The Geek and His Artist (43 page)

Surprisingly, it was Lei who made the first noises about going, with Lindsey and Bailey right behind her. “It was cool, I wore a dress. Now let’s go have the real fun,” she said, making the rest of them laugh.

“God, yes. These shoes are
killing
me,” Bailey groaned.

“No kidding,” Lindsey agreed. She pulled her skirt up to her knee, showing off her spiked heels, and Simon winced.

“Those aren’t shoes. They’re weapons,” he said, making all three girls laugh.

“Yeah, no doubt,” Tony agreed, looking at them with something akin to horror. “You’re not going to use them on me, are you?”

Lindsey snorted. “Don’t pick on my date and you’re fine.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it!” Tony said, holding his hands up.

“You guys really cool to leave already? It’s like… not even nine thirty.” Ronnie looked from one to the other.

“Seriously. I am never wearing shoes like this again,” Bailey said.

“No doubt. Let’s go.”

“Okay, whose house is closest?” Ronnie asked.

“Uh… mine, I guess,” Jimmy said.

S
IMON
,
DESPITE
being thrilled at seeing Jimmy dressed up, couldn’t say he was upset at getting out of the tux. They’d already discussed wearing them for their wedding—whenever that was, they hadn’t decided yet—so he wasn’t going to be sad to see it go for the evening.

Less than an hour later, they’d made it back to Jimmy’s house, changed clothes, and left their formal wear with Mom. The car was repacked with the things they’d forgotten, including the tents now tied to the luggage rack on the roof, and then they were back on the road, driving toward the state park.

Simon chewed his lip and watched out the window as they passed a sign pointing toward the airport. “Which park are we going to?”

“Raccoon Creek. It was the closest so we didn’t end up being really late getting here.”

“It’s a good one. Lake can suck sometimes, but it’s a decent campground.” Ronnie made a face.

“We’ll spend most of our time there, anyway,” Bailey pointed out.

“True,” Ronnie agreed.

They fell silent as they drove until Jimmy turned off the highway. “We should stop and get ice and stuff. I don’t think anything closer will be open.”

With murmurs of agreement, they pulled into a grocery store and piled out of the car. When Sean caught up to them, they all headed in. Twenty minutes later, arms full of bags of food and ice, they headed back out to the cars. It took a bit of work to get everything to fit. The Pathfinder
did
have a decent amount of space, even with all three rows of seats up, but six people and all the camping gear for them was a bit much. They had to shuffle some things onto the roof and even a few more onto Sean’s car, but they managed and all piled back into the cars.

Simon was grateful for when they did. He didn’t like the dark, but had done pretty well for the most part. He’d been okay with the idea of camping, knowing The Bastard had never been the outdoorsy type. He’d never even
think
to go to a campground.

But even though they were on the other side of town from where he’d lived with The Bastard, being out in an open parking lot at night still made him nervous. He shook the worry off and climbed into the SUV.

“You okay, baby?” Jimmy asked, leaning in and kissing him.

Simon considered just shrugging it off, but reminded himself he’d promised to talk to Jimmy. “Just got a little spooked in the parking lot. I’m fine now,” Simon replied. He sighed. “It pisses me off that I’m still afraid of him.”

Jimmy pulled out of the parking spot, then picked up Simon’s hand and kissed it. “I know. But it’s getting better. The counselor said as much when I was with you last week.”

Simon nodded. “Yeah, true.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “I’m not letting him ruin our weekend. Three days of camping.”

Jimmy grinned. “I’ll help you forget once the tents are up.”

Simon blushed. “Jimmy!” he moaned.

With a laugh, Jimmy kissed his hand again, then refocused on driving.

Back on the highway, Simon listened to Bailey and Lindsey talking, volleying back insults from Ronnie and Deck when they were thrown. By the time they turned off the main road to the side road leading to the campsite office, Simon had mostly forgotten his fears. They stopped at the office, and Jimmy went up to the map to find their campsites, then climbed back in. It took them another few minutes, missing it once in the dark, but eventually they found the two together that he’d requested.

Simon didn’t have time to worry or fear as they set up camp. They knew they couldn’t do everything in the dark, so they focused on the tents and sleeping bags and chairs, pulling out the firewood and kindling when they’d finished. Ronnie, a former Boy Scout, set up the fire with Sean’s help, and Kip, Tony, and Jimmy put out the chairs. Simon helped Bailey, Lindsey, and Lei dig out pop and blankets for everyone and finally, they’d set up around a nice campfire.

