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When Ramona got back to her apartment after talking to Mason, Garrett wasn't there, but she hadn't exactly expected him to be there. She couldn’t quite shake the way he'd looked at her and the way his words had sounded. He'd sounded so disgusted with her. So angry. She'd never heard Garrett sound like that before. It was probably best if they didn't see each other for a night. They both needed the chance to cool off and think. But her apartment still smelled like the meal he'd cooked for her, and there was no place she could be in the small room without thinking about him. Finally, Ramona couldn't stand it anymore. She called him. It rang and rang, and then went to voicemail. He must still be really pissed if he wasn't picking up the phone. She left a message, anyway, just in case he was away from his phone and would have picked up if he'd had it close. "Hey Garrett. It's Ramona. Just calling to check in. See how you are. Um. I'm sorry about tonight." She didn't know if she exactly was sorry, but since she was the first person to call, she needed to apologize, right? "Call me. Bye."
After leaving the message, Ramona tried to watch TV, but she couldn't concentrate. She lay awake late that night, turning the night's events over and over in her head. Why had Garrett been so angry with her? Why hadn't he called her back? She was so obsessed with thinking about Garrett that she didn't even think about what Mason had said to her or about what she'd heard in Blair's apartment earlier.
Her phone rang at 7:30 AM the next morning, waking Ramona up. Groggily, she felt around by her bed for the phone. At first, she thought it was her alarm, but by the time she had the phone in her hand, she realized it was a phone call. And she saw it was Garrett calling. Immediately, she was wide-awake.
"Hello?" said Ramona eagerly.
"Hi," said Garrett. "It's early isn't it? I'm sorry. I shouldn't have woken you up. I just got your message."
"It's okay. I'm awake."
"Look, don't worry about it. Last night. Don’t worry about it. I was being an ass. It's not your fault."
"You just seemed really mad."
"Maybe I'm a little jealous of Mason. You seem to be really close to him."
"I've known him a long time."
"Yeah, and I can't compete with that."
"Well, but, I think you're right. About what you said last night. I think he is one of them. So, I don't know if I want to spend any more time with him."
Garrett was quiet for a minute. "Listen, about that."
"About Mason?"
"About...'them.'"
Was Ramona crazy or were there definitely quotation marks around the word them? "Yeah?" she said warily.
"Well, last night, after I left you, I went back to try to find you, but you were gone. So I went to Blair and Owen's house. I thought you might be there."
"I wasn't there."
"No, I know that."
"What did they do to you?"
"Nothing, Ramona. They didn't do anything to me. But we talked."
"You and Blair talked?" She couldn't believe that. It was ridiculous. Blair hated Garrett.
"Yeah, we did. We had a lot to talk about."
"Like the fact she accused you of being a rapist?"
Garrett sighed. "Well, I actually did have sex with Blair."
What?! "You said you never did," Ramona accused. What the hell was going on here?
"I know, and I did that, because I didn't want you to think bad things about me. But that night, we did have sex. And I guess that she was really a lot drunker than I thought she was."
This was not what Garrett had told her before. "What about seeing Blair get killed? What about that?"
"I made that up. It never happened. It was just that you had seen the ghost of Angelica or whatever, and I thought if I'd seen something like that, I could get close to you."
He'd made it up?! What had happened to Garrett since the last time he'd talked to her? "I don't understand," she said.
"I'm sorry, Ramona. I just really wanted to get in your pants."
That couldn't be true, could it? "No way," she said. "You were way more into this whole thing than I ever was. What's going on? Did they put you up to this? Are you still there? If they won't let you leave, I'll come--"
"I'm home, Ramona. Listen, after I talked to Blair, I realized that I have really screwed up her life. And I was acting like a jerk to you too. I was manipulating you, just to have sex with you. And I don't want to do that anymore. I'm really sorry, but I think I'm just bad for you. I think we should take a break."
"What?!" Ramona demanded. "Yesterday, you wanted to move away with me and live together, and now you want to take a break?" She could hardly believe this. Men were all assholes. Every single solitary one of them was just a big huge fucking jerk. She'd thought Garrett was different, but it turned out that he was just the same as all the rest of them. It turned out that--
Garrett was different.
