TOMMI

An orchestra of screams worked their way out of the tree line causing nearby folk in the parking lot to flinch and shift their focus from the harvest entrance to the onslaught of shouting that seemed to work its way closer to them. While some proceeded to their night of fun others stayed to watch out of curiosity and a handful out of legitimate concern. Leave it to people to act up during the spookiest time of the year.

The screaming continued but the surprise did not come from the trees, it came from the other side of the parking lot in the form of the football team attacking harvest goers with fake blood filled water guns. It was a frenzy of teenage boys and bright colored toy guns that left a wake of shocked and angered families. Some husbands and a couple of Karen's went after them but the jocks had getaway trucks waiting for them so they could continue their terrorizing elsewhere.

"Tune in next week to find out if the favorite sons will be punished for their public disturbance or will the powers that be look away yet again?"

The enthusiastic commentator's voice did not match T.J's unimpressed and borderline bored face as he and his friends watched from the parking lot's wooden fence line.

"Oh to be seventeen again and not give a single fuck about consequences. I miss it." Says Jared longingly.

"I miss not paying bills," Mumbles Lily before realizing what was said, "wait you mean you've been living your life as if there are consequences for you? I never would've guessed."

"Do I have to remind you I'm now district manager? I'm clearly responsible."

"Oh sure the promo was great but hard work doesn't equal responsibility and it doesn't change the fact that you knocked up your last "love-of-my-life" tinder girl. That makes three now."

"Weak ass pull out game Jay, soon you'll be surrounded by your own band of favorite sons that'll terrorize our sleepy Pacific Northwest town." Sniggered T.J. at Jared.

"That's fine, I'm a great dad and with you two as their god parents they'll be the coolest kids around. Speaking of God, did anybody hear back from Tommi?"

Lily checked her phone, "Nah but you know she'll show up when we leas-ahhhhh!"

The boys were up in stitches at the impeccable timing and Lily's horror struck face. Meanwhile, Tommi stood by sheepishly only chuckling before giving an apologetic lopsided smile to her favorite girl.

"Hi."

"You're the worst." Pouted Lily.

Meanwhile, Tommi simply hugged her and kissed her forehead, "Entirely."

"Alright gang, ready to rob kids of the stuffed animals they want to win?"

"She's right, you're the worst." Commented Jared.

"I see it as stockpiling for all of your future kids, pullout."

Tommi laughed and threw an arm around Lily and T.J, who also threw an arm over Jared's shoulders, before the tight knit group made their way to one of several Autumn events to come. The feeling of satisfaction, abundance, joy and family encased the four friends and there was no doubt that they were their own unique kind of family.

—

"Think he'll ever learn that stuffing his face and going on rides is not the winning combination?" Lily asked the other two as they watched Jared empty his guts through his mouth.

"His poor kids. They have to be guided through life by that guy." Laughs T.J.

"Cut him some slack, he's the most loyal, hardworking guy around and he's doing right by those kids and the baby momma's."

Jared walks back to the group rinsing out his mouth with water before popping a stick of gum looking a bit wretched.

"I think I'm ready to pack it in."

"Yeah this year was pretty tame compared to others, let's just go." Replies T.J.

"Plus you all need to sleep so there's no excuse for not meeting me early at the church to talk to the priest about getting my boys baptized."

T.J and Lily pulled a face at the thought of having to be up early to be at church by eight. Tommi was unbothered because she had no role in that and figured she'd just show up the day of the event and give Jared a gift card or something useful.

"Seriously guys don't be late, it's important to me."

"We got you, don't worry."

—

Shooting out of Lily's embrace and nearly falling off the edge of the bed, Tommi heard the sound of sirens speeding past the house and saw the glow of the digital clock declaring it was only 5AM. However, it wasn't the sirens that woke her. It was this sensation of being deep underwater, feeling the pressure on her chest from the need of oxygen, the awareness of hands gripping her ankles so tightly the fingernails were breaking skin. She saw the sun's spotlight on the water's surface but in spite of all her struggle and attempt to kick the hands away she wasn't escaping. She shouldn't have been there in the first place.

Being left with a weird displaced feeling she looked over to make sure Lily wasn't roused, satisfied, Tommi made her way to sit on the outside steps to expose her body to a different temperature, to feel the chill air nip at her warm clammy skin and take in all the oxygen she couldn't in her dream. Shivering at the contact with the concrete steps she took in how sleepy the suburban street really was. Lily lived in her childhood home that was left to her after her parents passed away while on holiday. Tommi remembered staying over to comfort and help Lily in anything and all she needed; however, Tommi moving in went unspoken. To Lily it was a given her girlfriend would now live with her and Tommi loved the fact Lily permanently wanted her around.

