Brandon took off his mask as soon as he got in the truck, rubbing his face with an annoyed snort. I buckled my seatbelt without a word. I knew I had it coming, I just didn’t know how bad yet.
The bastard let me sweat, driving the whole way to the hotel in complete silence. We’d brought a few supplies, knowing we had a kitchen in the suite, so he took them out of the fridge to make a vegan midnight snack, ignoring me completely.
I went to the bedroom, left the backpack, took off my cold wet shoes, put on dry socks, waiting in vain for him to speak. So I headed back to the kitchen. I would’ve loved to have a coffee, but the coffeemaker was in the corner of the counter, and I couldn’t reach it while Brandon was busy between the bend and the fridge.
He kept his back turned on me, completely focused on whatever he was doing. Like chopping a few greens and fruits and mixing them with his cream cheese would take so long and so much attention. I
It was nice, coming back home to the Manor with Brandon and finding everything was fine. I left him working in the study and took my laptop to the kitchen, determined to update my diary before dinner. His text only twenty minutes later made me chuckle: the Haunter Supreme was thirsty. I had bought the coffeemaker for the study, along with a water dispenser, and had set them in a pretty display with tea, coffee, mugs, spoons and everything required to enjoy an infusion without needing to go any further than two steps away from the desk. But nope, he fancied something cool with more flavor than plain fresh water.So there I went, up the stairs all the way to the third floor, with the forty-ounce thermos bottle full of his mango juice just out of the fridge, thinking it’d be nice once we set his office in the guesthouse with its own fridge. And I wouldn’t have to drop whatever I was doing to go wait Milord’s table.Bullshit. I don’t know w
Isaac woke us up about seven the next morning, to let us know they’d just landed in Logan. Absent Brandon, he’d been named commander of the expedition. But as any good four-star general, he reported their next steps to the Supreme leader.It would take them a while to load all their stuff on the rental SUVs, and from there, they would head all together in a caravan to Worcester, where the crew would stay with part of their equipment. Once they were all checked in and settled, the three Haunters would come by themselves, bringing all they deemed necessary to shoot roll B takes to their heart’s content, plus some additional gear because you never know.“Call me when you’re leaving Worcester,” said Brandon, eyes closed, his arm keeping me to his side like I would try to pull away.He disconnected and stretched to drop the phone back on the nightstand, exposing his chest to my hands and lips. He let out a soft sigh,
I had to promise on seven holy books I’d call Susan if we needed any help. And Brandon finished winning the Collins over when he invited them to the barbeque that evening. Lucky me, they thanked him but excused themselves over a meeting with their Bible study group in town.The Haunters took over the kitchen to make lunch and go over what they’d shot earlier on only two laptops. I was about to feel a little out of place when Brandon required my assistance, like he needed it. He left me in charge of whatever he was cooking and went to sit at the table with Ricky. To wave me over not a minute later.“I got it,” said Cake with a nice smile on his hardened biker face.“Look, love, I think we caught something,” said Brandon as I circled the table to go by his side. “Who would be in the library?”“Let me see.” I stood behind him and rested my hands on his shoulders to lean a little forward and
We shot it in the study, after the best barbeque ever, and it took me a while to relax enough to start having an actual conversation with Ricky. Mostly because Brandon was monitoring the shoot from his laptop on my desk, and Ted and Isaac were filming too, to add to the static cameras that would record the closeups on us with those moving shots they always used in their interviews. Not to mention the lights and reflecting screens and the mic clipped to the collar of my top and all that paraphernalia. Bread and butter for them, absolutely intimidating for me.Ricky had put up a list of questions after watching Deshaun’s cut, and we did our best to stick to it, but it was obvious we would branch off.We talked about Kujo for about an hour, wrapping up the subject with the changes he’d undergone since we’d taken him back to Pennhurst. To illustrate that last point, I spoke about the reason why Kujo was talking so much over my last visit.“Yo
It was exciting, saying goodnight to the Haunters and heading to the guesthouse with Brandon. He pulled off his long-sleeved tee the moment we walked in, whirled it over his head and threw it toward the big cases of equipment.“Alone at last!” he cried out loud.“Fuck yeah!”I jumped on his back and he grabbed my legs by his sides to hold me up, laughing with me. He carried me like that around the house like I was a little girl, and then all the way up the stairs to the bedroom, where he dropped me flat on the bed. I lay there, watching him.He unbuckled his belt, eyes locked with mine and a smile to melt rocks.“Y’know, I would do the whole double episode only with your interview, just intercutting clips to show what you were talking about. All eighty minutes of you, talking,” he said, undoing the buttons of his jeans.I held my breath, lusting for his bare chest, his arms, those lips I was