Ramona dropped the phone. Shit.
They got him.
Slowly, Ramona picked the phone back up. "What did you with his body?" she asked the thing on the phone that was pretending to be Garrett.
"Ramona, what are you talking about?"
"Did you bury it somewhere? Did you burn it? What did you do with him?"
"See? This is what I've done to you. I've made you kinda crazy. I think that--"
Ramona hung up the phone.
"Ramona, do you have any idea what time it is?" Heather said into her phone. She'd worked late at the restaurant the night before and had barely got four hours sleep when her phone had started ringing. She really didn't have the patience or the energy to deal with her crazy best friend right now.
"I know, I know," said Ramona. "I'm sorry."
"Can you call me back in like three hours, please? I worked late last night."
"I...shit, you're right. I don't even know why I'm calling you. You don’t even fucking believe me. No one fucking believes me. Hell, maybe I really am insane. Never mind. I'm sorry, Heather. I'm sorry."
Heather sighed. She sat up in bed. Rick was in the shower getting ready to go to work. "It's okay. I'm awake. What's wrong?"
"You'll just tell me I'm crazy."
Ramona was crying. Heather could hear her sobbing on the other end of the line. "Hey," she said. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing, or you wouldn't be crying. I promise not to tell you you're crazy."
"They, um, they got Garrett."
"What?"
"They killed Garrett."
"Garrett's dead?" What the hell was this place coming to? Less than a year ago, Angelica had been killed. Now someone else was dead? Heather used to think that this was a safe place to live. She was beginning to wonder if that were true. "What happened to him?"
"I don't know," Ramona sobbed.
"Okay, well then how do you know he's dead?"
"It's what they do. They kill people, and they take over their lives."
"What? Who does that?"
"The river hippies. I explained this to you before."
Shit. Ramona had gone off the deep end for real. "Ramona," said Heather. "I need you to come see me."
"Okay," said Ramona. "Okay. When?"
That had been easy. Good. Maybe if she could just get Ramona face to face, she could knock some sense into her. "Um, well, I have to work today. You have to work today. I'm off tomorrow."
"Can't I come now?"
"Ramona, you have to go to work."
"Fuck work."
"I can't take the day off today. No one can cover me, and I really need the money. How about tomorrow?"
"Okay, okay. Tomorrow," said Ramona.
"Cool. After you get off work, okay? Just come over. I'll make dinner or something."
"Okay."
"Good."
"You do think I'm crazy, don't you?"
"No, sweetie, of course not."
"Don't lie."
"I'm not lying. Maybe I just don't understand exactly what's going on with you, okay?"
"Garrett called me this morning."
"I thought you said he was dead."
"Well, it was someone pretending to be Garrett."
Heather took a deep breath. How had Ramona gotten herself so confused and fucked up? Was she taking a lot of drugs or something? Ramona had never really stopped doing drugs. Heather had when she'd gotten married. Rick didn't like drugs. But Ramona had slowed down a lot. At least, Heather thought so. Ramona hadn't talked about doing anything much harder than smoking pot lately. "Why don't you think it was actually Garrett?"
"He told me all this stuff," Ramona said. "Stuff he wouldn't have said. He just was different. Totally different. I could tell, okay? It wasn't him."
"What was different?"
Ramona explained. Heather listened without interrupting. When Ramona was done, Heather took a few seconds to try to collect herself. She wanted to say what she had to say to Ramona without alienating her or making her feel inferior for her delusions. Because that's what was going on. Her best friend was really deluded. And Heather was pretty pissed at Garrett for encouraging them. What a dick. This was half his fault. He shouldn't be able to just walk away and leave her friend in pieces. No wonder Blair had locked Ramona in a basement. This guy had done a number on her too. He was an evil fuck. "I think this is Garrett's fault," said Heather. "You were fine before he came along. He put a lot of things into your head. And--"
"I don't believe what he said," said Ramona. "It doesn't make sense. He just didn't act like someone who was trying to seduce me."
"Maybe that's why you fell for it."
