My cheeks caught fire as I became aware that he’d been listening. Since I was no good at performing in front of people, this had made me uncomfortable. “I –”
“What’s a little thing like you doin’ with pipes like that?”
I couldn’t help but smile. When I was a little girl I sang in the choir. Back then it was easy for me to perform. It wasn’t until my mother died that everything had changed. Maybe it was after she died, when my father came home and blamed all of my singing on her cancer. He said my voice was from the devil and that I’d made her sick.
I kept my promise to my mother, but somewhere deep inside I often wondered about what he’d said. I knew it wasn’t possible, but it still kept me from being confident about it.
“It’s just something I do to pass the time I guess.”
“So no encore performance?”
“Nope,” I answered while feeling embarrassed.
He pulled out his wallet and tossed a hundred dollar bill across the counter. “This should cover my meal, drinks and your tip. Thanks for the song, darlin’.”
I watched him walk out, and after swooning over his words again, I went after him. “Wait! You can’t tip me this much. You’ll come back hunting for your change in the morning.”
“Doubt that!” He pulled out his keys and touched the keypad on the actual door to unlock his truck. I couldn’t help but notice that it was extremely nice. It was a four-door, obviously brand new and fully loaded. He leaned in and started the truck with just a push of a button. “Which way is north?” he asked.
I started to lift my finger in the direction, but knew he was in no shape to drive. “Your truck is really nice. Can I see what the new keys look like?”
Since he was drunk I knew he’d fall for it. As soon as he handed me the key ring, I tossed it as far as I could into the grass. “Please don’t hate me for this, mister, but I can’t go home with a clear conscience if you’re out there driving. Sleep it off and when the sun rises you will find your keys.”
“My truck won’t let me drive it without the keys. I need to get out of here. What the fuck?” He looked like a kid that lost his puppy.
I started to walk away, but he somehow caught up to me and came walking into the bar.
I turned around to realize he was a lot closer than I thought. Our eyes met and I got that warm feeling again. “Nothing is more important than your life. You may hate me right now, but you’ll thank me tomorrow. If not, you know where to find me to chew me out.”
“Shiiit! Fuuuuck!” He stomped back outside and things got quiet.
Not wanting to deal with the stranger for any longer, I hurried and turned out the lights after locking away the money in the safe.
I locked the front door again, so that he couldn’t come back in, and exited out the back. Quietly, I crept to my car and tried to start it. Unlike his fancy machine, my vehicle was twenty years old and didn’t always want to start. I tried a dozen more times and finally realized that I’d not only flooded the engine, but the battery had also died. My head fell against the steering wheel. “What else can go wrong today? Come on, Momma, help me out here.”
Three attempts to call my boyfriend turned out with three voice messages. His house was too far to walk and there wasn’t exactly any place inside to lay my head down, unless it was the dirty floor. I couldn’t call my uncle for two reasons. The first was that the bar was supposed to stay open until at least one. The second was that I’d been staying with my boyfriend for the past four months, and I knew he’d be pissed since he hated him so much.
Deciding that my car was the best option, I reclined my seat and closed my eyes. This night couldn’t possibly get any worse, and this was going to guarantee it.
Shalan
A knock on the window scared me to death. There he was, the stranger with the perfect teeth and southern drawl. “You need some help?”
I kept the window rolled up. “I’m fine. Just waiting for the tow truck,” I lied.
“I can give you a ride if you help me find my keys.”
His ploy to get his keys back wasn’t going to work on me. “I don’t get into cars with strangers, especially ones that have been drinking.”
“Come on. I need to get on the road. I’ll pay you. Would that change your mind?”
I rolled over in my seat, trying to pretend he wasn’t right outside begging me to help him. I hated that I’d put myself in this situation, again. At least this time I wouldn’t have to see this guy ever again. By morning he’d have those keys and be gone.
For a little while it got quiet, so silent that it made me wonder if he’d passed out in his truck. I sat up when I heard someone curse. In the field next to the parking lot I saw him crawling around searching for those keys. One dim light lit the back of the lot, and I saw the shimmer of metal about four feet from where he was searching. Though it was far away, I had a feeling that it was his keys and he was getting way too close to finding them. I exited my car quietly, focusing on the keys and not the man. I kept my eyes on the item shining in the overgrown grass and recovered them before he could see what I was doing.
“Hey, you found ‘em.”
I put them behind my back. “I can’t let you drive. Now, I don’t know you, and you certainly don’t know me. Let’s keep this as cordial as possible for the sake of my sanity. I’m really trying to do a good thing here.”
He put both hands in the air. “You’re the boss, but I can promise you that my truck has workin’ heat and a comfortable ride home. I mean you no harm, just tryin’ to do my part for someone in trouble. Where I come from we help out our neighbors.”
“We aren’t neighbors, sir. You could be a criminal for all I know.”
He chuckled and shook his head, as if my comment were the funniest thing he’d heard in ages. “Look here, I just want to get out of this town and move on. We don’t have to be neighbors or even friends. I’m offerin’ you a ride home on a chilly night. That’s all. Either way, I’m goin’ to get my keys and be on my way.”
