Chapter Text
Jake has been dead for ten years.
For Milo, Jake has been dead for about 147 minutes.
-
Of all things that did him in, Jake’s ultimate reveal was innocuous and accidental.
It could have been on another ghost hunt with Jake swooping in to save the day at the last moment. It wasn’t Cody accidentally spilling the beans in the hospital when Jake couldn’t show up to check on his son. It could have been Jake finally sitting down with Milo, Dan sitting nearby for support, confessing the truth after all these years.
No, no.
It was cedar oil.
It was a cold and damp autumn morning. Milo just happened to be there, sick again. Nothing too serious, sure, but his fever was high enough to make him stay home from school. Milo was sitting on the couch, bundled in blankets and watching old taped Shark Week specials that he had probably already seen a dozen times.
The sound carried to the office where Jake was rubbing his temples, trying to remain composed.
Jake forced himself away from the computer. A difficult client was pushing back against the edits Jake made, demanding he fix the piece in another way. Jake had spent two hours that morning already explaining why he made the edits he did and why, but it wasn’t enough. He stood up and stretched, feeling some tension release. He had to get away.
Of the many things that helped him calm down, cleaning was one of the most rewarding. It let him focus on the task at hand and shut out the world, focusing instead on the grime that seemed to just come with living with a teenager — especially with one as curious about the world as Milo. The floors needed a good cleaning anyway.
Jake raided through the cleaning cabinet, jumping slightly as he knocked over a container he didn’t immediately recognize or remember. He flipped the bottle over to look closer at the label and groaned.
Cedar oil. When Jake was… out of commission, while Milo was in the hospital, Dan attended one of the PTA meetings in his stead. He hit it off well with all the other parents, but how could he not? It was Dan. When Jake returned, he felt eyes bore right into him. He sat quietly almost the entire time, but a middle-aged woman pulled him aside after the meeting.
“Is Dan not coming back?” She asked, peeking over his shoulder like saying Dan’s name would suddenly summon him. “Or, will he be with you next time?”
“No.” Jake swallowed down a mild pang of jealousy. “He, uh, is always pretty tired after work. He only was here last time because I was sick.”
“Oh.” The lady didn’t even try to hide her disappointment. “Well, um, tell him I remembered the kind of oil to use! It was cedar. Oh! And-“
“I’ll pass on the message.” Jake cut her off, heading for the door. “I’ll see you next time.”
The next time while at the supermarket, Jake stumbled across the container and remembered the conversation. It mentioned that it was good for hardwood floors in the product description, so he put it in the cart in a rare moment of impulse. He didn’t put a lot of thought into the purchase; it picked at an old wound that Jake liked to believe was recovering nicely through the years.
And here it was. The bottle (can? Container?) was unopened. Jake rolled it over to reread the description before setting it on the table. He took another deep, unnecessary breath before beginning to scrub the floors, allowing his mind to go blank and instead focus on getting into all the grooves.
By the time he was finished, he had no idea how much time passed. Milo was watching another documentary; Jake recognized the soundbites as the megalodon special. He wiped his brow out of habit before frowning at the floor. He wasn’t ready to get back to work just yet, so polishing the floors wasn’t out of the question. Jake poured some of the oil onto a rag and began to rub it into the floor, letting his mind wander again.
-
Milo was getting restless. While the documentaries were perfect, watching sharks hunt—or, in the megalodon’s case, how it probably hunted—reminded him of the stocked kitchen. He picked up the blanket, wrapping it over his shoulders, and paused the film. He went into the kitchen and cracked open a ginger ale.
“Hey, Dad?” Milo called as he started heading toward the sound of Jake’s furious-yet-careful scrubbing. “I know you said popcorn is bad for a sore throat and all but hear me out: It sounds really awesome just about nowaaaAAAAH-!”
Jake snapped back to the present at the sound of Milo yelling, shuddering slightly. He turned up to see Milo paling.
“Milo! You scared me. What’s-" Jake followed Milo’s gaze to his hands. “Wrong. Oh.”
