August Week 1: Long, but a quick read (promise!)
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Jeremy and Renee had been dating for a few months when he popped the question.
They were in Renee's dorm room one night; she was doing homework, and Jeremy was watching her from the bed.
"Honey?" he asked, shaking his shaggy blonde hair out of his eyes . Renee turned and leaned over the back of her chair, smiling at him.
"Yes, dear?" she replied, batting her eyes mockingly.
"Do you--will you come with me to meet my parents this weekend?" he said. "They're having a neighborhood block party this weekend and I want you to be my date."
Renee was nervous, but she agreed right away. She was excited to finally meet Mr. and Mrs. Sloane and see where Jeremy had grown up. The fact that he wanted her there seemed like a pretty good sign for their relationship, too.
The following Sunday morning the two of them got into Jeremy's car and headed out of their city campus north into the woods of Rhode Island. The Sloanes lived about an hour outside of the city at the end of a mile-long dirt driveway that cut through a forest of tall red maples. As they rounded the last curve of the drive, Renee could see a big, beautiful farmhouse coming into view. It was painted a cheerful yellow and the front door was a bright, inviting kelly green.
Jeremy parked and they stepped from the car. Renee took a deep breath and followed Jeremy through the front door, past a tall staircase, through the kitchen and out onto the back patio where the party was already in full swing. Before the door to the porch even slid shut behind them a tall, blonde man and woman were strolling towards them.
"Jeremy, honey!" Mrs. Sloane exclaimed, throwing her arms around her son and kissing him on the cheek, nearly spilling her martini in the process. "I'm so glad you made it!"
Mr. Sloane then slapped Jeremy on the back and pulled him in for a hug. "How's it goin', son? Workin' hard or hardly workin'?"
"It's good, Dad," Jeremy said. "Guys, this is Renee. The girl I told you about. I figured I'd bring her around and introduce you."
By the look on Mrs. Sloane's face, this was a surprise--and it didn't seem to be one she enjoyed. Renee's face burned as she shook hands with Jeremy parents, who both looked shocked; Renee swore there was a hint of terror in Mr. Sloane's eyes for a second. Mrs. Sloane put on an unconvincing smile and excused herself and her son. She pulled him over to a corner of the yard and looked like she was really giving it to him. Renee couldn't believe he had brought her here unannounced.
Mr. Sloane ran and got Renee a rum and coke and told her not to worry; Mrs. Sloane was pretty particular sometimes about who was in the house, he said, and she would get over it after one more martini. He handed her the drink and excused himself, leaving Renee alone in a sea of people she'd never met.
She turned from the party and looked up at the house; it was less intimidating than a patio full of unfamiliar faces. From the look of it, Renee could see that this house was old enough to be considered an historical building; the second floor even had the original windows, it seemed. Looking more closely, she saw a curtain flutter in the window farthest to the left and a shadow step out of the frame.
Jeremy came up behind her and put his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck and spun her around, his green eyes smiling. Renee was not amused. She pushed her way ot of his arms and slapped his chest.
"What were you thinking, bringing me here without telling your parents first?" Renee said. "Are you in big trouble with your mom now, all on account of me?"
"Oh, that?" Jeremy said, looking across the lawn to where he had just been talking to his mother. "Yeah, no, she was just surprised that I brought someone. It's cool now."
The party went well after that; the Sloanes warmed up to Renee, especially after she beat everyone at musical chairs and helped them win the volleyball game against the Johnsons from two houses down. Three rum and cokes later, Renee had a good buzz and a full bladder. She asked Jeremy to tell her where the bathroom was; he told her to use the one upstairs because the toilet in the one near the kitchen was broken. By the time she got through the sliding door and to the top floor, she'd forgotten if he had said second door to the left or the right of the staircase. She turned to the right and tried the second one; it was locked, but no one called back to say it was occupied. She knocked and put her ear to the door; something rustled inside but still no answer.
"Renee!"
Jeremy called from behind her as he ran up the stairs; she jumped. "What, are you following me?" she asked, hands on hips.
