Bleeding Hearts - 18. Chapter 18

Saturday morning started with an enormous family breakfast—cooked by Steve since Adam had overindulged the night before and was quite hungover. Afterward, I volunteered to take Kane around to get a few more things he needed since Adam was still under the weather. It also allowed us to spend more time together, getting to know each other better. We had a great time running errands and just being silly, but, in the back of my mind, my thoughts kept drifting back to Seth’s journal and the identity of his mystery guy.

Before we knew it, though, it was time to get ready for the Halloween party. Adam helped Kane and me with our costumes. We decided not to use too much makeup on Kane since no one knew him yet and we wanted everyone to see what he really looked like. He just wore his usually messy hair slicked back and popped in a set of plastic vampire teeth. The costume looked pretty cheesy in full lighting, but I assured him it would be dimly lit at the party.

My costume didn’t require any makeup, especially considering my face was pretty much hidden when my hood was up. I was still a little self-conscious about the tights, but Adam and Kane assured me they looked great with the tunic, which was thankfully long enough to hide my bulge and my butt, though just barely. The cloak was heavier than I remembered, and I realized that it would get hot eventually unless Gilly let me take it off. I didn’t think she would, though, since it kind of made the costume. Besides, it also kept my butt out of sight.

When we were dressed, Adam took a ton of pictures. Then he made sure we had our phones—I didn’t have anywhere to keep mine, but Kane had pockets and held it for me—and said to call if we needed anything. After some final reminders about our curfew and the usual parental warnings, we were off to the party.

I thought we were arriving early, but when we pulled up, the drive and front yard was already full of cars. I had to park on the road.

“Wow, there are a lot of people here,” Kane commented. He tried to sound casual, but his nerves showed through.

“You’ll be fine,” I told him. “Remember, just be Kane. Everyone will love you.”

He took a deep breath and nodded.

We got out of the car and started walking toward the house. Before we reached the front door, the welcoming committee intercepted us Jesse was a zombie—his costume, but any other interpretation is probably also correct—and Zack was a vampire. Zack’s eyes narrowed when he saw Kane’s costume.

“Well, well, well,” Zack started in right away in his smarmy voice. “What do we have here? Who’s your friend? Don’t tell me this is your boyfriend? What will Gilly think?”

“Hello, Zack,” I said evenly, keeping a tight rein on my temper. I suddenly felt extremely protective of my new little brother. “This is Kane. He just moved here. He’s like a brother to me, so back off. If I see you anywhere near him for the rest of the night, I’ll make sure you regret it.”

Jesse took a menacing step in my direction, but Zack reached out a hand and stopped him. “Is that a threat?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish, fag.”

“Who said he can’t finish it?” a new voice cut in.

I spun around to find Asher and Marcus coming up behind us. Kane looked somewhat scared, but Asher and Marcus just looked pissed.

Zack eyed the brothers warily as they squared off next to Kane and me. “What’s going on, Marcus? You a fag lover now?”

“Quit being such an infected asshole, Phillips,” Marcus growled. “And while you’re at it, you can quit using the word ‘fag.’ I’ve lived next door to Killian for years and he’s a good guy—as you should know since you used to be his friend.”

“Used to be is right. I don’t hang out with f —” Zack bit off the epithet at a warning glance from Marcus. “I don’t hang out with queers.”

“No, you prefer to surround yourself with imbeciles and half-wits who think you’re hot shit, when, in fact, you’re just a reeking pile of fly-covered excrement.”

Jesse, looking confused as he swiveled his attention back and forth between Marcus and Zack, seemed a little unsure of what role he was supposed to be playing. He totally missed the fact that he’d just been seriously insulted.

Marcus continued, “Stay away from my brother and his friends. If you mess with one of them, you mess with me—and trust me, you do not want to do that. I will make sure that every second of your waking life is as miserable as you make everyone around you, and then I will haunt you in your dreams. Do I make myself clear?”

Zack threw me a dirty look, then sniffed and turned. “Come on, Jesse, they aren’t worth it.” He walked away, still trying to maintain his tough-guy act. Jesse trotted along behind him while casting confused looks back in our direction every few steps.

I turned back to Marcus and Asher. “Thanks, guys.”

“My pleasure.” Marcus glared at Zack’s retreating back. “Zack Phillips is and always has been nothing more than a bully. I’ve wanted to tell him off for years now. I never could figure out how Asher put up with him.” He turned to me. “Hey, Killian, I’m sorry I was kind of rude the other day when you were asking me about Seth. I was having a bad day, but that’s no excuse for being a jerk.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him. “You weren’t a jerk. And even if you were, you more than made up for it just now. Also, you might suck at Spanish, but you are a maestro of the English language.”

