Fire That Burns but Never Dies

The two teenagers quickly locked up and walked next door to Matt’s house. Again, Reese noticed the similarities in structure between the two homes and the rest of the houses on their block and tried not to roll her eyes at the cookie-cutter perfection of it all.

“Doesn’t it make you sick?” Reese asked as she followed Matt into the kitchen which was almost a perfect replica of hers save for the kitchen table and paint color.

He tossed her a bottle of water and shot her a puzzled look. “What are you talking about?”

Reese gestured widely with her arms and let out a loud breath. “It all looks the same,” she tried to explain. “The other day, I tried to unlock the front door to my house only to realize two minutes later that I was at the wrong house. I had to explain to a nice elderly woman that I had just moved in and confused house numbers.”

Matt chuckled loudly and shook his head. “You get used to it, I guess,” he shrugged. “Lived here my whole life, I don’t really know what to tell you.”

Reese took a swallow of her water. “Doesn’t matter, I guess. What time is everyone else getting here?”

“Don’t know,” Matt shrugged. “Soonish.”

“So, pizza?” Reese asked.

“Fuck yes. I’m starving,” Matt said reaching into his pocket for his cell phone. He quickly spoke into the phone ordering three large pizzas with buffalo wings and bread sticks.

Reese and Matt talked while they waited for the pizza to arrive. Ten minutes later, Brian strolled straight into the house and smiled at Matt and Reese.

“Dude, how did you get in?” Matt asked with an annoyed scowl.

Brian smirked and hugged Reese in greeting before answering Matt. “Like I don’t know where you keep the spare key outside.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed on Brian’s arm which was still around Reese’s shoulders. “I’m moving it,” Matt grumbled. “And get your hands off of my cousin.”

“Reese doesn’t mind, do you, Reese?” Brian asked looking down at the blonde tucked underneath his arm.

“Not really,” she shrugged. “It’s fine with me.”

Matt’s scowl deepened as Brian looked at him smugly. “Whatever.”

“So what did you two get up to today?” Brian asked.

“Not much, I slept all day and Matt hung out at my house watching tv. What did you do?” Reese asked. Even though she and Brian had only recently called their truce she felt only slightly awkward at sharing pleasantries with him instead of tossing insults meant to piss him off. It was something she was going to have to get used to if she kept hanging out with Matt and his friends.

“Cool. I didn’t do much. Cleaned my room, practiced a bit. The usual for me.” Brian answered with an easy smile.

Reese nodded and moved away from Brian making his arm fall from around her. Well, apparently she was the only one feeling the strain; Brian seemed perfectly at ease around her. Last night, it had been easy to be comfortable around Brian, but now with Matt here, watching them, Reese didn’t know how to act around him. Damn Matt for making her nervous.

“Why are you so quiet today? Last night I couldn’t get you to shut up,” Brian laughed.

Reese shot him a small smile. “I’m all talked out, I guess. So what is tonight all about?”

Matt stood up and shrugged. “My parents are at their weekly dinner date so we usually get drunk in the backyard around the fire pit.”

“It’s more like an unofficial practice, too,” Brian supplied. “We talk about songs and shit. But mostly we fuck around. Three weeks ago, Zacky almost fell into the fire. Some of his arm hair was singed off; he’s still being a baby about it.”

Matt and Brian laughed at the memory.

“How did that happen?” Reese’s lips twitched as she fought off a smile.

“He was singing that nursery rhyme thing. Jack be nimble, Jack be quick. Only he changed the words to ‘Zack is a boss, Zack is so sick, watch Zack jump over the fire pit’. His slightly pudgy ass couldn’t quite clear the pit. Screamed like a little girl too,” Matt laughed.

Reese joined in on Matt and Brian’s laughter and just like that, the tension eased in her mind and she was able to relax around Brian and her cousin.

“How much did he have to drink?” Reese asked curiously.

Brian snorted. “Half a shot of Jack and a beer. Guy is a total lightweight,”

Shortly after that, the pizza arrived and Reese, Matt and Brian ate while they waited for the rest of the guys to show up before they got the fire going.

When Jimmy and Zacky showed up without their girlfriends, Jimmy raced over to Reese and hugged her tightly lifting her cleanly off the floor while she clung onto him for fear of him dropping her.

“Hey,” Jimmy accused as he suddenly let Reese go, she stumbled away from him and struggled for her balance. “I thought you said no chicks this time,” Jimmy’s blue eyes flashed to Matt in a tight, suspicious scowl.

“Reese isn’t a girl, she’s my cousin,” Matt answered with an eye roll. “Get over it. Are we gonna do this or not?”

