that stuff so seriously . “ God , I wonder if he ’ s still into that stuff .”
“ I doubt it ,” said Dawn . “ Most people grow out of that stuff after high school . What ’ s he saying ?” Sean scanned the message again . “ Just that he ’ s been thinking about me , wondering how I ’ m doing . He ’ s back in town , wants to get together for coffee or a beer .” “ Give him a call .” “ I don ’ t know ,” said Sean . “ He was pretty dark when we stopped hanging out . He used to make voodoo dolls and put curses on people . Mostly , he was just too weird . I felt kind of embarrassed being around him . Like he was stuck in that awkward adolescent phase .”
“ You grew up ,” said Dawn . She stood behind him , wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin on his head . “ Well , sort of . Maybe he did too .” “ Maybe . I ’ ll give him a call .” They met at The Basement , a tiny bar near Sean ’ s apartment . After the first beer , the years had disappeared . The trust they ’ d always shared had come back , and with it came the affection , entertainment and comfort . Sean could share the parts of himself that he kept hidden away from everybody else he knew . With Edward , there was no judgment . Their mutual respect was unconditional . He felt like he was shedding a false skin , allowing himself to step into the open for the first time since high school . Sean told Ed about the pattern of cheating , how the guilt tormented him . Nobody else knew about that . He opened up about the drugs , about Dawn ’ s miscarriage and the relief he ’ d felt . In turn , Ed shared his own shames , his own secrets . He described the months he ’ d spent in a psych ward during his second semester at school . It had been magic mushrooms , he told Sean . Way too many mushrooms .
“ Still into the black magic stuff ?” asked
Sean .
“ I got into that shit because I was so unhappy . I was a lonely kid , and I was being victimized at home , at school , and everywhere else I went . The occult stuff was a way for me to feel empowered . It made me feel like I could fight back . It helped for awhile , but it became an excuse to not deal with my problems .”
“ So , now you ’ ve dealt with your problems ?”
“ A lot of them ,” Sean smiled . “ I ’ m a work in progress , but who isn ’ t , right ? The other thing is , it was too real . It started as a game , but I saw some things that scared the shit out of me . It stopped being pretend . I couldn ’ t stop believing it .” “ You mean the thing with Jesse ?” “ No ,” said Sean . “ That was the first thing that really freaked me out , but I still knew it could be a coincidence . There was other stuff .” “ Like what ?” “ Just some voices ,” said Sean dismissively . He spoke lightly , but he looked uncomfortable . “ Dreams . Weird shit started happening around the house . I think it was the product of an overactive imagination mixed with stressful circumstances . Besides , being a teenager will make anybody crazy .”
“ Tell me about it ,” said Sean . “ I used to want to murder Arlene .” “ She still around ?” “ Yeah , I had dinner with her last week .
We ’ re actually really close now .” “ Good job we didn ’ t kill her , then ,” said Ed . “ Another beer ?”
“ Fuck yeah .” The Basement was empty other than the two of them . It was a filthy pit that tried to masquerade dirt as character , but it was private and nobody bothered them . It was Sean ’ s favourite bar for antisocial drinking . He also liked the music . Currently somebody was screaming “ Blod ” over