45 comments/ 68394 views/ 4 favorites What the Fuck Now By: StangStar06 Author's note: One of the newest authors on the site posted a story for Halloween that intrigued me. mikothebaby, my esteemed, legendary and noteworthy editor, posted her first story called "Is it really cheating if it is with a Ghost." I liked it. She asked at the end what people thought happened next. Here's my take. If you haven't read her story yet, you should do that before reading this one to get a better grasp of the story. SS06 * * * * * * Pete stood up and yawned. He smiled a bit, as he looked at his wife, Ashleigh. They'd just had a long conversation about what he'd come home to. Pete had come home to find his wife of ten years fucking...she called it making love, but then they always do, with a college boy. Pete's heart had broken. He'd loved Ashleigh from the day they met. The past ten years of his life had been dedicated to building a life with her. Seeing the slight smile on Pete's face made Ashleigh feel better. She'd been wracked with guilt as she'd told her husband the entire sad story. But what she'd done with Howie had really been more like closure, than cheating. There was no way for her to express this to Pete. In her mind, this wasn't some cheap, nasty affair that she'd had in a sleazy motel room. There was more to it than that. In some ways, though she could never expect Pete to understand it. She'd done this for both of them. There were many levels to tonight's incident. On one hand having sex with Howie had helped Howie, by allowing him to move on. Howie's spirit had never been able to cross over, because like many ghosts, he had left unfinished business on this plane of existence. That unfinished business was so important that it compelled him to resist the call to move on. Now Howie's spirit could go to its rest. What she'd done had also allowed her to put closure on her high-school romance with Howie as well. She could now look back on what they'd shared simply as fond memories, not as an overwhelming sadness or a source of frustration over what she could have had. And lastly, it was a good thing for Pete. It might not have seemed like it, but it was. As good a wife as she'd been to him for the past ten years, she could now give him her whole heart instead of just a piece of it. Maybe now they could even have kids. There are very few situations that result in a win for both sides. Ashleigh, deep in her heart, knew that this was a case of an even less common win, win, win situation. Pete's smile told Ashleigh that he, though initially surprised, might be willing to accept the situation as she'd explained it. She was sure that he'd forgive her. "God, Ash," said Pete smiling even more. "I wish Howie could have stayed a little longer." Ashleigh was overwhelmed. Her husband did understand, she thought. He fully understood what had happened, the reasons for it and how it fulfilled her needs. "He was here for as long as we needed," she said. "Now he can move on for good. I'm surprised though. Why would you have wanted him to stay longer? You're not turning into one of those guys who like to watch their woman with another man are you?" "Fuck no, Ash," snapped Pete. Ashleigh had been with Pete for over ten years. She knew his moods, his patterns and came very close to knowing his thoughts. She could feel a darkness in his mood that his expression wasn't showing. She had the feeling that people living near a volcano got just before it suddenly blew. "I was just thinking," continued Pete. "If poor old Howie had stayed a few minutes longer, he could have taken your cheating ass back with him. Fuck him and fuck you, too." "But Pete, I love you, Honey," cried Ashleigh. As she watched Pete had pulled out his keys and flicked the automatic starter on his Mustang. He was planning on going somewhere. She had to stop him. He was probably going to go somewhere and get drunk. She'd never intended to hurt Pete. This was all going wrong. "Pete, I love you," she repeated. "You can't get angry over a one-time, never to be repeated liaison with a dead man." Pete was throwing some of his clothing and personal items into a garbage bag and Ashleigh realized that this was far more serious than she'd ever dreamed. It really looked like he was going to leave her. She threw herself at him and tried to stop him from packing. "Pete, stop," she whined. "Talk to me, please. I already told you; even Howie told you it's over. It can't ever happen again. I love you, Petey." That pissed Pete off even more. He hated to be called fucking Petey. He'd allowed Ashleigh to do it over the years, even though he never let anyone including his parents call him "Petey." He'd put up with a lot of shit over ten years just for this. "What the fuck, Ashleigh," he yelled. "I'm not upset over you fucking..." "Making love..." she interrupted. "Whatever..." he re-interrupted. "I'm not upset about you FUCKING Howie. I should probably be thanking Howie for allowing me to have sex with HIS woman for the past ten years." Pete stopped what he was doing and yelled, "Howie come back so I can thank you." Pete started looking through the drawers in their desk. He was pulling out all kinds of cards and slips of paper and carelessly throwing them all over the floor. "Pete, Honey. What are you looking for?" asked Ashleigh curiously. Pete stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Ashleigh. "Don't ever call me Honey again, Morticia," he spat. "Why are you calling me Morticia?" asked Ashleigh quietly. She hoped that by keeping her voice down and using low tones she could calm her husband down. "Okay, maybe I got the wrong name," spat Pete. "You should have probably been in that other movie, the seventh sense." "Pete, there was no movie called the seventh sense. We went to see it together. It was called the sixth sense," said Ashleigh. "No, Bitch," said Pete. "You got that wrong just like everything else. The seventh sense is the sequel. It's about a whore who cheats on her husband. He looks all over town to find the guys she's cheating with but he can't find them. Then he discovers that they're all ghosts. At the end of the movie she kicks out that classic line, "I fuck dead people." Pete went back to throwing things all over Ashleigh's clean floor. "What are you looking for Pete?" she asked again. "Maybe I can help you." "I'm looking for the phone number," Pete spat out viciously. "Who are you going to call?" asked Ashleigh. Pete turned to her and in the coldest voice Ashleigh had ever heard said, "Ghost Busters." Ashleigh was sure she could hear the theme song in the background. "Baby, I told you it only happened one time. For the past ten years I've been totally faithful to you. This was just overwhelming. It was a compulsion. It was something I just couldn't resist. If I hadn't done it, Howie would never have been able to rest. And maybe that was what was wrong with me too." "Fuck Howie," snapped Pete. "Oh, Shit. You already did. That's why our marriage is over isn't it? Sorry I forgot. Being heartbroken does cause you to lose your focus." "Pete, you can't be serious," said Ashleigh. "Our marriage can't end over this. You just don't get it. I love you now. I totally love you and only you now." "Yeah Ashleigh, I get it," said Pete. "I'm sorry Honey, but you don't get it." He sat down in front of the desk he'd just ransacked. It got quiet. The only thing they heard was the droning just outside of his Mustang's powerful engine, waiting for its master to join it. "Ash, I'm not leaving you because you fucked Howie," said Pete sadly. "I truly have loved you since I first laid eyes on you. I gave you my love with all of my heart and 100% of my attention. I married you because I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I wanted a wife, a lover, a best friend, a confidante and a mother to any children we'd be lucky enough to have. But that isn't what I got. What I got was to spend time with a woman who never really loved me the way I deserved. I got a woman who mentally blocked us from having the children we both wanted. I got a woman who basically wasted my time and a big part of my life being with me when she wasn't fully vested in our relationship. I didn't have a wife, I had a roommate." "For the past ten years I gave you all of my love without restriction. You gave me only the little bits that you didn't hold onto for Howie. I think even you know that it wasn't a fair trade," said Pete. Ashleigh with big tears streaming down her face began to speak, but Pete silenced her as he stood up. "Don't bother saying it Ashleigh," he said. "I know what you're going to say. You've already said it. You love me, NOW. But after ten years of taking care of Howie's woman, I think I deserve to find someone who really loves ME. You can keep the house and everything I'm not taking. Fortunately, it won't be hard to get a divorce, because we don't have any kids. Maybe that was a good thing. I wouldn't have wanted my kids to be neglected by a woman who wished for most of their lives that they were someone else's children. Anyway, you can keep all of the money in the accounts. I can always make more. Don't try to find me. I don't ever want to see you again. If you try to fight the divorce, I'll just disappear. Shit, I won't be able to do that as well as fucking Howie does, either. But I'll give it a hell of a try." Pete stood up and dragged his garbage bag towards the door. It would have been easier but Ashleigh was holding onto his legs trying to prevent him from leaving. He opened the door and dropped the bag of his belongings onto their porch, then turned back to look at his wife one last time. "Ashleigh, I really did love you and in a way I understand why you did what you did. It doesn't mean that I hurt any less for what you cheated me out of. But I understand it. You for most of your life were, "torn between two lovers." (God damn it, these song references won't stop coming.) You've spent the past 10 years with me, wishing that you were with Howie. I'm not a psychic or a witch or any of that shit. But as my passing gift to you, I do have a way that you can go to spend some time with Howie. Maybe that way you can figure out once and for all which one of us you belong with." Ashleigh looked at Pete strangely. "I want to be with you, Pete," she cried. "I know that now." "Well bitch, you can't be," spat Pete. "So give Howie a chance." "But the psychic said it was a one-time thing," said Ashleigh. "He can't come back again." "Nope, but I know two psychics who can help you go to him," said Pete. He closed the door to his car and revved his engine as he put it into gear. Then he lowered the window