Devil at the Door | Chapter 1
1041 Words
Devil at the Door Chapter 1
When Jack set foot in the new house, the first words out of his mouth were, “It couldn’t be more perfect.”
Ren came up beside him, tossed one arm around his shoulder and said, “For what we paid, I expect perfection and then some. I expect perfection with a cherry on top.”
The kids came running in just as Ren planted a sweet kiss on Jack’s lips.
“Eww, they’re kissing!” Charlotte cried.
Her little brother echoed, “Eww! Kissing!”
“What’s wrong with kissing?” Jack asked the kids.
“It’s yucky!” Charlotte replied.
“Yeah, yucky!” Simon joined in.
Dropping to his knees, Jack grabbed hold of his daughter, making her squirm and holler and peal with laughter. When she arched her head back, he planted a big wet smackeroo on her cheek. The little girl exploded with the most gleeful giggles Ren had ever heard.
Sometimes Ren felt a jealous of his husband. Jack could show the kids affection so freely. Ren couldn’t manage it. Sure, they were both Dads to Charlotte and Simon, but the kids would always be Jack’s flesh and blood. Never his. It created a barrier. Maybe only in his mind, but that was enough to keep him a little restrained.
That was enough.
* * * *
IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG before they’d moved in all their old stuff, and bought more on top of that. After living with Jack’s mother for two years, their possessions weren’t exactly plentiful. They needed a ton of new furniture to fill all these rooms. Money went flying out of their wallets left and right, but Jack was convinced it would all be worth it.
Raise the kids in a good school district. Live a peaceful life.
They could afford it. Why not?
Never in his life did Ren think he’d wind up living in a mansion. This was the sort of house you saw in movies. Home Alone. Huge, gorgeous, high-end suburban. A black kid from the wrong side of the tracks never believes he’ll be able to afford a house this huge, and in this neighbourhood.
Imagines it, yes. Believes it, no.
A huge house. A husband. Two kids. All he needed was the golden retriever and life would be perfect.
They already had the white picket fence.
“Well, the kids are down,” Jack said, yawning as he stepped into the bedroom.
Ren was already under the covers. He felt a little guilty for re-watching Breaking Bad on his tablet while Jack got the kids to sleep.
But not guilty enough.
“Charlotte got me to read the turtle book three times. Oh, that kid! She makes me do the voices and everything, and they have to be exactly the same each time.”
Ren reluctantly pushed pause and pulled out his earbuds. He was so close to the end of this episode. Sure he’d seen it before, but the pull of fiction was so strong, these days. So, so strong.
“How do they like having their own rooms?” Ren asked, to show that he was interested in the kids, even if he didn’t take as much of a hands-on approach as Jack did.
Jack made a face. “Well, Simon’s in there with his sister, so I’d say they’re still adjusting.”
“Does Charlotte mind?”
“Nah, I don’t think so. They’re used to being together, those two. Anyway, at six and four? They’re not ready for privacy yet.”
Ren nodded. He wasn’t exactly an expert when it came to child development.
He put in his earbuds when Jack stepped into the bathroom, and got to the end of the episode before his husband emerged.
“Boy, am I beat,” Jack said, flopping into bed. “I would sure love to sleep in, just one day, just once. But when you’ve got kids, morning comes early.”
“I’ll make their breakfast,” Ren offered, knowing full-well his resolve would weaken once the alarm went off.
“Really?” Jack asked. His eyes were already shut. “That’d be great. That’d be...”
Just as Jack started slipping into sleep, there was a knock at the door. It wasn’t what you’d call loud, but it had a certain resonance, enough that he jolted upright. “What was that?”
“Someone’s at the door,” Ren said, slipping out of bed.
“Who is it at this hour?”
“It’s only 9:30.”
“Still. It’s after dark. Who knocks on someone’s door after dark?”
Ren stepped toward the window, since their bedroom looked out on the front door. He could easily see who was standing on their doorstep.
And who wasn’t.
“It’s no one,” Ren told Jack.
A look of fear crossed Jack’s face as he asked, “What do you mean it’s no one? How can a knock be no one?”
“Must have been kids playing a trick,” Ren said. “It’s October, after all. Maybe they’re getting a jump on Halloween.”
But as Ren spoke those works, another knock resounded from their front door. And this time Ren could clearly see there was no one outside to make that noise.
“Who is it?” Jack asked.
A severe chill took hold of Ren’s bare arms and legs, raising goosebumps all over his body. He sped back to bed, but the warmth he’d abandoned wasn’t sufficient to bring his temperature back up. The goosebumps remained, even under the covers.
“What?” Jack asked, sitting up in bed, staring down at him. “What’d you see?”
“Nothing,” Ren replied. “Must have been the wind.”
He closed his eyes, knowing full well Jack was sitting there staring at him. He couldn’t. He just couldn’t. This was ridiculous, being so afraid of a sound. But Ren knew, deep in his soul, that this disembodied noise meant business.
“Should I go down and check?” Jack asked.
Before he could slide out of bed, Ren caught him by the arm and said, “No!”
“Ouch!” Jack squealed. “Watch that grip, muscle man.”
Ren released him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just... don’t go down there, okay? Promise me?”
“Why?” Jack asked. “What did you see?”
“Nothing,” Ren insisted.
He rolled onto his side, turning his back on his husband, but Jack scooched in and wrapped an arm around Ren, holding him close, warming his goosebumpy body.
“Tell me,” Jack insisted. “What was out there?”
“I am telling you,” Ren replied. His body felt so stiff. He couldn’t relax. No wonder Jack didn’t believe him. “It was nothing. There was nothing.”
“I believe you,” Jack began. He followed that up by saying, “But it must have been something.”
The worst of it was that Ren couldn’t argue.
It must have been something.
Must have been.
- Writer