Somebody gave Brandon the thumbs up and, once more, his voice overcame all the sounds and noises around us.“Rolling in five!”Even with Isaac’s warning, Trisha’s interview turned out to be super interesting to me, because we’d never actually talked in depth about what we’d been through over those days.Amy came out of the guesthouse, all dolled up for her own interview, and went to sit down under the third tent, at the other side of where Brandon and Trisha were sitting. The way she kept avoiding me threw me off. Yeah, she and Trisha didn’t see eye to eye about what had happened, but why would that make her change her attitude toward me like this?Trisha and Brandon soon wrapped up the first section of the interview, which had covered the bare facts in what looked more like a conversation: two friends reminiscing about something they’d been through together. The kind of footage they use in documentaries to
“Lunch!”Brandon sent Trisha with Isaac and Ricky to our tent, while he headed in the opposite direction to meet Amy. That was where the lunch catering was being served, so he motioned for her to walk with him. I watched them stroll around the Manor in no hurry, toward the backdoor.No time to even wonder what they were saying. Trisha was already circling the board table, so I jumped to my feet and threw my arms around her neck. We hugged tightly, like we hadn’t done in a long while.“I love you,” I whispered in her ear.“And I love you, you fucking kamikaze.”“Look who’s talking.”We let out shaky chuckles and let go of each other. To find Ricky filming us.“Really?” I grumbled.“It’s the perfect closing shot for her interview,” Ricky argued, eyes on the display of his camera.I gave him the finger, making them laugh. “How ab
It was quite an adventure for me, with many firsts. First time leaving the Manor for so long, first time going to the West Coast, first time travelling with Brandon, first time flying on a private jet. Thank God for Trisha, because going all by myself would’ve been plain overwhelming.Monday was a long day. We left the Manor at noon and spent the whole afternoon at Mrs. William’s to shoot her interview. We took off after having dinner in town and technically added three hours to our day as we flew west, not to mention the flight took forever in its own right. But we eventually landed in Los Angeles on a sunny morning.Isaac’s wife had invited Trisha to stay with them until she got her own place. We all agreed she’d most likely done it to know who her husband would spend weeks on end around the clock with, and decide if she was okay with it, jealous, upset, or plain ready to file for divorce.So off they went, the two Ley Liners t
The traveling crews came back to Los Angeles for the holidays a couple of days later, and Brandon decided he felt brave enough to host a dinner for all of them at one of the restaurants they used to go to.It would be like his big comeback to society, leaving behind almost four months of reclusion and darkness. And to mark the occasion, he warned me that Cake had leaked the date and place to a few reporters.“Meaning my friends will be there?”“Guess so. The problem is that ban on you. I don’t want them to leave you out of the report. The other way around: I want everybody to know we’re together.”I looked up at him with a heartfelt sigh. But like it always happened over the last week, meeting his eyes focused on mine made me so happy, I couldn’t refuse. So I called Greta Arbosky, who said she would take care of letting them know about this one exception. I disconnected and faced him, raising my eyebrows.&
Against all odds, Brandon was the easiest, most complying patient in history. I think the scare of almost losing all his sight gave a whole new meaning to this opportunity to restore his eyes to full health. He never complained about the awful cream he had to apply directly on his eyeballs, he never missed drops or meds time, he slept on his belly, and kept his eye shields on around the clock.The first week was the hardest, of course, while he still wore the dressings. However, his determination to walk the line, no matter how hard, annoying or frustrating, helped us find our way around it faster than I’d ever expected. Just like the doctor had said, Brandon had been so stressed up over the last two or three weeks, he was plain exhausted, so he slept a lot over the first three days.My hovering tendencies kept me always within a few steps from wherever he was. At first, I thought he would soon get sick and tired of my relentless watch over him, but it was actual
I jumped to my feet when I heard Brandon move. His fingers flickered slightly and I covered his hand with mine, my heart hammering my chest. His head tilted a little toward me and his lips parted.“Hey,” I whispered. “Easy there.”He tried to speak and frowned.“It’s okay, Bran. The surgery worked alright.”He frowned deeper, trying to press my fingers. I took his hand to my lips to kiss it.“It worked, Bran,” I repeated, just in case. “You’re gonna be fine.”His shaky sigh told me he’d understood. His other hand came slowly up to brush the dressing covering his eyes.“That’s gonna stay there for a few days.”“Did it?” he mumbled, as his fingers explored the dressing further.“Yes, love. It worked. If we do what the doctor says, you’re gonna be fine in a few months. Maybe even better than before the inf