and addressed Ashleigh. "Who are your psychics, Pete," she asked. "I have to go and see Howie. Not for what you think though. I need to curse him out for basically ruining my life, by staying in my memories. This was all his fault Pete. That's why he didn't have to move on. He was alive in my memories. Him being there didn't allow me to get over him either. I see now that I gave up a very real life for a childhood fantasy. " "They're in the house," said Pete. "They're in the drawer of the bedside table. Their names are Smith and Wesson. They can arrange for you to be with Howie pretty fucking easily." Pete drove off, with a heavy heart, tears running down both cheeks and a desire to move on. His senses seemed to be playing tricks on him though. He could have sworn he smelled the scent of sulphur that they always talk about that is present when ghosts are around. He thought saw a ghostly image of Howie in front of him waving his hands frantically at him. He drove right through Howie's ethereal form and felt nothing. That left only his ears to betray him. Then he might have heard it. It was faint but Pete was sure that he heard the sound of a gunshot. Happy Halloween. SS06 * * * * * * Okay, that was the original ending to the story, but we're not done yet. Lets go back to that last paragraph. in fact let's just forget about the last three sentences. Ending number 2 picks up from there. * * * * * * Pete drove to a motel that wasn't very far away from his house. Almost as soon as he got into his room, his cellphone rang. He answered it, thinking that talking to anyone would be better than the despair he felt over losing the woman he loved more than life itself. A part of his mind realized that like Ashleigh said it was a one-time thing that she had been compelled to do. But his ego told him that it was cheating all the same. The thing that hurt most was the fact that for all of the years that they'd been together, he'd always put her first in his life. Many times Pete had sacrificed his own wants to provide hers. Knowing that he'd never truly been first in Ashleigh's life hurt him far more than the sex had. His entire marriage and a large chunk of his life was a lie. How exactly do you get over that? "Hello," said Pete into the phone. His voice was hoarse and choked with emotion. "Pete, please come home," cried Ashleigh. "We can work this out. I'm sorry. I love..." Pete hung up the phone without saying another word. He had neither the time nor the will to listen to Ashleigh's lies. Just listening to her made him sick. "We can work this out," she'd said. How? He wondered. Exactly how could they work this out? Did she have another psychic or maybe a witch doctor that could make Pete forget what he'd seen and maybe even make him forget Ashleigh's pathetic excuses and even more damning explanation? Who knew, maybe she did. It is Halloween he thought. But that would be like Pete had simply surrendered his balls to her so he could go back to being shit on. Pete would continue to take care of Ashleigh's needs, while she truly longed for Howie. It was time for Pete to step up and be a man. She'd also said that she was sorry. She was only sorry that she'd gotten caught, thought Pete. But Ashleigh wasn't half as sorry as she was going to be. She'd lived a comfy and pleasant life with Pete during their marriage. That was about to change. Pete wasn't going to divorce Ashleigh. Why should he pay money to lawyers, just so they and the courts could tell him he had to give that cheating bitch half of his shit? She had everything she was going to get from Pete. She wouldn't ever get another dime. Tomorrow, when the banks opened Pete would withdraw most of the money out of his checking and savings accounts. He'd start new accounts in his name only. He wouldn't be totally cruel though. He would leave Ashleigh SOME money. The amounts that he'd leave her would be commensurate with her service to him as a wife. In each account he'd leave her a dollar for every year that they'd been married. He'd leave her ten dollars in checking and ten dollars in savings. Just think about what she could do with all of that money. Well, she couldn't pay the mortgage, so she'd soon be out on her ass. Maybe Howie's relatives might take her in when she told them about her long lasting love for poor old Howie. A better thing to do might be to invest the money in the lottery. She might get lucky and win. If she did, Pete would file for divorce and take half of it. And the best possible option might be for her to use the money for another session with the psychic. Maybe Ashleigh could find out how to get her head out of her ass, or even find her next sucker because Pete was gone. And as far as her loving Pete; if, she loved him so God damned much why had she cheated on him? Even if as she claimed she loved both of them but in different ways, why not give Pete the facts and let him make a choice on how he wanted to spend his last ten years. Why not ask Pete before she arranged her tryst with Howie? There were simply too many question marks attached to her concept of love. Pete could do without it. The phone rang again. This time Pete looked at the screen and let the call go to voice mail. He grabbed his jacket off of the chair and left his motel room. Pete needed to stop thinking about that cheating bitch and clear