If it felt too good to be true, then it probably was. The thought had been drilled into Rene’s head a thousand times since he was a child. One family rejection after another. Adopted, abandoned, fostered, passed around from house to house. Promised a bicycle for Christmas for the first time ever, and then leaving two days before Christmas for a whole new family with nothing but a garbage bag full of clothes to show for, well, anything. 

Rene had never even learned to ride a bike until Misha had taught him. What a hilarious and wonderful day that had been. So many scrapes, bruises, and Disney Princess bandaids. 

Misha. The one that had changed everything. The one that had stayed. That had become Rene’s true family. Misha, who was no longer there to share a life with him. To tell him every day that he loved him. 

Rene and Misha had become best friends with Ari after they’d taken up yoga together and she had been their first instructor. It took several sessions before they all got comfortable with one another, but they invited her out to party one Friday night, and the rest was history. Ari, had formerly been an EMT for years, and on that job, she had run the gamut of seeing the shit the world had to offer. With her morbid sense of humor, and realistic outlook on the world, she fit right in with the boys. 

She had admitted to them straight away that she was a-romantic and asexual, but had always wanted to have a child. After years of knowing each other, and a night of getting high together, they’d all come to the conclusion that they should go for it. Of course, they’d slept on the idea and returned to it sober, and still agreed that they were all on board with having a baby. So, armed with an ovulation calendar, a turkey baster, and the mixed sperm of two men who were eager and excited to be fathers, she got pregnant with Emory. 

Misha and Rene were ecstatic to be parents. They agreed to take on primary custody, and pay a good deal of Ari’s expenses. They decided not to bother learning who the biological father was, unless something came up that would make such information pertinent. All together, they were one big happy family. The situation worked. 

Until Misha died. Until one arm of the happy family was sliced away with the swing of fate’s machete. The stable and happy world that Rene had known for too short of a time, the one he’d always known could never last, disappeared. 

But there was Khal. 

Khal, who had managed to keep the darkness at bay, like a knight fighting the village crushing dragon. Khal, with his sweet smile, cat purr voice, handsome slight frame, and mysterious past. 

Khal had shown up, and everything had changed so suddenly. Changed in ways that Rene could never have predicted. Some for worse. Some for better. Yet here he was. He was offering Rene the house of his dreams, the life he could never have previously imagined. 

He was offering everything. 

And it had to be too good to be true. 

*****

Mt. Hood was scarred and pitted. They couldn’t even get very close as the lahars and veins of Lava had washed away the roads. There was indescribable damage, and all four of them sat silently in the truck in awe as they looked upon the changed landscape around them. 

Ari spoke first, “It’ll take years to rebuild all of this. The roads. Forget about Government Camp. This will be an entirely different place, and an entirely different mountain from here on out.”

“I don’t think they had time to suffer.” Emory stated. 

Rene looked around at her, struck by her comment. 

“The Goddess told me that Lava is fast. That it can kill all living things in no time. The hot ash cloud is instant. She told me that the mountain swallows her victims, but it’s okay, because they will be cared for.” Emory said, looking back at Rene who was beginning to freak out at her comments. 

“I think it’s time we head home.” Khal said, a calm smile on his face as he glanced back at Emory, then looked over at Rene. “I bet some nice sleep in our own beds will do everyone some good.”

“I didn’t know you slept.” Emory said absently. 

“Emory!” Rene snapped, though he wasn’t sure what it was about the comment that had upset him exactly. Khal chuckled and shook his head. 

“We should head back.” Ari said. “We’ve already dropped off the last of the supplies, and it’s a fairly long drive. We’re all pretty wiped out.”

“Don’t worry. The mountain won’t claim us.” Emory insisted. “We’re too important.”

Rene rubbed his forehead with his fingers. First thing tomorrow, he would be on the lookout for a therapist for Emory. It was clear that bringing her on this trip had been a terrible idea. Something had happened. She was acting insane. 

“I’m not crazy, daddy. I’m just being honest.” Emory said. Rene turned to her with a frown, feeling like she had just read his mind. 

“Let’s go find some food and head home.” Rene said, starting the truck. “I bet Aset misses us.”

He glanced at Khal, who was still smiling out the window. Then he chanced a look in the rearview mirror. Ari caught his eye. She looked very concerned indeed. 

*****

When they finally made it home, Emory was completely knocked out. Ari carried her inside while Rene and Khal grabbed the luggage. When they reached the porch, there was a large package sitting there. Khal picked it up excitedly. 

“My new electric tea kettle!” Khal exclaimed. “Our other one is way too small.”

They got all of their luggage inside and unpacked, as Ari settled Emory in her bed. Then Khal opened his new tea kettle and washed it out, before using it to boil some water. Rene sat down at the table, scrolling through his phone for child therapists. When Ari had stepped into the bathroom, Khal spoke up. 

