Demon's Doorway (45 page)

The five friends stood outside the restaurant, silent for a moment.

"I think I might actually miss him," Cindy said.

Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure about me."

"So," Leese said. She turned to face everyone while clasping her hands together. "What are we doing tonight? I mean…what do supernatural people do when they save the world?"

Victoria smiled to herself, remaining quiet. None of her friends had any idea how often she had a hand in saving the world.

"Well, staying in last night didn't do us much good," Cindy said. "How about we go out to a club, do some dancing?"

"You can't go to a club anymore," Leese said. "You're married now. Married people don't party, and they don't dance."

Alex shrugged. "I never dance, anyway."

Cindy pulled him closer. "Don't worry, baby. I'll dance, just for you, and then later, when we get home, we'll have our own personal party—"

"Enough," Leese said, covering her ears.

Victoria glanced at Kevin, who was still watching the highway with a grin. He didn't participate in their banter.

"So, what did you do?"

All eyes went to him. Everyone glanced between the two of them, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Huh?" Leese said. "What's up?"

"Jack's perceptive," Victoria said. "But he doesn't know you like I do. So…what did you do when you supposedly went to the bathroom?"

Kevin said nothing. He wrapped an arm around Leese's shoulders and gently stroked the back of her neck. She loved the touching, and hugged him around the waist.

Alex held his hands up. "Uh, does someone want to fill me in here?"

Kevin wished he could see the look on Jack's face.

*****

Jack sighed in relief as he parked behind his truck in front of his house. He would have driven straight home without any breaks, but Tiffany needed to use the bathroom a few times on the way. He looked down at his wonderful daughter as he killed the engine in the rental car. Tiffany had finally fallen asleep an hour ago, and he took the moment to enjoy perhaps one of the best sights he'd ever seen. Erica riding him in bed was a sight he committed to memory, but Tiffany curled up in a ball on the seat, sleeping soundly next to him pulled at the few heart strings he had left.

She finally woke up, and glanced at him with one eye. She'd been a real trooper, dealing with the craziness of the past two weeks with great resolve. No doubt she'd have a ton of schoolwork to catch up on, but between he and Erica, they would take care of her.

"Are we home?" she asked.

"Yes, we are." He pointed to Erica's car in front of his truck. "And it looks like Erica's inside waiting for us."

"Awesome. I missed her."

He was in a good mood as he dragged their luggage up the sidewalk. Not even the sight of his neighbor cleaning his car brought him down. Ultimately, he didn't get want he wanted, but he helped Victoria. He helped kill a dangerous man, and in the end, that made the world a safer place for Tiffany and Erica. Everyone else could die for all he cared.

He unlocked the front door, and there she was. Erica lay on the couch, wearing a wonderfully minuscule pair of shorts with a loose blouse. The smell of chicken and steamed vegetables from the kitchen nearly made his stomach dance.

"Erica!" Tiffany shouted.

She ran into Erica's arms for a hug. Jack smiled as he set the suitcases down. Erica spun Tiffany around and kissed her on the cheek.

"I missed you so much," Erica said.

"I missed you, too. I went to Paris. Jack came with me for a while, but he had to leave for work. Still, it was so much fun."

"Was it? You're gonna have to tell me all about it."

Jack couldn't take his eyes off her. He loved technology, but seeing Erica in person was beyond better than talking with her on the other end of a video call.

"I'm gonna take my stuff upstairs," Tiffany said.

He approached Erica slowly, just savoring looking at her. She angled her face to hide her scar, a nervous habit of hers. She flashed him a smile, and he could feel his blood beginning to boil. He watched Alex and Kevin feel up their women all week, and he was getting sick of sitting on the sidelines with his own girlfriend.

"Hi," she said. She stood mere inches from him, one of only a handful of living creatures allowed to invade his personal space. "Miss me?"

He answered by kissing her. Erica sighed into his mouth, and she obviously felt the same. Jack took it as far as he could with his daughter not far away in her bedroom. He ran his hands under her blouse, felt her legs, kissed her neck. She whimpered quietly and gripped his shoulders, but had enough self control to push him away slightly. Although, she had a good idea of what they'd be doing later.

"You missed me," she said.