The small group followed Matt out into the backyard and watched him as he set the fire pit up with kindling. He smirked over at Zacky. “No more Evel Knievil impersonations, alright, Z? I haven’t had the chance to buy a new fire extinguisher yet.”

The guys and Reese cracked up with laughter at Zacky’s flushed face. “Suck a dick and die, Matt,” Zacky grumbled as he flipped Matt off.

Matt gave one last smirk as he struck a match and threw it onto the wooden pile. The fire caught instantly and Reese felt the warmth of the fire heating her skin, the crackle and hiss creating a soft music of its own in the otherwise quiet night. She looked to her left and saw that Brian was staring at her, the fire reflecting in his brown eyes making them seem brighter.

“Is there something on my face?” Reese asked as she brought an unsure hand to her cheek rubbing at whatever was there.

“What? Oh, no. You’re perfect. I mean,” Brian stumbled over his words. “Nothing’s on your face,” he amended with an awkward cough.

“Alright, so are we gonna get this bitch started or not?” Jimmy asked as he threw his lanky body into a lawn chair that was one of many scattered around the fire pit. “Or,” he paused, “we can just get straight to the drinking portion of our evening.”

Reese sat down with a smile. “I wouldn’t mind just getting to the drinking.”

“I second,” Brian said firmly as he took a seat next to Reese, ignoring Matt’s glare as he moved his chair closer to Reese’s and draped his arm loosely around her.

Reese relaxed into Brian’s hold and missed the dark look that crossed Matt’s features. Matt didn’t mind that his friends had taken an almost instantaneous liking to his cousin, but he did mind Brian’s subtle advances toward Reese and Matt had no one else to blame except himself. If he hadn’t gotten annoyed with their fighting he would have never dared them to kiss and Brian wouldn’t be whispering something into Reese’s ear that was making her giggle now. Matt just had to man up and accept responsibility for his actions. Including whatever backlash they were sure to cause.

“Alright,” Matt said. “Brian, help me get the shit,” he said and walked away without looking to make sure Brian was following after him.

Brian rolled his eyes and got up to help Matt. He knew that Matt just wanted to talk to him privately where Reese wouldn’t be able to hear what he’d have to say. When Matt opened up his mouth Brian would tell him where to stuff his lecture.

As soon as Matt grabbed the liquor out of the hiding spot in his bedroom closet, he turned to Brian. “She’s my cousin, man.”

Brian’s eyebrow rose. “What your point?”

“Just don’t fuck with her cause I’d really hate to have to kick your ass for breaking Reese’s heart,” Matt said simply.

Matt’s words weren’t meant to instill fear or make Brian back off, the words were said plainly, casually; a simple statement of what Matt would do if Brian fucked up.

“We on the same page?” Matt asked.

Brian nodded once. “I don’t know what’s going on between me and Reese,” he admitted.

“You’re just flirting with her ‘cause you know it pisses me off?” Matt crossed his arms over his chest, a scowl etched deeply on his face.

“No, that’s just a bonus,” Brian smirked. “Seriously though, Matt, I don’t plan on breaking her heart. I like her, she’s... Different.”

Matt nodded and shoved a couple of bottles into Brian’s arms. “Just don’t mess up and we won’t have any problems.” He walked past Brian and worked his way back to the backyard and saw Reese laughing around with Jimmy and Zacky. A small smile was on his lips as he walked toward them. “I’ve got the booze and cups.”

“Fuck yeah,” Zacky grinned triumphantly. “Pour me some Jack and coke.”

“You think you can handle it, Baker?” Matt asked.

“Shut up and pour me the drink,” Zack answered.

Matt chuckled and made Zacky’s drink making sure to add a small amount of the whiskey; just enough for Zacky to taste it but not enough to cause problems with Zacky and the fire pit again. “Drink it slowly,” he cautioned as he handed Zacky the red plastic Solo cup.

For a solid half hour, Reese sat back, laughed and drank as her cousin and his friends told her stories about the shenanigans that they’d gotten into in the past as the fire danced in the wind. She was laughing so hard that her cheeks and stomach were hurting but she just couldn’t stop.

“And that’s why we don’t let Jimmy drive us around anymore,” Brian finished with a laugh as he wiped at the corners of his eyes.

“Fuck you guys, I’m a great driver,” Jimmy laughed before chugging down the rest of his drink.

Everyone had calmed down for a bit and a collective sigh ran through the group.

“So, Matt,” Zacky started. “Have you met the new neighbors yet?”

Matt shot him a confused look. “What?”

“Someone bought the house next door,” Zacky explained. “Do you know if anything strange has happened to your new neighbors yet or with the house?” He asked and shared a wickedly amused smile with Jimmy.

