Chapter Four
Sam explained why he had to call. Edgar spoke.
"You did the right thing by calling us. Does your brother sleep a lot?"
"Yeah." I answered.
"Yeah, all day." Sam explained.
"Does the sunlight freak him out?" asked the other brother. We found out that his name was Alan not too long ago.
"He wears sunglasses in the house."
"Bad breath? Long fingernails?" Edgar asked.
"Yeah, his fingernails are a bit longer, um... But he always had bad breath, though."
"He's a vampire, alright." Alan said.
"Alright. Here's what you do." Edgar explained. "Get yourself a good, sharp stake and drive it right through his heart."
"No!" I said.
"We can't do that! He's our brother!" Sam said.
"Okay, we'll come over and do it for you." Alan said.
"No." Sam and I said at the same time.
"You better get yourselves garlic t-shirts. Or it's your funeral." Edgar said, and then they hung up. I could tell because I heard the dial tone humming. Sam and I sat there for a few minutes, not knowing what else to do. I reached for the phone again, and he smacked my hand away.
"Ow."
The phone rang, and Sam answered it. He placed it in between us.
"Hello." He said.
"Sam, Casey, is everything alright?"
It was Mom.
"Mom, I think we need to have a real long talk about something."
"HELP!" we suddenly heard. I jumped about five feet in the air.
"What's going on there?" Mom asked.
"Mom?" Sam asked.
"I'm starting to get worried."
"Mom—Uh-oh."
We kept hearing something, a something that sounded oddly like screaming.
"What's that noise? That's not Michael. Why is he screaming like that?" Mom asked.
"Now, we should stay calm."
"Yeah, calm." I said, and then laughed nervously.
"Calm? Calm about what?" Mom demanded.
"Nothing, nothing." Sam said.
"Listen, just who's making that noise?"
"It's um...It's a, um, mutated bird." I said. Sam looked at me like, 'what the fuck'? I shrugged.
"That sounds like Michael, Casey." Mom snapped.
"Sorry." I said. "Just trying to diffuse the tension."
"Mom, Case and I can't talk about it on the phone. It's about Michael." Sam said.
"Don't listen to them, Mom. They don't know what they're saying."
Sam and I faced the window. I screamed.
"Ah!" Sam screamed.
"Shut up!" Michael said.
"Mom! Help! He's coming to get us!"
"Oh, my God!" we heard Mom exclaim.
"Mom!" Sam yelled again.
"Sam!" Michael banged on the window. He was literally, literally, flying outside the window. Nanook was barking at him.
"He's gonna kill us!" Sam yelled.
"I'm coming!" Mom said.
"No! No! Tell him to get away! Tell him to get away! No! No! Mom!" Sam yelled. I was next to Nanook, but I was on the floor.
"Open up!" Michael yelled, as he banged on the window again. Sam lifted his fingers up in a cross form.
"Stay back! Stay back!" he said.
"Sammy, Case, help me! Open up! Help me! Sammy, Case, one of you, open the window!"
"You're a vampire!" Sam yelled. "I knew it!"
"I am not!"
"So, what are you? The Flying Nun?" Sam and I asked at the same time.
"I'm your brother, you two, help me!" Michael said. He knocked on the window. "Sammy, Case, open up!" he said again. Sam and I walked towards the window, but didn't open it. "Please." Michael begged. "Please."
Sam looked at his lock, and then opened his window. We pulled Michael in, and sat underneath the window.
"Thank you." Michael said. "We've gotta stick together, you two. We gotta stick together."
"What about Mom?" Sam asked.
"Just don't-don't tell her anything."
"I don't know, Mike. It's not like getting a D in school, or something, you know?"
"We're gonna work this out. I'm gonna work this out. Trust me, okay?"
"Sam! Casey!" we heard Mom yell.
"Okay." Sam said. I nodded.
"Sam! Casey!" Mom yelled again. Sam and I walked down the stairs. Mom came in. "Sam. Casey. Are you alright? You had me scared to death."
"We're okay, Mom. We were reading a horror comic, and we thought we saw someone outside my window, but I guess we just got a little carried away, that's all." Sam lied. Mom looked at us, the worry replaced with anger in her eyes.
"You got carried away by a comic book?" she asked.
"It was a scary comic, Mom. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I am too." I added. Mom huffed, and then shifted her weight to one foot.