Jeremy was eying the door she had just tried. "No, I--I realized I had to go, too. That's not the bathroom," he said, pointing over her shoulder. He walked two doors to the left and opened it. "This is the bathroom."
"Ah, so this is the super-secret room then?" Renee said, playfully backing towards the room that wasn't the bathroom. Jeremy grabbed her wrists and pulled her back to him sharply.
"No, just storage," he said, laughing forcedly. "And we keep the cats holed up in there during parties so they don't get out."
Even in her rum-induced haze, Renee felt a strange panic in Jeremy that she had never sensed before. She kept her eyes on him as she walked to the bathroom.
Neither of them spoke about that awkward moment the rest of the day. The party wound down around nine, and Renee and Jeremy said goodbye to the Sloanes and headed back to campus. On the ride home, Jeremy put his arm around her and she scooted as close as she could without obstructing the stick shift. He kissed the top of her head softly and told her he was so happy he had met her.
A week later, it was that very moment in the car that had Renee so confused as she sat at her computer desk, crying. Her best friend Darcy and sister Lisa were there, sitting on the twin mattress looking concerned and sympathetic.
"I just don't get it!" Renee cried, wiping her running nose with the back of her hand. "One minute, he's kissing me and having this really sweet moment with me, and the next thing I know it's been a week since I've even heard from him."
Darcy shook her head, her copper hair swinging about her face. "I told you it was a bad idea to set them up, Lisa," she said. "He gave me a bad feeling."
"Oh, bull," Lisa said defensively. "You liked him for her as much as I did! And everything was fine for months. How was I supposed to know he was a total flake?"
Renee was relieved when the girls stopped bickering and started comforting her again. Her sister jumped off the bed and came over to stroke her hair. "I'm sorry, sis," she said. "You know I'd never--"
"Yeah, I know," Renee said. "It's not your fault. I'm just in shock."
"Well, I know something that might not fix this, but it'll definitely ease the shock," Darcy said as she got off the bed, smiling. "It's chicken tender night at the dining hall!"
The girls laughed and grabbed their campus access cards, all suddenly starving. Renee opened her door and nearly fell over; there was Jeremy, his fist raised as if about to knock. The girls let out a collective yelp, and Jeremy looked just as startled. Renee thought he looked like he hadn't slept--or showered--in a few days. Darcy and Lisa scooted around him, eyes wide, and told her they would wait downstairs in the entryway for her. They sidled off together, whispering and looking back at the two of them.
Renee steeled herself and stepped into the hallway, the door to her room shutting itself behind her. She looked up at Jeremy with raised eyebrows, arms folded in front of her. She tossed her hair and said loudly:
"Well?"
Jeremy seemed shake as he struggled to find words. Renee felt a twinge of guilt for being so mad. Maybe there had been family trouble; who was she to make him feel badly for that?
"I--I had to go home for a few days."
"A few days?" she boomed; the floodgates opened and drowned her guilt. "It's been a week, Jeremy. With no word from you. What, does your parents' house lack modern essentials like a phone? God knows I tried your cell phone enough times; your mailbox has been full for three days, at least."
Jeremy's eyes darted nervously about. He licked his lips and stepped back a step from her.
"I lost my cell phone and didn't have your number memorized. I'm sor--sorry, Renee."
He spoke her name slowly; each syllable rolling off his tongue slowly like some foreign object covered in molasses. Uneasy, Renee studied his face, wondering what exactly had happened to him in a week that had shaken him up so badly. He stared at her and tried to speak; words failed him. He was so cute when he apologized. She brushed a lock of flaxen hair from his forehead; he flinched at her touch and blushed.
"It's okay," she said quietly, pulling him to her and kissing him deeply on the mouth. "Something happened to you; that's clear. I don't need details, I just hope everyone's okay at home."
Jeremy sighed and laughed. He grabbed her face, more roughly than he had ever before, and kissed her again. His tongue darted into her mouth and sought her tongue, aggressively. She pulled away.
