Thorns of the Daffodils

Chapter 2

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Brian's POV

I smirk to myself and realize maybe I have been a little hasty. I decide to strike up some conversation. "So, how long have you worked here?"

He jumps slightly and looks at me uncertainly. "You mean you're actually going to talk to me in a civil manner?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Well, it's not completely unheard of."

He smiles and I feel my breath hitch at the twinkle in his blue eyes. He nods his head. "Five years."

I huff out a laugh as I look at the man who doesn't appear to be any older than nineteen. "Since when do they let kiddies tend bar?"

Justin chuckles softly. "Haven't you heard? They begin bartender training in kindergarten now." He winks at me and then adds, "I'm twenty-six, so not as young as you think, but when I'm older it will have its advantages."

I nod my head and take a drag from my cigarette. "And here I thought you weren't a day over twelve."

He groans in frustration. "You are a very infuriating person. You do realize this, don't you?"

I cock my head to one side and smile mischievously. "That's my best quality. Well my second best, anyway."

He bites his lower lip, pondering how to respond. "And what would your best quality be?"

I take another drag from my cigarette and smile smugly. "It's my nine inch dick, of course."

Justin shakes his head and laughs, then changes the subject abruptly. "So answer me this. How long have you known Marilyn? I've never seen you here before."

I'm taken aback by his question and for a brief moment I'm not sure exactly how much of the complicated story I should tell, so I reply with, "That's a loaded question."

He nods his head knowingly and I can feel his eyes penetrating into my soul, as though he can read my unspoken words. "I kind of figured it might be."

I decide it's probably best to tell part of the truth, but not too much. "Since we were nine, but we've been distant for a long time and our paths just re-collided."

I hear someone clearing their throat and I look up to see my oldest friend. "What the fuck do you want?" I glare at her, already knowing a lecture is coming my way.

Marilyn sits down and smacks her hands flat on the bar and looks me directly in the eyes. "'Losing My Religion,' Brandy? 'Losing My Religion,' what in God's name was that about?"

I shrug my shoulders. "It's a good song." My thoughts begin to drift to my dead lover, William. My emotions try to overcome me as I think of him and all the times I would come home and he would be playing his REM CDs over and over. In many ways it was very endearing. God I miss him so much. I am startled when I hear myself whisper. "It was William's favorite song."

I can feel Justin's eyes burning into my soul and I'm afraid to look at him. When I finally do I am relieved to see understanding and concern. He smiles softly. "I liked the song. I thought it was refreshing. I mean you can only hear so much ABBA in one night before you start to go a little insane."

Putting out my cigarette, I let out a laugh. "My sentiments exactly." I stand up, wanting to get out of this situation fast so they can't see the emotions that are coursing through me. "Bye Ladies. I have to piss, then I think I'll head home." I know it was probably not the most ladylike thing to say, but what the fuck? I'm not a Lady, and personally I find it amusing to say such things when I'm looking like this.

Marilyn takes hold of my hand and looks at me with concern evident in her brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

"No."

She nods her head in understanding. "Do you want me to walk you home?"

"I don't need a fucking babysitter," I growl.

I can see the pain in her eyes from my harsh tone. "I didn't think you did. I just..."

I lean over and kiss her on the cheek. "I know you're just being a friend. I just need some time, okay?"

She squeezes my hand affectionately. "I understand."

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Marilyn's POV

I watch my dear friend walk away and I am so scared for Brian. I know there is a lot of darkness ahead in his future, and my thoughts drift back to the night a week earlier when Brian re-entered my life.

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Flashback

Hushed whispers echo through my mind and I am overwhelmed by the mass of spirits I can feel invading my darkened room. I close my eyes tightly so I can't see them, then stand up, feeling the walls to find the light switch and turn it on. Opening my eyes I see a surge of electrical energy lingering around me. I close my eyes; once again I am haunted by hazel eyes. My heart aches because I instantly know who they belong to. I feel my own emotions grab a hold of me when I think of the man whom I once called my best friend so many years ago.

