They were alone in the Lodge as they settled down on the couch across from the 4K TV that hung above the fireplace. Dane kept his attention away from the bullet holes, still unrepaired, that stared out at him like condemnatory eyes. Thinking of them reminded him of the way he'd treated Gwen, how he'd shouted at her, shot at her…a wave of embarrassment and shame rolled over him and he turned away. The remote controls wouldn't turn on the TV themselves.
"I'm going to order some pizza, okay?" asked Harmony, flicking her phone on. "Sounds good." "Pineapple and ham sound good?" Dane snorted. "If your bloodline is weak, yeah." Harmony stared at him. "What?" He shook his head. "I mean, I'd rather pepperoni, if that's okay." "Yeah, no problem." She stepped into the hallway to place the order while Dane fiddled with the streaming service until he pulled up a movie he thought might be nice. It was some original programming movie about a knight, a princess, and a sorcerer. Probably a fair amount of blood, guts, boobs, and swearing--the perfect thing to take his mind off of what he'd just been through. Harmony parked herself next to him and they started the film without speaking. Some thirty or so minutes later, the pizza arrived. Dane collected the food and paid the woman, then he and Harmony chomped through most of the pie together. As they ate, Dane found his attention sliding away from the film, floating from one thought to another as the screen flickered and the sound system raged. Why had he kissed Harmony? It had seemed like the right thing to do at that moment, kind of an indication of how much he really appreciated her. It was, after all, just a kiss, right? He caught the profile of her face in the eerie blue hue of a TV screen, her slightly-slanted eyes fixed on the movie. She was beautiful, but that didn't give him any right to do what he'd done. There was no reason for him to invade her space like he had, to say nothing of what it might mean. They'd been friends for so long, the possibility of it being something more was just…strange. It felt completely wrong… …but also completely right. That was what bothered him so much: He wasn't really sorry he'd done it. Sure, he'd startled her, and if she wasn't interested in that kind of physicality, then there was an issue. But in terms of his own heart, it had felt like the right thing to do. Returning his attention to the television, his eyes brushed over the spot where the home-security system had been and he'd shattered with one lucky shot. Gwen… If nothing else, that should be his real impulse toward embarrassment and remorse. His girlfriend, the one he'd shared such wonderful moments, the love they'd shared…was he giving up on that already? Bouncing from a tragedy of death to try to find affection in the arms of the still-living? If that was the case, could he really blame his mother for what she'd done? After all, it had been for him. At least, that's what she'd said, wasn't it? She was doing it for him, to keep Elsinore Ranch in the family. Yet how well was that working, if the Norway deal ended up going through anyway? Clearly, Mom's plans had gone awry. If he was to learn anything, he would have to start learning from others. Dane drew in a deep breath and toggled the pause button on the remote. "Hey!" said Harmony, as though being waked from a deep sleep and not appreciating the alarm. "What--" "Harmony, look," he said, straightening and looking at her. "About…about the…you know…" "No," she said slowly, clearly confused. "Not really." Sighing, he glanced around the room. The bullet holes stared back at him. "I'm sorry about the kiss." "Oh. Right, well…" "I didn't mean to…" Harmony grabbed his hand. "Like I said in the car, Dane, it's something that I have to think about." "No, I mean…I like you. I really do. You're my best friend. You have been for as long as I can remember, it feels like." She chuckled without humor. "Tell me about it." "And you've been the only reason I've survived this past month or so." "It's nothing," she said, squeezing his hand with hers. "It's what friends do. I told you." "I know. It's just…I don't want anything to ruin what we have. Few people are lucky to ever have a friend half as capable, thoughtful, brave, and loyal as you." "Stop, you're making me blush!" "No, I'm serious. You are an incredible woman. I've taken that for granted. So…" He drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. For anything I may have done to you that I shouldn't have." "Well, apology accepted." She smiled at him in a way that Dane recognized as being a personal, genuine smile--not the sort of thing she would attach to her face at a bar when a guy was trying to con her phone number from her, or the polite-but-not-interested-in-this-conversation smile he'd seen her use with some of her father's clients over the years. It warmed him to know that she was being so honest with him. "But I have a question for you." "Anything." She jerked her thumb at the screen. "Can we keep watching? I want to know what happens." Dane glanced at the TV, then back at Harmony. He laughed and pressed the play button, settling back down. A few minutes later, Mom walked in the front door. "Hey, you two," she said, lurching forward and gripping the bannister that led up from the entryway. "I'm headed straight to bed, if that's all right." "Oh." Dane craned his