I felt like he was invading my space as he took a step in my direction. I held my hand up for him to not come any closer. “Hold up! I’m starting to feel uncomfortable being out here all alone. If you come any closer I may have to scream.”
He cocked his right eyebrow and looked around. “Like anyone would hear you.”
“They would. Noise travels,” I lied. We happened to be in the quietest town that existed on the planet.
He took another step closer to me. My breathing increased. It scared and excited me at the same time. Sure, being alone in the back of the bar parking lot with a stranger was a terrible move on my part, but at least if he was a murderer or worse, I’d die by the hands of someone that was as hot as a man could ever be. “Just give me my keys. I’m not as drunk as you think I am. It’s been over an hour since I had that first bottle of water. Trust me, I’ve driven home way worse than this.”
I held the keys behind my back, still not convinced. This situation wasn’t going to end well, and as depressed as I was, I certainly didn’t want life to end this suddenly. “What if I drove?”
Again, he laughed at me. “Women don’t drive my truck. It’s a rule.”
When he stepped toward me again, I panicked and dropped the keys down the front of my t-shirt. I have absolutely no explanation for it.
“Do you think that will keep me from gettin’ them?” He continued laughing at me.
“You can try, but you will be ball-less when I’m through with you,” I promised.
He finally crossed his arms. “So you’re tellin’ me that I’m supposed to trust someone that I don’t even know with my baby?”
“Oh my god. You did not just say that.” I rolled my eyes. “Men are all the same. It’s like you were all made from the same broken mold.” I laughed. “It’s a truck. It doesn’t live and breathe. It’s not a damn person.”
“You’re brutal, woman. Just give me my keys and this broken man will be out of your face f
orever.”
I turned to reach in my car and grab my purse. He stayed where he was standing, and it was good he did. My key ring was equipped with a bottle of mace and I wasn’t afraid to finally be able to use it.
I started walking toward the front of the building. The sound of his boots behind me let me know he was following.
When I got to his truck I used the pad and opened the door. Without looking back at his expression, I climbed in. “What the fuck? Are you tryin’ to steal my vehicle right in front of me?”
“I’m tired and we’re not getting anywhere arguing. I want to get home. Get in. When I get to my house, I’ll give you directions.”
He walked around the other side of the truck and climbed in. “This is criminal. You can’t do what you’re doin’.”
“That’s funny, because I AM doing it.” I started to back out of the parking spot. “Buckle your seatbelt. I haven’t driven something this big before.”
The truck filled with his laughter. “I get that all the time.”
I scrunched up my face. “Eww, please don’t talk bullshit to me while I’m trying to focus on the road.”
“Bullshit?”
“Yeah,” I replied. “Every man thinks he’s got the biggest thickest cock. I’m so tired of hearing it. The truth is that none of you have anything to brag about. In my experience it’s the ones that talk that are the smallest.”
He continued laughing. “Darlin’, you just keep thinkin’ that.”
I kept focused on the road instead of telling him that the size of his junk meant nothing to me. The sooner I pulled up in my boyfriend’s driveway the sooner we could part ways.
I would have liked to be able to bid him goodbye and finally feel the comfort of being home. It would have been great to hug my boyfriend and cuddle up next to him in bed after such a horrible day.
In just a few seconds all of that changed. In fact, everything changed.
If I hadn’t wanted just one more look at the gorgeous man next to me I never would have seen it. That one peek ruined everything.
We were driving past this parking lot where a grocery store sat towards the back. Now, normally one wouldn’t notice two cars pulled next to each other, not unless one of those cars had about five grand in aftermarket parts and was painted a neon green. Nobody else in town owned a vehicle like Rex’s. I veered off the road and into the parking lot, causing the strangers weight to shift and fall against me. He sat up quickly. “What the hell are you doin’? Are you crazy?”
I couldn’t answer him, because I recognized the car sitting next to my boyfriend’s. It was my best friend Kim’s car.
I pulled up around the back of the building and hopped out without explaining. At that point I didn’t care if he pulled away and left me there. The last thing I wanted to have to talk about was finding the two people closest to me together. Sneaking up on them was definitely a mistake I wish I could have taken back.
I knew it before I even got close enough. Not only were my fears becoming a reality, but the car shaking let me know that things between them had gone even further than just talking behind my back.
I pulled the door open and watched two wide-eyed people in the back seat peering at me. “Shalan? Oh my god. Please just listen to –.”
I couldn’t look at Kim, and I definitely didn’t want to see Rex. They were naked and it took them a second to climb out of the back decent. Rex came to my side first, while Kim continued to cry, as if I could feel bad for what she’d done.
“You’re a skanky bitch!” I yelled. “I’m going to kill you.”
“Baby, calm down. It meant nothing. She means nothing to me.” His excuse was worthless, just like he was.
“You didn’t say that five minutes ago, Rex.” Kim didn’t seem happy with his choice of words. “Shalan, he came on to me.”
He started walking toward me. “Get the fuck out of my face, Rex. I’m done with you and your lies. While the two of you were fucking each other, I was dealing with the anniversary of my momma’s death. You two common bastards didn’t even remember. How could you do this to me? How could you do it on this day?” I looked toward Rex. “Do you have no compassion at all?”