He laughed. “I’d better be. That’s going to be my major at college next year. So who’s your friend here?” He dropped a hand onto Kane’s shoulder.

“Marcus and Asher, this is Kane, Seth’s little brother. He moved in with us this week. Kane, this is my best friend Asher and his brother Marcus.”

Asher’s face lit up when I called him my best friend. Everyone shook hands, and together we set off toward the house once more.

When we walked inside, even I was impressed with what we saw—and I’d helped set it up. Everything looked different at night. The enormous entry hall was decorated to look like a haunted house. Cobwebs were draped everywhere, and battery-powered candles flickered eerily in silver candlesticks and sconces. Dance music thumped from speakers in every room, and people in costume were milling about all around.

Suddenly, someone was at my elbow, propelling me forward. I flinched away, thinking it was Zack or Jesse, but it turned out to be Gilly.

“Hey,” I exclaimed.

“Killian, can I talk to you for a second?” She may have phrased it as a question, but her tone left no doubt that I really didn’t have a say in the matter.

“Yeah, but hold on. This is Kane, Seth’s brother. Kane, this is—”

“Yeah, great, hi,” she mumbled, pulling me away again.

I shrugged toward Kane, Asher, and Marcus, then allowed her to drag me off toward the kitchen.

As soon as the door swung shut, Gilly dropped my arm and faced me. “What’s going on with you and Jake?”

“What?”

“Todd said he walked in on you and Jake messing around. I wouldn’t have believed him, but I saw the way you looked at him the other day.”

“Gilly—” I started, but she cut me off, which was just as well since I hadn’t decided what to say or how to handle this yet.

“Killian, you know I like you. I can’t believe you would go after my own brother—while we’re still dating no less!”

“Uh, Gilly, it’s not like you and I are really dating. It’s just a cover...and it was your idea. You know I’m gay. And besides, I’m not going after your brother.”

“Did you kiss him?”

That caught me by surprise. I didn’t have an answer ready.

My hesitation was all the answer she needed. “You did! You son of a bitch!”

“Gilly, I didn’t go after Jake.” I was starting to get annoyed.

“Oh, yeah, I guess he’s going after you, then? Is that it?”

“Yeah, that is it, actually,” said Jake, walking into the room. “You guys might want to keep it down. I could hear you as I was coming down the hall.”

We both stared at him for a moment, Gilly with fury and me with surprise. Then we both reacted at once.

“Jake, you don’t have to—” I started.

“You can both go to hell!” Gilly shouted.

Jake and I stared at Gilly in shock.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she seethed. “You, Jake! You knew how much I liked Killian, yet you stand there and calmly tell me you went after him? And you!” She spat in my direction. “You think you can just play with my emotions, then throw me away when you find someone else?”

“Gilly, it’s not like that, and you damn well know it.” I was getting pissed. “You said from the beginning that you understood I didn’t and couldn’t have any feelings for you beyond friendship. You said that pretending to date me would be okay with you. You said that you just wanted to be friends, and this was something you could do for me as a friend. If that’s not how you really felt, then you should have said so upfront and I never would have played this stupid game.”

I watched her deflate right in front of me and immediately regretted my angry words. Once again, I’d hurt someone I cared about because of my temper.

“Oh, I didn’t realize this was all just a game. I’m sorry, Killian. You’re right. I was stupid to think you could love me. Why would anybody ever love me?” She burst into tears.

“Gilly...” I said awkwardly.

“Save it.”

Jake shifted from foot to foot, obviously uncomfortable.

“Look,” I said, “there’s a party going on out there, and you guys are supposed to be hosting it. Why don’t you go get your costumes on and let’s all try to have fun. Okay?”

“Fuck you!” Gilly snarled, storming off out the back door of the kitchen.

I stared after her for a moment, then turned to Jake. “Damn. Well, that went well.”

“Sorry about that,” Jake said darkly. “Welcome to our dysfunctional family. We may look like the Waltons from the outside, but trust me, we’re more like the Mansons. I should have known Todd would say something, even after he said he wouldn’t. He’s such an ass. And I just made it worse. Maybe I should have stayed out of it.”

I shrugged. “Probably, but you did what you thought was best at the time. At least you were honest. Will she be all right?”

He shrugged as he turned to walk away. “I guess we’ll see. I should probably go get my costume on. I’ll meet you in the backyard.”