"You know," she said. "I've just about had it with the three of you. You know that?" she lectured. Sam and I nodded. Mom looked in the kitchen. "What is this mess? You spill milk all over the kitchen floor, and don't even bother to clean it up?" she demanded, walking into the kitchen. She picked up the now empty carton.
"I didn't spill it, Mom." Sam said.
"I didn't either." I said.
"I can't believe you people." Mom said. "The refrigerator door is wide open." She closed the door, and set the carton down on the counter, with a missing ad on the back. "Are you trying to refrigerate the whole neighborhood? You know, it's not fair. I would like to have a personal life too. Where's Michael?"
"He went to bed early Mom." Sam said. I opened my mouth to protest. Sam nudged me.
"Yeah. He went to bed." I agreed. We heard Grandpa pull into the driveway because of his horn.
```~~~LATER~~~```
"Mom?" Sam said, as we walked into Mom's bedroom. "Can we sleep in here with you tonight?"
"In here? Are you sure you're alright?" Mom asked.
"We're fine. I was just a real scary comic, that's all. Do you mind?"
"No, I don't mind." Mom smiled, and looked back at her book. She smelled something on the two of us. "Have you been eating pizza?"
"No, why?" Sam asked.
"Whew! You both smell like garlic." Mom said. Sam and I were undoing our robes, but then quickly tied them back up because we had garlic around our necks.
```~~~LATER~~~```
It was around eleven. I woke up, and saw Sam and Mom asleep. I got up as quick as I could without waking them. I got up to my room, and got dressed. Then, I headed towards my bike. Just a regular bike, not a motorcycle like Mike's, which was gone. Huh. Wonder where he went. I rode all the way to the boardwalk, where I saw people still crowding the streets. I rode up to the comic shop, and saw the two brothers lazily watching the TV. People came in and out of the place, and I walked in. Edgar and Alan looked my way. Edgar approached me.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, as his brother looked at me with curiosity.
"I had to come." I said. "I'm sorry."
Alan looked around, and left the counter, and began rearranging comic books, pissed because Sam had rearranged them again. Alan was a bright guy. He had a feeling something was going to happen, and didn't want to interrupt his brother when it did. I could tell.
"Don't be." Edgar told me. I saw the icy look in his brown eyes die down. I leaned into his face, and we were only inches apart. Just inches-no, not inches, centimeters-apart from kissing. Edgar seemed to be deciding to close that small centimeter gap or not. I felt as if so much time had passed before he finally kissed me gingerly on the lips. I kissed back, my fingers now becoming entangled in his hair. Edgar started to make the kiss a little deeper as his confidence began to grow. Something crashed outside, making me and Edgar break away. We looked up, and I turned, and we saw headlights in the background. Edgar grabbed me by my shoulders, and made me turn to face him as Alan looked outside, that same, familiar sneer on his face that he gave anyone. "Go." Edgar said. His eyes were actually full of worry. He was worried for me. For my safety.
I looked at him.
"Go. Now." Edgar pleaded. My eyes followed his, and then I pulled him into a quick kiss, my hands on both sides of his face.
"I'll see you soon." I said when we pulled away. "I promise."
"Just go." Edgar told me. But it wasn't harsh or demanding. My hands lingered on his cheeks before I reluctantly walked outside, got on my bike, and left.
I rode off with my mind reeling about that kiss just now. I could still feel his lips on mine. I loved that sensation. And I think it just happened. I think I'm in love with Edgar Frog.
But then, my mind swerved to where how Mom, Sam, Michael, and Grandpa would act if they knew I was out past my curfew, and that I had kissed a boy. Sure, I've kissed others. Loads of times. But, Edgar... Edgar was different. And if they didn't get it, oh well. I rode off, remembering what Sam used to say when we were five.
"I'm not kissing no girl! I'll never kiss a girl! Girls have cooties!" he would say. I would look at him, and shove him down.
"We are made out of sugar, spice, and everything nice!" I used to yell. "You boys are made out of dirt, and worms, and snails, and all those disgusting things! If anyone has cooties, it would be you! I'm never kissing a boy!"
I don't know how my mind got to that. I just seemed like something to remember. I heard motorbikes, and swerved a corner, oddly feeling like Daniel LaRusso from Karate Kid, but I didn't get beat up, and I was pretty sure that these guys didn't know any karate. I sat against a building as I heard whooping and motorbikes go by me. I was keeping a look-out for Mike, but I didn't see him. He must not be with them, or something. As the last one drove off, I breathed a sigh of relief. I peddled out, and then rode home, hoping no one noticed my absence.