“I moved in next door with my mom,” Reese piped up as she glanced over at Zacky. “Why would anything strange happen with the house?”

“You don’t know? Seriously?” Jimmy asked, laughing excitedly. “Oh, man, this is gonna be good.”

Matt rubbed his hands over his face. “Guys, come on, not this shit again,” his voice was tired. Matt was seriously tired of hearing about this bullshit.

“Just because you don’t believe doesn’t mean that Reese shouldn’t know,” Zacky added. “Brian, you tell her, you know the story the best.”

Brian turned to Reese with a sadistic grin on his face; the dancing fire cast a glowing light on half of his face leaving the other half in darkness. “Reese, you and your mom are the current owners in a long line of people who have lived in that house but you two won’t be the last. Everyone who has ever lived in that house moves out within a few months. No one has ever stayed longer than half a year.”

Matt sighed. “Here we go.”

Brian ignored Matt’s comment. “And it’s all because of Billy Johnson.”

“Billy Johnson?” Reese asked. “Who the hell is Billy Johnson?”

“Billy Johnson and his older brother, Beau, died in your house ten years ago. Official reports say that a fire broke out in Billy’s bedroom, a bad wire was said to be the cause of the fire but everyone on the block can tell you that Beau is the one who set the fire. Purposely,” Brian grinned a bit as the fire continued to crackle and hiss, the sound took on a more menacing cadence.

Reese shivered.

“Beau was smart, cool and everyone liked him, but he had a temper on him, so they say. I heard he would always walk around the park alone, playing with a lighter. My mom always told me to stay away from him and to never talk to him if he came up to me.”

“You knew them?” Reese whispered and her voice cracked slightly, she didn’t like the fact that two boys had died in her house or the fact that her mom hadn’t told her about it.

Brian nodded. “My parents were friends with his parents. My dad always said that Beau was a good kid but my mom said that there was something wrong with him; she thought he was a manipulative liar that had everyone in the palm of his hand.”

Jimmy and Zacky exchanged small smiles as they noticed how freaked Reese was getting as she pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly.

“One day, Billy broke his arm. Beau claimed that Billy had tripped and fell down the stairs; no one had any reason to suspect otherwise, that is until, Billy started getting a bunch of strange bruises and couldn’t explain how he got them. And then a bunch of neighborhood pets went missing. For weeks the animals remained missing until a park worker found the shallow grave that held three cats, a couple of dogs and some squirrels; they’d been mutilated cruelly. But the most shocking part of it was that Beau’s lighter was found in the grave.

“The police questioned him and he said he didn’t know how it had gotten there. People around the neighborhood started calling him a sociopath after that. He started acting out, getting into fights. I saw the cops bring him home on many occasions.

“One night when Beau and Billy’s parents were out, I heard a bunch of shouting coming from their house. Then it was quiet for one whole hour. I heard the sirens before I saw that the house was on fire. It took them two hours to put it out. Both Beau and Billy died. Their parents rebuilt the house but moved after it was done. Their mom couldn’t stand to live in the house where her children had died. People have paraded in and out of there ever since saying that they see a little boy that looks like Billy running around the house. Things go missing and turn up in different parts of the house. Strange noises can be heard, footsteps, a little boy’s voice.”

Reese felt goose bumps rising on her arms and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she listened to Brian’s story.

“Some say that both Billy and Beau are trapped in the house, haunting anyone who lives there,” Brian finished in a whisper. “Normally, I wouldn’t believe any of this myself, but Reese’s smoke detector went off last night for no reason. Right, Reese?” He turned to her.

Reese stood up and shook her head, a look of disgust on her face. “I can’t believe you,” she said coldly, giving Matt a steely glare. “I can’t believe you told him about my dreams. Fuck you both for trying to scare me. Assholes,” Reese muttered as she ran through the yard and stomped into her house, locking the door tightly leaving the guys slack jawed and wide eyed behind her.

She couldn’t believe that Matt would betray her trust like that and tell Brian about her dreams and come up with this stupid scary story bullshit that Jimmy and Zacky were also a part of. She sighed and went into the kitchen to get some water and picked up the house phone to call her mother.

After she hung up with Kelly, Reese went up to her room and changed into her pajamas for the night. While she was still upset with Matt and Brian, she couldn’t help but laugh at her own stupidity. She didn’t believe in ghosts, much less ones named Beau and Billy Johnson. With a smile, she crawled into bed and dismissed her nightmares as nothing more than the products of her imagination. There was definitely a lot happening in her life to fuel her nightmares.

Reese’s cell phone buzzed on the nightstand on her right and she saw Brian’s name on the screen. “Ignore,” she said as she sent Brian to voice mail.

“If that’s the way you want to play, Haner, fine. Truce over.”