He came toward me and I backed up. “Don’t you dare. So help me God, I will hurt you. You stay away from me, you hear? Both of you, stay away from me.”
Kim rushed over towards her car and then climbed in it, apparently afraid I was coming after her. I laughed and turned my attention to Rex again. “We’re done. For real this time.”
“Baby –“
I shoved him away from me and he came back for more.
I have no idea what made me do it except for feeling completely insane, but I jumped into his car, locked the door and started the engine. While he banged on the window, I hit the gas and drove away.
He followed behind me, screaming and flailing his hands around. As pissed and hurt as I felt, it was an amazing feeling to have him by the balls. When I knew he wasn’t following me anymore, I slowed down. Then I did something even more stupid than stealing the car.
I pulled over and drove it face first into a pond.
My head hit the steering wheel and as the pain became noticeable, I saw headlights heading down the road behind me. Knowing he’d probably jumped into Kim’s car, I climbed out, trudging through the muddy water to get to the patch of woods on the other side where I could hide.
When the vehicle honked I turned to see that it wasn’t Kim’s, but the stranger from the bar. He was obviously in the driver’s seat, waving to me. “You look like you could use a ride.”
I ran for that truck like my life depended on it, and once inside I kept quiet as he continued to drive.
A few minutes later he pulled over. “You alright?”
I wasn’t crying. That was the first thing I noticed.
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just take this next left up here.”
I gave him directions to a place where I knew Rex couldn’t find me. It was a place that my uncle owned. On the property was a little thirteen foot camper that he went to when he was hunting geese. On the far side of the property was a huge part of the river where he had a goose blind set up.
I think the stranger must have thought I was crazy when we pulled down the deserted road and arrived in front of the dark and dingy trailer. “This where you live?”
I opened the door. “Of course not! It’s just a safe place that nobody knows about. Listen, I’m sorry for getting you involved in that. Just go back out the way you came and make a right. The main highway headed north is about ten miles down that road. Good luck with everything.” I closed the door and walked up to the trailer to go inside.
Once inside, I noticed how gross the place was. I’d only been there once to jumpstart my uncle’s car when the battery went dead. When you walked in there was a small bathroom to the left. A kitchen straight ahead and a queen size bed at the other end. The kitchen table turned into a bed, but it had never been used for one.
I sighed and sat down at the kitchen table, finally letting what had just happened sink in.
A knock at the metal door startled me, and the stranger opening it made me even more concerned. “Sorry, you forgot your purse.”
I jumped up and met him at the door. “Thanks.”
He just stood there staring at me. “I’m just goin’ to sleep out in my truck, if it’s alright with you. I’d rather wait until daylight to get on the road, and since I didn’t see any hotels anywhere around here, I reckon this is my only option. Plus, this pretty lady told me that I had too much to drink, so it’s best I sit tight for a bit.”
He started to walk out. “Wait!” I ran and got him a blanket. “It’s cold. Take this.”
“Do you need it?”
I shook my head. “There’s plenty.”
“Thanks. Well,” he paused. “Goodnight then.”
“Yeah, goodnight.”
I closed the trailer door and walked over to the bed. After plopping down on it
I let the tears fall. I’d been saving my money slowly in a jar that was at Rex’s house. He knew where I kept it, and I was aware that after the incident tonight, I wasn’t getting it back. Not only was I losing my place to live, but every ounce of money that I had to my name. That money was my only way out of this god forsaken town, and now it’s gone.
I cried so hard that I could feel the trailer shaking. I didn’t care if there was a guy outside who could hear. Nothing mattered. I just wanted to disappear.
A few hours later, after my sobbing became the second priority to getting warm, I sat up and started looking for an extra blanket. Realizing that I’d given it to the strange man that was out in his truck, I considered what I could do to get warm without it.
The trailer ran on propane, but I didn’t know how to turn it on. I knew the power didn’t work from all of the matches and candles laying around.
A knock at the door scared me for the second time. I opened it to find the stranger standing there. “I saw you movin’ around. It’s none of my business, but I can’t help but wonder if you need help with somethin’.”
“I don’t know how to work the propane. I’m freezing.”
He walked over to the truck and grabbed the blanket, bringing it inside and handing it to me. “Here, take this while I check out the propane tank.”
As cold as I was, I couldn’t hide my excitement as I followed behind him.
Ten minutes later he’d got the heat on and hooked the battery up to the one in his truck. The small camper immediately started to heat up.
He stepped inside again. “I just want you to know I’ll be turnin’ the truck off in a bit. The battery might be charged enough to run for the rest of the night. I can’t be real sure.”
“Thank you. Seriously, I’m sorry for calling you a creep. Obviously, you saved my ass and now you’re stuck here with me.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, I might still be a creep. Never let your guard down.”
He started to leave, and I called out for him to stop. “Wait. The table turns into a bed. We can both stay in here and be warm tonight. It’s the least I can do for ruining your night.” The truth was that I didn’t want to be alone. “If you decide to cut me up into a million pieces I swear to god I will come back and haunt your ass until you die.
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