"No. If he'd just wanted to sleep with me, he would have done it earlier. And I think creating this entire story about Blair and Owen and the other guys is just way too complicated for someone who's just trying to get laid."
"He's twisted."
"Besides, what about that picture I saw of Dawn? What about the missing person poster I saw of her? What about Mason cornering me and telling me to stop asking questions because my life was in danger?"
Heather didn't know what Ramona was talking about, so Ramona had to back track and explain the events of the past few days to Heather.
"Besides," Ramona finished. "I just can't believe that Blair and Owen would let Garrett into their house to talk. Two days ago, Owen beat the shit out of Garrett."
Heather had to admit that things were possibly a little more complicated than she thought. "Look, we'll talk more about this tomorrow when you come over, okay?"
The two chatted a little longer and then hung up. Heather sat on her bed, thinking. Rick came back in from his shower.
"Hey," he said, "you're awake."
"What did you say about that Mason guy you used to know?"
Rick was confused. "Good morning to you too."
"Didn't you say something like he turned into a completely different person or something?"
"Yeah. He changed. Were you just on the phone with Ramona?"
Heather laughed. "That obvious, huh?"
Rick laughed. "Is she okay?"
"That Garrett dude she was dating is a real fucking dick. He really screwed her head up." Heather paused. "In fact," she said, just deciding it as she said it, "I'm going to go talk to him. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind."
"Baby, be careful. That guy is a rapist. I don't want you alone with him."
"I'm going to where he works," said Heather. "I'll be in a public place."
Ramona considered calling in to work, but she realized that she wouldn't do anything at home except obsess and drive herself insane. So she showered, got dressed, and went downstairs to The Holy Grind. Owen wasn't working. That was strange. He always worked the early shift on weekdays. Instead, the owner of The Holy Grind was there. His name was Griff. Ramona didn't like him. He was kind of rude and arrogant. He always talked a mile a minute, as if he were perpetually hyped up on caffeine. However, she really hadn't been in the mood to deal with Owen, either, considering he'd killed her boyfriend, so she guessed it was really a blessing in disguise.
"Hi Griff," she said. "Where's Owen?"
Griff smiled tightly. "Don't know. Didn't call in. Won't answer his phone. Don't think he's got a job here anymore."
Griff was like that too. He had pretty high standards. If you didn't measure up to them, he fired you. That was that. Ramona had sworn to herself never to work for him. "That sucks," Ramona said. "I'm sorry."
"What can I get for you?"
"Icy Chalice," she said and waited while he made her drink. She had to pay for it, because the only people who worked at The Grind who made her free drinks were her friends. Paying also sucked.
Work dragged by. She watched the clock. It seemed like every hour took a week to get through. When it was finally lunchtime, Ramona knew what she was going to do. She took off down Main Street, past the railroad tracks, until she got to Kay Street. There weren't any houses on Kay Street, just trailers. For some reason, real estate on the other side of the tracks was cheaper than right in town. Ramona wasn't really sure why. Certainly the neighborhood here was a little more run down. A little trashier. She walked past broken-down cars parked in the yards of houses, past naked children clad in filthy diapers tiptoeing amongst used beer cans. This was West Virginia, all right.
She was headed to Mason's house. A few months ago, he'd moved off the river. Said it was because he wanted to be closer to town. He'd rented a trailer on Kay Street. Supposedly the rent was cheap. She wasn't even sure if Mason would be home. He still took classes at the college. He had been for at least six years now. But Mason never took a very full schedule. And his classes usually didn't start until one or two in the afternoon. He was probably home. And if there was anyone she could talk to about what had happened, it was Mason.
Of course, he'd been a total ass to her the night before. Still, she had nowhere else to turn. Heather thought she was a head case. Garrett was gone. That only left Mason. And even if he was one of them, she knew that Mason was concerned for her. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He kept talking about protecting her. So she was pretty sure that she would be safe with him.
He didn't answer his door right away when she knocked. Ramona waited and then knocked again. If he didn't answer this time, she'd just go back home, eat a sandwich, and go back to work. But Mason opened the door. He was wearing a pair of threadbare plaid pajama pants and no shirt. Ramona had never seen Mason without a shirt. He looked good without one. He was very nicely put together. Ramona tried not to stare at his bare chest.