his head. Pete drove to a neighborhood bar that he'd seen on his way to the motel. On the way there he saw lots of ghosts and witches and goblins walking the streets carrying bags for people to put candy into. He had to admit that the kids' costumes were really great this year. They were a lot better than when he was a kid and he'd just take an old bed sheet and cut eye holes in it. Some of the costumes, like Obama and Wolverine really were kind of realistic looking. He saw one little girl in an Octomom costume that had eight little baby dolls tied to it. Pete pulled into the bar and went in. He grabbed his jacket out of the Mustang since it would probably be cold when he came out. Plus if things went the way he was planning he might be walking back to the motel. Pete didn't believe in drinking and driving. Inside the bar, the lights were dim. Pete picked a table near the back so he could drink in private. There were very few people there, but a few of them were in costumes. Apparently the bar was having its own Halloween celebration. Supposedly there were going to be a few strippers too. That got Pete's attention. Pete had been there for about 15 minutes when a tall thin Blond woman approached him. She looked at him and smiled and then tilted her head and looked at him again. She must be a hooker, thought Pete. In his present mood and with all of the money he'd have in the morning, Pete decided that if she wasn't too expensive, she might be just the ticket to help him get over Ashleigh. Even if he did go back to that cheating cow, she owed him one. She'd fucked Howie the ghost so he should get a free pass as well. "Pete," said the woman. "Is that you?" "Uh yeah," said Pete, wondering who the hell she was. "I almost didn't recognize you," she said. "You've filled out. But it looks good on you. You always were a little too thin when we were dating." Then it came back to him. "Janice?" he said. "Janice Miller?" "In the flesh," she said. "I'm in town visiting relatives. May I sit down?" "Sure," said Pete. "Please do." Janice had been the woman Pete was dating before he met Ashleigh and had been smitten by her. Pete and Janice had never been exclusive, so when he met and married Ashleigh there'd been no hard feelings. In fact Janice had wished him well. "So how's uhm...your wife?" asked Janice. "We're no longer together," said Pete sadly. It was all he could do to avoid breaking into tears. It still hurt so much. Pete's feelings still alternated between choking the shit out of Ashleigh and running back to her. "That's sad. I'm so sorry," said Janice. But it really didn't look as if she was sad at all to Pete. Another thing that was weird was that Janice didn't appear to have aged a day since they used to date. It was probably just good genetics thought Pete. "So are you married Jan?" asked Pete. "I was," she said smiling. "He, uhm, died. He was killed actually. It was rather gruesome I'm afraid. He was killed in some sort of animal attack." "God, that must've been awful for you," said Pete. "No really," said Janice. "It happened only a few days after I discovered that the bastard was cheating on me. I was going to divorce him anyway. He was the second man to break my heart." "Who was the first?" asked Pete trying to change the subject. He really didn't want to talk about cheaters anymore. It just seemed like the world has going through an epidemic of infidelity lately. Janice looked at Pete and smiled. There was something about the way her eyes glistened that made Pete unsure of whether he wanted to bend her over the table and fuck her right there in the bar or run away from her as quickly as he could. "The first one to break my heart was you, Pete," she said. Pete was surprised. What the Fuck Now "When we were together, I was so young," said Janice. "I really didn't know what love was yet or who I felt it for. I thought that I was just having fun. I didn't realize until you were gone how deeply I felt for you. I never got over you." Janice leaned forward giving Pete a look at her breasts. Pete smiled as he watched her Chest expand and contract with each breath. "Is it me or is it getting really hot in here?" she asked. "Both," said Pete. "It is unseasonably warm in here, but you're definitely hot." "I'd love to go for a drive in the moonlight," said Janice. "Like the old days." "In the old days we only drove far enough to get away from where people would see us," smirked Pete. "We really were smart for our ages, weren't we?" said Janice grabbing Pete by his shirt and pulling him towards the door. "What about the party?" asked Pete. "It looked like it was going to be a good one. They were going to have strippers." "You go to a party to meet people," said Janice. "I've met someone, you. And if you're a good boy, or a bad one, you might get to have a stripper of your very own. And you'll be able to do more than just watch this one." That was all that Pete needed to hear. He took Janice out to the parking lot and they got into his Mustang and roared away. "Nice car," said Janice leaning back in the soft leather. Pete smiled and looked over at Janice. Her skirt had ridden up and he was treated to a display of long lithe legs that started his dick to rise. Janice likewise was squirming in her seat as the moon started to rise too. They drove out into the woods that surrounded