The skin had faded away, leaving two skeletal hands blatantly obvious. Jake lifted them both and forced a laugh.
“Milo! I’m fine. I’m fine! This is just -“ The hand holding the rag vanished entirely, leaving the rag to fall to the floor. Milo screamed louder, taking a step back toward the door. “Shit.”
Milo swallowed harshly, his face turning from white as a sheet to green.
“I’m gonna be sick.”
-
Jake leaned against the sink, occasionally leaning over to rub Milo’s back with his still-existing skeletal hand as Milo hunched over the toilet. Milo was done, but the room was filled with a silence so dense it could be cut with a knife.
“So…” Jake started, unsure of how to continue. Parenting books didn’t describe this. “Are you okay?”
“Am I okay?” Milo laughed hoarsely which turned to a choked sob. “Your hand’s gone!”
“It’ll come back,” Jake responded quickly. “It always does.”
Milo didn’t immediately respond. His brow furrowed as he seemed deep in thought.
“If it always does…how long have you been-how long has…?”
Jake shrugged, trying desperately to regain his composure.
“I’ve been- I’ve been like this for ten years.”
He turned on the faucet with his good (?) hand, sticking both the skeletal and non-existent hand under the stream of water. Gradually, skin began to reappear on one hand as the missing one turned skeletal. Jake splashed his face with water before taking a deep and unnecessary breath.
Milo watched quietly before the silence was too much to bear.
“Where did you learn how to do that?”
There was a moment of silence as Jake ran through the options in his head. He could lie again, sure. But at this point, wouldn’t that make it worse? He already dug himself in a hole. There was no need to make it a crater.
“I- Cody showed me,” Jake admitted.
“Wait.” Milo fell entirely from his kneeling position over the toilet and onto his butt in surprise. “Cody knows?”
Jake nodded once before looking to the floor.
“Does- does everybody know but me?”
“Oh! No, no. This has been — no one really else knows. Just Cody and - and Dan, and the Fullers.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Jake sunk onto the floor as well so he and Milo were at the same level. “I’m- I’m sorry, Milo. I didn’t want you to find out. Especially like this.”
The bathroom was silent again except for the still-running faucet. It was like that for a few minutes before Jake forced a smile in Milo’s direction.
“Well, do you have any questions? After all, you and Cody are pretty much ghost-hunting extraordinaires, right?”
“Paranormal investigators,” Milo corrected without thought. He fidgeted slightly as if trying to figure out the right way to say something. “…You said ten years, right?”
“Yes?” Jake asked, already feeling uneasy about where this was going.
“Did my dad know?”
With that, Jake lost control just for a moment. His whole form shuddered and glitched just once, flashes of cyan and red light briefly overtaking his eyes. Jake inhaled sharply and pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes. By the time he pulled his hands back, he gave Milo a stern glance, seeming as normal and alive as ever.
“Milo, you know we don’t talk about Milo, Sr. in this house.”
Milo gasped, unsure to be startled by Jake’s bright display or the sudden sinking feeling in his chest that seemed to appear whenever he got this response. Milo swallowed harshly, feeling tears build up with frustration. It wasn’t fair.
“Are you serious?” Milo asked barely above a whisper.
Jake blinked in confusion.
“What did you say, Milo?”
“I said, are you serious?!” Milo stood up. A traitorous tear cascaded down his cheek which Milo sloppily wiped off. “I just asked if — I —what else are you not telling me?”
Jake stared up at Milo in shock, mouth agape.
“Why don’t you trust me? Is-is there any other secrets? If you’re dead, can you like- do you know what happened to my dad? Can you sense him? How did you die? Wh-why don’t you… why don’t you—”
“Milo —”
“Why don’t you take me seriously?” Milo cried. “I’m fourteen now! That’s - that’s practically sixteen, which is practically an adult. A-and you told my best friend before you told me!”
Jake stood up, seeming to almost be on the verge of tears himself. He hesitantly but gently put a hand on Milo’s shoulder before squeezing reassuringly. His form shuddered for a second but ultimately stayed tangible.
