Cherry Wine
Chris drives Josh's car, Josh buckled up in the passenger seat, gaze empty as it stares out the window. Sam is in front of them, Beth and Hannah staring through the back window. They wanted to ride but Josh objected furiously with a startling level of conviction. Chris can't grasp how the other must be feeling, can't imagine Beth or Hannah staring at him with such fear and love. It must feel like sinking through earth.
"You think this will work?"
Chris sneaks a glance at him. Josh's legs are pressed to his chest, arms bound behind him in plastic ties. The skin on his wrist is red and raw, beads of blood caked on. Josh had resisted at first, had fought back to the point where Chris almost couldn't take him but Beth stepped up and held Josh back all while whispering words no one could hear except Josh. Chris has seen Josh upset, has seen him at his absolute worst but he's never seen him so... helpless. Even through all this bullshit. It wasn't how he imagined in the slightest.
Josh had stared at Beth the entire time, lips parted into a muted pang of horror, eyes tired and soft and he looked as if he would break. Josh hadn't really talked since then, since Chris walked him to his car and buckled him in. Chris doesn't know what Beth said but he never wants to see that expression again.
"It might."
Chris had explained the premise of the exorcism or more so the bits Emily had told him, the older Washington's were a bit skeptic as Hannah seemed all for the idea ("I watched a lot of documentaries." "Jesus, Han, this is not the same.").
Josh shifts in his seat, turning heavy eyes to Chris. He levels him with a soft look.
"What if it doesn't?"
Chris' hands tighten on the steering wheel. "It will. It will, Josh."
"C'mon, Cochise." Josh sighs. "I'm your bro, your best man. Level with me. What happens if it doesn't? Will... you kill me? Can you? Are you guys prepared for that?"
They weren't. At all. Sam still had her hairspray and Chris had his lighters but after seeing the real, physical body of what they're up against, they were ill prepared. Besides Chris honestly didn't know if he'd be capable of taking Josh down. He turns to Josh, taking in all the sharp angles, the slow smile that stretches across pale lips. If they failed, that thing- Nixkamich, would wear this face, the face Chris has looked at for almost his entire life. It would wear Josh's skin and kill them.
Chris couldn't fail.
"It will work." Chris says, determination burning inside him. Josh slumps back against the car door. He falls quiet, focusing on his lap as Chris drives. Chris sighs.
Devil's Kettle has never felt so desolate, so empty and clouded. There were hardly cars on the roads, most shops closed up for the day despite it barely being 6. It's almost like a ghost town, some dot on the map that only thrives on death. Only two people have died but it's like the town died with them.
Was that the beauty of small towns?
"I'm sorry about your dad." Josh whispers.
"It's okay." It wasn't. But Chris can't hold anything against Josh especially when none of it was his fault.
"It's not." Josh grumbles, kicking his legs out. He eased himself towards Chris, pressing his face into Chris' arm with a soft sigh. Chris tries not to tense up. Josh settles against him.
"If it does work, what then?"
"We go back to normal."
Josh chuckles. "That's not possible, Chris." He sighs again. A beat of silence. "What colors did you want for prom?"
Chris could do that. He could talk about maybes and what ifs. Chris could talk about a future together, prom, graduation next year. All these bundles of possibilities.
"Was thinking red but that doesn't seem like a good idea anymore." Chris replies.
Josh laughs, raspy and low.
"How about white?"
Josh snorts. "Fuckin' cheesy, bro."
"It's not that cheesy, dude. What color do you want then, huh?"
"Red." Josh smiles.
Chris almost laughs, instead it bubbles and soothes the ache he feels in his chest. He shifts the gear, leaning over to press a soft kiss to Josh's head. Sam slows down for a red light, Chris following behind to a stop. Josh shuffles up, still smiling, hollow and sad and it feels like he doesn't expect the 'maybe' of their situation.
"Can I kiss you?" Josh asks softly.
Chris inches forward, sliding his hand along Josh's jaw. Josh meets him the rest of the way with a quiet exhale. His mouth trembles against Chris', eyes squeezing closed as they kiss.
"You better take someone hot in my place." Josh forces out.
Chris shakes his head. He doesn't realize he's shaking until Josh is nuzzling into his palm with a quiet 'shhh'. The light turns green.
"Promise me." Josh urges.
"Josh-"
"Promise."
Chris stares at him, Sam's car growing smaller in the distance. Josh falls back in his seat, eyes ablaze, mouth pursed. "Promise me."
Chris forces himself to look away, hand trembling as it moves against the gear. He catches up to Sam fairly quickly, mind fizzling thoughts together. Chris still hadn't promised, Josh was still staring at him. But he couldn't. He couldn't promise something like that. That would mean Josh wasn't going to make it. That would mean-
"I can't promise that, Josh."
Josh clicks his tongue. "Your mom would be pissed if you went to prom alone."
