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Opening the door without knocking, the familiar midwestern design of the house greets him as the AC cooled air hits his face, a nice reprieve from the scorching afternoon Utah sun. He’s never had to knock before, he and William had long gotten used to each other presences’ while sharing a dorm room. Usually not even having to greet each other, unless with a short gesture; a nod or a wave, before both getting back to whatever they were doing. Clearly, something had changed somewhere along the way, because the greeting he received was anything but calm and unremarkable.
Before him was the familiar living room of the Afton’s, the large boxy body of the television consuming a portion of the space not already taken by the couch. William was standing in the middle of the living room, disheveled and chest expanding in and out signifying he was breathing heavily. As if that wasn’t weird enough, across from him on the other side of the room was Michael, slightly ducking behind the couch, his fingers gripping so tightly onto the back of the sofa that his knuckles turned white.
His mouth opened into a silent “oh” as his mind tried to wrap around the scene in front of him. Michael’s eyes were widened, pupils dilated, and there was what looked like blood slowly dripping down from his nose.
“Henry! Old sport! What brings you here?” And just like that William crossed the threshold of the room and leaned through the doorway, preventing Henry from looking in any further. He gulped, for whatever reason this felt different . William was cheerful as always as he greeted him, his mouth stretched into a toothy smile, but his eyes were too tight. It wasn’t a happy greeting. His unconscious mind gathered. It was a threat.
In the back of his mind he thought of when dogs bare their teeth and growl whenever you got too close to them in their territory. He quickly shoved away the ridiculous thought. Clearly there’s been a misunderstanding. William is my friend. He is not some rabid dog! Henry breathed in, remembering the breathing techniques he had learned in the support group. William was still waiting for his response, leaning on the doorway with his arms crossed in what was probably supposed to come off as casual, but also served as blocking his view. “I came over because there was a sale on milk at the grocery store, and thought you could have the other one… I don’t need this much.” He said, gesturing to the grocery bags in his hand. Williams' eyes never left Henry’s. “Ah! How delightful of you!”
“Yeah. I just came over to drop them off, didn’t mean to .. intrude .” Henry clarified. William chuckled a little forcefully, smacking his hand onto Henry’s shoulder. “Intrude? You? Never? I was just attending to Michael’s bloody nose and he got a little spooked by the sting of the antiseptics. You know how dry the air is here!” Henry nodded absentmindedly. He sounded like he was speaking the truth, and by God he wanted to believe his old friend. But the image of his nephew cowering behind the furniture wouldn’t leave his mind. Like prey that had been cornered with nowhere to run . His mind made the comparisons without his permission.
He then attempted a subtle peak, but with Williams towering figure eclipsing a large part of the frame it was near impossible. He could see that Mike had not moved from his spot, but nothing other than that. “Well! I better be off then!” Coward. He handed the bag over to William, pushing it towards him. “Thanks for stopping by, you’re sure you don’t want to stay for dinner?” William asked, the same expression on his face, while taking the bag from Henry.
“Ah no, I’m sorry. I already made plans with my neighbor. She’s an elderly lady who only has her cats, I felt bad that she’s always so lonely.” The lie nearing on a nervous ramble slipped far too easily off his tongue. Why am I lying to him? Why do I feel like I need to lie? He asked himself. “I see! Always the charitable man as always I see! Well then, you have a good night!” William said, retreating from the doorway and closing the door. In the moments between William stepping back and then him closing the door there were a few moments where he was briefly able to resume eye contact with Michael — and to his horror— Michael somehow seemed even more distressed—and then the solid wooden door closed in his face.
Henry blinked. He could feel his heart pounding out of his chest but refused to react. Why am I so panicked? He needed to calm down. He knew his friend well enough that the entire entrance was under surveillance. Always so paranoid, William? He had once jokingly prodded at his friend. Oh, you really never know. The British accent turned his simple words into sounding much more reliable. You’ve seen the news surely? Anyone could be your neighbor, truly terrifying. To think that there was a monster right under your nose. William in the memory shivered, expressing his anxiety about the situation. Henry hadn’t thought much of the conversation until now. At the time he was busy tinkering with one thing or another. Why now? He thought to himself as he walked away from the Afton residence.
One last time before entering his car, he took another look at the house. The sun was starting to set and some of the lights inside the house were on. The interaction had left him unsettled, and that’s what had him on edge so badly. Why why why? William is my trusted friend, my business partner. Despite his internal vehement denial, his hands shook as he inserted the keys into the ignition, and before he took off he needed another moment to collect himself. Just forget it. You’ve already had a long day, no need to start thinking crazy ridiculous things.
I will simply sort out the matter tomorrow. After a full night's rest and some prayer. Yes. That will be nice.