“Milo…I wanted to tell you. I just…didn’t—I…” He looked at Milo, gently cupping his cheek with his other hand. “I didn’t want you to have to lose another parent.”
Milo sniffed, wiping snot with the cuff of his hoodie. He leaned into Jake’s hand for a second, unable to make Jake’s gaze.
“Milo.” Jake repeated. Milo glanced up briefly, seeing the exhaustion, despair and warmth in Jake’s eyes. Jake removed his hand from Milo’s face and set it on his other shoulder.
“No more secrets,” he lied.
Milo recoiled as if he was burned.
“You’re doing it again!” He cried, digging his fingers into his hair and tugging sharply on the roots in frustration. “You don’t even get that you’re doing it, do you?”
“No, you don’t understand.” Jake flushed a little in embarrassment and frustration. A long-suppressed fire began rekindling. “I literally can’t talk about Milo, Sr. I can- I meant—”
“No, you don’t want to talk about my dad!”
“Milo…” Jake warned.
“What? Let me guess, he’s- he never left, right?”
Jake removed his hands from Milo’s shoulders and instead clasped them over his own mouth, beginning to shake.
"Oh, so there is another deep dark family secret? How long were you going to let me look for ghosts when there was one in front of me, like-like a big dummy!”
Tears were streaming like a faucet now down Milo’s cheeks. He felt his ears burn, but words were just coming out as loosely as the water pooled from his eyes.
“Milo!” Jake’s hands shot from covering his mouth. “Don’t talk about yourself like that. And- and you can’t talk to me like that.”
Parenting guidebooks don’t fail him now.
“Milo, y-you’re grounded.” Jake stood up straighter. “— Until you talk to me more nicely.”
Milo began shaking himself, unsure to cry harder or just…get angry. Against every fiber in his being to choose the former, Milo took another step back. He tripped over the lip of the tub, falling in. Before Jake could reach out to help, words began tumbling out of Milo’s mouth without his permission.
“You can’t do that!” He cried. “You’re not my dad!”
The room went absolutely silent as time seemed to freeze. Jake stopped mid-step from trying to help Milo up and instead looked at Milo with a blank shock. Milo swallowed again harshly, humiliated and furious at that slip that he didn’t even mean. But before he could apologize, Jake glitched twice before vanishing entirely.
-
Milo wasn’t sure how long he sat in the bathtub in shock. He was cold from the fever and dehydrated from the crying. By the time he forced himself to move and grab his phone from his pocket, he saw that two hours had passed. How had it only been a little over two and half hours since he…found out?
He scrolled through the contacts in his phone. Cody? He would still be in school. Mr. Dom? No. While he’d get to the house fastest, Milo wasn’t as …close to him. Instead, he chose one of the most-contacted contacts on his phone. Milo sniffled again, wiping snot on his sleeve as he heard the ringing on the other end. As expected, it was only a handful of rings until the person on the other end picked up.
“Milo?”
Milo let out another muffled wail at the sound of the voice on the other end.
“Milo? What’s wrong?”
“Dad… I got in a- when can you get home?” Milo asked, curling up in the tub feeling much smaller than he felt in a long time.
“One second.”
There was muffled talking in the background, which turned more frantic after a second.
“Milo, I’ll be able to get off in about an hour,” Dan said. “I’ll be home immediately after.”
-
Dan stayed true to his word. Milo heard him fumbling with the keys for a moment before rushing in the door. He had since gotten out of the bathtub and instead curled up on the couch, hugging his knees tight. Jake…hadn’t shown up since the argument.
As soon as Dan entered, Milo leaped up and ran to hug him tight. Dan seemed surprised for a second but bent down to hug Milo back. Milo began to tear up again, nuzzling into Dan’s shoulder. Dan held him for a moment before pushing him back slightly to make eye contact.
“Kiddo…what’s wrong? What happened?”
Milo looked at him for a moment before breaking his gaze and looking at the floor.
