Cole: Mind of Madness: A Prelude (A Phoenix Club Serial Thriller)

Chapter 1

"Madness, as you know it, is a lot like gravity;

all it takes is a little push."

– The Joker

On that cold October afternoon, five days before Halloween and his thirteenth birthday, Ezra Finch stood silently on the frozen grass of the cemetery lawn. The bitter air chilled his face and numbed his nose. Even his warm jacket wasn't enough to keep the cold entirely at bay. Inside his winter boots and thick socks, his toes began to numb—just the tips. But if he stood out there much longer, the numbness would spread through his feet.

Ezra couldn't leave, though. Because he wasn't there for himself, but for his best friend Henry Pruett. He wasn't allowed to stand next to Henry and hold his hand and comfort him, but just being there was enough. Henry's eyes told him it was enough. So, Ezra remained... face and body numbing from the cold. It didn't matter. The more he stared at Henry, the less he felt the effects of the bitter air. The other boy was cold, too... not just on the outside. He was burying his mom today. His chill burrowed much deeper.

Ezra shifted his focus to Daniel Pruett—standing tall beside his thirteen-year-old son, eyes forward, face strained but, otherwise, displaying little emotion. Ezra didn't interpret the lack of emotion as a lack of feeling on the man's part. Henry's dad left much to be desired, no question about that, but he had loved his wife. He felt the loss as deeply as his son. Henry just showed it more openly as tears rolled down his face, flushed from the chilly air. Henry had been close to his mom, much closer than he'd ever been to his dad. Ezra worried about Henry's home life now that it was just him and his dad. Daniel Pruett could be a stern man, though he'd never abused his son. But Henry had confessed once to Ezra that he thought his dad didn't like him very much.

With Henry's mom gone, Ezra hoped his friend was wrong. Daniel Pruett had no cause to dislike Henry. He didn't know his son liked boys. Henry feared he suspected it, though. Hence, his dad's dislike of Ezra. He hadn't straight-out said Henry couldn't hang out with Ezra, but he didn't hide his disapproval whenever Ezra came to their house.

Does he suspect we love each other? The two boys had never acted like more than friends in front of the man, but maybe he sensed it. They hadn't even talked to one another about being more than friends... but they were, Ezra felt it deep in his heart. Ezra wasn't sure if Henry's mom had known. Henry hadn't told her, but she was in tune with her son and quite observant. If she had known, she'd shown no disapproval of her own.

As the funeral came to an end, Daniel Pruett mumbled responses to those offering him condolences and ushered Henry to their car. The boy climbed in the front passenger seat and stared out the side window at his mother's grave... and at Ezra. Even from a distance, Ezra felt his need to have Ezra close. His father would not comfort him.

"I'll be there," Ezra whispered, knowing his friend couldn't hear him. But Henry didn't need to hear him—he knew Ezra would come to him in his hour of despair.

• • •

Ezra crept around the large barn and halted. The side of the house facing him had no windows, which made it easier to sneak over to the house without being seen. He didn't always have to sneak. Sometimes he walked to the door and knocked. Henry's dad never refused to let him see Henry, but the way he looked at Ezra let him know the man didn't want him there.

That was when Henry's mom was still alive. She liked Ezra. With her gone, maybe his dad wouldn't let Ezra visit Henry anymore.

This wasn't the day to test it. Daniel Pruett had just buried his wife... just became a single father raising his son alone. Ezra's presence wouldn't improve the man's mood. But it would improve Henry's mood. So, Ezra sneaked.