Silently watching the neighborhood, memories of how it used to be filled with so much life came back. Neighbors would be close, all the kids were friends and would play together every afternoon but that all changed with time. Slowly family friends moved away, fewer kids came out because they were growing up and soon it was dull and quiet much like tonight. It was beyond still, no dogs barked, no insects chirped, not even the hum from any neighbors central heating and ac unit could be heard. Tommi drew her legs into her chest and wrapped her arms tightly around them a sudden wave of loneliness collided with her.

Behind all these walls how many people feel this alone?

How many keep finding a reason to try each day and how many are on autopilot now?

It wasn't long before Tommi was being shaken awake by Lily who wasn't too surprised to find her lover outside, she simply draped the warmest and thickest of blankets over her and Tommi snuggled into it closing her eyes at the fluffy cocoon she was in.

"For making me wake up alone you're going with me to church."

The only reply was a sleep heavy groan and a miserable, "fine."

—

While they waited for the boys to arrive Tommi fidgeted with her jacket zipper in the passenger seat and the I-don't-want-to-be-here attitude was beginning to irritate Lily.

"Would you stop that already? You already know thrashing around in it won't help."

"Sorry, I'm just feeling anxious...since last night actually. I'm sure you could tell."

"Yeah people don't tend to sit in the cold at dawn for fun."

—

Looking up and out of the front windshield Tommi took in the sight of the church and felt a tightening to her chest. Then, a random memory that holds a dull sense of guilt even after all these years floods her mind. Tommi recalls the last foster parents she had. They were kind and loving at first but after the time she snuck out, they slowly changed with her. They tried to justify it as a response to her "unexplained pre adolescent behavior". Eventually, she found out there was more to it.

If she's honest with herself she doesn't fully remember why she even went to that older kids party. She didn't know anybody there and maybe it was more to prove a point to herself but it turned out to not even be worth it. It was a dud where only four people showed up and there was no alcohol not that she would have had any at 13. The only entertainment was an old ouija board and Tommi would not partake in that, so she just watched.

That night, to everyone's surprise and thrill, a lot of little things happened. The main thing was the group successfully made contact with something and started asking for proof that a spirit was present with them. They told the entity to flicker the lights, move the reading chair across the room, slam close the door one of them opened. Whatever they selfishly requested for an hour, it did and Tommi back then was worried they were being rude just commanding it and never questioning it. The kids were on a high being able to control "the dead" until one command took it too far.

"Choose one of us to be your host."

The dark request sank the high spirit of the room. It became even more evident when the lights dimmed plunging the basement into near darkness. The other teens that surrounded the table flinched but one stood up fast enough to knock their chair over.

"No, no! That's not something for you to just blurt out!" He yelled and continued in an increased panic seeking a reason for such a reckless request.

"Why would you think of saying that when this very real thing has been following through with all that we've asked it to do?"

"Who the fuck told you that any of us wanted it to take us over? Take it back! Hey, spirit! Don't listen to this idiot I don't want you near me, I don't give permission! You hear that? You don't have permission!"

The other two frightened teens quickly followed suit and denied permission while from the couch Tommi watched a flat shadow glide along the ceiling circling the group that just seconds ago was having the time of their lives. Her eyes took in the suave effortless motion of the entity, hovering over the one who had told it to choose.

Parker. It's choosing Parker.

The shadow on the ceiling started to morph into a physical shape. Parts of the mass started to inflate and fill out while some slowly dripped off the ceiling onto the final boy who was frozen to the seat and only tensed further when the black goop hit his head sliding off onto his shoulder.

It's happening and soon we can all just leave.

It was only until then that Tommi realized even though her heart was hammering she couldn't move out of fear but the thought of this night ending caused her to audibly sigh in relief, which instantly redirected the ominous figures attention solely onto her.

The lights in the room were turned up and glowed brighter and brighter, well past the bulbs lumen capacity. The lights became so bright it encased the room causing them to close their eyes and as quickly as it happened it was over, deafening stillness suspended the moment. Before anybody could look around to confirm they experienced the same happenings, Tommi bolted.

It was Tommi running into her house, waking her foster parents and confessing everything that marked a change in attitude towards her. They claimed it was solely because she broke their trust that night but Tommi always regretted opening her mouth to confess.

Lily took Tommi's hand, "Look I know it's hard for you but I hear you whatever you need to help with the anxiety I'll do my best to provide. Right now you're surrounded by people who actually care about you and wouldn't let anything happen to you, babe."

