Notes: Because the next chapter is the tenth, as a bonus, this chapter ends on a cliffhanger! How is that a bonus? I don't know, I felt like it. Sorry for the late-ish update, been out all day!
Disclaimer: Cobras are Stephen King's, everyone else isn't.
Chapter Nine.
The morning Ace Merrill was due to arrive to look at the tiling that needed doing in our bathroom, I took refuge in Davey's room in a blind panic.
I had maintained my watch out of the bedroom window, eyes staring at the road in anxious anticipation, for a good half hour when Davey finally woke up and saw me perched on the edge of his bed.
"What are you doing?" He mumbled, wiping the sleep from his eyes, "What time is it?"
"'Good Morning' to you too." Too sleepy to react to my sarcasm, Davey just stared at me waiting for an answer, "It's nearly nine."
Yawning, he rearranged himself on the pillows, "What are you doing in my room at 'nearly nine' in the morning?"
It dawned on me then that maybe Davey didn't know we were expecting another visit of the Cobra kind, which more than explained why he'd be relaxing in bed, not caring that one of his tormentors was on his way over.
Noticing my silence and blank stare, Davey started to sit up, worry on his face, "Did someone die? What happened? Is mom okay?"
"Ace Merrill's coming to the house again."
The worry on his face suddenly escalated, and I wondered if he'd look as tormented if someone had died. Quickly getting all the 'whats', 'whys' and 'whens' out of the way, he stumbled out of bed and began tugging on a pair of jeans.
"No, you can't leave us again." I turned from my position on the bed, watching him throw off his pyjama shirt. "Please, it was awful last time – mom has no idea what he's like."
"That's mom's fault." He started, and I wanted to hug him because, at last, there was someone else in the family who was irked by mom's acceptance of everyone. Searching for something to wear, he gave me the excuse I was expecting, "He broke Matt's arm last year – there's no way I'm going anywhere near that guy."
Matthew Wendell had been Davey's best-friend since pre-school, and had broken his arm last September, just before the start of the new school year. Though Matt had told everyone it was because he'd fallen out of a tree, Davey had confided in me later, with angry tears, that it'd been Ace Merrill and his gang, and they'd threatened to break his other arm if either of the thirteen year old boys told anyone.
Davey found a t-shirt in a drawer and began to put it on, "And do you know how much lunch money he's stolen from me over the years? It's easily five – no ten dollars!"
Somewhat amused by his attempted exaggeration, I started to remember all the times he'd had to borrow money from me, "Wait, that was him? All those times?"
"Yeah," he fixed a cap over his head, and seeming to relive the experiences, added, "asshole."
Thinking that, ultimately, that meant Ace Merill had deprived me of ten dollars, I decided I liked him even less than I previously thought possible. Noticing Davey, now cramming things into a rucksack, was really going to leave, I realized my chances of hiding out in his room for the entire ordeal were fading.
I thought about manipulating him, because I was that desperate, maybe saying something along the lines of 'Are you really going to leave your mom and your sister – your only sister who would do anything for you – in the house alone with Ace Merrill?' Or maybe commenting about how he should 'man up', but knowing what I knew about his previous run-ins with the Cobras, I decided against it. My last option was to bribe him by saying I'd do all his summer homework, but I was halfway through my offer when he gave me a look that said 'No way' and took off out the door.
Having chosen to hide out in Davey's room pretty much meant that I planned on forsaking mom, because really, it was all her fault and I woke up really not caring if Ace Merrill decided to look at her inappropriately - just as long as I wasn't there to bear witness. Besides, mom had already informed me over breakfast that she had a lot of chores around the house to do, so I was confident there weren't going to be any opportunities – like there had been when he had painted the house – for him to take advantage of.
Still sat on Davey's bed, I watched him walk out the drive and wondered if I could invite one of the girls over to make the situation less of an ordeal – the only reason I hadn't gone over to one of their houses was because I didn't trust Ace Merrill being within ten feet of my bedroom. My only choice was Rebecca, because she was the only one I'd told about the situations I'd kept finding myself in.
I dialled her house as soon as I reached the phone in the hall, and was overjoyed that she was the one who answered, "Hey, can you come over?"
"What's going on?" She sounded concerned over the urgency in my voice, and I half expected her to ask the same questions Davey had.
I glanced around for the whereabouts of mom, and heard her humming at the opposite side of the house, in the kitchen. Whispering, I informed her, "Ace Merrill's coming over."
"What?" Her voice went flat.
"Mom told me last night, she's gotten him to do some tiling in the bathroom this time." I spoke quickly, keeping a constant eye on the kitchen door.
Rebecca remained silent.
"There's only me and mom in the house – Davey bailed."
"Geez," she sighed. "You know I would if I could, right?" I waited for her to explain, but concentrated more on the sound of a car pulling up on the front drive. "My aunt's visiting, she came down last night while we were at Stacy's, and mom's all 'let's spend the day as a family'."
"Oh," I hadn't really paid any attention to what she said, because now there were footsteps on the porch followed by the doorbell's jingle.
"Judy? Can you get that, honey?" I heard mom shout from the kitchen.
Pressing the bottom half of the phone into my shoulder, I yelled back that I would, and stared at the door knob. Slowly opening the door, I became appreciative of the porch's screen door that allowed me to accusingly stare at Ace Merrill.
He nodded in salute, smirking, "Jude."
Narrowed my eyes, I chose to respond with, "John."
He let himself in through the screen door, "Call me 'Ace'."
I felt pleased at knowing he disliked being called John and retorted, mimicking him, "Call me 'Judith'."
Smirking again, he let me close the door and asked, "Your mom around, Jude?"
