Snowspell

Chapter 4: Following Judd-2

Avery, Evan, and Amy shared pizza, wings, and bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon in The Cavity that night, following Avery’s spying on Judd. Amy, a pretty thing with black hair and bright blue eyes, spent most of the evening texting her girlfriends, which allotted some brother time between Avery and Evan.

Positioned side by side, no one could tell the twins apart. If one looked close enough, though, Evan’s upper lip curled a little more than Avery’s. Otherwise, the brothers were clones of each other, devised from the same fibers, chemicals, liquids, chromosomes, and whatnots.

Evan became drunk, enjoying an evening away from his firm. When he had too much to drink, he said whatever was on his mind, whether it was offensive or not. Sitting across from Avery, one leg crossed over the other, and resembling an L. L. Bean advertisement in a magazine, he pointed the mouth of his beer bottle at Avery.

“There’s something different about you this evening. Tell me what it is.”

Avery shrugged. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Evan chuckled. “You have a new fire in your eyes that I haven’t seen there for quite some time. At least not since you were involved with that lunatic Zachary.”

“I loathed Zachary. Don’t forget he was arrested for robbing people blind. The guy will be in jail for the next two decades.”

“Right where he belongs.” Evan took a sip of his beer, swallowed. “Did you meet a man, Avery? It looks to me like you did. Who’s the special guy in your life? Who’s playing with my brother’s junk? Tell me all the juice. I want to hear every scathing detail. Hide nothing from me.

“There’s no special guy. I’m still single, unwanted, and have no interest in beginning another relationship, certainly not after dating Zachary, which we both know exploded my world.”

“It did explode, didn’t it?”

Avery recalled the stolen gems (necklaces, bracelets, golden earrings, and brown lunch bags filled with money) he’d discovered in Zachary’s closet when they were boyfriends, the notebook describing Zachary’s home invasions on Lauten Street in downtown Erie, fulfilling his sick needs. The police had been involved, and they’d arrested Zachary. A trial had followed, and Zachary Barnes went to jail for twenty-two counts of robbery. That was eighteen months ago, still fresh in Avery’s mind and heart, sour, just as it always would be.

Avery told his brother, “Trust me, I’m not looking to be involved with a guy anytime soon.”

“Your bright eyes are telling me something else. You can’t lie behind their shine.”

“Stop putting me on trial, bro. I’m not one of your victims on the stand.”

Evan chuckled, downed his beer, fetched a fresh one from the fridge, and spent the next hour talking about his work, a planned honeymoon with Amy in Hawaii, and the ins and outs of his life.

After Evan and Amy departed from The Cavity, Avery sat alone and starred into the snowy night. White snowflakes fell from the November sky, adding to the accumulation of snow that already covered Templeton. Wind brushed against the apartment’s windows, licking at their glass like an assertive lover, howling. He sipped his beer, recalled falling in love with Zachary Barnes, and then falling out of love with the man just as quickly. It had been a rough time in his life: the drama, the media following him, the heartache of learning that he had fallen in love with a professional thief; a certain man that had broken into wealthy people’s homes and thieved their fine jewelry and whatever money he could find. Thank God it was over. The blurred memories scarred him…until now.

He thought of Judd Maxx for some strange reason: tall, easy to talk to, handsome because of his Hollywood smile. The thought of the innkeeper had passed, though, and quickly. Avery couldn’t like the stranger, and wouldn’t. Having a crush on Judd was out of the equation of his life, not part of his plan. Avery had his thrift shop to take care of. And he promised himself not to date or fall for a man anytime soon, still healing after the chaos with Zachary Barnes. Truth told, he just happened to be happy as a single man, without a companion, even if he thought Judd Maxx handsome, irresistible, and to his liking. Whatever. Crushes were like that, right? Confusing. Comprised of dismal s**t. Of very little substance. Untouchable. Frivolous. Of course, they were.

Ending his night, Avery finished his beer, placed the empty beer bottle on the marble-topped island in the kitchen area, flicked off all the lights in The Cavity, and went to bed, immediately falling asleep, without dreams.