Come Get Me Page 16

  The service began as he walked up, almost like they’d been waiting for him. He knew they hadn’t been and it was only a coincidence but it still made him feel slightly uncomfortable.

  Looking through the faces of the crowd he saw many he felt should look familiar but he was unable to come up with any of their names. Most likely people he’d known in school or something like that but it still made him realize one thing. He’d been away a long time. Everybody was a lot different than the way he’d remembered them. As his gaze traveled around the congregation he noticed a few people were returning his curious look with ones of their own. Unfortunately the looks he was receiving weren’t curious. Instead they were angry and sometimes down right hostile. The sheriff was one he caught giving him a harsh look but to his credit his cheeks colored and he quickly looked away when he saw Jim’d caught him.

  He felt out of place. The general feeling of the place made him feel like he wasn’t supposed to be present. The glares seemed to say he’d missed his chance to be part of Tommy’s life so what right did he have to be there now that he was dead. He’d abandoned Tommy to his fate. Now, when it was all over he decided to return. What good could he do now? The looks told him none.

  In the face of these imagined accusations Jim began to think maybe they were right. Maybe he’d never left Tommy wouldn’t be dead right now. Maybe Rob wouldn’t have died either. It was crazy to think things like that and torture himself but when you were receiving the looks he was you couldn’t help but feel that way. If he’d stayed things might have been different. Then again he countered; they might just have stayed the same too. He could also just be imagining it all too, he told himself.

  Tiring of the hostility directed at him by people he once thought of as friends he tried to remove himself from the group he’d unfortunately become stuck in. He slowly began to make his way towards the back of the group trying not to jostle anyone as he did. No need to have anybody any madder at him than they already were. He took a step a little too quickly and accidentally bumped in to someone. Looking over his shoulder to apologize he was startled to see a bright smile. He was dismayed to see who it belonged too.

  The last person he’d wanted to see today was the only one that seemed to want to see him. Maria stood directly in his path to the rear of the assembly. Looking for another escape route he was greeted only with the disapproving looks of the town’s people. They were definitely not going to let him through. He was stuck. He resigned himself to standing where he was and enduring the remainder of the funeral the best he could. After a few minutes he noticed Maria was standing a little close for his comfort but he had no real choice in the matter so he tried to ignore her and hoped the funeral would be over soon.

  After a few minutes passed he felt her move a little closer than she’d been before. Looking back to ask her for a little room he noticed what she was wearing. It wasn’t close to what everyone else was wearing. She stood out like a peacock in a group of hens. Her clothes were in bright blues and purples and looked as if she were about to attend a party as opposed to a funeral. If it hadn’t been for the circumstances he would have thought she was at a party. The only thing she was missing was a drink and some music. She had the clothes and the look already. He turned back without a word and tried focusing his attention on the service but was unable to with her so close. He could feel her studying him. He knew if he turned around she would be standing there with a sympathetic look on her face ready to console him in any way he asked. Most guys would kill for someone like that but not him. If he’d been attracted to her in any way it might have brought some ideas to mind but instead it made his stomach turn.

  From what little of the service he was able to pay attention to, it appeared to be a good one. All the right things were said to console the attendees and make them think Tommy was in a better place and that everything was generally alright. Jim wasn’t much into religion. He never had been. Tommy, himself, probably would’ve been surprised to find him there. Jim had always refused church and anything else having to do with religion. But he had to be there for Tommy.

  After the preacher finished speaking he was surprised to find that he did actually feel somewhat better than when he’d arrived. He also felt a little batter about saying goodbye too. He didn’t want to admit Tommy was gone but he knew he was and he could now accept it a little better than he had. He still wasn’t comfortable with the way it’d happened or the circumstances surrounding it but the service made saying goodbye much easier than he thought it would be.

  As Tommy’s body was slowly lowered into the grave the group of people began breaking up. Most moved forward to pay their respects to the family members while others moved towards the road in preparation to leave. They tried not to look hurried but they couldn’t hide it very well. A lot of people didn’t like to be around death. It reminded them of their own mortality.

  When the crowd parted sufficiently for him to pass, he quickly made his way towards Tommy’s parents. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Maria wasn’t following and was happy to see that Johnny Langill had come up and was occupying her attention. He was talked to her somewhat excitedly but it wasn’t his business so he turned back and continued to Tommy’s family. Better him than me he thought as he waited for someone in front of him to finish saying his piece to the family. When he was finally able to he told Tommy’s mother how sorry he was for what had happened and said he wished he had been there. She gave him a quick hug and said it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Tommy’s parents were big into religion. They probably thought since Tommy was gone it was just his time. God had called him home and all that other stuff. Jim didn’t believe it for a minute. He stood and talked for only a minute before saying his goodbyes and moving on to make room for the person behind him.

