Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller(23)

“I’m sorry, Nick… about your Dad. You never told me.” She paused for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to go on. “How old were you when he passed?”

Nick looked down at his plate and then reached for his drink again. “To be honest, Sarah, my Dad was an asshole.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be… I was twenty. His heart wasn’t strong-just gave out on him one day.”

“It’s not ever easy to lose someone.” Sarah reached across the table and held Nick’s hand. Her fingers found a way to interlock his, it felt good.

“He wasn’t always an asshole, but a few years after my Mom was gone, he struggled.”

Nick thought about all the times as a child he spent sitting outside in the tangled branches of the oak tree in his father's backyard. He’d stare at the sky dreaming of a different life, something far away from the small town. “My mother left when I was seven,” he continued, “headed east somewhere. I never understood it. Dad did the best he could. Just sometimes he needed help, and the only friend he turned to was Jim Beam.”

Nick thought of the dark nights. His father coming home late from work, smelling of sawdust and sour booze, and either yelling, weeping, or pissing himself and passing out in their front yard. But then, Nick also remembered-it’s always funny how deep you can go once you start thinking about something-there were the other bad nights. On these nights his father would relapse into what Nick thought of as his father’s “outsider” state of mind. It had first introduced itself a few months after his mother disappeared. Furniture would break, bottles would smash, and his father would incoherently growl and scream like some kind of wild animal.

It was on these nights that Nick found himself out back in the oak tree. Climbing and climbing, until he couldn't get any higher. It was on these nights when Nick would dream of living in a big city somewhere. Somewhere, some city, where he could escape his life and maybe see his mom again. Somewhere, some life, where he could leave this town and leave behind the “outsider” who was wearing his father's plaid work shirt and ranting inside their small house. His father had scared Nick when he was like that, but even worse, he’d made Nick feel sorry for him. And Nick hated his father for that. It was something he could never forgive.

“Nick? Nick? Are you okay?” Sarah asked.

She could see that her new friend’s mind was somewhere far away, but there was something else too, something else she’d seen as she held his hand. It was behind his eyes. A grey fleck and then the image revealed itself inside her head. The feeling...She saw a young boy, maybe 9 or 10 years old, sitting in the branches of an oak tree. He was crying. His dirty face was streaked with tears. She could feel his sadness, but it was the fear that radiated from his being. And then the image was gone.

“Sorry, yeah I’m fine…” Nick said, but stopped as the waitress approached the table and motioned to his plate. “Sure. All finished.” He told the girl in the tight pony tail, but he was looking at Sarah when he said it. His eyes were clearing up, but it was time to go.

“We can take the check.” Sarah added as the waitress cleared both their plates. She quickly left to go get their check. “I’m sorry for bringing up old memories, Nick.”

“It’s okay, Sarah. We all have them. It’s good to talk about it, they say.”

“They do say that… well we certainly have had quite the evening. Thank you again for dinner.”

“You’re welcome. You earned it, remember?”

“Well to be honest, I’m not sure if the contest was fair, because… well, you really suck at pool, Nick.” Sarah laughed and Nick joined in as the waitress dropped the check.

Nick reached into his back pocket and pulled out his brown leather wallet. “So there’s just one more thing I wanted to show you, Sarah... unless you need to get back?” He asked as he set five crisp looking twenties on the table next to the bill.

“It’s not my bedtime yet...,” Sarah flirted back.

●



Nick didn’t tell Sarah where they were going and Sarah didn’t ask. The truck ride over, other than the quiet country song coming from the truck’s speakers, was silent. It wasn’t an awkward silence. It was a comfortable silence. Sarah and Nick stole a few glances at each other as the truck moved along another gravel road. Nick had referred to it as the North Roads, when they’d turned off the highway only five minutes earlier. Sarah didn’t know what that meant exactly. She assumed that they must be north of town now, but to be honest, she had been letting her imagination take her along on a story and she didn’t really care where they were headed. She was just happy to be going there with Nick. For a moment she thought of Emma and reminded herself that she’d better remember to call her later... or text her... or something. Emma was always solid when it came to boy advice. Maybe she can keep me from screwing this up, Sarah thought as a smile escaped her lips.

Nick looked over at Sarah and smiled back. “We’re almost there, but we’re going to have to walk here pretty soon. You okay with that?”

“I am.” She replied.

Nick slowly pulled his truck off to the right side of the gravel road. It got a little bumpy as they drove across the small ditch, but soon they were on the other side. Nick stopped the truck and got out. Sarah watched him, partially visible in the beams of the headlights, as he opened the wire gate in front of them. Soon he was back inside and they were driving again. They only traveled a little bit further and then they reached another fence.