Arson (19 page)

 

Chapter 34

 

 

Friday arrived, and Arson and Emery agreed to volunteer again. But neither of them was really there. Just two ghosts on autopilot. Arson tried pulling a smile out of Emery a dozen times but failed. She was not the same girl who had moved into the house next door nearly two months earlier. Something inside had changed, switched. A task as simple as riding in the car with her mother was awkward for them both. But as Emery stated to her mother over and over again, they were volunteering for those who needed it, not for her.

Walking the halls of Middlesex Hospital, Arson pictured Abraham in every bed, a wrinkled grin chiseled out of that black, cratered face. Imagined him looking out into a gray world when his eyes failed him for the last time.

The sound of the cart scraping the shine off the hospital floors ripped Arson from his thoughts and drew him back to reality. Emery was methodical as she manipulated every turn with a new attitude he didn't like. 
She's just worn down
, he thought. If only her parents could see how much they were hurting her. Arson wanted to flash fire in front of their eyes, make them wake up.

“I haven't seen my father in two days,” she said, passing by Abraham's old room. Another weary soul was stuck where he once lay. “Where did he go? I didn't mean to blow up on him like that. I've been so stupid. This isn't happening,” she kept telling herself.

“Emery, listen to me. You're not stupid. This is between your parents. 
They
 have to work it out. It's not your fault that your mom did what she did or that your father took off.” He touched her shoulders with his hands.

“It has to be. My parents could never do this to each other,” she said, clearing her nose. “Hey, Arson, you're really warm.”

“Sorry,” he said, removing his hands from her shoulders.

“My dad, the cryptic note leaver, said he had to get away to finish a sermon. But he didn't say where he was going or how long he'd be gone. How can he think about finishing a sermon at a time like this?”

“Sometimes our lives don't make any sense at all.”

“They love each other, Arson. I know they do. He'll come back, right?”

He looked away.

 

* * *

 

Arson and Emery cleaned up when their shift was over. Boredom held them in its grip the remainder of the afternoon, and when Emery wasn't talking about her parents, she was simply silent. There wasn't much he could say to comfort her; words did little against an enemy as lethal and merciless as family dysfunction.

They walked outside. The wind was stirring. A plum sky faded to black as nightfall clothed the world. Emery's mother was inside finishing up. They waited for her to bring them home.

“I was thinking about the party,” Emery said, finally breaking the silence. “I want to go tonight.”

“What?” Arson replied. “You can't be serious.”

“If it will help me forget about everything, forget that my life is messed up, just for one night, I want to go.”

He looked at her strangely. “Emery, you 
do
 remember it was Mandy who invited us, right?” He paced back and forth, white scrubs in his hand, wondering how he'd manage talking her off the insanity ledge. “Do you really think it's a good idea?” he asked with a sigh.

“I think it's the only thing that makes sense right now. I think if you care about me, you'll come with me.”

Arson froze.

“But you don't want to come, do you?” Emery said.

“It's not going to end well,” he said, reluctantly nodding his head. He held her for a long moment, could tell she wanted to break down. “But I'll go with you if that's what you want.”

 

* * *

 

Arson and Emery stepped out of the car. She ignored her mother's request for a phone call by ten o'clock and slammed the door shut. They spotted a bonfire in the distance, surrounded by a small crowd. Loud music echoed through the night.

Emery placed her hand inside his and started walking toward the party while her mother sped off. “I'm glad you're here with me,” she said.

“Yeah,” Arson forced out.

Mandy's backyard was made up of mostly sand, grass scattered about in random spots by the shoreline. A boat sat by her family's dock and rocked to the sway of an angry current. Those by the bonfire pit continued the party, ignoring their arrival, but Mandy greeted them after a few minutes of awkwardly standing by the water. She had on a red bikini. Ripped denim shorts sat high on her curvy hips. Blonde hair dripped off her scalp in golden ringlets. “Welcome to the party!” she hollered. “Hope you guys came to have fun. Either of you want a beer?”

Arson refused, but Emery accepted one.