“Jake and I got in a fight.” He admitted. “An-and I said some…bad things.”
Dan seemed surprised for a moment but didn’t interrupt. He waited quietly for Milo to continue. There was a beat of silence before Milo found his voice again. Instead of further elaborating on what was said, Milo provided the context of the situation.
“Jake told me.”
Dan seemed surprised but immediately broke into a grin.
“He did?” Dan looked over Milo’s shoulder as if looking for Jake. “I didn’t think he would — how did you take it? Are you alright? How did you find out? Where is he?”
Milo didn’t respond, not looking up from the floor.
“Oh.”
“…I think I heard him in his room.” Milo supplied. “He hasn’t come out yet, though.”
Dan nodded and stood up before offering Milo his hand. Milo took it, looking back up at him.
“Well, let’s go talk to him, okay?”
“Okay.” Milo agreed.
Dan gently led them both to outside Jake’s bedroom door before knocking.
“Hey? Jake? Are you in there?”
-
Jake had phased through the walls and into his bedroom after his argument with Milo. He was desperately trying to maintain his human appearance, trying to suppress the shudders to his form urging him to change back. Back to the form he took in the haunted house. The form that he felt deep in his bones was now the default.
But that wasn’t okay. He had to calm down to talk to Milo. He had to get back to Milo. Jake clutched his dresser, not breaking eye contact with his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were no longer brown but the bright cyan. It’s okay. That happened sometimes. He could do this. He could do this. He just had to keep it together. He had to get back to Milo and finish their conversation. He had to…
Something in Jake’s stomach churned at the thought. Why was he here again? What was the point? Milo made his stance clear. Jake’s hands flew from the dresser to try and cover his mouth as his eyes rolled in the back of his head. A glowing cyan substance shot out of his mouth, nose, and eyes, splattering on the floor. The trajectory sent Jake tumbling backward. It pooled on the carpet and coated the furniture, filling the room with the smell of ozone.
The violent eruption lasted only for a few moments, but it seemed to drag on. Jake stood up and sloppily wiped his face with his hands, just smearing it across his face. Jake straightened his back, his reflection catching the corner of his eye. Jake turned back to see…himself, he guessed. Well, mostly. His eyes had changed to a deep red from the episode and his skin was beginning to turn translucent. Jake leaned over the dresser, laying his head down on the cool wood. It felt good, but his stomach and core were still throbbing.
Okay. Getting back to Milo could wait just a moment. Dan would be home relatively soon, and Milo was right. He was fourteen. He was old enough to stay home alone for a few hours. Jake just had to wait for…
Dan always was the one to fix it, huh?
How long are you going to make Dan keep it together for you?
Jake’s face scrunched up in frustration and hurt. No. Dan mourned when Jake died. It was Dan’s crying that made him summon the energy to come back home. Dan was nothing but supportive and loving to his friends, just as he had always been. Dan waited for him to come back every time. Dan-
Dan was talking to someone about the cedar oil. The whole thing that started this mess. Jake stood up and took a few shaky steps back to sit on his bed. Jake got out his phone, groaning in frustration as his hands — both now fully skeletal — simply clicked on the glass with no effect. Whose brilliant idea was it to make phone screens heat-sensitive, anyway? Jake set the phone in his lap, digging into his nightstand drawer until he produced a stylus.
It took one cursory Google search that confirmed Jake’s suspicions about the oil. He held his phone with shaking hands for a second before gently setting it down beside him.
“Well, um, tell him I remembered the kind of oil to use!”
Jake curled up, focusing on breathing patterns to try and calm down. Dan was trying to get rid of him. Milo was mad at him and would never forgive him. There…. what was the point of staying? Jake’s skin faded away entirely, revealing the skeletal form for the second time in his afterlife.
Jake clenched his bony fists before swallowing sharply. There was left for him here. But that doesn’t mean there was nothing left for him at all. His bones sharpened as the deep red of his eyes began glinting at the surge of emotion. For the second time in ten years, Jake felt angry.