“Have you given any more thought to my offer?” Khal asked, taking the seat next to Rene at the table. 

Rene took a moment to realize what he was talking about. 

“Oh,” Rene said, “I still need time to think on that. I’m sorry. With Emory acting so strange right now, and everything…”

“We don’t need to worry about Emory.” Khal insisted. “She’s going to be completely fine. She’s so strong. She’ll be able to survive what’s in store for her.”

Rene tilted his head to stare at Khal in utter surprise, “What a thing to say.”

“I just meant that kids are resilient. And Emory seems to be made of stronger stuff.” Khal stated. 

Rene knew he must be frowning, but he didn’t care. Khal’s words didn’t offer him comfort. On the contrary, they felt glib.

“I’m going to head to bed.” Rene said, standing up slowly. 

“I’ll come with you.” Khal said. 

“It may be best if you stay on the pullout.” Rene said, “Then we can all get some proper sleep, and wake tomorrow refreshed, you know?”

“Oh. Sure.” Khal said. 

Khal looked uncertain, hurt even. Rene immediately felt bad, but he held firm. He wanted to be alone with his thoughts. To sort out his next moves in regards to his family. He gave a weak smile in Khal’s direction, then turned and headed down the hall. Ari was just stepping out of the bathroom when he passed that part of the hallway. 

“She was out like a light.” Ari whispered. 

“Good.” Rene nodded. “I’m going to be looking into counseling for her, as soon as possible. Something is very off.”

Emory had been in counseling briefly, following Rene’s abduction and Misha’s death. She’d been adamant that she needed a break, that it was too much and made her feel raw. It was abundantly clear that they had pulled the plug way too quickly. Rene considered getting in contact with her former counselor. Maybe enough time had passed that Emory would be okay with going back to her. 

Rene got ready for bed, brushing his teeth and putting on his pajamas. He kept bumping into the now empty luggage, so he grabbed it up and dragged it into the closet to put it away. As he was leaving the closet, he stubbed his toe on a box. With a hiss, Rene leaned down to move the box out of the way, when he realized what it was. 

The box held Misha’s camera. He hadn’t looked at it, hadn’t even acknowledged it since Misha’s passing. Rene sat down in the closet and carefully pulled the camera out of the box. A million memories flooded back as he looked at it. Memories of Misha snapping their pictures at the park. Misha getting down on his stomach in the grass to get a closeup of a little turtle. A trip to the beach where the wind had begun to blow out of control, and Misha had yelped and hidden his camera under a blanket to protect it from the sand. 

Rene turned the camera on and began to click through the images. A lump formed in his throat as he saw the purple sunrise that Misha had captured on that perfect morning in February. There was Rene, with a giddy Emory in his arms, just soaking up the beautiful morning. A lifetime ago. 

That had been the morning he had met Khal.

Image after beautiful image came up on the screen, and finally the floodgates opened. Rene gingerly set the camera down and sobbed into his shirt, at a complete loss. He wished so badly that Misha was here. That Emory wasn’t acting so strangely. That everything was back to the way it was when it had been so perfect. 

After taking a minute to collect himself, he carefully turned the camera off and put it away. Rene climbed into bed, and slowly drifted off to sleep. 

He saw the bungalow with the billowing curtains again. It wasn’t as hard to reach it now. She wasn’t waiting on the patio for him this time. Rene pushed the curtain aside and entered the bungalow. He saw her sitting on some pillows in the middle of the floor, a serene smile on her face as she waited for him. 

Rene went and took a seat on a cushion across from her. 

“What should I call you?” Rene asked.

She mouthed something, but Rene didn’t quite catch it. Her eyebrows furrowed for a moment in frustration, but she shrugged it off.

She was looking at him, studying him. She continued to blur between the East Asian woman and the ethereal woman. 

“You’re confused.” She stated.

Rene nodded. 

“You’re not sure you trust him anymore.” She said. 

“I care about Khal.” Rene said. “I care about him deeply. But something feels off.”

“Of course you care about him. You’ve known him for so long. You were meant to be.” Said the East Asian woman. 

“Meant to be.” Repeated the ethereal woman. 

“But you’ve been hiding the truth from yourself. The truth of who he really is. Of what he’s really done.”

“What do you mean?” Rene asked. 

“There are many paths you could choose to go down. But will your soul allow you to choose him when you know the truth?” 

“Choose him.” Repeated the ethereal woman. 

“I want to know the truth.” Rene said. 

“Yes, but will you believe it?” She took his hand in hers gently, then looking deep into his eyes, she brushed a finger over his forehead. 

Rene was immediately transported to Australia. He was Cody again, and he was standing over a large hole dug in the ground, a wooden box big enough for a man lying open at the bottom of it. He heard a voice behind him, and looked around to see Khal coming up the hill. 