The loud rumble of T.J's old reliable pickup resounded from down the block and the momentary distraction was Tommi's chance to exit leaving Lily alone with her words of comfort. Lily inhaled and swallowed the frustration of never knowing how to retain the lines of communication open longer with Tommi. She understood not wanting to have the difficult conversations or feeling shame from anxiety randomly hitting and "ruining" chill moments but bottling things always does more bad than good.

After the exchange of greetings and hugs in the parking lot the group makes their way to the stairs leading to the front door. Tommi lagged behind letting her head tilt back to allow her eyes to take in the structure that was causing knots in her stomach.

"Let this be quick." She muttered under her breath as her feet moved through the threshold.

Almost instantly she felt out of place, nearly swearing she could feel a wave of guilt and shame overcome her. She walked slower than the others and let her eyes take in every inch of the church and wondered why she couldn't shake the feelings that were overwhelming her. Her distraction and concentration on her thoughts were so much that she barely acknowledged when the others walked into a back office for the meeting, she didn't even notice when she sat in a pew.

Suddenly, Tommi was hyper aware of the heat and her ears being filled by murmured chants. Nobody else was around but focusing on making out the words she realized it was her foster mothers voice. She stood to leave but when her head lifted she was met by a figure adored in his vestments and with eyes that were difficult to read.

"It's been quite a long time." His deep voice filled the holy space and reverberated into her ears.

Tommi wanted to look behind her because there was no way he was directing that line to her.

The priest clicked his tongue and the vein of his forehead protruded, "you haven't changed."

At this she did rotate to see who he was talking to. Looks like it was her but that made no sense.

"Hate to tell you father but your cryptic words are going to waste on me because, no, it hasn't been quite a long time, we've never met. I've made it my life's mission to avoid this place and anything that pertains to it."

He shook his head, "Well then, perhaps I was mistaken."

However, his tension did not let up to reflect the ease that would come from realizing it was a case of mistaken identity.

"Right...I'm just going to wait for my friends outside then."

As she stood the father moved swiftly and without comprehension as to what was happening Tommi felt a liquid hit her face and wet her shirt since the jacket's zipper never did go back up. The priest stood watching her with expectant eyes. Tommi, completely unimpressed, raised a questioning eyebrow at him. Neither moved, neither gave indication that they were going to react in any way, they just stared.

"Right well, um...thank you?" She said confused, and side shuffled out of the pew before proceeding towards the back of the church.

Once outside she wiped her face and wondered what the hell kind of interaction that was. Her face was warm but that was most likely from secondhand embarrassment for the father. Before she could dwell any further she realized Lily had the keys and now she was stuck outside with the cold wind as her companion.

"Well great." She sighed and moved to the back of T.J's truck, put the tailgate down and hopped up to wait it out.

She wondered if she ignored the cold, would she be able to sleep a bit, she could but wouldn't. Tommi swung her feet and hummed songs to herself for quite awhile, occasionally looking up and down the parallel street; without warning she heaved over collapsing onto the pavement below and expelling a bile so haggard in color and texture as well as taste she would've believed it to be shit. It didn't smell like it though this was different, it was rot. Decay.

Tommi felt the upheavals force shake her spine, her stomach convulsed and her ribs violently contracted while she felt all the muscles throughout her body tense and tighten that she feared they were on the verge of ripping and snapping. Her fingers dug into the pavement and no sound other than choking echoed down the sleepy street.

Get out, get out, get out, get out, get out!

The words didn't leave her ears and through the gruesome expulsion she realized it wasn't her voice she was hearing. As quickly as the spewing started it ended and through bleary eyes Tommi watched the black mass move in a fluid thrumming pattern before smoke rose from it, shrinking it in size and ultimately disappearing.

Tommi was left on her hands and knees staring at a clean spot of the parking lot, nothing was left behind. Nothing but confusion, concern of hallucinations or wonderment of it having been a dream. The pads of her pointer and middle fingers lightly touched where the bile had just been, it wasn't wet, it was cold and grainy like the rest of the pavement.

What the fuck was that shit? She remains unmoving and incredulous.

What the actual fuck!

Tommi's thoughts were racing almost as fast as her heartbeat but shifting to her knees she looked around and knew there would be no answers coming. Bewildered, she shook her head and rose back up to sit on the tailgate.

There's no way that just happened. It was a hallucination, an absolute fictitious horror piece my mind cranked out.

Tommi nodded her head convincing herself that's all it was. Yet the longer she sat there undisturbed the ranges from bizarre and rational unleashed chaos until one sole thought caught her off guard and silenced the mayhem.

Oh my god...brain tumor. If Grey's Anatomy University taught me anything, it's that hallucinations would most likely mean something's up with my brain. It has to be a tumor putting pressure somewhere because I think I'm good overall. Oxygen levels are solid. I actually am breathing.

She takes a couple deep breaths to confirm full air intake and no signs of pain.