"I need to talk to you," she said.
"Go away," said Mason.
"You have to tell me what happened to Garrett."
"What do you mean?"
"I think you know what I mean."
Mason just shook his head. "I've already said anything I need to say to you."
"Can I come in?" Ramona asked.
"I'm not dressed," said Mason.
"I don't care," said Ramona. Then she blushed.
Mason hesitated for a second, then opened the door wider and stepped aside. Ramona walked inside. Mason's trailer was pretty sparse. He had a couch in his living room. No TV. There were several bookshelves groaning under the weight of the books that had been haphazardly stacked on them. But there was nothing else on the white walls. Mason shut the door after her. He motioned for her to sit on the couch, and then he ducked into the kitchen for a second. He returned with a straight back chair. They sat down facing each other.
"I meant what I said last night," said Mason. "You need to forget about all of this. It's not safe. I would think that would be clear."
"You mean they might do to me what they did to Garrett?"
Mason sighed heavily. "I don’t mean anything. But if I were you, I would be very careful about who I was alone with, if you know what I mean."
Ramona nodded. He was telling her that they wouldn't hurt her in a public place. He was telling her that she had to be alone with one of the river hippies for anything to happen. "Is there..." she trailed off. "Is there any way to get him back?"
"Who?"
"Garrett."
"Garrett's not gone," said Mason. "I'll wager he's in the library right now, shelving books."
"He is gone."
"The way that Garrett seems now is the way he'll seem for as long as he's still in town," said Mason.
Ramona nodded. "So he's dead. Where's the body, Mason? What did they do with him?"
"He's not dead," said Mason. "Go to the library. You can see for yourself."
"Mason--"
"Let it go, Ramona. Garrett was bad news, anyway. He only would have hurt you in the end. And I don't want to talk to you about this anymore. Is that clear? Just go away and put all of this out of your head."
As she walked back from Mason's house, Ramona felt miserable. Could it be true? Could all of this really just be part of Garrett's elaborate plan to have sex with her? Had he convinced her of something crazy? Was she crazy? Were Blair and Owen and Dawn and Cecelia monsters, or were they just a bunch of vindictive twenty-somethings? The whole time she'd talked to Garrett, there had been a voice in the back of her head, telling her that what they were talking about was nuts. Telling her that she didn't really believe any of it. Not really. But now... Garrett was different. He was. It really was all true. She was living in a town full of monsters. Ramona shook her head, and for the second time that day, she started to sob.
Heather didn't have nearly as much trouble finding a parking space in Elston this time as she had when she'd come before to get the book. Actually, the book was due back at the library, so she told herself that she wasn't coming to Elston to see if Garrett was different, but instead to return the book. And anyway, she knew Garrett wouldn't be different. What she was going to do was talk to him about what a mess he'd turned her best friend into. He was a total jackass. That had been her impression of him before when he wouldn't help her in the library. So, she was sure she wouldn't have much problem letting him have it.
She briefly considered whether it was her place to interfere in Ramona's business. After all, she would have hated it if Ramona had gone to talk to one of her exes. But she decided that Ramona was too far gone over the deep end for it to really matter. Garrett had shattered her best friend and left Heather to pick up the pieces. It wasn't right, and he needed to know that.
Amazingly, there was a parking space right beside the library. Right there. Heather might have missed it too, if it hadn't been for the fact that a large black bird nearly flew into her windshield. She'd braked, trying to miss the bird, and followed its flight to watch it settle on an empty parking space right next to the library. Heather didn't even look for spaces that close to her destination. She'd thought they were an impossibility in Elston. She parked.
When she walked into the library, Garrett was sitting behind the desk. He looked up as the door opened. "Hi there," he said. "Can I help you with anything?"
Well, that was weird. Last time, she'd practically had to beg for his assistance. Now, he was being really polite and helpful. Besides, didn't he recognize her? Wouldn't he greet an acquaintance differently than a regular library patron?
"Um, I just came to return a book," she said.
