by Amore, C. C.
After a solid ten minutes of silence between us, I walked back to our car and took out a present from the back seat. The card on it read: ‘To Charlene, love Alyssa.”
I saw him using the rear view mirror to check the damage on his face. “If you’d gotten your life in order, you wouldn’t have needed the lift and we wouldn’t have fought like this,” Austin said from the driver’s seat.
I threw the present back inside the car, but I knew he was right. “And if you didn’t have this piece of shit for a car, we’d be there already.”
“Sure. Blame it on my car, but I’ll drive whatever I want to. And I choose to drive a classic.”
“You’re still stuck in the past.”
“At least I got a life. I’m not the one waiting for a message from a stranger. Yeah, I’ve seen you looking at your phone. I bet you met him on a dating site, right? You get that look when you check your phone and it doesn’t have any new messages. That’s what it is, isn’t it? If he doesn’t answer your every message without delay, and he never does, you get sad.”
“What would you know about love? You fuck every girl with a pair of tits and move on. And whaddya know, today was just another example of the life you have. Getting into trouble for sticking your cock into things it doesn’t belong in.”
“We have spoken for two days on our way to our sister’s wedding and now you are an expert on my love life? I’ve seen you check your phone, waiting for another message. You’re life revolves around messaging to a stranger. I’d take my love life over yours any day. At least I get laid whenever I want to.”
I squeezed the door handle in my hand and leaned in further inside the car. “Not all of us can have the genes to be a model, but hey, at least my emotions don’t get me running from the law every other day!”
“How can you still blame me for what happened at the gas station? How was I supposed to know who she was his daughter?”
“Since when is it rude for a father to ask a stranger to leave their store if he sticks his slimy tongue down his daughter’s mouth in front of him?”
“The bastard knew we weren’t locals and just wanted to fuck with me. He damn well had to know what his daughter was like. ”
“So? When someone is not nice to you, is it an automatic insult to your manhood that requires you to use your fists?”
He looked out the driver’s seat window, avoiding my gaze.
“Oh, I know how it is. You thought ‘hey, this is a perfect opportunity for a fight’ and you went at it. I’m glad to see you haven’t changed a bit in all these years.” I pulled my head out of the car and leaned on the door, crossing my arms. The gusts of wind blew my hair all over my face, but I didn’t care: my hands were still clenched in fists over what had happened.
“I’m going to find us some water,” he finally said. “There might be a farm house nearby so it’s worth the shot. If I’m not back in thirty minutes, wait longer.”
“Whatever.”
He got up from the car and walked the road the way the pervert had been driving. His jeans had more rips on them and he held his rib cage with one hand as he slowly limped away.
Even with his faults, I had to admit that he never gave up, and I had to give him some credit for that. I’d seen him accomplish things just by exerting his willpower to the absolute limit: no task was too difficult for him if he set his mind to it. But he didn’t do that often. When we’d met for the first time in high school, when he and his father had moved in with me and mom, he had set a goal of making enough money to buy his first car. I’d laughed at his dream at first, but he’d done it anyway. After two years of menial jobs, he’d earned enough money to buy the car he’d always wanted. Consequently, he moved out right after that and I hadn’t seen him in years. That was until two days ago when he picked me up to drive me to our sister’s wedding.
I looked down on the ground thinking about those two years we’d spent together living under the same roof. I somberly kicked the gravel, but the anger I’d had just minutes ago, was already disappearing.
My phone vibrated and I rushed to take it out to see if it was the one person I’d been waiting for all day.
So, how’s your trip going?
I smiled seeing the text message. Just what I needed.
I’ve had better trips… What about u?
Been busy doing stuff I don’t want to, but hey, that’s life, right?
Yeah, I can relate to that. We still on for this evening? If I can find WiFi somewhere.
Sure thing. I’ll have to see if I can make it though, but I’ll let you know. We’ve been waiting this for months now. You got that package I sent you?
I do. Why?
You haven’t opened it yet, have you?
No. I wanted to save it for a special occasion… Should I open it?
No. Wait for the evening and put it on just before you get online… It’ll be a surprise
What are you up to? ;) something dirty, it has to be!
Perhaps, perhaps not ;) You’ll just have to wait and see…
I heard a car pull up behind me and saw a dust covered police car turning off its lights. That couldn’t be good.
I’ve gotta go, talk to you later handsome! (or I assume handsome, just by the way you make me feel ;) lol)
I tucked my phone away and I waved at the officer, acknowledging his presence, but he didn’t respond. I saw him say something to his radio before he got out of the car. He was a tall man, perhaps in his late fifties with a bit of a beer belly and a thick moustache.
“Stay where you are,” the officer said with a voice that told me I better not do anything stupid.
Chapter 2
For some reason, I walked up to him to shake his hand, but it wasn’t until he didn’t reciprocate that I realized what I’d done. Why would I try to shake his hand? Instead letting my arm stand out in front of me looking like a stupid person, I combed my blond hair back behind my ear, which had escaped once again from the force of the gusts.
“How are you doing?” the officer asked.