“Go meet everyone,” Mandy suggested to Emery, lighting a cigarette. “They're just dying to hear all about you.”

“Um…okay.”

Mandy waited for her to leave before she gently brushed up against Arson. Licking her lips she said, “You know, I could see why you like her too. With that mask on, she almost looks like a human being. Don't worry; I won't tell her about us. It'll be our little secret.”

“There is no 
us
, Mandy,” Arson said, walking away. He met up with Emery beside the fire.

He hated the way the group looked at her. Like a freak. They saw her mask as an invitation for sarcastic jokes. He tried to ignore them, but his hands were getting hotter with each passing moment.

Emery lifted the bottom of her mask and pretended to sip the beer.

“Having fun?” she said under her breath.

“Yeah, great party. Are you?”

“You betcha.”

Arson spent the next hour getting sicker. Sweat built up in the creases of his forehead, and his white shirt betrayed him, but he blamed it on heat from the bonfire. He listened to the crowd roar with laughter at another perverse rant. He saw now how he'd never fit into a world like theirs, how he was wrong to ever think he could. Those not participating in conversations were scattered across the lawn. Arson noticed a girl completely wasted by the dock. On the other side of the yard, a couple was lying down, making out. Some were taking hits of white powder off knives and picnic plates beside Emery. They offered her a hit, but she refused. Arson could tell she wanted to say something, but she just sat there, almost numb to the chaos.

“So, Arson, how was it?” Josh, one of the track stars from school, said.

“How was 
what
?”

Josh looked at his other buddies. “You know. You and Mandy? She's pretty great, huh?”

“Me and Mandy never happened,” Arson said harshly, glancing over at his date.

“C'mon, it's okay; don't be bashful. You can tell us,” another kid said, spilling some beer. “Blew your mind, huh? Never knew a high school girl like her.” Arson had never seen the loser before, and it became clear that he was some college student from out of town.

“I don't know what she told you,” Arson began, “or what you heard, but Mandy and I never—”

“She said you were pathetic,” Josh said.

Arson wanted to burn his chiseled face off right as he took another swig of the beer, the suds filling his teeth with poison.

“Say, Arson, the freak over there. She's with you, right? Bet that chick needs some serious therapy.”

A sharp pain cut through Arson's wrist. Hot breath burned at the back of his throat. He could feel his hands boiling. He wanted to leave. No, he had to get Emery out of there.

Arson glanced at the crowd of girls circling around his date. Mandy glanced back and winked, tossing her cigarette into the sand.

Emery overheard, came up beside Arson, and shoved him. “You never told me anything happened between you two,” she said. “I can't believe this.”

“Emery, don't listen to them.”

“Why? Is there another lie you wanna tell me? I can't believe you actually let her kiss you.”

Arson winced.

“Sleep with you?”

“No,” Arson said. “We didn't; I swear.”

“Oh, perfect. So she kissed you? Was it before we met?”

Arson sighed and eyed the fire pit. The heat tempted the back of his eyes to explode.

“I trusted you. Whatever. I'm going home.”

Josh approached them from the side. “You and Frankenstein are perfect for each other.”

“Don't call her that,” Arson said.

“Or what, freak?” Josh said, spitting in his face. He then poured the rest of the beer into Arson's hair. The brown suds ran sticky through his curly, ash-brown mop and dripped down his shirt. The spectators roared with twisted pleasure as Arson drove a fist into the perpetrator's nose. He swore he heard something crack, but maybe that was just his own knuckles breaking.

Josh coughed out blood with a sick chuckle.

“Arson, what do you think you're doing?” Mandy said in a high voice.

“He's making a big mistake.” Josh formed a fist and slugged him twice, once in the gut, the other across Arson's jaw.

Arson could taste the sweat and blood as the track star breathed out.

“No, wait, you big gorilla. This is my shindig, and it's supposed to be fun. After all, that's what I invited them for. Watching two boys beat the crap out of each other isn't fun. I've got a better idea.” Mandy pursed her lips and pushed Emery. “Let's have some real fun,” she said, ripping the mask off and tossing it into the fire.