the city only moments from the bar. Pete shut off the motor and lowered the windows so they wouldn't fog up. Janice was on him instantly. The intensity of her kiss and the urgency, with which she pressed her body against him, turned Pete on more than he'd remembered. "We need to get out of this fucking car," she hissed. Janice opened her door and got out. Pete started the motor briefly and let the windows back up. Janice left her door open and sauntered towards a clearing a few yards away from the car. She leaned back in the soft grass and pulled her skirt up around her waist. Then as Pete walked towards her she stripped off her panties. She handed them to Pete and he sniffed the damp fabric of the panties. Her smell was far muskier than anything Pete had ever smelled before. Then Janice pulled him down and started stripping off Pete's clothing. Soon they were both naked in the dusky forest as the moon started to rise. Janice was hairier than Pete remembered. He put that thought away as he pushed his turgid erection into her sopping wet orifice. It was so warm and so wet that Pete thought he was in Heaven as he stroked her. Janice screamed out her pleasure. Her orgasmic cries almost sounded like she was howling. Then Janice with more strength than Pete remembered pushed him off of her. His dick made a little popping sound as it was ejected from her tight crevice. "Fuck me doggy style," yelled Janice so loudly that it was apparent that she didn't care whether anyone heard her or knew what they were doing. Pete bent her over and noticed again that Janice seemed to be even hairier. In fact, if he wasn't mistaken she seemed to have a bit of hair on her face as well. He was too far gone to care. He plunged his dick back inside her as she lowered herself to all fours. He went straight in, all the way to his balls in one stroke and then started fucking her harder than ever before. Janice was practically howling as he stroked inside of her. When Pete came, he gushed shot after shot of potent sperm directly into Janice's womb. "You're going to have to marry me now, Pete," she said. "You've probably knocked me up for sure." There was something about Janice that looked strange to Pete. Beside that while they were having sex Janice had raked her fingers down Pete's sides. It had hurt of course but he'd been so busy fucking her that he'd put it out of his mind. When he looked down now he noticed that he was bleeding from the claw marks he'd failed to notice. "What the fuck are you?" he asked. "The same thing you'll be when I'm done with you she smiled. In just a few minutes, I'll start to change fully. Then there'll be no hope for you Petey. No one breaks my heart and lives." "You're a..." began Pete. "Werewolf," she said. "And once I change there's no way you'll get away from me and make it back to your car." "Unless, you were knocked out before you changed," said Pete. Before Janice could say anything Pete punched her in the face harder than he'd ever hit anything in his life. The punch packed every iota of energy and strength that Pete could muster. It was the punch of a lifetime or the punch to save a life; Pete's in fact. It worked, Janice was out like a light and Pete grabbed his clothes and didn't bother putting them on. He just ran. He dove into the car through the door that Janice had left open and started the car. He backed out onto the road and peeled rubber trying to get away. Luckily Janice had no idea of where Pete lived. Just as Pete's high performance tires began to grip he felt something hit his rear bumper. Pete looked back and could see the creature that used to be Janice in the clear moonlit night. Pete took his foot off of the gas and the car lurched forward. He hit the brake shifted into reverse and stomped the gas pedal again. The pony car lurched backwards and plowed into Janice then rolled over her. She howled in anger and in pain. Pete shifted into drive and ran over her again. He repeated the pattern several times until Janice was only a wet spot on the pavement. The he got out of his car and looked at her. He opened his trunk and got out his emergency gas can. He doused what was left of Janice with the entire can and then lit it on fire. As Janice sizzled and burned away, Pete lit a cigar in the flames that consumed her body. "Welcome to death, by Mustang, Janice. I already let one sneaky assed female dog live tonight," spat Pete. "There was no way I'd put up with that shit twice. Pete got into his car and drove off into the moonlight. He drove right past the motel and back to his house. Pete opened the door and went inside where he found Ashleigh sitting on the couch drinking and crying. "Pete, you're home," she cried. "I made a terrible mistake tonight Ash," he said. "I was so angry that I went out and did something that I shouldn't have done." "I understand, Petey," she said. "We've both made mistakes. Does that mean that you're willing to give us another chance?" Pete nodded and welcomed her into his arms. They made slow gentle passionate love. Then Ashleigh bandaged his cuts and they fell asleep. For the next few weeks Pete and Ashleigh were better than they'd ever been. They did everything together and Ashleigh realized that Pete truly was the love of her life. She was glad that he'd forgiven her. Unfortunately Pete hadn't. In Ashleigh's mind