He grabbed his guitar and vanished.
-
Dan hadn’t let go of Milo’s hand.
“Jake?” He called, knocking on the door with his free hand. There was no response.
Milo looked down, sniffling. Dan squeezed his hand and smiled down at him reassuringly.
“Jake, if you don’t answer we’re just going to come in.”
No response.
“Jake, you’ve got…” Dan checked his phone before setting a timer. “Two minutes until I unlock the door. We can’t be doing this.”
Again, nothing. Dan paled ever-so-slightly and held Milo’s hand tighter. A sinking feeling told Milo that Dan was just feeling just as anxious as he was. The two waited, unmoving. Dan didn’t look away from the door at all. Even though they were only a couple of minutes, they seemed to last an eternity. Milo resorted to leaning into Dan’s arm. Regardless, they both jumped when the happy tune of the timer went off. Milo dropped Dan’s hand in surprise as Dan went to shut it off.
He reached the top of the doorframe before trying one last time.
“Jake, please.”
Nothing.
Dan sighed before sticking the key in the lock and turning it. He rammed into it with his shoulder, trying to nudge it open despite the sticky latch. Instead, he bounced a little off the hard wood and blinked in surprise.
“I… just locked it?”
Dan unlocked the door again and it swung open. The room was empty.
“Jake?” Dan called. “Are you in here?”
Just as before, there was no response. Dan slowly and carefully stepped into the room. Parts of the floor and dresser were glowing faintly which was… new. His phone was left on his bed. Jake certainly (at least) had been in there.
“Jake? Are you - are you invisible right now? Because we just want to talk. If you burned up your energy or something, can you give us a sign?”
Silence. The air felt heavy and still.
Milo was waiting outside before something caught his eye. He walked quickly into the room and looked at the blank wall.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah, Milo?” Dan asked, looking around the dark room absentmindedly.
“Jake’s guitar is gone.”
Dan whipped his head around and saw the empty mantle on the wall. His stomach sank.
“Huh.” Dan forced out. “We… should call an expert.”
-
The doorbell rang.
Dan got up to answer it, but Milo beat him to the door, curious (and hopeful) to see who it was.
“Cody?”
“Hey, Milo! Are you still sick? Oh, hi, Mr. Fuller!”
“Hi, Cody.” Dan responded, smiling tiredly. “Yes, Milo’s still sick, so you’ll probably want to wash your hands.”
Cody nodded as Dan and Milo stepped out of the way to let him in. Cody set his backpack on the floor as he began unpacking slightly.
“I didn’t know what we’d need, but- “
“Wait. Cody’s the expert?” Milo asked, turning to face Dan who shrugged sheepishly.
“Heh…he was the first one that accidentally found out that knows about ghost stuff.”
Milo seemed crestfallen for a moment before Dan quickly raised his hands in a defensive position.
“No, no. Milo, you’re both the experts we need. After all, you two are a team, right, Baby Shark?”
Milo immediately blushed and pulled his hood up as Cody snorted out a stifled laugh.
“Dad…don’t call me that.”
“Okay, kiddo. I won’t.” Dan winked at Milo as if to say ‘I-won’t-embarrass-you-in-front-of-your-friends.’
Milo groaned but bent to help Cody rummage through his backpack.
“Okay, so I brought a spirit box… an Ouija board… flashlights… what exactly is the emergency?”
Milo and Dan looked at each other before Dan forced a soft smile at Cody. Milo looked away, withdrawing his hands to instead tuck in his lap.
“Jake’s missing.”
Cody stopped his rummaging.
“Oh,” he said. “Does... uh…Milo? Do you…?”
“He told me,” Milo said.
“Okay. Well, everything I brought is pretty much useless then, but I’ll see how I can help!” Cody began sticking everything back in his backpack, zipping it back up.
Dan nodded, offering his hands to help them both back up. The two accepted and Cody slung his backpack over his shoulder.
“Why don’t we talk in the kitchen?” Dan suggested. He let Milo take the lead. Cody followed quickly in after him but stopped so quickly that Dan almost ran into him.