  Walking slowly back to his car with thoughts of Tommy and Rob running through his head he barely heard Maria’s voice yelling at someone. Once he noticed it though he was curious as to who might deserve her wrath so he continued walking in the direction it was coming from and soon found that the unfortunate person was still Johnny Langill. Whatever they’d been talking about when Jim went to see Tommy’s family must’ve been pretty important. If Maria’s reaction was any judge it must not have been good news. She continued giving him a good lashing until she seemed to suddenly realize she was making a scene. Quickly smiling she grabbed Johnny’s shoulder, pulled him a little further away and started yelling at him again. Better him than me, Jim thought as he began started back in the direction of his car. He was almost there when he heard his name called behind him. He grudgingly turned to see who it was only to see Maria waving at him. Not wanting to be held up, especially by her, but being too polite to leave without seeing what she wanted he stayed where he was until she reached him. “Hello Maria. How are you doing?” he said calmly.

  “I’m fine but it’s you that I should be asking that question to isn’t it?” she asked.

  He waited for her to say something else but all she did was stand there. Jim didn’t know what she expected him to say. She hadn’t asked him anything so he just stood waiting for whatever was next.

  “I know this has all been really rough for you,” she said when she realized he wasn’t going to say anything, “but I just wanted to see how you were.” After he told her he was fine she quickly said, “Well, that’s good. I was hoping you were.” She again stopped as if waiting for him to say something. This was getting on his nerves.

  He knew she was only trying to be nice but he didn’t have time for her to play any of her little games. He just wanted to get out of here and back to his mothers’ house where he could relax but it seemed she was determined to keep that from happening. Wanting to end their conversation as quickly as possible he decided to cut to the chase.

  “Is there something you need? I’m kind of in a hurry.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” she said grumpily.

  Jim didn’t really care anymore if he hurt her feelings or not. She was ac
ting like some jealous little girl that couldn’t take no for an answer. He’d hoped she gotten the hint about him not being interested but apparently she hadn’t. Maybe if he was a little meaner to her it would work. Couldn’t hurt to try, he thought grimly. He knew she was going to ask him out before she said it but hoped he’d be wrong. He didn’t fell like telling no again. She should’ve gotten the hint last time. Unfortunately she hadn’t.

  “I was just wondering if you’d thought anymore about our getting together,” she began. “We could do something right now if you wanted to. I thought you’d probably be leaving soon and didn’t want you to forget. We’ll have so much fun! I’ve got everything planned already, you just have to tell me when.”

  He couldn’t believe what she was saying. His friend hadn’t even had the dirt thrown on his coffin yet and she was asking him out on a date. This girl really did live in her own little dream world. She was worse than Pete. Any doubts he might’ve had before were gone now. He’d never heard of anyone asking someone out at a funeral. It just wasn’t something he thought was done. Until now that is. He was about to tell her what he thought of her when Jill walked up beside him and took his arm.

  “Ready to go?” she asked smiling as she looked at Maria. To her credit Maria’s mouth only hung open for about five seconds before it snapped shut with an audible click of her teeth. She quickly recovered and gave Jill a withering glare before storming away through the crowd.

  “Jill to the rescue again, huh?” he said as he looked at her. “None of that me Tarzan you Jane type thing for you is there?” he finished while trying to hold back laugher. He was surprised at how good it felt to see her. Just being near her made him feel a lot better than he had.

  “Nope,” she said smiling sweetly, “But just in case you were wondering you I’d let you come to my rescue anytime as long as you don’t beat on your chest afterwards.”

  “You seem to do just fine by yourself,” he said after a few seconds of pretending to think about it. “Plus this is the twenty first century you know. Women do all kinds of things for themselves in these modern times. You don’t need men anymore. Remember.”

  He tried looking serious but once he saw the indignant look that came over her face he couldn’t help but laugh. She tried looking mad for a few seconds then joined in but not until she’d swatted him on his arm. Hard. They were getting a few strange looks by then but Jim didn’t really care about that anymore. He was sick of all these people and their petty little looks they gave people they thought didn’t fit in.

  They climbed in to his car still laughing. Once they finally were able to bring themselves back under control he asked, “So now I’m your driver?”

  “Yup, you get to take me home,” she said smiling.

  Pulling away from the graveyard they began talking about little things like the weather but by the time they’d arrived he knew almost her whole life story. Before getting out of the car they agreed that since their previous attempt at a date hadn’t really worked out too well they’d try again that night.

  Jill was just getting out of the car but she suddenly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips and said in a mischievous voice, “See, women do need men for some things after all.” then she jumped out with a giggle leaving him to stare after her.

  10

  When Jim returned to his mother’s house there was an unexpected message for him from Pete. He wanted him to come to the police station so that he could talk to him. Jim debated on whether he should go see him or whether he should just ignore his request. He didn’t really want to see Pete when he was behind bars but he knew that if Pete was reaching out to him he should probably at least go and find out what he wanted. If nothing else at least he could be there for him since he hadn’t been there for Tommy or Rob.

  After being home for only a few minutes he once again found himself in his car on his way back to town. Arriving at the police station within a few minutes, he went inside only to be told he had to wait a while before he could see Pete. After what seemed hours but was only probably ten minutes he found himself seated in a room with a guard.

