 

         It would be fascinating to explore. 

         But Court's life was truly taking a turn for the better. The beer had worked its magic in less than three cans. The two had moved to the upstairs spare bedroom. He respected Keith and his mother enough to stay out of their rooms. The thought was creepy, besides. Boxes piled themselves mostly in this room, the necessities already being emptied out of the others. Here lay those things that held purely sentimental value, that would not be touched until they were remembered that they were needed. 

         Court bowed over Mikale and started to kiss his neck.  They both were new at this, so the pleasure decreased due to a bit of unpreparedness. Mikale but his arms back, supporting himself upright, wondering if they should take off their shirts or something. He wondered if thinking about what to do next was meaning that he was distracted. He wondered if being distracted meant that he was nervous. Was he nervous because they were meeting in secret? Was...

        ...he opened his eyes to glance at his lover's head, now nuzzled into his neck. The soft breath of the both of them was all he could hear and the moment dazzled.

        A man was in the doorway. He wore all black and had high cheekbones, as if he had never eaten any kind of food. He looked beyond the two lovers to something beyond the bed, something the two might have missed in their fumbling ecstasy f the moment. Mikale was taken aback and glanced over his shoulder to see what the stranger was staring at before his brain flipped towards focus. He snapped his head back, simultaneously pressing Court back up.

         "What? Did I do something wrong?"

         "Who the FUCK ARE YOU?"

         Court reeled to an empty doorway. 

         "There's someone in the house!" Mikale stood up and ran for the doorway. Court missed the action and headed out. He thought he heard footsteps and passed Mikale. 

         Mikale reached for Court's sleeve but missed and started to close the door and reach for his phone.

         Court got the nonverbal and looked down the hallway of the upstairs.

         Empty. Shadows. A small table with several shoe boxes. 

         The attic door creaked apart.

         "Aw, fuck. It really is haunted."

         "Get your ass back in here, I'm calling someone."

         "Who?" He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. 

         "Funny," Mikale panted. 

         "Can you even get a signal?"

         Mikale looked down. The battery, three-fourths full prior, was down to one percent. And no signal.

         "What did you see?"

         "Some pervert watching us. It was, not, not, not what I was expecting. I figured they'd wait until sundown. Not when we're getting out game on."

          "It's okay. Just calm down some. We're not alone."

          "Where's the dog barking? Where's the cat?  Aren't you worried about them?"

          "Keith says the cat leaves and the dog?" He walked over to the window. "The dog is, right, ah, there," he pointed, "hiding in the yard."

          "Yeah, ghosts kill romance I guess.  Can we head downstairs for a bit?"

          "Sure," Court opened the door and peeked out. More shadows. He opened it fully and stepped out. 

          Mikale did not follow.  

          "Dude, I'm not a romantic fellow, but I know better than to just leave you there. How about some television?"

          Mikale nodded from the spare bed.

          Court took a deep breath. He had prided himself on not needing the physical necessity of courtship. However, he remembered, others did.

           He put out his hand to hold.

           Mikale was not quite sure what to do with it. 

           Holding hands, they made their way downstairs.