Emery cried out, trying to cover up her face with her hands. “Don't look at me. Please. Why are you doing this?”

“It was fun. Kind of like what me and your boyfriend did. Go on, tell her, Arson. Tell her. I'm sure she's dying to hear all about it.”

The crowd sadistically cheered. On each and every one of their faces, Arson could see hatred and malice and cruelty. He could see his father and his grandma, his boss, and everything he hated within himself.

“What's the matter, Arson? You afraid of the truth? The truth shall set you free. Did I get it right, little virgin Mary?” Mandy circled around Emery, taunting her, ordering her friends to grab the frightened, scarred girl.

“Just tell her, Arson. Tell her how we made love. Tell her all the things you did to me when we were intimate,” Mandy whispered.

“It's a lie, I swear!” he shouted.

“Have you ever been with a boy, freak? It's invigorating. All that power. Boys are weak, so easy to manipulate, to control.”

“Emery, let's go,” Arson said, shoving Josh aside. He grabbed Emery by the hand and pulled to release her, but three of Mandy's followers surrounded him. Without remorse, they swung their fists into him, dragging their knuckles through his gut. After he had collapsed on the ground, Josh cracked his ribs with steel-tipped boots.

“She has nothing to do with this. Mandy, leave her alone,” Arson begged. “If you want to hurt me, fine. But don't touch her!”

“We just want to have a little fun. Some harmless fun.”

“Don't.” His eyes turned blood red. “Please! Don't you hurt her!”

“Why do you care so much about her?” Mandy asked, slowly tiptoeing around Emery. “She's boring, pathetic, and ugly.”

The group cackled. One of the meatheads lit up a cigarette and flicked some ash into Arson's eyes.

“Oh, look. Baby's crying,” the gorilla said.

Mandy grabbed Emery by the hair and brought her nearer to the fire. She struggled but couldn't resist the pull. “What are you going to do?” she said with melted disgrace.

“We're going to fix your face.”

Emery's eyes exploded with horror. She turned to Arson. “Help me,” she cried, digging her heels into the sand and dirt.

“Let her go!” he said, rising to his feet, his voice ripping through weak lungs.

Out of nowhere, Josh struck him in the head with a bottle. Blood oozed from a gash on the left side of Arson's temple, bleeding into his ear. His body thudded against the ground, and he turned to one side to see Emery fighting to break free. Blinking once, then twice, he tried to get up, to move, but the world was spinning.

“Arson!” she screamed. Mandy put a hand over her mouth and proceeded to drag her toward the fire pit.

He moaned and felt his eyes roll. Suddenly, Arson could feel his entire body ignite with one breath. The burning sensation started in his hands then quickly and violently spread. It crawled out, burning the tips of his stiff fingers.

“What's happening to him?” Josh yelled. “Holy—”

Arson got up from the ground, his bones aching with pain. 
Control it
, he told himself. 
You can control it
. His muscles and the ligaments attached to them pulsated. Spit dried at the back of his throat, and his heart fought against the bones that imprisoned the torturing flame. His eyes glowed. Burning needles shot out from his skin, sporadically at first, but quickly obedient to his mind. Sweat bled off his body and evaporated before it hit the sandy floor.

The force within him grew fiercer. Lines across his palms commanded the fiery pit and a cigarette to fuse together in one chaotic wind. The fire ripped through him and out of him, seeking each and every tormentor and spectator, apart from Emery.

His bones cracked, the edges of his teeth ground into powder. In his mind, all he could hear was their twisted laughter. The only way to stop them was to silence them. Another burst of red and black flame tore from his hot skin until his body lit up. Arson stepped toward the girls holding Emery once the beginning of his carnage was already complete.

Lifting his hands, he sent wild blasts of fire toward them, ripping the flesh from their once flawless cheekbones. A stir of cries echoed into the dark sky. Tears of anguish burned on the ground. This time it was over. His heart was torn, lost in Emery's eyes and the shallow screams of every burning victim. Their simple tragedy was all he wished to hear tonight.