she'd had sex with Howie. Pete had fucked some woman that she didn't want to know about. They were even. Pete was still hurting over the ten years that she'd carried on her emotional if not physical affair with Howie. He hadn't gotten his payback for that yet. But as Pete's body changed and morphed inside he knew his revenge would come soon. All he was waiting for was the next full moon. The end or is it? * * * * * * Alright Halloween story lovers. This is beginning to remind me of those Holiday special comic books where you got a bunch of different stories all grouped together. Or maybe like those simpson's holiday treehouse of horror shows. We have one more little ending for you. This one isn't connected to the previous 2. this one comes direct from mikothebaby's story. * * * * * * Pete walked into the home he shared with his wife Ashleigh. Ashleigh was a trim beautiful woman that Pete had fallen in love with the first time he saw her. That had been over ten years ago and he still loved her now. Things hadn't been going well for the past seven weeks. Back then on Halloween, Pete had come home and found Ashleigh in the arms of a college boy who disappeared right in front of Pete's eyes after giving him a shitty apology and a flimsy reason. Pete had been tempted to leave Ashleigh then, but she really had appeared to be sorry and he loved her so fucking much. They hadn't really been the same since then. Pete had been sleeping in the guest room and they hadn't been speaking much either. Pete slammed the door and took off his coat. He noticed that there was a set of new Mustang floor mats on the dining room table. Ashleigh came out of the kitchen and smiled at him. "What do you think?" she asked cheerfully. "About what?" he grumbled. "The floor mats for your car, Silly," she said. "Send them back," he snapped. "My Mustang is the only thing I have to be happy about. I don't want anything from you in it." The anger in his voice and its tone let her know that her husband was still stinging from what had happened 7 weeks before. "Pete, do you think that we could have dinner together tonight?" she asked. "I know that you're still angry at me, but we really need to talk because we have another problem." "Oh, shit," said Pete. "The first problem is bad enough. We almost didn't survive that one. What the fuck could be worse than what we're already dealing with?" "I think we should sit down and discuss it over dinner," she said. "I love you Pete. I told you that what happened with Howie was a mistake. It can't ever happen again. You don't need to worry about that anymore. You are the only man I love and you always have been. I was just holding onto a childhood romance long after I should have let it go." "Why can't you just let the other shoe drop?" asked Pete. "Why go through all of the pretense of having dinner together and all of that shit?" "Because I love you Pete," she said. "I want to spend as much time with you as I can. I want to make up for the past in any way that I can. But we have a really big problem. And I'd like for us to discuss it like rational adults." "Whatever," said Pete. Pete started for the stairs. Ashleigh was afraid that he'd go upstairs to his room and spend the night drinking again. Most nights, Pete drank until he fell asleep. He was having a tough time getting over her infidelity. Ashleigh knew that it was because he loved her so much. Her betrayal had simply knocked his world off kilter. She'd never thought that he would ever find out. The worst part of it was that if he hadn't found out, their lives together would be better than they'd ever been. Ashleigh's tryst with Howie had only served to show her that she really loved Pete. Even when she was with Howie all she'd thought about was Pete. "Pete please don't go upstairs and drink yourself to sleep," begged Ashleigh. "I know I hurt you, but I don't want to be the reason for your death from alcohol poisoning. Why don't you set the table for our dinner?" "Whatever," said Pete. He went to the cabinet and started setting out plates and silver ware. When he was done Ashleigh came into the room. She had a big bowl of mashed potatoes made just the way that Pete liked them. She'd broiled two thick steaks and made a salad as well. They sat down to eat and Pete couldn't help thinking about how beautiful his wife was and how much he loved her. She caught him smiling at him and smiled Pete looked back down at his food. "You don't have to look away, Pete," she said. "I love having you look at me. You used to light up like a Christmas tree every time I came into the room. I miss that." Pete grunted but didn't say anything. "I miss having you make love to me too, Pete. And I really miss having you sleep beside me in our bed. There are so many nights that I reach for you and then remember where you are and why you aren't with me," she said sadly. "Can we just get on with it," snapped Pete. "Pete, I'm pregnant," she said. Pete dropped his fork, pushed his chair away from the table and stood up glaring at her. Ashleigh looked down at her food. She'd been picking at it the whole time that they'd been there. "How far along are you?" he asked. "It's Howie's baby, Pete," she said with tears in her eyes. She was sure that this would be the final straw and that Pete would leave her. "Ashleigh, do you love me?" asked