We woke up early the next morning. Brandon couldn’t have breakfast before surgery, but we were both too anxious to even feel any hunger. Cake arrived as we were coming down to the first floor, looking rested and ten years younger than the night before. On the way to the hospital, I took advantage of being alone in the backseat of the car to send a few texts. To Amy, to let her know I’d gotten to LA fine and everything was peachy. To Isaac, to let him know I was already in town, going with Brandon to the hospital, and I’d text him how the surgery had gone as soon as I found out. And finally to Harry, to ask him to remind Hugo to send all his light and all his angels to come lend a hand.“Who are you texting to?” asked the control freak from the passenger’s seat.“The press, obviously. Your NY Barbie and her gossiping friends will be waiting for us at the hospital.”He turned in his seat, frowning at me from behind h
I woke up at about three. Brandon was sound asleep, so much so that I was able to sneak between his arms without him even flinching. Back from the bathroom, I heard noises downstairs. Then I remembered the disaster zone the living area was when I’d come into the house. I got dressed and headed to the first floor, still trying to tie my hair in a ponytail.Guadalupe had arrived while we were upstairs, and her grin when she saw me threw me off. She and Cake had sort of cleaned up the living area, but the place still looked like the guys from A Clockwork Orange had dropped by to say hi. The kitchen was still a mess, with a lot of glass and smashed mugs all over the floor, wine and all kinds of things spilled on the floor. And when I say all kinds of things, I mean even mayonnaise. So I wore an apron, put on rubber gloves and set to clean up disaster zone number two.Guadalupe and Cake materialized in the kitchen, looking spooked. I faced them with
I had a glimpse of the whole living area completely trashed, like a hurricane had blasted through it, but I couldn’t care less. I rushed to the stairs and up to the second floor, to storm into the master bedroom. I froze just past the doorway. My heart, which was about to crack my chest open, suddenly stopped, and everything spun around me.Because Brandon was lying on his bed, unconscious, a bleeding cut on his forehead that had sprayed blood all over him. Cake was right by his side, lifting his limp legs up to the bed.“He tripped in the kitchen and hit his head with the isle,” Cake managed to say, panting after carrying Brandon all the way upstairs.I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move.“Fran! Bring me a wet towel!”His shout made me snap out of my shock. I dropped my bag on the floor and ran around the bed to the bathroom, where I grabbed the first towel I
I sneaked out of the sleeping bag the moment Brandon left his seat.“Gina!” I called, crawling on all fours out of the tent.“What is it, Fran?”“Gina, I’m so sorry, but I can’t stay to come tomorrow night,” I said, wiping my tears away just to make room for more to rain down my face.“It’s okay, Fran. Don’t worry about us.”“Kujo protect,” he said, coming to stick to my side.“You guys sure?”“Yes. Go do what you have to do.”“Okay,” I mumbled, and got back into the tent to grab my phone.The first morning flight from Philadelphia International to LAX was scheduled to live after six AM. Shit. It was hardly past midnight. Whatever. Better late than never. I bought a ticket online, already doing the math. I could check in about five thirty, so I had to leave Pennhurst
Brandon walked across the Manor garden in the sunset, hands in his pockets, looking around absentmindedly as he spoke.“I had to watch the footage to actually remember what had happened, and her words shocked me. She called me a puppet. She knew what was going on. Back then, I only understood they wouldn’t let me get to her, especially when Isaac turned his back on me. I couldn’t believe it. He’d betrayed me! My best friend! How powerful could this demon be to turn the man who had been my best friend for the last twenty-five years against me? I was trapped, all alone. I might have to fight for my life.” He looked at the camera. “You must be wondering if I stayed. The answer is yes. Why?” He let out a bitter chuckle. “The truth is I have no idea.” He shrugged. “I was so out of my mind that night, I can count at least half a dozen reasons why I stayed. And none of them make any sense.”They cut back to the
“Here she comes,” Brandon said, his voice reflecting exactly the same as his face. “The little witch comes to protect the demon. Not this time.”I felt Kujo brush his face against mine and realized I was holding my breath, still shaking from head to toe. His warm touch helped me snap out of it.Brandon kept taunting and provoking Kujo until I got there, trying to burn him with his holy water. And then he’d come at me, triggering Kujo’s reaction. After Kujo attacked him, hurting me in the process, I saw him jump back to his feet and try to fight Kujo with his bear fists, punching through him like a madman, almost stomping on me, ‘cause I was pretty much unconscious at his feet. Amy stormed down the stairs as Isaac managed to pull him away from me, and forced the camera into his hands to carry me up the stairs in his arms, while Amy kept Brandon at a safe distance.“Kujo mad.”“But y