neck to look up at her. "Are you okay?" "I'm…just tired. It's been a long day." She hesitated. "Dane, you know you shouldn't have…" "I know." "Well, you should apologize to Lenny and Clawson. They didn't deserve what you did." He felt a fire of anger flame in the pit of his guts. "Okay," he said in a non-committal voice. "Really, they're still pretty pissed off." "Where are they, Jenny?" asked Harmony. "They're going to Outer Darkness. I wasn't interested in any drinks, so I asked them to drop me off here before going to the bar." Dane nodded. There was only one bar in all of Noah, and the proprietors spoke LDS-ese well enough to name their establishment after the Mormon version of hell. It was the sort of long-road-to-the-punchline that had entertained Dane when he was younger, but he simply found it tacky now. "Good night, you two," said Jenny, starting her climb up the stairs. Dane heaved himself out of the grip of the cushions and hurried to his mother's side. "Let me help." "I can walk up stairs, you know." "So can I." "I'm fine." "Good." He helped her up to her room, giving her a goodnight hug and bidding her pleasant dreams. He came down the steps to find Harmony involved with her social media. Once he'd dropped back into the couch's embrace and fired up the film, Harmony scooted next to him, quietly watching the story unfold. One movie turned into two, and soon enough, Harmony's head was lolling against Dane's shoulder. He was just as detached from the second film as the first, paying little attention to what was there and letting his thoughts wander where they would instead. Eventually, he, too, slipped into the silence of sleep. Something shattered behind him. Dane's eyes popped open. On the TV, the program was patiently awaiting an action: "Are you still there? Select 'OK' to continue watching." His right arm was numb, with Harmony soundly asleep there. Doing his best to turn without too much disturbance, he felt a ghostly passage of icy air breeze past him. The door was open, with the porch- and moonlight casting diamond-like sparkles over the broken glass on the floor. Shifting, he forced Harmony up. "What is--" He put a finger to his lips as he started to stand… …only to drop as a heavy club dropped across his shoulders. His breath gushed out and he fell to the ground with a dull thud. Harmony screamed and backed away on the couch, her hands near her mouth. For his part, Dane coughed a couple of times. The injuries from the accident, still delicate, shrieked at the abuse. A burning ache started across his shoulders and his mind whirled as he struggled to his feet. Hands dropped on his back, hauling him up. A vicious punch to his stomach sent what little air he'd regained free. Pizza came out in a slimy torrent, spraying over the ottoman footstool and the hardwood floor. A right hook crashed against the side of his head. A Fourth of July show behind his eyelids accompanied him as he dropped again to the ground. Blood pumped from his now-broken nose. Harmony screamed some more, and there was a clatter of feet upstairs just as Dane's eyes came into focus. There, beneath the couch, where he had left it, was the ASP. Struggling against the pain in his body, he reached out. The cold metal lay just beyond his reach. One fingertip caressed the iron sights, then slipped free. Another shout from Harmony, then a confused, "Dane?" and a yelp as someone slipped against the door. He could only hear what happened next, but the report of a gun going off, a cry, and a tumble down the stairs was enough to paint a picture for him. Lunging forward, he pulled out the ASP and got to his feet. "No! What did you do?" The voice crying with despair was deep and familiar. The man--no, men, there were two of them--in his house, clad in dark camo and face covered with a ski mask, stared at his partner, who lay sprawled against the open door. "Freeze!" shouted Dane. It was a stupid thing--coming from too many TV shows, he figured--but it was what came out. The standing man turned at the sound and, perhaps out of spite or surprise, pulled the trigger. There was a pop, a flash of startling pain in his side, and Dane crumpled. The ASP went off as he fell; the standing man fell backwards, crushing his accomplice. In the darkness, his life bleeding out in the same room that he'd threatened Gwen in, Dane suddenly realized something. It had been there all along, the great understanding that had been the key to his own sadness and melancholy. It was so obvious, so clear… Water fell on his face, pulling him out of his reverie before he could formulate what he now understood. He looked up. The room was dimly lit by the TV and the light coming in from the open front door. Harmony, the left side of her face thus illuminated, the other half hidden in shadows, sobbed. She said something, but it faded from his grasp before he could recognize the words. Words. Words were all they had, when he stopped to think about it. Words that told stories, that confessed crimes. That apologized and loved. They were important, words were. So sad that he didn't know them anymore. Harmony had her phone to her ear, she was saying something, crying and blubbering. It was too much. Her words faded into the slight buzzing in his ears. Dane looked around one last time. It was over. The buzzing faded. He had nothing left to hear. The rest was silence. |