Pete. "Yes, Pete," cried Ashleigh. "I love you more than anyone or anything I know. I'd do anything for you. I just wish I'd found that out before I messed things up." "Then have it taken care of," said Pete. "I don't think we'd survive with Howie junior running around the house." "Pete, I already tried that. That was what I went to the doctor's office for last week. I didn't want you to ever find out. You already hate me so much. But for some reason the procedure didn't work," she said. "What the fuck do you mean, it didn't work" yelled Pete. "What kind of sucker do you take me for? It didn't work because you didn't fucking go. You're just trying to pull one over on me again. You just want to have Howie's fucking brat." "No Pete, that isn't true at all," cried Ashleigh. "This whole thing has become a nightmare. I'm on the verge of losing my marriage and the man I love over some really mediocre sex. And now I find that I'm pregnant and I'll end up with no one to help me raise a baby that I don't want." "If I did want to get pregnant, I'd want it to be with you Pete. I made another appointment at the clinic. I want you to come with me. I want you to be there while it's done and talk to the doctor yourself. I'm sorry this is happening, but I really don't want to lose you, Pete," said Ashleigh. The next day Pete and Ashleigh went to the doctor's office. The doctor was very polite to Ashleigh but also looked a little uneasy. "I explained to your wife that I'm willing to repeat the procedure but this is the last time," said the doctor. "Though the procedure is not life threatening, overdoing it may render her unable to have children in the future." Pete thought about it. As angry as he was he still loved Ashleigh. As he watched they got her ready for the procedure. A nurse came and got him too. He was scrubbed in and dressed in scrubs. As he watched from right next to the doctor the dilated Ashleigh's cervix and inserted a small suction device. As they started the suction Ashleigh began cramping. Pete couldn't handle seeing Ashleigh in pain. "Stop," he yelled. "That's enough." "I'm almost done," said the doctor. After Ashleigh had a chance to recover, the doctor looked at her womb again through a scope. Unbelievably, Ashleigh was still pregnant. "That's not possible," said the doctor. "This makes three fucking times we've done this." The doctor had lost his professional decorum. He was still yelling about how it wasn't possible when Pete took his sobbing wife home. "I'm sorry, Ash," said Pete. "I didn't believe you. I thought...well you know what I thought." Seven months later Ashleigh gave birth to a very small very pale baby boy. At first both Pete and Ashleigh had planned on giving the child up for adoption. But Pete upon seeing the boy in the hospital decided that it wasn't the child's fault and that they should raise him. Pete doted on the boy giving him everything he wanted. By the time the boy whom they'd name Butch was seven years old he was a handful. He wasn't exactly bad, he was just mischievous. At least that was what Pete told everyone. Butch was small for his age and never seemed to want to play with other children. He found them boring. Pete wrote it off as proof of his superior intelligence. Ashleigh found herself wishing the abortion had taken. Butch was terrible with pets. They'd lost several dogs and cats. They tried birds, hamsters and even fish. None of the pets seemed to last for more than a few days. On the Halloween following the boy's thirteenth birthday Pete and Ashleigh had a visitor. Pete was humping away between Ashleigh's beautiful legs when he looked up and saw Howie standing beside their bed. "Oh, shit," snapped Pete. "I thought you could only come once. You don't get any more pussy from my wife Howie." Ashleigh looked beside the bed to see who Pete was talking to. When she saw Howie she covered herself. Howie said only two words. "Sorry," he said. "Beware!" Then he faded away again. Pete's dick shrank until it was the size of a cocktail wiener. Ashleigh tried giving him a blow job but it didn't help. They went to sleep cuddled in each other's arms. The next morning Pete went to work as usual. He kissed Ashleigh goodbye as he always did and hugged Butch. "Don't leave me here with her. She hates me," said Butch. Pete just shook his head and went to work. Pete knew that Ashleigh did in fact resent Butch. She blamed him, or at least the multiple procedures she went through trying to abort him for her inability to bear any more children. Ashleigh also hated the fact that Butch was a constant reminder of the night with Howie that had nearly ended her marriage. When Howie she'd covered herself up because she simply wasn't in love with him anymore. Whatever feelings had been there were gone. The last reason that Ashleigh didn't like her son was simply because the boy was strange. He was so pale. He looked like a fucking vampire. And he was always lurking in the shadows. He also seemed to be able to make her tired, just by being near her. Ashleigh started the day out by deciding to make Pete's favorite dinner. Seeing Howie again had to be rough on him. He was probably remembering what had happened the last time Howie had appeared. Ashleigh was carrying a load of laundry down the stairs when someone ran up behind her and pushed her down the long