Just as Simon settled into Jimmy’s arms, he realized he needed to go to the bathroom. He sighed, annoyed, but knew he’d be better off just getting it over with. “Dammit,” he grumbled, looking up.

“What, baby?”

“Uh… gotta go.” Simon blushed and climbed to his feet. Jimmy stood, and Simon looked up at him. “You don’t have to go. I’m just going over here.” He threw his thumb over his shoulder at the darkened patch of woods beyond their tents.

“I want to. Don’t argue, okay?”

“He’s not going to be here.”

“Just humor me,” Jimmy said, and Simon could hardly argue with that.

“Hey, where’re you going?” Ronnie asked.

“Just over there,” Jimmy tossed his head, and Simon blushed even harder.

“Way to announce it,” Simon muttered.

Jimmy just squeezed his shoulder. “Be right back.”

They wandered out of the firelight and around the tents. “Should have brought a flashlight,” Jimmy murmured.

“Ugh, no. It’s bad enough they all know I have to piss,” Simon said, shaking his head. He stepped past the tree line and back a bit, stopping between two trees, and unzipped his jeans. Jimmy stepped up next to him and Simon didn’t feel quite so self-conscious, since he wasn’t the only one.

Just as he zipped up, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up and he looked over his shoulder. The woods behind them, especially with the firelight next to them, were pitch black. He tried to shake the thought off, but it didn’t seem to want to go anywhere.

“You okay, baby?”

Simon’s eyes darted from tree to tree, what he could see of them, but he couldn’t get rid of the feeling he was being watched. He wanted to say he was fine, but the lie wouldn’t come out. He heard a sound to his left and spun, but as soon as he did, a pair of shiny yellow eyes flashed at him, then disappeared. His heart pounding, he cursed himself for getting spooked over an animal. “Fine,” he muttered, turning back to Jimmy, and started for the campsite again.

Jimmy went ahead of him, reaching out to move a branch aside. As Simon moved, a hand came out of nowhere, arm wrapping around him and pulling him sharply back.

The voice that came out of the dark was one he’d never, in his life, forget. “Didn’t think I’d find you again, little fag, did ya?”

S
IMON
WAS
not
going to panic. He wanted to. The fight-or-flight instinct was kicking in, and as was usually the case when it came to The Bastard, flight was definitely the stronger one. But Simon was determined not to let it win this time, not to let the fear get the best of him.

He forced the panic down. He refused to respond to The Bastard’s words, and tried to think. Jimmy had obviously not heard The Bastard speak and was already approaching the edge of the trees. Simon knew he had only a few seconds before Jimmy would notice he wasn’t there.

He didn’t want The Bastard anywhere near Jimmy, but he knew he wasn’t capable of handling this on his own. He briefly considered simply trying to run the other way, but with no knowledge whatsoever of the woods, he’d only fall and give The Bastard an advantage. So that was out.

No, whether he liked it or not, getting Jimmy’s help was the best course. He had to be careful, though. He didn’t doubt for one moment that The Bastard had some kind of weapon. He didn’t think it’d be a gun—he’d never seen The Bastard with one. But there were still plenty of other options he could be hiding in a pocket or somewhere, any number of which could be as fatal as a gun.

The Bastard would be expecting him to fight, to attempt to pull out of the hold. Simon took a small breath and let himself turn to dead weight. It was enough of a surprise that The Bastard let go, and Simon rolled as best as he could in the close confines of the woods.

He got far enough to be able to stand outside The Bastard’s reach, but he knew it wouldn’t last. He spun on his toe and started toward the tree line. He opened his mouth to call for Jimmy, but before he could get a sound out, a foul hand closed over his nose and mouth, and one meaty arm closed over his stomach again.

He grunted and screamed behind the hand, kicking his feet. He knew the dead weight surprise wouldn’t work a second time.

“You’re not getting away that easily, you little—”

“Simon?” Jimmy called.

Simon screamed behind The Bastard’s hand again and kicked hard at a shin. The Bastard dropped him again, and he scrambled to his feet and forward. “Jimmy! It’s him!” he shouted as a hand grabbed his T-shirt. He felt more than heard a rip. There was white noise in his ears as the panic threatened to close over him again.

