Ennis sat in the parking lot of the store that sat on the edge of the small town close to his home. The engine had been cut off and Ennis had meant to go into the store to buy something, anything. He had told Jack he had to go to the store but the truth was that he just needed to sort through the tangle his mind had become. If he was going to make sense of the seemingly impossible events, he had to get his mind into a state where sense would make sense.
They had been so close. An inch or two more and their lips would have met and Ennis' mind would have been no more. Nothing would be able to bring him back from that moment. He would be lost so completely in Jack that he would never be able to surface. And yet just that morning Jack Twist had been dead. Nothing but a memory. How was it possible? There was one clear answer: It wasn't. Ennis had gone insane and his mind had fabricated a living Jack to save him from loneliness.
As he sat in the silence of the truck, contemplating his very possible insanity, Ennis failed to notice that the parking lot was no longer void of life other than he. There was another man there. A large man. Old too. He looked old enough to be Ennis' father. It was only when the round figure was stood at the window of the drivers side that Ennis noticed his presence. He blinked hard and shook his head a little in an attempt to clear it. The man knocked on the window with a firmness that was almost demanding. Ennis' heart beat harder as he looked to his left, confusion twisting with fear.
The man stepped back a little to allow, or rather silently command, Ennis to open the door and step into the heat of the fading day. The sun was on it's way to the western horizon but the light and heat it supplied to the earth remained intense. The glaring eyes of the man that were just visible beneath the white stetson he wore to match his attire remained on Ennis as he moved. He closed the door, head bowed a little, remaining silent. He waited for a moment for the other man to speak but it seemed that the moment stretched on. With no breeze to cool him, Ennis began to get uncomfortable. The older man's eyes seemed to add to the heat of the impossible day.
"You Ennis Del Mar?" The man's voice was deep and commanding, like he was used to being obeyed. Ennis, mind still a incomprehensible blur of confusion, did not refuse him a truthful answer.
"Yeah." Came his quiet reply. He wondered in the moment of silence that followed just who would be looking for him. When he could think of no one who would actually seek him out, Ennis cleared his throat and spoke again, trying to keep a polite tone in his voice. "Yeah, I'm Ennis. Who's askin'?"
The large man just smile, almost wickedly. "The name's Newsome."
The name danced in the back of Ennis' mind. Where had he heard that name before? He frowned as he tried his hardest to push past the tangle his mind had become to find the memory to which the name belonged. It wasn't long until he was cast back to his time with Jack. Listening to him complain about…something…someone… Newsome?
Newsome…?
Newsome! Jack's wife! Her maiden name was Newsome! This must be her father! Ennis was remembering now. He had listened to Jack rant and complain about this man. He hated Jack almost as much as Jack hated him. But why was he here? Why was he talking to Ennis?
"I wanna talk to you about Jack twist." The man, Newsome, broke Ennis' train of unanswered questions that he could only guess at. Ennis' frown, which had remained on his brow, deepened. Did he know Jack was still alive? Jack's wife didn't. Or if she did, she'd been damn good at acting grief stricken. Maybe they were all in on it, Ennis wondered. Maybe they were just out to trick Ennis and Jack's parents. A small part of Ennis, the part that had been clinging to logical thinking no matter how impossible the day had gotten, spoke to him. It told him he was just being paranoid. But then why was Jack alive when all thought him dead?
"What about him?" Ennis tried to keep his voice calm but the heat was making him sweat and no matter how hard he tried, he could not relax his brow. The man looked as fearful as he felt.
"You know that he's alive?" Ennis' silence that he could not, dare not, break was confirmation of the statement the old man had dressed as a question. Ennis watched him as he shifted his weight with a nod. "But my girl don't." He allowed the silence to torture Ennis' desire to know the truth a little longer before he explained further. "You see, there was no way in hell I'd let my grandson be raised by a queer like Jack Twist." He paused again, this time to spit at the dusty earth with a disgusted look on his face. Ennis felt as though a white hot poker had been jabbed into his gut. But he remained silent, gritting his teeth to avoid reacting to the physical pain that the emotional agony had caused. The only sign that the words had registered was a pained anger that shone in his eyes.
The new fire that burnt within Ennis gave him something resembling courage. It wasn't enough to speak to the older man but it was enough for Ennis to raise his head and keep eye contact, fear dissolving almost completely.
"Me and my boys took Twist out to teach him a lesson. I couldn't kill him, no. I had to make an example of him. So they beat the bastard. They beat him good. And just before they hit him over the head, I told him, I said, 'you better stay the hell away from my girl and her boy'."
Ennis pictured a bleeding Jack in his mind. A river of deep red flowing from the back of his skull, the only place that any lasting damage had been caused. Tears began to pool in Ennis' eyes as he saw Jack, alone and defenseless. Bloodied and beaten. On the edge of the peace of death but forced to endure the harsh pain of life. Ennis blinked back the tears, the locked eye contact with Newsome breaking momentarily. He swallowed the lump in his throat that threatened to erupt from his throat as a sob at any moment.