"Great," said Garrett, getting up and crossing the library to the front door. "I'll just take it for you if you want. Then you can just be on your way."
"Thanks," said Heather, holding out the book. Garrett was now face to face with her. He put his hand on the book, but she didn't let go. Instead, she stared deep into his eyes, trying to remember if the expression on his face was similar to the expression she'd seen on it before.
Garrett tugged gently on the book, but she didn't let go. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"We've met," said Heather.
"You're Ramona's best friend," he said. "Heather."
"Yeah," said Heather.
"What's Ramona been telling you these days?" Garrett said.
What did he mean? "If you're going to deny that you've been a real asshole to her, then save it. Your reputation precedes you."
Garrett snorted. "Believe me, I know. I'm going to have to work so hard to live all this down."
That was kind of a strange response, wasn't it? Almost as if Garrett weren't actually responsible for his own reputation?
"Look, I just think Ramona and I need some time," said Garrett. "I wasn't entirely honest with her. You're right. I was a real asshole." He sighed. "I just don't think that continuing a relationship that's been built on lies and manipulation is a very healthy thing to do."
Well, that made sense, but... "So, you just woke up this morning and thought it was time to change your evil ways?" Heather was pleased that sounded as nasty as she'd meant it.
"Wow," said Garrett. "I bet it does seem like that to her. No, I've been feeling really guilty about it for a long time. But I really care about Ramona, and I just didn't know how to tell her or break it to her... What exactly has she been saying to you?"
Why did he keep harping on that? "She told me you encouraged her to think some sort of strange things, and that then you admitted you made it all up."
"What kind of strange things?" asked Garrett. "For example, she didn't mention, I don't know, body snatchers or anything?"
Was it important what Ramona had told her? "You know what you said to her," said Heather.
"Yes," said Garrett. "But do you know what I said to her?"
"Why is that important?" Heather suddenly had a strong impulse to back away from Garrett. She tried to take a step back, but they were both still holding the book she was returning. She let go of it.
Garrett hadn't been expecting that, and the book dropped. Heather jumped. Garrett laughed. "Sorry about that," he said. He leaned down to pick up the book. "You don't believe in that kind of thing, do you? Monsters? Body snatchers?" He read the cover of the book to himself as he straightened. "Do you?" He looked in her eyes.
"Uh..." Heather took another step back. Garrett was really starting to freak her out. It was probably because of all the things that Ramona had said to her. It was enough to make anyone feel like she was trapped in a horror movie. And besides, the Elston library was creepy. "I don't know what she said to me. It was...crazy talk. You shouldn't have messed with her like that."
Garrett nodded, still staring at the book Heather had brought back. "Yeah," he said. "You tell your best friend to stay away from me from now on. Far away." He looked back up at her, and he was grinning a wide grin. But to Heather, the grin didn't look friendly. It looked demented. She nearly tripped over her feet in her hurry to get out of the library.
When Ramona got back to work that afternoon, Maxine called her into her office. Ramona was definitely not in the mood to deal with Maxine at this particular juncture in her life. She felt like the world was falling apart, and what was more, everyone else on earth thought she was insane. Work was the most inconsequential thing on earth to her at that moment. She was only there because she couldn't figure out what to do.
Ramona plopped down heavily in the chair opposite Maxine's desk.
"Are you okay?" asked Maxine. Real concern was in her eyes.
"I'm having a terrible day," said Ramona. "My boyfriend woke me up at 7:30 this morning to break up with me." That wasn't really why her day was terrible, but it would have to do. It was true as far as it went anyway.
Maxine groaned. "Men," she said, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Ramona."
Ramona nodded.
"Listen, I mean this as a friend. The best thing to do when things like this happen is to distract yourself. So, what I'm going to talk to you about is going to help you and Elston College." Maxine smiled.
Ramona felt like rolling her eyes, but didn't. That really wouldn't have gone over well.
"I haven't seen anything on that brochure you're doing research on," said Maxine.
"You pulled me off the brochure to work on going through applications."
"Well, I need you to get back on the brochure."