“What did you decide to be?” I asked before he could get away.

He glanced over his shoulder with a pale imitation of his usual grin. “It’s a surprise. You’ll find out soon enough. See you outside.”

I went back to the front hallway to look for Kane, Asher and Marcus, only to discover that an obnoxious bunch of giggling girls had replaced them. I headed out to the backyard to see if I could find the boys there.

The music gradually got louder as I walked through the house. By the time I reached the back door, it was almost deafening. When I stepped outside it was as if I had walked into a wall. An almost physical wave of vibration and sound washed over me. I stood in the doorway and gaped. What looked like the entire student population had turned out, not only from our school but maybe from some of the neighboring schools as well. Strands of fairy lights had been strung through the trees, and bright lights illuminated a makeshift DJ stage at the far end of the yard toward the water. Dance music pumped out of huge speakers set up in strategic locations. Bodies were writhing, wiggling, bumping, and grinding everywhere. It hit me for the first time that the Sheridans were rich rich.

Someone pushed me from behind, reminding me that I was blocking the door, so I stepped out into the mass of bodies to start my futile search for someone I knew. I hadn’t really paid attention to what Asher and Marcus were wearing, but vampires were everywhere. There was also the usual assortment of goblins, ghosts, ghouls, cartoon characters, superheroes and current movie villains. I spotted a few efforts that were a little more creative: a line of girls wearing parkas and strapped into folding lawn chairs to make a ski lift, a quartet of cheerleaders who I could have sworn were actually on the football team, and my favorite, a scantily clad guy in a hula hoop shower.

I felt as if I were looking for the proverbial needle in the haystack. There were so many people, all of them in costume. I was getting a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to find my friends. After searching for what felt like forever, I was about to give up when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I whirled to find Zorro giving me a dashing smile. On closer inspection, he turned out to be Asher.

“Great costume!” I yelled over the music.

He was dressed all in black, with leather boots, mask, and a long flowing cape. He wore tight leather pants and a blousy silk shirt open halfway down his chest. I wondered how I had missed it earlier. I decided he couldn’t have been wearing the whole ensemble when I first saw him.

“Yours, too,” he screamed back.

“Gilly found it.”

“I know. I heard you discussing it on the phone with Jake.”

Time to change the subject. “Where’s Kane?”

Asher pointed behind me, and I turned to search the crowd. It took me a minute, but finally I spotted him and Marcus talking to a group of three girls dressed as fairies in skimpy outfits identical except for color. Judging by the way Kane was ogling the shortest fairy’s generous cleavage, I thought it safe to say he was definitely straight. Marcus wasn’t in costume.

“What’s Marcus supposed to be?” I asked.

Asher rolled his eyes. “Nothing. He refused to dress up, said it was for kids. I pointed out that we are kids, and besides, it’s a Halloween party. That’s kind of the whole point. He told me to shut up, so I did.” He shrugged expressively. “Do you want a Coke?”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

“Cool. Be right back.”

Asher was barely gone before I felt another hand on my back. I spun around but didn’t recognize the guy in the Batman costume standing there. Whoever was under the mask and skin-tight costume, he was in very good shape.

He motioned to me to follow him. I looked back after Asher, but he wasn’t paying attention.

I remembered Jake had said he would meet me in the backyard. I wasn’t sure if this was Jake or not, but I decided to follow the caped crusader and see what happened. There were hundreds of people around, so I figured I was safe.

He led me away from the lights and crowds and into the shadows of some nearby trees, where he turned to face me with a strangely unnerving smile. I suddenly felt uncomfortable and questioned the wisdom of following him. I started to back away, but he moved quickly and grabbed my wrist.

“Leaving so soon?” he rasped in what obviously wasn’t his real voice.

Something about his voice caused a chill to run down my spine. I tried to yank my hand away, but he held on tightly.

“What’s going on? Who are you?”

“You don’t know?”

“No, and you’re freaking me out.”

“I am Vengeance! I am the Night! I am Batman!” he said and laughed coarsely.

“Killian?” Asher called.

“I’m over here,” I called back quickly.

I turned to see Asher walking toward us. He took in the scene before him and frowned. “Is everything okay?”

Batman quickly let go of my wrist and stepped back.

“No. I mean—” I was suddenly unsure. Was I just being paranoid? I was freaked out so maybe I was simply overreacting. Surely, no one in their right mind would try anything in a place this public. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself if it turned out to be nothing.