“What’s that?” Cody asked, gesturing to the still-open container on the kitchen table.
“Oh…uh, Jake picked that up from the store. It’s cedar oil.”
Cody picked it up, looking it over. He frowned deeply. “Why?”“I don’t know.” Dan shrugged. “A mom at the PTA recommended it, and Jake picked it up after.”
“No, I mean, why do you have this? Cedar oil is…not good.” Cody supplied. “It’s not as strong as sage or salt or anything, but cedar oil can be used to finalize, well, banishing.”
Dan blinked in surprise.
“You weren’t… you didn’t...” Cody gestured quickly. “I’m not saying you would, but-“
“Oh god. Of course not!” Dan began wringing his hands together. “The mom I was talking to just got divorced. Her girlfriend is a carpenter and that’s just what she happened to recommend.”
“Everyone just kinda tells you everything about themselves, huh?” Cody rubbed his chin, trying to seem intelligent.
“Did Jake know that?” Milo asked Dan quietly. A beat of silence followed.
“…I don’t know.”
The room was immediately silent. Milo tightened the strings on his hoodie/ Cody tried to think of a way to ask the following question lightly. However, as time ticked on, he just blurted it out.
“Are you sure he didn’t move on?”
Dan and Milo looked at Cody in horror. Dan’s jaw dropped slightly.
“I…”
“It wouldn’t make sense,” Cody added. “He wouldn’t just go, not after everything. But when a ghost suddenly disappears, it isn’t usually…good.”
Dan didn’t know what to say. Luckily, Milo took that moment to speak up.
“He didn’t,” Milo said. “They usually disappear in a sudden flash of light, right? He didn’t do that. He just…turned invisible, I think? He took something from his room before he left, too.”
Cody blinked.
“What did he take?”
“His guitar,” Dan said hoarsely. “His anchor.”
Cody sighed, smiling softly and contently
“Oh, good.” Cody smiled at the two of them. “He’s still around then! That just means he’s somewhere else; otherwise, you guys would have seen the anchor since then.”
Dan pulled out a chair and slumped in it in, all his energy seeming to sap right out of him in sheer
“He must be somewhere else important to him- somewhere else he’d default to. We just have to find him!”
Dan rubbed his face before letting out a brief hysterical laugh.
“Do you know anywhere Jake might be?” Milo asked quietly.
Dan glanced up, tears in his eyes.
“Of course, I know a few.” He wiped his face with the back of his hand. “Cody, if you want to come, text your dad and ask. We’re going on a friendship tour.”
-
The first stop was, in every sense of the word, the worst.
Dan pulled into the parking lot as Milo stared at the sign with a blank expression.
“You guys don’t have to get out of the car for this one if it’d make you more comfortable,” Dan said quietly.
“I think I’m going to stay behind for this one, if that’s okay, Mr. Fuller,” Cody replied. “It doesn’t feel right for me to go with you.”
“Milo?”
Milo jerked up and whipped his head around to look at Dan.
“I…think I’d like to go.”
Dan smiled again, looking much older than he had as long as Milo could remember. The two got out of the car. Dan held out his hand to Milo and Milo took it. Milo took a deep breath as the two headed into the cemetery.
“I haven’t been here in years,” Dan said. Milo didn’t respond, looking around wildly.
After a few turns, Dan took him to a gravestone, not as grand as some of the others, but still clearly important.
HERE LIES JAKE PIERLY
HIS HEART WAS TOO BIG
FOR THIS WORLD
REST IN PEACE
Dan bent over and began plucking some weeds from the gravestone as Milo stared in mute horror.
“We should have picked up some flowers, huh, kiddo?” Dan asked. He looked up to see Milo swaying slightly. “Milo?”
“Is he…is he down there?”
“He was buried here,” Dan said, standing up to get to Milo. “Do you want to go back to the car? He’s pretty clearly not …here.”
Milo shook his head, tears beading up.