“Fine, except our car overheated and now we’re stuck.”
“We? It’s nice to know a girl like you isn’t here all alone.”
I brushed off his remark. “My brother went out to find us some water a little while ago.”
“I see. Where y’all folks coming from?”
“Uhm. I didn’t drive so I’m not sure, but we were driving through Bishop not too long ago.”
The officer adjusted his belt. “And did you happen to stop anywhere between here and Bishop?”
I tilted my head a little. “Yeah, we might have.”
“Did you or did you not?”
“I-I… I think we stopped at a gas station perhaps thirty miles from here. What’s going on officer? Why are you asking me these questions?”
“Just do as I say and you’ll be fine. Did the gas station have a big turkey sign on it by any chance?”
“Now that you mention it, I think it did.”
The officer placed his hands on his hips to show he was the one in control. “There was a big fight on Turkey’s gas station that I got a call for. After talking with the witnesses, it seems like a shirtless guy with tattoos assaulted the owner. And it just happens that the shirtless guy was traveling with, and I quote ‘a curvy blond girl with big tits in a dress’.” He looked my chest and pointed at me, “And it seems you fit the description of that girl, even though you’ve got some meat to your bones.”
Austin was in way more trouble than I’d thought.
The officer’s dry smile accompanying his last comment didn’t help him win me over. If anything, I’d make damn sure he’d be looking in all the wrong places, no matter how angry I was at Austin.
I crossed my arms and faked a smile. I wanted to rip him apart because of his remarks, but I managed to swallow my anger. “I’m not sure I know anything about that.”
“C’mon now, darlin’,” he said and took a step closer to me, “where is he?”
I tried to play dumb and drawled my accent. “Like I said before, he took a few of them big jugs, you know them kinds that you have to carry with both of your hands? And, and and… And he took off in that direction like he had ants up his butt,” I pointed the way we had come from instead of where he’d actually went.
The office brushed his mustache and looked in the direction where I pointed. “How long ago was this?”
I wiped off the sweat from my forehead. “Gee. I’m not quite sure officer. It’s been a hot day sitting out here in the heat. Is Jeffrey in some kind of trouble? Jeffrey wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
He adjusted the radio on his vest, pointed at our license plate and said, “The owner of this car, is not a Jeffrey, but Austin Masters. I’d like to see your id, miss.” He opened his hand, waiting for me to give it to him.
“My id?” I shrugged. “Like my Catholic Girls’ Choir picture id?”
“No. I want a driver’s license.”
“My Mama don’t let me drive ‘cuz they say I’m too clumsy and I’d just wreck my Mama’s car even if she tried to teach me. I do have my choir id with me. I never leave the house without my choir id. Can I give you that?”
He shook his head. “What’s your name, darlin’?”
I looked around. “Me? Mama calls me June, because she says I remind her of June bugs. The way they fly free without a care in the world.” I showed the way the bugs fly with my arms and I giggled.
“No, what is your birth name?”
“Birth name? What does that mean?”
“What. Does. It. Say. On. Your. Birth. Certificate?”
I clapped my hands together in joy. “It says Jeffrey. It’s written in red right on top of mine. Mama keeps it right underneath the rifles in a frame. Well, it used to be in a frame, until Jeffrey did what he did. That was a funny day because he—”
The officer leaned down so close to me our noses almost touched. “What. Is. Your. Name?”
“— told me to bring lipstick for him. But I didn’t know what for… Well, Mama calls me June and Papa calls me Sweet Pea, but I call myself Squirt. Because I like to shoot water pistols with the boys.” I made squirt noises with my mouth while pretending my hands were water pistols.
I could see he got more frustrated the longer the conversation continued. “Fine! Show me that choir id.”
“I’d love to show it to you,” I started going through my pockets, as if I expected to find it somewhere. I turned my pockets inside out and each time I was disappointed when it wasn’t there. While searching my pockets, I accidentally brushed against my tits with my arm and noticed the expression on the officer’s face change: he frowned each time I touched my tits with my arms.
Ah, so that’s how I got him to go away.
“I know it has to be on me,” I said, “I always hide things in my clothes next to my skin.” I stopped and pointed a finger up at the sky. “I know it. It has to be in one of my private places.” I was about to place my hand underneath my bra when I heard him speak.
“No. No. Don’t do that. Did you say he went that way?” he said, pointing the way we had driven. Drips of sweat dropped from his forehead down his chin and he wiped them off.
“Yes. He walked with ants up his butt!” I chuckled.
He walked back to the patrol car and sped away in the wrong direction.
Not bad for a little sister.
***
I woke up to the sound of knocking and opened my eyes to see someone blocking the sun. My legs hung outside the car window in the summer breeze and I wiggled my toes to bring some life back into my feet. “I’m not home. Come back another time.” I put my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. The warm car seat invited me back to my dreams I had had about meeting the man I’d been talking to for months online.
A sudden flood of cold water hit my toes and I jumped up. “You want us to get moving now, dear sister?” Austin said. He grinned and his white smile shone next to his dirty, sand covered face.