He saw Jimmy run toward him, but he shook his head. “No! No! Go! Don’t—”

Something hit him in the back, and he went down again. He rolled as soon as he hit the ground and kicked, knowing from experience The Bastard was likely to try to hit him again. His foot connected with something—he thought it might have been The Bastard’s leg—and heard a howl of rage that made his blood run cold. It had
never
boded well when The Bastard got that pissed.

But he wasn’t the same scared punching bag he’d been six months ago either. He kicked again, harder this time, and saw The Bastard go down. He scrambled again to his feet, and just as he did, another set of arms closed around him. He almost panicked, but Jimmy’s voice cut through the white noise before it could take hold.

“I’ve got you. Let’s go!”

Jimmy pulled him backward, and they hurried toward the campsite. He hadn’t realized they’d gone so damned far.
Why
had they felt the need to go that far into the trees?

They turned and bolted, hearing the footsteps behind them. Simon prayed The Bastard wouldn’t want to risk anything in front of their friends, but he didn’t hold out much hope. There was a note in the voice he hadn’t heard before, a note that scared him in a way none of the flying fists or swinging broom handles ever had in the past.

“Go ahead and run. I’ll get ya. You can’t run fast enough, never could,” The Bastard taunted, and the voice was
way
too close.

They broke through the trees, and Jimmy shouted, “Ronnie! Call the cops! Tony—get the girls into the car! Now!”

Shit!
Simon hadn’t thought about The Bastard getting to the others. He didn’t know
what
he’d thought, it’d all happened so fast, but it hadn’t truly occurred to him that his friends would be targeted. He turned on his heel and stopped dead, facing The Bastard.

This had to stop. He couldn’t let his friends get hurt, wasn’t going to let fear control him any longer. He focused on The Bastard, trusting Ronnie and Tony to take care of the others, and took the stand he should have taken a long time ago.

The sudden stop apparently surprised The Bastard, because he paused too. He started forward almost immediately, fist raised toward Simon.

“No!” he shouted, surprising The Bastard for a second time.

“No what?” The Bastard asked. “Think you’re going to stand up to me? You never could before. You won’t now.” He sneered. “You’re a wimp just like your mother. Useless and stupid.”

Simon shook his head. “I’m not a wimp, I’m not useless, and I’m certainly not stupid. I got away from
you
, didn’t I?”

“Just proves you’re a wimp. Couldn’t take a little bit of discipline.”

“That wasn’t discipline. It was abuse. And I don’t have to put up with it.” Simon saw Jimmy start to move, and he held his hand out a little. All this time, he’d been so afraid of The Bastard, so afraid for Jimmy, for himself. He wouldn’t stop Jimmy if it came down to it, but this, this he needed to do on his own. “You are the wimp, always picking on someone who couldn’t defend themselves against you. Like my mom.”

“Your mother was
pathetic
. Useless in bed, useless in the kitchen. Useless everywhere.” The Bastard snorted. “Just like you. Too damned useless for anything. Couldn’t do a damned thing I told you to do. Couldn’t cook, never could keep anything clean.”

Simon saw Ronnie raise a hand slightly out of the corner of his eye, and Simon got the hint. He looked back at The Bastard. “You’re the useless one. Not good for anything except drinking and picking on people.”

“I’m a thousand times better than you!” The Bastard shouted, face turning red. The look in his eyes would have terrified Simon a few months ago. But now it just made him glad he’d listened to Jimmy and made him more determined to finish this, once and for all.

“Better than me?” Simon taunted. “Better than Mom? You can’t cook. Can’t hold down a job.”

“Yes, I’m better than that whore! Spread her legs for anyone but me. I should have killed her a lot sooner than I did. Might not have had to put up with some little asshole who wasn’t even mine!”

Simon stared wide-eyed at the man across from him.
Not his?
“What do you mean, not yours?”

“You heard me! I had to put up with your shit, and you aren’t even my kid! Don’t know why I bothered! But I was doin’ the decent thing, raisin’ you right! I was gonna teach you! Make you into something, but you just wouldn’t behave! Had to be a little bastard all the time. Should’a broken more bones. Might’ve finally gotten through!”