Jack laughed shortly as he stole one more quick kiss and backed away. "Just a little."

He admired his house, especially his open kitchen. It was a work of art compared to that hole in the hotel room they called a kitchen.

"The food smells delicious."

"I wanted to have a nice surprise waiting for you when you guys got back."

He admired her legs. "Those shorts are the best surprise ever."

She spun in place for him, and then trotted back to the kitchen. Jack admired her figure the entire time.

"I'd better not let this burn. Dinner will be ready soon."

"I'll go unpack. We'll be down in a few minutes."

Jack grabbed two out of the three suitcases and walked up the stairs. He stopped outside Tiffany's room and simply watched as she put away clothes. She had some song playing by a young artist he would never listen to, if he could help it. She made weird little dance moves as she glided across her bedroom.

He shook his head and entered his own bedroom. The tense feelings tried to surface, and he shoved them deep down. His bedroom was an illusion, a lie put together to give Erica and Tiffany the impression that he was somewhat normal. The bed sat there, taunting him, with covers that he intentionally kept messed up. Erica and he spent many wild nights in that bed, and for that reason he didn't hate it. But there were times he wanted to grab a knife from the kitchen and cut the mattress into little pieces.

He looked forward to the night, and the many things Erica and he would do to each other. But he wasn't looking forward to feigning sleep next to her, waiting for her to fall unconscious, before slipping away to watch TV in the living room.

He set a suitcase on the bed. At least it could serve as a stand. His eyes narrowed in confusion as he opened it and saw something sitting on his clothes he knew he didn't pack.

It was an antique pocket-watch, with a note taped to it. He pulled the watch from the paper, admiring the old craftsmanship, before reading the note.

This watch has nothing to do with the Wizard of Oz, but I did see the movie.
It was signed by
Glinda, The Good Witch Of The North (or maybe Virginia and Maryland)
.

Jack couldn't help but smile. "Cute. Real cute."

He flipped open the protective cover of the watch to see it wasn't even working. Every hand sat on twelve o'clock. He wound it a single time, and put it to his ear to hear the gears turning. The time was now at one o'clock, but something wasn't right. The second hand moved backwards.

"Nice, Glinda. I save your woman's life, and you give me a busted watch. Probably pissed about that cooking contest—"

He went quiet as a strange sensation overcame him. His eyes shut, and it actually took a large amount of effort to open them once again. He gripped the edge of the bed as his knees went weak. His mouth opened against his will, and an unusual sound escaped from deep within him.

"You little piece of shit," he said, his voice slurring. "I'm…dying." He gathered what strength he had left. "Erica! Tiffany!"

Tiffany burst into the room first, followed by Erica. Their panic turned to confusion as they stared at the odd sight.

"Jack?" Erica said. "Are you okay?"

She was answered by a loud snore.

Jack was half on the bed, resting his head on his arms while he knees supported his weight on the floor. The pocket-watch sat a foot away, near the suitcase, and continued to slowly count backward in time.

"Jack? Daddy?" Tiffany laughed as he snored once again. "How can he sleep like that? It doesn't look comfortable."

Erica rested her hands on Tiffany's shoulders at the adorable sight. "Come on. Let's tuck him in. We'll eat, and keep dinner warm for him."

They set the suitcase on the floor and pulled him into bed. Tiffany removed his shoes while Erica slipped a blanket over him. Erica grabbed the pocket-watch and placed it on the nightstand. Jack sighed from deep in his sleep and pulled the blanket up to his chin. He turned on his side and let out a small smile.

"He's so cute," Erica said, squeezing Tiffany's shoulders.

"Umm hmm. What do you think he's dreaming about?"

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I live in Maryland with my wonderful wife and four cats. I love gaming, computer technology, movies, and of course, reading and writing. I love science fiction and especially horror. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, anything supernatural, all beautiful subjects.

I've been writing since I was twelve years old. There's just something about creating a story that I like. It's always fun to try to come up with something that hasn't been done, or is unique in some way. It's fun to build a character, give him a personality and background.

Visit my website at http://www.glennbullion.com

Total works by Glenn Bullion:

Demonspawn

Dead Living

Mind Slide

A Witch to Live

Jack Kursed

Soul Insurance

Demon's Doorway