“You could have washed your face at least,” I said. “You look like a dirty cowboy.”
“I like that. Yes. Could you call me dirty cowboy from now on?” he said, splashing the water on his naked torso, causing the water to glimmer on his toned body in the bright sunshine.
“In case you are interested, a cop came looking for you,” I looked at my phone, “an hour ago.”
He stopped splashing the water. “What did he want?”
“He was looking for your sorry ass because of what happened at that gas station.”
He seemed surprised. “But what happened there was nothing. We barely made contact and it was mostly him who tried to land punches on me. I did get a nice liver shot on him, though,” he chuckled, like he was proud of that.
“He didn’t seem to think so.” I adjusted my position on the back seat before and closed my eyes. “Anyway, I sent him back towards Bishop.”
I heard him stop pouring water on himself. “But that’s nowhere near where I was going.”
“Ding! Ding! Ding! You want a prize or something?” I tried to find a more comfortable position on the seat, but I’d lost the perfect setup I had previously. The one where you get warm enough, but not too warm, and your face still gets a cool breeze. And I’d lost it because of him.
“But how? How did you manage to do that? The sister I knew would have shook like a leaf every time she lied. Everyone knew that you were a terrible liar.”
“I don’t know how to explain that…It’s like I’m not the same person as before? You know? Like I’ve grown? Weird stuff.” I sighed, hoping my sarcasm went through to his pretty head.
“So, uhm. What did you say to him?”
It seemed like his sister growing up hadn’t occurred to him and I got his full attention now. “I pretended to be a simple farm girl.”
“Like how?”
I told him the highlights of the conversation I had had with the officer, but I left out the part of what had made the officer fluster.
“That’s my sister! Looking out for his brother,” Austin said, and playfully slapped my bare feet.
“Ouch!” I said, rubbing my feet together. “I’m not one of your buddies you can be so rough on. Besides, I have new red nail polish on my toes. You can’t mess with that or the fight we had previously will look like a cakewalk.”
“Whatever you say, sis. I’ll fill us up with the water and we can go.”
I tried to close my eyes, but I couldn’t stop staring at his muscles, which glimmered in the sunshine as he poured the water. He acted like an idiot sometimes, but sometimes he was all right, too. And in rare occasions, like now, he was almost bearable.
I closed my eyes and fantasized about what my Internet crush had sent me in his package. Would it be something nice, like a cute stuffed animal, or something naughty and racy? Or would I just have to think about his package…I hadn’t seen the man’s face, but he seemed to have taken more room in my heart than I thought possible. However, he hadn’t seen mine either and I knew I had to be ready for a major disappointment either way. Although, it would be more likely that he would be the one disappointed, rather than me.
Austin jumped to the driver’s seat and started the car. “Next destination: out of this small town!” He turned up the volume on the radio and accelerated the car so fast I rolled against the back seat. My face pushed on the hot metal of the seat belt, leaving a nice red spot on my rosy cheek.
“Could you slow down?” I yelled over the blaring music.
He saw me struggling in the rear view mirror and laughed. “Bit too much, sis?”
The car wheels squealed on a curve and I found myself almost busting out of my dress. I covered myself the best I could with my hands. “Stop it, Austin!”
He laughed and pounded the steering wheel in the rhythm of the rock ‘n’ roll music. “…highway to hell,” he sang.
“C-c—”I tried to speak up, but we hit a sharp turn and I tumbled again in the back seat. The car stopped rol
ling for a brief second and I caught my breath. “Could you not?”
“Fine. Fine.” Our eyes met in the rear view mirror. “I see you have a problem with your wardrobe,” he laughed. “Curves can be dangerous, you know that?” It was as if he winked at me, but that had to have been my imagination and didn’t think of it much more.
I fixed my bra to its proper place. “You are an ass…” But when I knew he didn’t look at me anymore, I smiled. “Can I gather from your success that you didn’t have to fight for the water?”
“I met a nice man, yes. He insisted on giving us the water for free and we got to speaking about what had happened. He said that apparently that old perv is the AA around here and had a habit of harassing lone female drivers in peril.”
“No shit?”
“And the best part, the sheriff, the gas station owner and the perv are brothers. Can you believe that?”
“That mother fucker…,” I said, shaking my head.
“What?”
I held my head in my hands. “I just knew something was off about him. The way he questioned me.”
“But you did good. He went the other way and we got what we needed to get out of that place. I have to say, I wouldn’t have guessed my sister would be my wing man,” he smirked.
“Just don’t make a habit of it…”
“How bad was the cop then?”
“Let’s just say that at least the perv brother’s genes weren’t in him.”
“What?”
“Well, I didn’t actually make him leave just by talking to him… I made him fluster by pretending I was going to search my id in my bra.”
Austin laughed so hard he almost went off road. “You did that? Damn. I feel like you are not the same person I knew back in the day.”
That’s because I’m not. You used to make me stammer and just stare ate you like an idiot. Now I could at least have thought or two around you without drooling all over my boobs. “I guess…”
***
“— and we wouldn’t have to keep figuring out where we using a map are if you’d have a modern car,” I said.