Just then, the music stopped abruptly in the middle of a song. I glanced toward the stage. Standing in the spotlight, microphone in hand, was Gilly. She looked amazing. Her long, shimmering gown fell to her feet. She’d piled her hair artfully on top of her head with just a few tendrils falling softly around her face. Her cheeks were bright red, although I couldn’t tell if it was from anger or makeup.

I turned back to Batman, but there was no sign of him.

“Who was that?” I asked Asher, but before he could answer, we were distracted by Gilly.

“Hello, everyone,” she said into the microphone. “I hope y’all are having a good time so far.” An enormous roar greeted her. “Please remember that no drugs or alcohol are allowed at my parties. If you are caught with either, you will be asked to leave.”

Scattered boos met this statement.

Gilly ignored them and plowed on. “Before we turn the music back on, I have an important announcement to make.”

I noticed someone moving quickly toward the stage, though I couldn’t quite tell who it was.

“It’s time you found out the truth about someone you all know,” Gilly went on.

“She wouldn’t,” I muttered under my breath, Batman all but forgotten. A new crisis had taken center stage, literally and figuratively.

“He’s lied to everyone, and I was a part of that lie—something I now deeply regret.”

I felt as if someone had dumped cold water all over me. I felt myself take a few steps forward as if I could somehow stop her. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that the person shoving through the crowd was going even faster toward the stage.

“I’m talking about—”

Before she could finish, the person—a guy—who had been pushing toward her dove onto the stage with a spectacular belly flop, grabbed the cord, and yanked the microphone out of her hand. When he scrambled to his feet, it became obvious he was supposed to be a pirate, although I still couldn’t see who it was or if I even knew him.

The pirate and Gilly launched into a heated argument, some of which the fallen microphone picked up.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Gilly snarled.

“What do you think you’re doing? You can’t do that. Not here,” the pirate shot back. I recognized Jake’s voice.

They both seemed to realize at the same time that they were broadcasting their conversation and quickly moved away from center stage. Jake motioned for the music to start up again. Soon everyone had gone back to dancing, forgetting the little drama that had just transpired before them. It wasn’t so easy for me. I was convinced she had been about to out me when Jake interceded on my behalf.

“Killian, are you okay?” Asher asked, reminding me he was there.

I turned toward him with a shaky smile. “I think Gilly almost outed me in front of the whole school. She’s mad at me because—”

“No, not that. I mean the guy in the Batman costume. Who was he?”

“Oh.” I’d almost forgotten about him. “I don’t know who he was.”

“You just ran off with a complete stranger? After all that’s happened?”

“I thought it might be Jake. Then I realized Jake was up on the stage with Gilly, so he couldn’t have been Batman.”

“Well, what did he want?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know that, either.” I frowned. “He gave me the creeps, though. I’m glad you showed up when you did.”

Asher shook his head. “Kill, you have to be more careful. There’s still a murderer running around out here. Remember?”

“Of course, I remember. Do you really think I could forget that? I was almost killed.”

“So I’d think you’d be a little more cautious.”

“We’re in the middle of how many people? I figured I was safe.”

“He led you right into the shadows. He could have done whatever he wanted to you over here and no one would have known. They certainly wouldn’t have heard anything over this music.”

“So it wasn’t the best idea to just follow him. I made a mistake. I’m sorry. We don’t even know what he wanted, though. It didn’t have to be something bad.”

Asher gave me a look. “No, I’m sure he just wanted to ask you to dance.”

“Hey, we’re here to have fun so let’s not argue about this. Okay?”

“Fine. Just don’t go running off into the shadows with strange guys anymore.”

I grinned at him. “Why, Asher, are you jealous?”

Asher rolled his eyes, but I noticed he didn’t exactly deny it.

I walked over to him and ran a finger across his exposed chest. “You are jealous, aren’t you?”

He smiled a little. “Maybe just a smidge.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Just a smidge?”

He moved in closer, and I could feel his breath against my skin. “Okay. A lot.”

“Um, Asher, don’t look now, but I’m in the shadows with a strange guy. What should I do?”

He leaned in a little more. “I’m not strange.”

I tipped my head in to kiss him just as I heard, “There you are!”

We jumped apart guiltily. It was Kane, grinning ear to ear.

Marcus stood behind him with a suggestive leer. “What were you two doing over here in the bushes?”

“Not what you’re thinking, perv,” Asher groused.

“Not yet, anyway,” I added under my breath.

“Uh huh,” Marcus said, clearly not buying Asher’s denial. “So, Killian, what was that little stage show all about? Did it have anything to do with you?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s an affirmative. I also think it’s safe to say that Gilly and I are no longer a couple.”