"I'm not going to prom alone. I'm going with you, dumbass. And I'll take an unnecessary amount of selfies with you and dance badly to whatever dumb fucking pop song they play. Then we'll go home, play games, whatever you want."
It comes out harsher than Chris was expecting. His syllables bite out the way out, exasperation and fear and anger laced around every word. Chris catches the small smile on Josh's face before it fades away, tears slipping down the older boy's face.
"We can do white." Josh laughs, voice thick and wet. "White's fine."
Chris wants to reach out and wipe the tears away but the Point is near, there is no time. They were out of time. This was it. Sam parks in front of the building, filing out at lightning speed. Emily stands outside, hands tucked into the pockets of an expensive leather jacket, nose turned up and there's a fire in her eyes.
Chris parks, turning to Josh, who is staring at his sisters as they exit Sam's car. Chris grabs Josh's shoulder. He gives it a light squeeze. Josh looks at him, cheeks stained with tears.
"I'm sorry."
Chris shakes his head. "No. I'm sorry. This is my fault. If.. If I would've come. You would've been safe."
"'s not your fault, Cochise."
They stare at each other in silence. Josh leaned up against the door, Chris resting on the center console. It feels like their final moment together. Maybe it was. Chris wasn't an expert in supernatural beings or how to rid demons off. But he feels like this could work, like the words he's been telling himself, telling Josh, have merit and they're real.
"Confession time." Josh licks his lips. "I've liked you since middle school. Since you kissed Maddison Mitchell. And I definitely said your name during sex with Mike. Sorry."
Chris sputters. "Dude."
"Lemme finish, bro." Josh smirks. "I... I might be in love with you. With all the death and me being a bottomless pit craving human bits. I-I.. It's not even might, Chris. I love you. I'm sorry I'm such an asshole. We need to work on our communication because I could've popped your cherry freshman year."
"Dude, you were a virgin freshman year." Chris reminds him, unable to stop the wide smile from crossing his face.
"Could've lost it together, Cochise. Awkward limbs and giggling. It could've been perfect." Josh sighs. "If.. If this doesn't work. I love you, okay? Underneath all my general bullshit. I love you."
Chris opens his mouth to speak but Sam is prying the driver's door open with a shaking hand. Josh shifts away, words dying in the air and Beth is opening the passenger door. Chris reaches for Josh, grasping his wrist. Josh glances back at him.
Chris' words die in his throat.
"Let's get a move on!" Emily shouts impatiently. Chris releases Josh's wrist, feeling like a coward, like some urchin at the bottom of the sea. Josh turns away from him, Beth's hand on his shoulder.
"Ready?" Sam's voice brings Chris back. He slouches in his seat.
"Yeah."
Chris could've said it back, could've said something, anything. He's an idiot. Emily stands confidently, even managing a twitch of a smile as they approach her. Josh doesn't look at her. Hannah wraps an arm around her brother's waist, Beth on his other side. Sam stands beside Chris. She reaches for his hand, he takes it.
Emily leads them inside, towards the fire escape tucked in the back. Chris never imagined he'd be walking through the smell of piss and mildew to try and save his best friend from some pissed off spirit. Chris doesn't think he'll ever come back here after that.
They climb the steps to the barely lit second floor, windows boarded up with tiny holes drilled in them for light. Broken, crumbling walls sit where rooms used to be. A circle sits in the center of the room, large in size with intricate, foreign words written in chalk. Three candles sit on different places of the circle, one longer than the other two. There's a portable stereo sitting beside the circle.
"I'm not a shaman. But," Emily sheds her jacket, folding it up before setting it on the dirtied ground. "I got in touch with one. She lives in California, pretty old actually, and she explained stuff. Also apologized a lot. Guess this thing kind of sucks."
"Well you have my vote of confidence." Josh says.
Emily manages a smile. "I wish I didn't have to do this at all. I don't know what it will do."
Hannah takes a step towards the circle. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"It could speed up the process." Emily states.
Chris tenses up. "What? That's not-"
"Just let her try, Cochise." Josh says tiredly. He slips away from Beth, staggering over to the circle. Josh stares at it a bit before taking a shaky step forward. He turns to them.
"We don't have any better ideas."
Emily glances at Hannah, who steps away. Hannah looks to her twin, who in turn looks at Sam. Sam squeezes Chris' hand. Josh gives him an expectant look.
"Fine." Chris grinds out. "What do you need us to do?"
Emily sets them in different spots around the circle with firm hands despite how her mouth quivers. She sets Beth in front of one candle, Chris in front of the other and herself in front of the longest burning candle. Sam stands between Beth and Emily, Hannah in between Chris and Emily.
Josh plops down on the floor, easing back on his elbows with a wince. The plastic ties were still in place. Chris stares at him. Josh doesn't look back.
"Okay, so." Emily clears her throat. "Let's do this. Probably should've brought more people."
"More collateral damage if this goes to shit." Josh snorts. Hannah looks ready to beat the shit out of him. He shrugs lazily.
