My laugh was full and loud this time. I knew I should be furious. I just… wasn’t. “You are too much, fairy. Too much. And no. I think all the times I don’t remember are enough, thank you.”
“Hmph. That just shows how much you don’t remember.”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“Nope.” Another shrug. “What can I say? You taste good.”
I felt my face flush. “Actually, I think it’s time to get some clothes.” I looked at the people wandering around the park. I felt oddly at ease at being naked among the oblivious crowd. “Plus, I need to find my cell. My family is probably freaking out, not knowing where I am.”
“Well, my clothes are right over there by the tree, but I’m not conjuring up clothes for you. You look too good the way you are.”
I laughed again. Whatever the situation, I couldn’t help but be flattered. It was nice to be desired. Despite the hookups of late, it had been a while since I’d felt… Brett! He hadn’t even entered my mind until now. That never happens; he’s always one thought away. Another wave of guilt rushed through me.
He held his hand palm out, like he was feeling my aura or something. “Man, you are one intense dude. You are all over the place.”
“Yeah, sorry. It’s been a hard day. Hard few months, actually.” I tried to give him a friendly smile but could tell I failed entirely. “I need to get going.”
“Can you make yourself invisible?” He motioned toward my crotch. “Not that I want you to.”
I’d somehow managed to forget about my state of undress. “Yeah, but only when I don’t move, so that’s not so helpful.” I looked toward his back. “No wings, so you can’t fly me. Huh? I thought fairies would have wings.”
Abruptly, a shimmering pair of translucent bluish wings appeared over his shoulders. “Okay, I guess I didn’t show you my entire true form. However, I’m not Tinker Bell.” He held up his finger. “And not one crack about fairy dust, or I’ll leave you out here for all the unsuspecting humans to gawk at.” His eyebrow rose to match his grin. “However, for another blow job…”
“Dream on.” I couldn’t repress another smile. “Just magic up some clothes already.”
He made a show of leaning in closer to my lap, eyes darting from one side to the other. “Why would I do that, again?”
I glared at him.
A final shrug. “Fine, you’ll have to wait for our first date to experience the mind-blowing pleasure that you can’t remember.”
Another pang hit me as Brett’s voice whispering he loved me meandered through my head. “No date. Just clothes.”
“Fine, fine. You’re gonna make me chase you. Okay. I could get into that.”
I didn’t respond, but started walking, trusting he’d keep me obscured from view until the clothes were in place.
The fairy matched my pace, his feet a couple of inches off the ground, his glistening dragonfly wings casting prism-like rainbows over us. “Name’s Schwint, by the way.”
Three
FINN DE MORISCO
Uponreaching my house, two things became apparent. First, I’d left my cell in my bedroom. Good news. Second, my family hadn’t been worried. The phone held one message. It was Mom, seeing if I was coming into Panaderia and saying she loves me and to know she was praying for me. It seemed Caitlin was right. I had become a pretty poor excuse for a son. Before, if I hadn’t called a couple of times a day, let alone not come in to help at the bakery, the family would have gone into a panic, knowing something was wrong. I guess this had become typical behavior from me at this point.
I was beginning to struggle with knowing what to feel guilty about. Being a bad son and brother. Letting down our family businesses. Forgetting about Brett for the time when I talked to the fairy. Maybe if I could at least figure out what to feel most guilty about, it could be a good sign I felt guilt at all. I haven’t felt much of anything but sadness and anger for so long. Leave it to me to trade in bad feelings for more bad feelings.
Even after over an hour under the shower’s spray, I still felt dirty. And dull. Everything around me was dull. Nothing was sparkling. I couldn’t fly or dive into the earth. Was the fairy right? Had I really been flying? As much as I hated myself for it, I wanted more.
Maybe that’s what I should feel the guiltiest about—my apparent drug craving. I’d never done drugs. Not even smoked a cigarette. And now… Well, now I’d been on a drug trip for over a day and engaged in drug-induced sexcapades in the middle of Balboa Park. The back rooms flitted through my mind. What was back there? Was it just a place to do Spor, or were there other things?Other things?What would the rest be like if there was more? Brett rose unbidden to the front of my brain. Another twist of guilt. I shouldn’t be thinking of trying drugs in some shithole of a back room at the Square. I needed to be trying to find Brett. True, I was still furious that he’d left me after all his promises. Furious abouthowhe’d left me. But whatever. He had a vampire after him. By this point, he might even have the Vampire Cathedral looking for him too, if they hadn’t found him by now. I had to find him first and help him stay safe. Maybe we had moved too quickly and it freaked him out. Maybe if I found him, if we moved slower, if we spent time with his family instead of just mine…
Oh my God! How could I not have thought of her before right now? I’d been high for over a day. I’d missed a night. What if he’d been by and I’d missed him? What if the vampire had found her on the one night I hadn’t been watching over her? I was certain Brett hadn’t been to his grandmother’s since he’d left me. I would be able to tell if he had. And if he wasn’t watching out for her, someone had to. Beverly, despite her past with a demon, was new to all this and had never dealt with a vampire.
Somehow, the monster had found Brett’s roommate and killed her and her entire family. What would keep him from finding Beverly?
Without another thought, I slammed the faucet off, stepped out of the shower, and threw on some clothes without even taking the time to dry. What if she’d been killed while I was having tripped-out sex with some nymphomaniac fairy?
Shetook the kettle off the stove, turned off the flame, and poured the steaming water into her waiting cup. Even from my vantage point outside the house, I was once again astonished at how much older Beverly looked. Over the months I’d been watching her, she seemed to have aged exponentially. Maybe it was my memory. I’d only seen her that one time, but I remembered a woman with a core of strength, a woman who chose to confront two would-be intruders with a loaded pistol. From here, it looked like she was in danger of being bowled over by the steam as she pulled the string of her tea bag up and down.