“Don’t worry. We’ll find him and tell him this was just one big misunderstanding, right?” Dan asked.
Milo shook his head and instantly grabbed Dan and pulled him into a tight hug.
“It’s my fault!” Milo wailed. “I told him- Dad, I called him a liar, and told him he wasn’t my real dad! I hurt him, an-and it’s all my fault and he’s gone.”
Dan bent over and hugged Milo tight, letting him cry it out.
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t been so mean- if I… He would still be here, and everything would be normal, but—it’s my fault, he might be gone forever, and-“
Dan began quietly hushing Milo, pushing him back slightly so Dan could peck his forehead with a kiss.
“Milo…We’ll find him. Once we do, we can talk to him. You and I both owe him an apology, and we can move on. It’ll be okay. I promise.”
Milo nodded quietly, looking away and back at the gravestone. Dan hugged him again.
“I don’t feel good.” Milo said quietly. “Can…can we go now?”
“Of course.”
-
“Welcome, welcome to the Savory Grain!” Dan beamed, gesturing to the seedy bar in front of the three. Various banners lined the windows advertising cheap beer. “It’s not open during weekdays usually, but this is our second stop!”
Cody lifted up his foot as a mouse ran underneath.
“Are…we allowed to be here?” He asked.
“There’s no liquor sales going on right now,” Dan shrugged. “Besides, I know the owner! He usually spends the week in there to do paperwork and stuff.”
Dan knocked twice on the door, which slowly opened on its own.
“Mr. Huffin is the nicest old guy you’ll ever meet,” Dan explained. “I’m sure as soon as we explain the situation, he’ll help us as much as he can.”
“…I don’t know about this.” Cody said.
“It’ll be okay.” Milo laughed. “Come on, how bad can it be?”
The answer? About “mild” on the bad scale
Milo and Cody looked around the bar. A stage was the main attraction with a microphone and drum set. The ceiling was covered in hundreds of playing cards, some of which stained by…some sort of fluid. Cobwebs marked all the corners and the men’s bathroom was boarded up. Initials and drawings were carved all over. Milo started walking toward one of the tables to get a closer look, swearing that he saw MILO SUMNER carved in one of the booths.
Before he could get much closer, though, Dan scooped him up by the shoulders.
“Oh! Nope. Don’t step on that carpet. It’s so sticky, your shoes will be there forever.”
Milo made a face, which Dan just laughed at.
“Yeah, this place isn’t the nicest, but it sure was fun back in the day.” He looked toward the stage. “This is where Jake had his first performance with the Problem Sons!”
“I thought Jake was an English major,” Milo said.
“He was.” Dan supplied. Milo blinked in confusion as Dan set him back down.
Dan looked like he was going to say something else, but a glass flew from the bar and crashed on the wall. Dan and Milo turned around slowly to see an angry, green translucent ghost with a large handlebar mustache.
“Hey!” He yelled. “No minors at my bar!”
“Mr. Huffin?” Dan asked.
“A poltergeist!” Cody shouted.
“Watch your profanity.”
Dan walked over, beaming.
“Mr. Huffin! It’s me, Dan Fuller!”
The ghost looked blankly at Dan.
“Never heard of you. Now get these children OUT!”
Dan’s smile fell.
“No, no! I was a friend of Jake Pierly. Remember, the Problem Sons? They performed here a long time ago?”
“Hmmm.” Mr. Huffin stroked his chin. “Oh yes, that’s right! I remember.”
“You do?”
“Yeah! They STUNK!”
Dan looked offended for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
“We’re looking for Jake.” Dan said. “Have you seen him?”
“In my bar? No. You’ve been the only people all night. And we’re closed! Get out!” Mr. Huffin threw another glass, missing by far. “If you bring any more minors to my bar, I’ll drag you to the depths of hell myself!”
Dan rolled his eyes.
“Okay, that’s about enough of that. C’mon, Milo. C’mon, Cody. We have a few more spots to check out.”