Newsome continued. "But then we had to cover our tracks. So we got some bum off the streets, looked real like him too. We dressed him in Twist's clothes and beat him too. Killed him. My boys made sure his face was all beaten so no one would know it wasn't him." There was a sick glint in the old man's eye. He was enjoying having this power, being able to control everyone around him like puppets.
Ennis was shaking slightly. His whole frame unstable. It took almost all of his inner strength and concentration to not swing for the large and older man. He formed a fist with his right hand and instinctively tensed as though in preparation for a fight. A laugh slid from the large man as he noticed Ennis change. He moved closer to Ennis, now only a few inches away, the old man grinned widely. He had gotten under Ennis' skin. He knew it. Ennis knew so too and it seemed that Ennis' knowing that the man could do this pleased Newsome greatly.
"You got children don't you Ennis?" Again, Ennis' silence was taken as confirmation of what Newsome had said. "You see, I don't want my girl to be hurt. Just like I know you don't want your girls to be hurt." His voice had turned cold, his tone lowering a little. Ennis' brow became something of worry, fear alone in his eyes. Fear not for himself, but for the girls he loved so much. "And if Twist came back, my girl would be so hurt."
The silence that fell between the two turned from uncomfortable to deafening as Ennis' eyes remained locked with the larger man's as though he would tare Ennis' throat out the moment he broke the link.
"So you're gonna keep Twist hidden where he can't hurt no one." Newsome spoke surely, not adding anything to his words to make their impact greater. There was no need. Ennis was clinging to every syllable that passed from the old man's lips. "And if anyone finds out that he's still alive, especially my girl…" The silence fell again but only momentarily. "I'll make sure that you don't have no one."
The dark glint in the old man's eye became impossibly darker as he allowed Ennis to replay his words in his mind, the threat striking Ennis to the very core of his being. They stood like that for a moment, Newsome's dominance eclipsing Ennis' swelling anger and fear. The silence stretched even longer and Ennis began to ache from suppressing the urge to strike out at the rotund man.
Newsome held the rim of his stetson with his thumb and forefinger. His lips twisted into a smile that could almost be mistaken for pleasant. "Good day, Ennis Del Mar."
Ennis was left alone as Newsome turned away to go back to where ever he appeared from. Through the sound of his own pulse drumming in his ear, Ennis heard the roar of an engine coming to life and the growling as it faded it into the distance. Ennis couldn't feel anything over the tightening of his chest, seemingly pulling his entire body into one fixed point. His eyes had remained where they were, the only muscle moving was Ennis heart that beat frantically against his chest.
Everything was numb and Ennis found himself unable to think anything. His mind was unable to even register the shock mixing with fear and confusion. It seemed as though the man would remain still, frozen in the near torturous heat, forever. But the world came crashing back down with the painful realization of just how helpless Ennis actually was. His blurred vision became a little focused where the tears were not obscuring his sight and his legs weakened. Vaguely aware of a pair of eyes on him from within the store, Ennis rushed to open the door to his vehicle. The minute strength that had been holding him up disappeared completely as he collapsed into the seat. Tears began streaming down his face as he slammed the door shut, finally allowing the chocked sob into the air.
Ennis slammed his forehead against the steering wheel in an attempt to distract from what he was feeling within. He hit the cold metal with the hand that had remained clenched into a fist over and over, unable to stop himself. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut, breath coming far too quickly for him to even begin to calm himself.
Five minuets passed before Ennis brought his head slowly up, his back and neck aching slightly at having been in such a position for so long. He could feel the throbbing in his eyes and the still large lump that refused to allow him to breath properly. The tangle that had been Ennis' mind only a few moments ago now was beyond any hope of being restored to it's former functioning. Ennis took a deep, cleansing breath as he considered what he should do next.
The answer was simple: Go home to Jack where they would live together and grow old happily. It would be so easy. Everyone thought Jack was dead which meant that their life would not be disturbed by anyone seeking either of them. A smile flickered on Ennis' lips at the image that soothed his mind: Him in Jack's arms on his sofa, the open fire warming the both of them to the core. Ennis held onto the feeling of warmth and the sight of Jack's eyes lighting with pure love. Their blue sparkling as he blinks slowly, contently.
Ennis, now calmer, allowed his eyes to slowly open to see that the sun was close to dipping behind the store and into the horizon. Ennis nodded to himself as the past collided with the present in one grand realization: Jack and Ennis had been so focused on what the future held for the both of them that they barely realized just how important the moment was. They had failed to savour the moments they had together. But not anymore. Jack couldn't remember the past and Ennis refused to consider the future. So, for now at least, they would spend the moment together.
And Ennis would make the moment last. He would make that moment of joy, of pure happiness, last forever. And no one would destroy what he and Jack would share. And perhaps when Ennis had more control over his own thoughts, he would discover a way to overcome the chaotic events and find happiness not only for himself, but for Jack too.