For the last three days I have been feeling so oppressed. I can sense he is in trouble, but every time I try to look into his future, or even his past, all I see is black. The high pitched squeal of the spirits trying to talk to me sounds like chipmunks on crack. My mind is reeling, not knowing what is going on with my long lost friend, or how I can even help him, for that matter.

I am drawn out of my thoughts when I hear a loud, frantic banging on my door. Quickly, I grab my fluffy, maroon night robe off the hook of my door. I wrap it around my body and pull the tie tight.

"I'm coming, I'm coming, no need to get your panties in a twist." I yell.

I open the door hastily and instantly my heart clenches at the sight before me. I swallow hard and my eyes lock with Brian's. I instantly see and feel his haunted pain and confusion as he tries to speak and is unable to.

I step back and really look at him, gasping when I see he is covered in blood, and his body is shaking violently. Without thinking I wrap my arms around him, forgetting any of our previous hardships and lead him into my apartment. Brian clings to me in desperation, sobbing. I have seen him this vulnerable once before, and that was when he was fifteen. God, I think of how brutal Jack Kinney was. I still remember the night Brian crawled through my bedroom window; he had been beaten badly and was bleeding.

A year before that Brian had confided in me that his Gym teacher had been molesting him and making him do things that he felt uncomfortable with. I was so worried for my friend and I begged him to let me tell someone, and get help for him, but he always said no. He said his father would kill him no matter if he was the victim or not. After this went on for some time Brian fell deeper into his own sorrow and began to build his emotional walls. He then started to deny what was really happening by making jokes about it and even telling me he wanted the teacher to fuck him. I knew better. I could see the pain in his eyes. I feel my soul aching as I relive the moment he told me his father had found out what the teacher had done to him. Unlike most fathers, who would go to the police and try and get help for his son, Jack Kinney tried to beat the poor innocent boy straight. He had been so ignorant not to realize that this had nothing to do with being gay or straight, but about a young boy who had been sexually assaulted. I held him tight in my arms that night, trying to comfort him.

I was stunned when he leaned over and kissed me passionately, whispering, "Please make it go away. Please make my pain go away."

I was so young and so in love with my best friend that I would have done anything for him, even something I thought I would regret, and I did. I will regret it until the day I die. We slept together that night and instead of helping my friend, I only succeeded in helping him numb his pain. An outlet I know he still uses for pain management. I strongly believe that was the beginning of the end of our friendship. He distanced himself to a point where I never saw him anymore, and then his family moved away.

I was a sophomore in college, trying to make my way through school, when I saw him again. I used to give card readings at Woody's and I was stunned the first time I noticed him there. He looked at me and I know he knew who I was, even underneath my makeup, he knew. But he didn't acknowledge me. In fact, he made jokes abut me and my spiritual gifts. It still hurts knowing he pushed me away, then mocked me, and now he is in my home like we have always been friends. But for all of that, for some odd reason, I'm glad he felt he could come to me.

I lead Brian into the bathroom and gently guide him to sit down on the toilet seat. That is when I see the dark entities that are lingering around him. He looks up at me, choking back his tears and he whispers, "I had nowhere else to go." He wipes at his tear filled eyes. "Oh God," he wails. "He's gone!" His voice is panicked. "Oh God, they killed him. They killed William."

I feel his pain rush through me and I know who William is. Everyone knows about the one man who was able to get through Brian Kinney's walls and teach him to love and be loved in return. I hold him even closer and Brian clings on to me, whispering, "I'm next. They are going to kill me, too. They know where I live and work." He shakes his head and looks me in the eyes and speaks huskily. "They tried to kill me tonight, but I...I got away. I...I had nowhere else to go." He looks off into the distance and I can see how scared he really is.

I reach over, dampening a cloth and begin to wipe the blood and tears away. "Brian, I'm going to clean you up and then I will call the police. You need to report this."

Quickly, he grabs my hand. "You can't call them."

Fear jolts through my body and I can hear spirits chattering all around me, but I can't understand a word they are saying. I do feel Brian is in grave danger, and I know he needs help. Gently I caress his cheek with the back of my hand. "Why can't I call them, sweetie?"

He leans into my touch and sobs. "You can't, you just can't. They'll know. They'll know where I am."

End of flashback

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