"Any last words, asshole?" Beth asks, folding her arms across her chest. Despite the bite lingering around her words, there's a softness, a softness Chris recognizes as someone about to lose everything. He wonders if he looks the same.
"Sammy, you better take care of my sisters. They might seem cool but they're both sappy babies." Josh winks at Sam. "Em, Jess likes you a lot, a whoooole lot so if that's not a thing, it should be. I mean, who blushes that much to ask someone to prom if they're not tryna bone, ya know?"
Emily rolls her eyes. "Duly noted."
"Beth," Josh raspberries. "I love you. Take care of Hannah."
"Yeah okay." Beth responds. Her voice shakes and Chris can see tears in her eyes.
Josh rolls his head to look at Hannah. "Take care of mom and dad. They're hopeless. You're the only one who keeps us organized and together. Mike's an asshole, so am I. I'm... I'm sorry, Han."
Hannah cups a hand over her mouth. She nods her head, folding her arms across her abdomen. Hannah releases a shaky sigh and forces a smile but she's crying. Beth is too, Chris realizes.
"I'm sorry about your mom, Chris. I'm sorry I didn't go to her funeral." Josh is speaking to him, eyes downcast. "I meant every word I said though to you in the car."
Josh finally looks at him, green eyes glistening.
"You'd look good in white, Cochise." He turns to Emily. "We should speed this up. I'm getting restless and that's usually not a good thing."
"Wait." Chris says as Emily kneels down to start the stereo. Josh clicks his tongue, frowning deeply.
"Dude, we don't have time."
"Josh-"
"Chris, it can wait."
But it couldn't. It couldn't. What if it doesn't work, what if none of this works and Chris will have never said it back. Josh said he loved him.
"He's right, Chris." Emily says softly. "We don't have time."
Chris sighs heavily, feeling angry and upset and he squeezes his hands into tight fists. Warmth slides along Chris' skin, pain flaring up. Chris glances down at his arm, a red stain beginning to form along his sleeve. He'd forgotten about his wound. After Josh mentioned it, he'd forgotten, more focused on the task at hand. This task. Josh shifts almost immediately, nostrils flared, irises narrowing.
"We need to hurry." Sam says quickly.
Josh moves to his knees, mouth parted into a low pant, eyes slowly moving to fix on Chris' arm. Sam is staring at Chris with something akin to acknowledgment and panic. Emily clicks play on the stereo but not before Chris hears a sharp inhale.
Soft chanting comes from the radio, eerie sounds floating through the speakers. Josh shakily rises to his feet, left eye beginning to cloud white, teeth clenched. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Chris' mom would laugh if she was here right now. Anything that can happen, will.
Josh lurches forward, feet roughly sliding against the concrete. Hannah recoils, Beth tensing up as their brother coughs violently, chest heaving. Dark red foam collects around his mouth, spewing like ripples in water as it drips to the floor.
Emily swallows visibly, fishing her phone out. She raises one arm in the air, reading whatever is written. A familiar deep chuckle fills the room, swelling along the darkness. Chris fights the urge to run, his senses urging every bone in his body toward the door. The candles dim, flickering shadows against the walls. They dance and patter along the light, slowly forming into one form.
Emily continues, seemingly distracted, as Beth cowers, eyes wide and terrified. Sam stands shakily, following the way the shadow moves from the floor to the ceiling.
"Fuck." Hannah mutters softly.
Josh convulses, clothes soaked black with filth, and he struggles against the plastic ties. Chris watches the frantic expression fade away, horror changing to indifference. Josh's head snaps to him, mouth stained red, teeth sharp and threatening. He's breathing raggedly, drool dripping from his bottom lip. The sound of plastic snapping sets Chris' skin ablaze, terror biting into his shaking limbs with an insistence.
The shadow drops from the ceiling, pooling around Josh's feet before it stretches tall, blackened fading tendrils spreading along the room. Emily, Hannah, Beth and Sam disappear from Chris' line of sight. The candle before him flickers but doesn't die. It's just him, just him and Josh and the shadow, Nixkamich.
"You came here wounded. Did you not expect this to happen? This was just the push he needed. If only you could smell yourself."
Chris hadn't thought about it. He knew Josh hadn't eaten, had enough control over himself to not devour Chris' dad. Why was this different? Why was? Chris' eyes widened.
"I'm very old, child. I know this game."
It knew. The voice purrs in his ear, whisper of ghostly touches caressing Chris' face.
"Did you say it back?"
"No." Chris finds himself saying. His heart feels like it's lodged in his throat. It might be based on the ringing in his ears..
It tsks with faux sympathy. "Pity."
This feels like a dream. Chris swallows thickly. Josh crouches down with a snarl. One eye still remains green, green and human and there's so much acknowledgement and pain that Chris knows what's going to happen.
A deep chuckle settles along his ear like a siren. "Ah yes, he will watch."
Josh springs forward.