“I was looking everywhere for you.” Khal said as he reached Cody. “What on earth are you doing?”

Cody was leaning on the shovel he had been using to dig all night. He was covered in dirt and sweat. He wiped his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. 

“I been up here thinking.” Cody said. 

“Thinking about what?” Khal asked with a frown. 

“Thinking ’bout a story a little birdie told me of a good friend of mine. A story where this little birdie happened to know what my good friend and my dear sweet Colin were doing on a strange night indeed. You see, this birdie claims, and I never in my life had reason to believe this birdie would lie, that my dear friend pulled sweet Colin aside in the alley. My dear friend spoke to Colin, and suddenly, sweet Colin went about dashing his own head against the brick of the building while my dear friend looked on. I wouldn’t believe it at first. I cursed this birdie, and told it to leave, but then I remembered something. A little tickle of a thought, see. I had seen McConnell the night that sweet Colin had perished. I had seen him sleeping off a drunken evening in the horse’s stall covered in shite. I had always assumed that he had murdered my sweet Colin some time in the night, but now I reckon he never actually moved from that spot nearby the horse’s arse. Which means my dear friend had lied to me.”

Cody watched Khal swallow, looking rather sickly. 

“It couldn’t be my dear friend though. He would never have hurt me and sweet Colin like this, I thought. But the birdie made it so clear, see. The birdie knew you’d fought. Colin didn’t trust you. Didn’t like the look of you. He saw you for the devil you was a million fathoms away, and you did something to him. You bewitched him or something, and you killed my dear boy. See, birdie says there were others who saw you both in that alley. Others what can attest to some mighty strange goings on.”

“Cody, you know I care about you more than anything.” Khal said. 

“I did know that. Yesterday, I knew that. But now, now I don’t know that at all. Not since my talk with birdie.”

“Your birdie is lying.” Khal said, eyeing the grave. “Your birdie must have seen us together, and wants to destroy what we have.”

Cody shook his head no. 

“I believe this birdie. I believe this birdie so much, that I spent all night making this gift for you.” Cody said. 

Khal opened his mouth to speak, but Cody swung the shovel hard at his head. With a loud crack, the shovel made contact, and Khal tumbled into the grave. Cody jumped down to slam the cover shut, then climbed out and began to bury his dear friend as the hot Australian sun beamed down upon him. 

Rene’s eyes flew open as he lay in bed. He was breathing rapidly, heart hammering. The dream felt so real, like so many others. It didn’t matter though whether it was or not. His mind was made up one way or another. 

Ari took Emory to school that morning. Rene paced the kitchen anxiously. He knew what needed to be done, but that didn’t really make it any easier. Khal walked into the kitchen with a grin. 

“Good morning!” Khal said. “Feeling better?”

Rene forced a smile as Khal went to boil some water in his new kettle. 

“Khal, could you sit for a moment with me?” Rene asked. 

“Sure.” Khal said, sitting slowly down at the table. He suddenly looked incredibly anxious. 

Rene took a seat next to him. 

“First off, I want to tell you that I appreciate everything you have done for me. For us. You have been an absolute life saver.” Rene said. 

Khal had gone pale. 

“You are a wonderful friend. And, I think you’ve been a great influence on Emory. You’ve also gifted us the most amazing cat, who I now can’t imagine living without.”

Rene took a deep breath. 

“I have given this a lot of thought, and I think we need to take space from one another.” Rene stated. 

“Is this about the house?” Khal asked. “Because we can absolutely forget about it. I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

“It’s a lot of things.” Rene admitted. “I moved too fast. Faster than I was ready for. I care a lot about you, but I feel like I still barely know you. Or maybe I know you too well. I just think we should take time apart. Maybe you could travel again. Or you could get an apartment in town. Or your house or whatever. I just don’t see us working out right now.”

Khal shook his head, “Don’t do this. Rene, please don’t do this.”

Khal’s desperation was startling. Rene felt bad, but he also felt resigned. 

“I’m sorry. I have to worry about my daughter right now. I’m not ready to take on anything else.” Rene said. 

Khal’s leg was bouncing anxiously, he was biting his bottom lip, shaking his head. 

“Rene, please.” Khal begged. 

Rene shook his head and stood up just as the tea kettle began to whistle. 

“You can stay here tonight, but I think you should probably leave tomorrow. I can help get you set up wherever you go.” Rene said. He walked over to the fridge and glanced in at the food, but nothing looked appealing at the moment with his stomach churning from the conversation. He heard the kettle whistle stop as he turned to walk back toward the bedroom. He didn’t even get a chance to leave the kitchen before he felt the sharp painful crash of the kettle colliding with the back of his head, and then it was lights out. 

Chapter 25 https://storiesfrommontana.com/2023/07/09/writing-challenge-2023-chapter-25-dont-do-me-like-that/