“Aw, what? I was getting a camera ready, Mr. Fuller! Can we just stay for another moment or two?” Cody begged. “Ghosts really only show up when I’m with your family for whatever reason.”
“No. I’ll take you back in seven years, though, assuming this place isn’t closed down for health reasons or because the owner is a huge jerk!”
“I heard that!”
“I know you did! That’s why I yelled it!” Dan began shoving Cody and Milo through the door. Milo snorted at Dan’s outburst as Cody pouted.
“He’s a lot meaner than I remember,” Dan grumbled. “And deader.”
-
The third spot and fourth spots were both duds.
For the third spot, Dan drove by the first apartment that Jake, Milo, Sr., and Dan first rented. It, much to Dan’s disappointment, had apparently long since been torn down and replaced with commercial apartments. New college students were walking in and out as Dan sunk into his seat in the car.
“Gosh, I’m getting old.” He grumbled before driving to the fourth spot.
The English Department was empty. Classes had ended for the day, though a few stragglers were studying. None of them heard anything. There was no sign of him, and by the end, the three were simply exhausted.
“I’ve got one more place,” Dan said as the three piled in the car. He drove for a few minutes to an all-night diner. The waiter gestured to the sign that said, “free seating,” so the three piled in a small booth. The conversation was at a lull.
“Do either of you see something odd?” Cody yawned.
Milo yawned in response and shook his head. Dan seemed distracted by the menu. By the time the waiter returned for drink orders, Dan smiled excitedly.
“One black coffee and a platter of chili cheese fries, please!” He said.
Milo made a disgusted face, causing Cody to giggle. They both ordered off the kid menu, things would go down easy.
“Some chicken nuggets, please.”
“I’ll have the grilled cheese.”
The two ordered sodas and the waiter left. After they were gone, Milo turned to Dan.
“Why did you get the nasty order?”
Dan laughed dryly.
“It’s what Jake would always get,” he said. “Your dad, Jake, and I would come here after Jake… partied too hard. It would be the only thing we could get him to eat. I’m sure it wasn’t good for his heart in the long run, but we were just happy to watch him stuff his face once in a while.”
Dan smiled a little at the memory. Silence followed for a bit before Milo spoke up.
“Dad? Are you okay?” He asked.
“I don’t know,” Dan laughed dryly. “I’ll feel better once we know Jake is okay. He’s… he’s all that’s left from the original trio other than me, you know?”
“It’s like you said,” Milo said. “We’ll find him, right? It’ll be okay.”
Dan just smiled in return.
The waiter returned with drinks in a few minutes. Dan took a long sip of the coffee and snorted.
“It still tastes like dirt,” he said. “At least there’s free refills.”
Dan pulled out his phone and shot a quick text message.
“Okay,” he said. “I just texted my mom to let me know if Jake shows up at their house. I don’t think he’d go there if he didn’t want to talk, but it’s worth a shot. Do either of you have any thoughts? Suggestions? Questions?”
Cody raised his hand.
“I have one, actually.”
“Yeah, Cody?” Dan asked, taking a sip of his coffee. “Also, please don’t raise your hand. We’re not in school.”
“Why did you want me to come with?” Cody asked.
“Oh! That’s easy.” Dan set down his coffee. “You’re a part of this family, too. You’ve been with us for the best and the worst.”
Cody blinked in surprise before smiling. He wasn’t sure what to say, so instead, he kicked Milo from under the table.
“Looks like I have three dads too, Milo.”
Milo rolled his eyes before slurping his soda.
“Yeah, yeah.” Milo said. “I actually have a question too.”
“Yes?”
“Where do we look for Jake next?” Milo asked.
Dan frowned and looked into his coffee cup. He seemed deep in thought before reaching his final consensus. At that, he looked horrified.
“Oh God,” Dan mumbled.
“What’s wrong?” Milo asked. “I mean, there’s got to be more places to look.”
“You’re right. I’m sure there are, but I can’t think of them. There’s only one person that might know where else to look.” Dan slunk in his seat like an angsty teenager. “…We need Aaron.”