Inwardly, Ramona moaned. She did not want to do anymore research on the brochure. "I don't know if it's a good angle. Seriously, Elston is the most unhistorical historical town of all time. Nothing ever happened here. During the Civil War, there were no battles fought here. The only thing going on was that there was a hospital in the public library. It's like this place is a black hole."
"It's the best angle we have. You need to make it work. Why don't you go to the library in town this afternoon?"
"No," said Ramona.
"No? They have an entire section of local history materials. If you can't find them, just ask the librarian."
"My boyfriend--my ex-boyfriend--is the librarian."
"Oh." Maxine tapped her forefinger against her lower lip, thinking. "I'm sorry. I know I'm asking you to do something awkward, but frankly, your English major background makes you the best person to do this research. I need it to be you."
"I just don't think that a brochure about historical Elston is going to entice many high schoolers to come this school."
"Exactly. The type of high school students this school attracts is a problem," said Maxine. "I'm sure you're aware that we almost lost our accreditation four years ago?"
Ramona nodded. Elston College had a huge number of Visual Arts majors--painters, sculptors, graphic designers. It was a really good school for art. The problem was that Elston was a liberal arts school, not an art school. The percentage of art majors to the rest of the school was so out of balance that Elston had nearly lost its accreditation.
"We need to attract more...studious students." Maxine laughed a little. "More students in areas of study like History or English or Math. If we can show these students that they are coming to place teeming with history and culture, they may see the school in a different light."
So Ramona went to the library. It was only as she was opening the door that she remembered Mason's warning. She wasn't supposed to be alone with any of them. Garrett was one of them. She almost turned around right then. But Maxine was counting on her. And the library was a public place. Maybe she'd be safe there.
Garrett was at his desk, reading. He put down his book when he saw her. "Listen, I'm not really ready to--"
"I'm here for work," she said.
Garrett started to get up.
"Don't move," she said. "We can talk fine from here. Point me in the direction of the local history section."
"Ramona, I know you're angry with me."
"I'm not angry with you. I just want to find the books about local history and do my job."
Garrett got to his feet. "I guess the way that I way that I broke everything to you on the phone this morning was abrupt. I should have done it in person. I'm really sorry."
"Abrupt," she said. "Yes, this has all been rather abrupt."
He started to walk toward her.
"Stop," she said. "Don't come any closer to me." She didn't know if they had to be close to do whatever they did to Garrett, but she was pretty sure they did. After all, Angelica's body had surfaced, so they'd had to kill her. And Garrett had said that he'd seen them kill Blair. Up close and personal. So as long as Garrett stayed away, she should be okay.
"I'm sorry I hurt you," he said.
"Are you really?" said Ramona. "How'd you do it? Did you strangle him? Did you beat him to death? What did you do with his body?"
Garrett took a step closer. "I don't know what you're talking about."
God. If she could only believe him, she could return to sanity. But... "I told you to stay back," said Ramona.
"Ramona, that stuff I told you. I made it all up. You saw Angelica. That was it. None of that other stuff happened."
"Sure," said Ramona. Really? Had he really made it up? It would be easier to believe that, but deep down, she knew it wasn't true. Deep down, she knew this wasn't Garrett. "Listen, I think I'm just gonna go look for the local history books on my own. The library's not that big. I bet I can find them." She started past him into the stacks.
He grabbed her by the shoulder. She tried to shake him off, but his grip was too tight. Ramona started to panic.
"Why are you afraid of me?" Garrett asked. His voice was the same deep, personal voice he used when they were in bed together. It was his vulnerable voice. "I wouldn't hurt you."
"Then let go of me," said Ramona.
"You know me. I wouldn't--"
"I don't know you. I knew Garrett. Garrett's dead. Now let go of me." Garrett was dead. And she wasn't crazy. She didn't think she was anyway.
Garrett dropped his arm. "I'm not dead. And I'm sorry I contributed to this delusion of yours. I never realized that you were taking it so seriously. It was just a game to me. I'm so, so sorry." He pointed to the back wall. "The local books are back there. Do yourself a favor, Ramona. Go talk to a therapist or something."
Copyright (c) 2010 Valerie Chambers