"What's gotten into you?" she said playfully, slapping his chest. "Looks like somebody missed me. I have to go to dinner, and I have mounds of homework to get done before finals. We can see each other tomorrow, though."
Jeremy looked relieved but still a bit jumpy. He gave her another hard kiss and walked her down to meet Darcy and Lisa.
All seemed to be going well for the next few weeks. Jeremy seemed more frazzled than usual and much less talkative, but Renee brushed it off as a combination of end-of-term jitters and whatever had happened in that week she hadn't seen him. Two Tuesdays later, Renee had finished her homework hurriedly, showered, shaved and slathered herself in her jasmine-scented lotion: Jeremy's favorite. Around nine o'clock, there was a knock at the door; she almost leapt to answer it, craving the feel of her boyfriend's taut, warm body against her.
To her chagrin, it wasn't Jeremy; instead, Jeremy's best friend and frat house roommate, Jake, stood at the door. He looked slightly miffed.
"Jeremy here?" he said, looking over her shoulder into the empty room. "He missed the house meeting tonight. That's the third week in a row."
Renee said she hadn't seen him and asked Jake to come in. He took a seat at her computer desk, and she hopped onto her bed.
"I thought he was at the frat house now," Renee said, confused. "I was waiting for him. He always comes over after. I know he had some family stuff going on and was home a few weeks ago, but he's been back on campus now for a couple weeks." Jake looked surprised at the news.
"Family stuff?" his face went ashen. He continued. "You've seen him lately? He hasn't been at the house at all since God knows when. I just thought he'd been sleeping here and slacking on his duties."
Renee shook her head in reply. Silence fell between them; Renee could amost hear Jake's gears turning. This all seemed unbelievably strange to her. Jeremy had been best friends with Jake his entire life. They'd even applied to the exact same colleges as high school seniors, and yet he was in the dark about his friend's whereabouts? Renee tried to think of where he could have possibly been sleeping all those nights he wasn't with her. A sick panic washed over her.
"I'm gonna to go to his house," Jake said suddenly, tearing the silence in two. He pushed himself out of the computer chair and headed for the door. Renee was close on his heels; she grabbed his shoulder and spun him around.
"Do you think something's wrong?" she asked, looking at Jake. Before he could respond, she grabbed her sweater and said, "I'm coming, too." She pushed past him and swung open the door.
Minutes later they tore out of the school parking lot in Jake's truck and were on the way out of the city and toward the Sloanes' old farmhouse in the woods. The sun had long since set; it was nearly eleven when they turned off the back roads and onto Jeremy's long driveway, which seemed darker and narrower than Renee remembered.
Jake steered around the final bend in the driveway, and Renee could see Jeremy's car; she let out a small cry of relief and anger; he was here. She and Jake rolled their eyes at each other and laughed. He was okay. Once the relief subsided, Renee felt anger at Jeremy for his deceit; she couldn't wait until he tried to explain himself for this one.
Jake parked next to Jeremy's car and the two of them got out. "His parents must have already left for their cruise," he said, peering around in the dark and not being able to make out any other vehicles. He walked across the front lawn to the door with Renee in tow, hanging onto his coat so she wouldn't trip and fall in the darkness. She looked up at the house; one light was on in what she now knew to be the upstairs bathroom. She pointed up at the window and Jake knodded, smiling maniacally.
"Let's scare him on the crapper," he said. "That'll show him for being such a flake and scaring his friends."
Renee laughed and rolled her eyes; typical frat boy idea, she thought. Jake tried the front door; it opened freely.
The old farmhouse that had charmed Renee a week before was now dreadfully dark and still. Jake put his fingers to his lips and she followed him on tiptoe up the stairs.
Now two lights glowed around the doorframes and dimly lit the hallway: to the left, Renee recognized the bathroom door. The other light was coming from the second door to the right of the stairs; the storage room where they'd kept the cats during the party. She and Jake paused, contemplating which door to try. Still drawn by the curiosity of what she thought she'd seen last weekend, she pulled Jake toward the storage room.
Busting through the door, Renee screamed in shock; this was no storage room, but a fully made-up bedroom that was clearly used. And there, on the floor and tied to the bedpost, was Jeremy. He was pale and half-awake, looking hungry and weak.
