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beer.”
    “How old are you?”
    “Are you really going to card me? What are you, a narc?”
    “No, but…”
    “Alright, I’ll have a soda.  I suppose you don’t have a joint on you…”
    Cid stiffened up.
    “I was just razzing you, dude,” Dave said getting up.  “Now show me where to chuck my stuff.”
    Cid grabbed one of Dave’s satchels and started walking up the stairs.  He passed Dave and said, “I think we’ll put you in the far bedroom at the back of the house.  You have a wonderful view of the hillside.”
    Dave smirked.  “Are you really giving me the tour?”
    Cid was taken off guard.  He wasn’t used to being around argumentative young people.  Ted would yank his chain a bit, but this kid made Cid feel out of touch with the world.  “Listen,” Cid said, looking down at him.  “I’m just trying to be nice.  Are you sure you want to fuck with me?”
    Dave took in the muscled man that towered over him by a foot and decided to hold his tongue.  “No offense, but you have to lighten up.”
    “No offense, but you have to stop poking the tiger.”
    Maggie whined.
    “Now you’ve upset Maggie,” Cid scolded. He bent down and petted the dog until she settled down.
    “For a badass dude, you’re mushy,” Dave commented.
    Cid was conflicted.  No one had ever called him badass before.  He chose to ignore the comment.  “No smoking inside or within twenty feet of Mia.  Before you say anything, you’re not exactly in any position to complain.”
    “You’ve got that right.  I’m at the mercy of the Martins.  If my mother finds out I quit…”
    “You didn’t have to do that.”
    “Are you kidding?  One for all and all for one.  Damn the man.”
    “Empire Records,” Cid said, identifying the quote.
    “And a hundred other places,” Dave added.
    Cid opened the door of the room.  The lights clicked on automatically, blinding both of them.
    “That’s got to go,” Dave said, blinking away the blue dots.
    “Ted gets a little carried away.  Mia hates the sensors.”
    “I don’t blame her.  But I’ll take care of it.  I normally like to live in very dim light with the exception of my reading light.”
    “Computer game habits,” Cid said.  “Me too.”
    “Finally some common ground.  Saint Cid has a human side.”
    “Did you really call me Saint Cid?”
    “Yup, deal with it,” Dave said, dropping the bag he was carrying with a thump.
    “What do you have in there?”
    “School books.  I’ve got a lot of ground to make up.”
    “If you need any help…”
    “Listen, Cid, no offense, but if you’re going to lose the Saint Cid moniker, you’ve got to stop being so damn helpful.  People are going to walk all over you.”
    “I doubt that.  I’m going to be downstairs. Mike’s staying over.  I’ll have something for you two to eat in a half an hour.”
    Dave smiled.  He bit back the comment that was forming in lieu of getting something to eat.  All Burt had was frozen shit.  Saint Cid was going to cook for him, and that meant he would be eating like a king.  “I appreciate it.”
    Cid left the room and walked down the hall to the staircase.  He stopped and looked back at the guestroom and was rewarded with the door shutting.  He shook his head, not understanding what Mia saw in this kid.  Maggie licked his fingertips.  He crouched down and accepted her comfort by letting her lick his face.
     
    ~
     
    Audrey opened her eyes and took in the unfamiliar surroundings.  The hospital the EMT took her to was local to the haunt but out of her neighborhood.  Matt sat dozing in the chair by the bed.  She didn’t remember him being there when she fell asleep.  Cid had been the one to hold her left hand while the emergency resident examined her.  The painkillers were just starting to take the edge off when she received the bad news.  Her act of heroism, with the saving of the expensive lamp, had broken her clavicle and dislocated her right shoulder.