Not even attempting to stop myself roll my eyes, I heard Rebecca's tinny voice coming through the receiver. Lifting the phone to my ear, I tried to look casual, "Sorry, had to answer the door."
Her voice became a whisper, "Is it him?"
I attempted to smile and made my voice louder, not wanting Ace, who was stood within three feet of me to know that he had just been the subject of a phone conversation, "Yes, that's right."
Rebecca cottoned on immediately, "He's right there, isn't he?"
Pulling off a casual laugh I didn't even know I was capable of I answered her with, "Of course!"
Mom entered the fray, emerging from the kitchen and showering Ace with greetings and asking if he wanted anything to drink.
"I'll take anythin' you got, Mrs James." He said smoothly, taking an opportunity to glance at me from the corner of his eye.
Rebecca, suddenly excited about the whole thing, eagerly asked on the other end of the phone, "Was that him?!"
Saying she'd have refreshments 'in a moment', mom looked at me and said, "Judy can show you up to to bathroom." She made a point of giving me a 'mom' look that I read as 'Judy, it's rude to talk on the phone whilst we have a guest', if she'd stayed in the hall a few moments more she would have seen the 'He's not a guest, he's an employee' look I gave her back.
Begrudgingly, I said, "I'll call you later." down the phone before hanging up.
Ace gestured to the stairs, "Ladies first."
Having learnt my lesson at the garage, I'd chosen not to wear a skirt or dress and had worn something that I thought was pleasantly off-putting – blue capris horribly matched with a sleeveless orange shirt that had apple-shaped buttons. I would have gone all out and put on so many layers that my body shape was undetectable but the heat, the same as always during the summer, wouldn't allow me the privilege.
Walking up the stairs ahead of Ace, I clung onto the bannister and tried not to think about how my rear-end was at his eye-level. Arriving at the bathroom entrance, it was clear it was all he'd thought about, the smirk practically plastered onto his face.
Choosing to stay in the hall, I stood next to the doorway whilst Ace walked inside and took in his surroundings, nodding to himself. Seeing the boxes of new tiles at the foot of the bath, he leaned to take a closer look.
"Pink champagne?" He raised an eyebrow at me.
I shrugged and went back to waiting for mom to arrive with his drink and my freedom to avoid him.
Having had his fill of the turquoise bathroom, he propped himself in the doorway, glanced down the hall, and asked slowly, as if he was asking a child, "Which room belongs to Jude?"
Reaffirmed that staying home was definitely the right choice, I scoffed and went on to ignore him.
As one of the younger residents of Castle Rock, I knew that ignoring Ace Merrill wasn't always the easiest (or wisest) thing to do, which he only proved when he moved to lean on the other side of the door frame, our shoulders almost touching.
Hoping that he wouldn't say anything else in that forced innocent voice of his, I kept my eyes fixed on the stairs' bannister, trying to will mom there before Ace Merrill started asking me who-knows-what.
Feeling him watching me the entire time it took for mom to finally answer my telepathic cries for help, I decided I much preferred it when he busied himself with his eyes rather than his mouth. Mom joined us at the entrance of the bathroom, the narrow hall feeling tiny with the three of us packed in at one end, and held out two bottles of soda, one for myself and Ace.
Instead of taking the opportunity to escape, I lingered there to listen to them discuss how long it would take the job to be done. With some displeasure I heard Ace say it'd take two days; today to remove the old tiles and prepare the walls and another day to put the new tiles on. Saying that he didn't want to 'deprive you ladies' of a bathroom for any longer than needs be, he said he could come again tomorrow morning to finish the job, which mom immediately agreed to. Fireworks and applause circled in my head – I was, with the rest of the girls, going to be at Marie's house for the majority of the day. I did spare a thought for the safety of my bedroom, but was so thrilled to be free from spending any more time with him that the thought went as quickly as it came.
The two of them headed downstairs, Ace to go get his tools from the car and mom to resume whatever chores it was she had being doing before his arrival. I waited until I heard the front door close behind him to make my way to my room, shutting myself inside and feeling relieved that he'd have no chance to bother me again.
I spent the first ten minutes in my bedroom watching the door and listening to make sure Ace was getting on with what my parents were paying him to do. The clinking sounds of tiles being chipped away left me feeling reassured that he wasn't skulking down the hall. Sitting at my desk, my back to the door, I began to leaf through my textbooks, hoping to become absorbed in them so before I knew it the day would be over. Choosing to keep my radio turned off so I could listen to the muffled sound of tiles breaking, partly because I liked how rhythmical it sounded, partly because I wanted to make sure I could hear what he was doing but mostly because it would have completely given away my position, I began to check over the notes I'd made the previous night.
Two hours passed in an instant. My fingers had been occasionally drumming along with the sound of the chisel being hammered into the tiling, until I noticed they were drumming along to nothing. Knowing it wasn't long until noon, I wondered if Ace had taken a break for lunch. My concentration, which had been focused on the work that laid out on the desk, now strained itself to see if it could hear anyone in the house.
Briefly hoping that mom hadn't left any of her jewellery out, I came to the conclusion that he had probably left to get something to eat and I was oblivious due to my immersion in studying. I quickly began to correct myself, knowing for a fact that mom would have offered to fix him something, and tried to concentrate once again. It was at that point I became acutely aware of the smell of cigarettes, oil and testosterone. My entire body tensed upon the realization I wasn't alone in my bedroom and I, with a combination of admiration and distraught, tried to think how damn long Ace Merrill had been stood behind me without my noticing.
This chapter was brought to you by CLIFFHANGERS: NOT COOL UNLESS YOU'RE THE ONE DOING THEM.