Marcus shook his head. “That’s pretty fucked up. What did you do to her?”

I blushed and glanced over at Asher, who was watching me carefully, waiting for my answer.

“It was mostly a misunderstanding,” I mumbled. Time to change the subject. “Have you seen anyone dressed in a Batman costume?”

“Batman? I don’t think so. Why?”

“A guy dressed as Batman asked me to come over here, but I don’t know who he was or what he wanted.”

Marcus looked at me in confusion. “Uh, okay. So what happened? Where’d he go?”

“Beats me. He was here one minute, then when Gilly started making her little announcement, he disappeared.”

“Weird. And you have no idea who it was?”

“None. At first, I thought maybe he was Jake.”

“You thought who was me?” Jake asked as he appeared at my side. Up close, his pirate costume was really pretty impressive. He’d obviously put a lot of work into it. I didn’t know how much he and Asher had spent on their outfits, but they’d spared no expense. Jake even had a papier-mâché parrot stitched to his shoulder and, if I wasn’t mistaken, a real sword strapped around his waist.

“Nice dive earlier,” I said.

Jake grimaced. “Thanks. I think I got a splinter in my nipple.”

“That was you who jumped on stage earlier?” Kane asked, entering the conversation for the first time.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” I realized I hadn’t made any introductions. “Jake, this is my new little brother, Kane. Kane, this is my friend Jake. He’s Gilly’s brother.”

Kane smiled and extended his hand. Jake answered Kane’s smile with one of his patented lopsided grins.

Kane turned to me. “So Gilly was the girl who dragged you off earlier and then was just on stage?”

“Right.”

“And she was your fake girlfriend?”

I sighed. “Was, being the operative word.”

“Worry about all that later,” Jake interjected. “Right now we’re supposed to be having fun. We paid a lot of money for this DJ, so let’s dance!”

“Let’s go!” Marcus yelled.

“You guys go ahead,” I said quickly. “I need to talk to Jake for a minute.”

Asher gave me an intense look but turned and followed Marcus and Kane without putting up an argument.

“What’s up?” Jake asked.

“Like you don’t know. What the hell was she thinking?”

He sighed. “She was angry and hurt, so she decided to lash out. Just be glad I was near the stage and realized what she was doing in time to stop her.”

“She probably said enough. When we’re not a couple anymore on Monday, people will put two and two together and figure out what she was going to say.”

Jake shrugged. “I did what I could. It’s not like people haven’t been talking anyway.”

“Even since I started dating Gilly?”

“Not as much as before, but some. Becky told a few people you called her up and asked about Seth and...well...”

I groaned. “So I’m pretty much out at school.”

He shrugged. “It’s still just rumors. You can always deny it.”

“What’s the point? I was never popular anyway, unless you count my fifteen minutes of fame while I dated your sister. Still, I can’t believe she was going to out me.”

“She really liked you a lot.”

“And that’s an excuse?”

“No. It’s just...she’s been through a lot, Killian. There’s a lot of stuff you don’t know about my family.”

That certainly piqued my curiosity. “Like what?”

He shook his head. “I really don’t feel like talking about it, especially now. Can’t we just go have fun? It’s a goddamn party.”

“Yeah. Okay. Just one more thing. Do you know anyone here dressed up as Batman?”

He rolled his eyes. “Have you seen how many people are here, Killian? I haven’t even been outside that long, and between my stage dive and hanging around with you in the bushes, I haven’t exactly had time to mingle.”

I grinned. “I guess that’s a no.”

“It’s a no. Why did you ask?”

“Oh, nothing. Just curious.”

We found the others and rejoined the group. Asher, Kane, Jake and I hung out dancing, joking, and just generally having fun for the next several hours. Marcus came and went with a few of his friends. Everyone seemed to get along, although there was definitely some tension from Asher toward Jake. If Jake noticed, however, he didn’t let on.

Fortunately, there was no more drama with Gilly. In fact, I didn’t even see her anymore that night. I never saw Batman again, either. I caught a glimpse of Zack and Jesse a few times, but they kept their distance.

The party started winding down around twelve-thirty. Adam wanted us home by one anyway, so Kane and I decided to leave. We said our goodbyes and headed toward my car.

The closer we got to the road, the darker it got. It seemed the security light at the end of the driveway had burned out. By the time we reached the car, the only light came from the sliver of moon that hung low in the sky.

That was enough to see that all my windows had been smashed.