Okay good good. Also it's not like I'm seeing things due to blood loss.

She touched random body parts and pulled her hands away to check for blood stains.

All clear...so then yeah that's it, it has to be an inoperable tumor. Dr. Sheppard can't save me.

Trying to make light of the situation didn't necessarily work but with nothing else to really help process what happened, humor was Tommi's go to. There was a two percent chance she really believed the brain tumor theory but would still keep an eye on things. Just as Tommi was going to get off the truck to stretch she heard the church doors open and the voices of her friends filled previously eerily quiet space.

"Hey nerd why'd you ditch the warmer option?" Asked Jared while T.J took off one of his extra layers and wrapped it around Tommi, "Don't get sick."

"I never have." She smiles back and watches Lily join but keep her distance.

Our conversation isn't over and Lily is more than likely disappointed...again.

Tommi walks to her girlfriend and tightly wraps her arms around her, "I'm sorry for shutting down and leaving you in the car like I did. If you need some space to process I understand but I'd like to talk about it whenever you're open to it."

Lily nodded, "thank you."

She gave her cheek a small peck, reciprocated the embrace and nestled into the crook of her neck.

"Was the priest man weird towards you guys?" Tommi bluntly asks the group without moving away from Lily.

"Weird how?" Asks Jared whose family has been lifelong friends with the priest.

"Cryptic and squirts you with water weird."

Lily's chuckles vibrated against her skin with a slight tickle, Jared had a confused face because that didn't sound right and T.J waited to hear more.

"I don't know I was waiting for you guys and then he appeared out of nowhere saying it was good to see me again and it creeped me out so I moved to leave and he splashed me with water."

"Holy water...but people don't usually go around spraying folks." T.J says as he pulls out his cigarettes and steps back to light up before figuring out which way the wind will blow away from the group.

"Not gonna lie that sounds really odd Tommi. I don't see the father doing that just because. I've known him for so long he is a by the book type of guy. Like, I know you can be rude sometimes for no reason so you maybe say something to upset him?" Jared almost sounded patronizing.

"Jay you're making it sound an awful lot like she's lying." Lily cautioned.

T.J raised an eyebrow to his friend while taking another drag. Jared caught the shift because Tommi may be a lot of things but a liar has never been one of them.

Forcing out a chuckle he backpedaled, "No, no it's not me saying she's lying, I know Tommi, but I also know Father Matthew. I just don't see him being unwelcoming to anyone much less spraying them down. It just doesn't make sense to me, that's all."

Truth be told Jared was pretty religious well, as religious as the next person that picks and chooses parts of the Bible to justify their lifestyles. He had this idea that Father Matthew was a fantastic role model, he was always there to guide him since he was a child, he was a mentor of sorts. Right now he felt split between his mentor, who would baptize his kids and one of his best friends who always stuck with him even through shit storms. Jared knew Tommi's loyalty because he had experienced it; from giving him a place to sleep during his divorce, making sure his kids were fed and even giving him money so he had enough gas to get to and from wherever he needed. That alone should be enough for him to side with her but his family's deep rooted bond with the father was making it hard.

"Tommi I'm sorry if I sounded skeptical, seriously. I'll talk to Father Matthew about it and straighten the whole thing out don't you worry." He smiled widely and jogged back into the church. T.J huffed and threw his cigarette down.

"Man and here I was ready to leave. You guys go on ahead since pullout forgot I was his ride. We still on for dinner?"

"It's Sunday man, why do you always question it?" Lily questioned.

"Because after that one time you forgot to cancel I can't trust showing up unannounced. I have never been so confused and turned on at once."

"Oh my god it was just wax and shibari, get over it!" Tommi said red faced and Lily was choking at the unexpected laugh that escaped her.

"But in the living room? That's where we have family movie nights! Also, don't get me started with it looking like an absolute ritual with all the candles and not gonna lie," he stares Tommi dead eye. "I figured Lily would have been the one tied up, not you."

"For fucks sake I'm not going to explain my sex life in front of a church!"

A family on a brisk morning walk just stared as they passed them on the sidewalk.

"Good morning." The trio said in unison and the family awkwardly waved in response before picking up the pace to round the corner.

"Okay, okay but then what about the blood! I legit freaked...like who does that." He rushed out in a whispered breath.

"You act as if a little blood play is unusual." Comments Lily nonchalantly and Tommi waves her hands in front of Lily's face as if to wipe away the words just spoken.

"Nope, we're done. See you and Jay tonight." Tommi grabbed Lily who was now in a fit of giggles being dragged to the car.

"At least tell me what's on the menu!"

"Ribs!"

T.J threw a celebratory fist, "Hell yeah."