"Jake," he wheezed weakly, his eyes filled with terror. "He's in the bathroom."
Without saying another word, Jake flew from the room. Renee sunk to Jeremy's side and untied his hands, her fingers shaking and making it hard to loose the knots. She grabbed his face in her hands and looked at him; dark circles ringed his eyes, and his cheeks were sunken and gray. A loud crash in the hallway made her snap her head in the direction of the door. She then heard the muffled sound of grunts and limbs hitting walls; Jake was fighting someone--a burglar? Renee's heart thumped erratically in her chest as she gripped Jeremy's arm. Would this be the last feeling she felt before dying: this all-consuming fear?
Two shadowy figures struggled in through the door frame and fell onto the floor and into the light. Jeremy and Renee scooted backwards until they hit the far wall. As Jake straddled his opponent, Renee could finally see his face; her stomach seemed to turn to ice: the same shaggy blonde hair and piercing green eyes, the same soft face and broad body. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. She looked dazedly back and forth between who she thought was Jeremy and this mirror image of him that lay on the floor.
"I should've told you," the pale and sickly Jeremy said to her through tears, trying to keep her gaze on him. "I shouldn't have brought you here in the first place."
"Shut up, Jeremy," his doppelganger said with a menacing grin. Jake struggled to hold him by his arms. "She likes me better. We've been having a lot of fun together the past few weeks; right, honey?"
The man laughed hysterically, looking her up and down. Jake gave him a sound punch in the back of the head and he passed out cold.
It was all too much to take in; as the man's face hit the wood floor, Renee let out a terrified shriek and began to sob uncontrollably, holding her knees to her chest and shaking from head to toe.
Jake dialed 9-1-1 while Jeremy tried to calm Renee. Once Jake had hung up, he turned to Jeremy.
"How long's Eric been staying here, Jeremy?" Jake asked, trying to catch his breath.
"He got out about a month ago."
"You actually brought her here--" Jake motioned to Renee "with him in the house?!"
"I thought he was better. I figured--"
"Jer! I know he's your twin brother but for Christ's sake, he's dangerous and you know it. You could've died, man. She could have died."
Renee stopped crying as Jake said this. As they waited for the police to show up, Jeremy explained everything to her. He told her how his brother was mentally ill and had done multiple stints in the local mental hospital; Eric had been sick for as long as Jeremy could remember, but the first time he'd gone into the psych ward was 6 years ago. Jeremy had brought home a girlfriend for the first time, and Eric was so jealous that he started dressing, walking and talking like Jeremy and eventually started sneaking around with Jeremy's girlfriend, pretending to be him.
"I only realized he was doing it when the cops showed up one night, saying I'd been arrested for assaulting her, but I hadn't seen her in days," Jeremy said. " I guess she'd caught on and was going to tell me and Eric tried to shut her up."
He went on to fill Jake and Renee in on what had happened the past month; Eric had been locked in the bedroom at the party and seen Renee with Jeremy. When Jeremy came home to see his parents off on their cruise, Eric knocked him out and tied him up in the room and would go out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays to meet up with Renee.
Nausea spread outward from Renee's stomach as she looked at this exact replica of her boyfriend passed out on the bed. It had been he who had slept in her bed the past two Tuesday nights and held her close. Her blood froze in her veins as she drew up her knees and hugged them close, reliving his breath on her neck and his tongue on her body.
She was brought back to present day by the sound of sirens and the flashing blue and light glow from the cruisers as they pulled into the drive. Soon after, the quiet farmhouse was filled with the static of police radios and the sound of the three of them giving statements while the cops escorted Eric out of the house in handcuffs. Jeremy was taken to the hospital for dehydration, and the Sloanes were contacted and made reservations on the next flight back from Cozumel.
It was nearly dawn as Renee and Jake drove back to campus; they would have to go back up to the station tomorrow to give official statements. As the sun came up over the deserted highway, Renee knew she was going to be single for a very, very long time.