  While he was waiting he looked around and idly wondered if it was always this easy to see someone in jail. When he arrived he asked why Pete was still being held, and was told they were afraid that if they released him he would either disappear or hurt himself in some way. So it was safer if he just stayed with them a little while longer. According to what little the guard would tell him he hadn’t been any help in figuring out what had happened to Rob so far, so he didn’t see the point in keeping him. Then again, he quickly added, it was his job to follow orders not make them, so that’s what he did. They exchanged little else before they finally brought Pete in. They just about threw him into a chair on the other side of the table before retreating to the corner of the room closest to where he sat. The guard that brought him informed Jim he’d become violent last night and it had taken three other guards to restrain him. One of those guards was in the hospital now, so they were going to stay in the room whether he liked it or not just in case it happened again.

  Ignoring their hostility, Jim instead sat quietly across from his friend and waited to see what it was Pete wanted. Not much was changed since he’d last seen him. He thought they’d at least make some attempt at cleaning him up but apparently not. He was still dressed in the same clothing he’d been wearing the previous night. The only thing different was his head. His hair and complexion looked much greasier than they had last night. Jim figured it must’ve been the lighting. The night before he’d only seen Pete in firelight, now he was seeing him in the light of day or what passed for it in the police station. Jim wished he still only had firelight. It would have made it much less painful for him to see his friend. Say Pete didn’t look well was an understatement. As these thoughts passed through his head the smell of extreme body odor assaulted his nose. He turned his head looking askance to the guards who only shook their heads and looked at Pete. Leaning forward slightly made the smell stronger. He quickly figured out Pete was its source. He tried ignoring it but that only seemed to make it become stronger. Pete must not have showered in days, maybe even weeks judging by the reek that emanated from him.

  Oblivious to everything, Pete sat across from him rocking back and forth, mumbling to himself just as he’d done the previous night when confronted with a situation he didn’t like. He hadn’t said anything since they’d brought him in. Jim wasn’t even sure if he knew he was there. If he did he gave no evidence of it. He tried a few times to engage him conversation but Pete just sat there ignoring everything that came his way. Jim tried a different approach.

  He talked about Tommy’s funeral for a few minutes but when he notice that wasn’t going to get an answer either he let his sentences trail off into silence again. Jim looked at the guards hoping they might have a suggestion but they only shrugged their shoulders and stared back at him blankly. He tried once more and thought he might have gotten through to Pete when he paused in his mumblings and looked up at him as if he might say something but then he farted and began talking to himself again. Jim felt helpless and disgusted at the same time. He couldn’t do anything to help his friend. He stood up sadly and started making his way to the door feeling that spending anymore time here would be useless. As his hand reached for the doorknob he heard something behind him.

  “Did you say something?” he said looking at the guards. They both shook their heads and pointed at Pete. Jim looked back at the table only to find Pete staring at him. “Did you say something Pete?”

  “It’s not over,” he said as he stared at Jim through his greasy hair.

  “What’s not over Pete?” Jim asked.

  “He’s not done,” Pete said in a quiet singsong voice. “He didn’t finish,” he continued, “There’s two more left.”

  “Two more what?” Jim asked quickly. “Who are you talking about? Who’s not done?”

  “What are you a fucking owl?” Pete yelled almost standing up b
efore the guard shoved him back down. “What do you mean who? You know who you damn idiot!” Pete yelled springing from his chair. The guards swiftly stepped forward and grabbed Pete’s arms. They wrestled him back to his seat and stood waiting to pounce should he try again. Pete looked over his shoulder glaring at them before turning his attention back to Jim.

  “You know who Jimmy,” he said meaningfully.

  Pete was right. Jim did know who he was talking about but he couldn’t say anything in front of the guards. He might end up in here with Pete if he did. Instead he said, “There’s no possible way that it could be what you think it is Pete. The thing isn’t real. I’ve been trying to tell you that.” He paused to look at the guard to see what they were making of all this. They seemed to not care at all about what was being said but Jim knew they were paying very close attention to everything. If Pete really hadn’t said anything since being brought in this was a golden opportunity to find out what he knew. Jim understood now why it seemed so easy for him to get in. They wanted him to get Pete to talk. Unfortunately for Pete all he had to say would make him look even crazier than he already did. Before he could say anything else Pete started talking again.

  “We called him Jimmy,” he said in a rough voice, “whether you want to admit it or not we called him and he came. He came for the ones who called him but we ran. We thought we got away. We thought we were safe. But, no, oh no, we didn’t get away. He just waited. He waited until the time was right. Now he’s back. No, we didn’t get away at all. He’s back now and he’s going to get us just like he got Rob and Tommy!” Pete was bouncing up and down in his chair by now. The guards were holding his shoulders but they didn’t seem to be doing anything other than keeping him from falling out of his chair. They threatened to get rough but Pete didn’t seem to hear them. He was focused on Jim.