stairwell. She woke up several days later in the hospital with a tearful Pete hovering over her. She smiled when she saw his face. He leaned down and kissed her gently. It was their last kiss. Ashleigh's heart started pumping so fast it nearly burst when she saw who was standing behind Pete and the smile on his face. "Pete," she said. "Buuuuutch!" and then she died. Pete never understood his wife's warning. He thought she was just calling their son's name as she'd died. It took a long time for Pete to get over Ashleigh's death. He became distant and just sat in his room drinking. When he finally went back to work he seemed to be coming out of his depression over the loss of his beautiful wife. Pete met another woman. She was a beautiful dark haired woman who worked in a restaurant near his job. They fell in love. She came from a family who believed in psychic phenomena though they had no psychic abilities of their own. On Halloween she convinced Pete to go to a fortune teller just for shits and giggles. Pete had bad feelings about it because of what had happened when Ashleigh went to a fortune teller. But Pete did it just to make his new wife, Sally, happy. The fortune teller told Pete that someone was trying to contact him from beyond. Pete looked back and laughed at her. "Is it Howie?" he asked. "No, it's a woman," said the fortune teller. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she started speaking in weird voices. Then the room got darker and colder and Pete found himself looking at Ashleigh. "Hi, Pete," said Ashleigh. "I'm not here to haunt you, or to make you feel bad. I want you to be happy. But just like Howie, I have something I have to do before I can move on. I have to warn you about Butch. He was the one who killed me Pete. Be careful, now that you have someone else in your life he may try to kill her as well. You're the only person who pays him any attention or likes him, Honey." But Ash," cried Pete. "If he killed me we could be together again." What the Fuck Now "Pete, you need to live your life with Sally," said Ashleigh. "I'll be waiting for you when it's truly your time. Butch is a ghoul. He exists only to kill things and drain their life force. Remember all of his pets from when he was a child? Those weren't accidents or bad luck. He was learning. He's ready for people now and he's only fourteen. You have to stop him before it's too late." "What do I do?" asked Pete. "He doesn't have any supernatural powers," said Ashleigh. "He's half human." Then Ashleigh kissed Pete and was gone. Pete and Sally went home. At first he tried to get what had happened out of his mind. But then he saw Butch looking at Sally. Butch had a twisted look on his face. "Butch, Sally and I are going out to get something to eat," said Pete. "Should we bring it back, or do you want to come with us?" "Bring it back, Dad," said Butch. "I'll set the table while you're gone. You know I hate being away from the house." Pete and Sally went to McDonald's. It was Butch's favorite place to eat. On the way back they stopped off at home depot and at the veterinary supply store. Pete loaded Butch's happy meal up with enough horse tranquilizers to put an elephant to sleep for a couple of days. The three of them sat at the table and began eating. "How far along are you?" Butch asked Sally. "Only 6 weeks, Butch," exclaimed Sally. "How did you know?" "I just do," said Butch. Pete really didn't like the way Butch was smiling. A few minutes later Butch's head dropped into his food. Pete picked Butch up and sat him in a chair in a corner of the basement. The corner had bare brick walls and a cement floor. Pete pushed the chair back all the way into the corner and mixed his ready mix cement. He made sure the chains he'd used on Butch's hands and ankles were secure. The he got out his drill. He used masonry bits and drilled holes in the brick walls to secure the soundproofing materials. When he was done with that he began building a wall across the front of the corner creating a very tiny triangular chamber for his demonic son to live out his life in. Since Butch was only half human he'd never starve to death. Since he wouldn't die from starvation he'd never become a powerful ghost. Butch woke up just as there was only space for a few more bricks. He started trying to jump around in the chair to free himself. "That's what you get you little bastard," spat Pete. "You killed my wife. You're not going to kill Sally and our child. Pete bricked up the last section of the wall. He put drywall over it and painted it the same color as the rest of the basement. He hung pictures on it and put a TV in front of it. Over the years Butch would always howl and scream as loud as he could on Halloween night, begging for someone to free him. No one ever did. Sometimes Pete and Sally and their kids would have a Halloween party and invite people over. Most of their guests thought that Butch was only a part of the party entertainment. Throughout the years Butch got weaker and weaker and finally simply stopped bothering to scream even on Halloween. Pete finally died and went to be with Ashleigh at the ripe old age of 85. As he walked into the light with Ashleigh, Pete said, "Actually Ash, it's a lot worse than cheating, when it's with a ghost." That's the end of all the endings. Happy Halloween. * * * * * *