“Dad, I gotta go to the bathroom,” Sam whines while crossing her legs and moving her butt from side to side.
“Here you go, I’ve got a couple of umbrellas.”
Sam tiptoes out and squeals when the water that was gathering on the lip of the tent falls on her head and runs down her back. Smiling at her ‘girliness,’ I get up and start packing.
“Here,” Dad says handing me an extra umbrella once I’ve packed the inside of the tent.
“I already have one.” I hold the umbrella out to show him, clearly confused because the umbrella is large.
“For your sister.”
I take the umbrella and stand to the side waiting for Sam to return as Dad continues taking things to the car with Mom. “Great trip,” Mom mumbles on her return to the campsite. Sam comes back, holding her tiny umbrella over her head. “Your father got you a bigger umbrella.” Mom indicates to the one I’m holding.
“Thank you.” Sam takes it, opens it, and stands beside me. Mom and Dad make a few more trips to the car, packing up the last of our belongings. “Let’s go.” Sam and I walk toward the car and move to get in. Sam rounds the back of the car and stops before she enters. “Crap,” she says.
“What?” I call out from the dry and cozy interior of the car.
“Dad?” Sam calls as he gets into the driver’s side.
“What is it?”
“You might want to see this.”
Dad gets out of the car, without an umbrella and rounds the car. “Oh, for God’s sake,” he yells, exasperated.
Sam looks at me through the open door, her eyes widen and she moves away from Dad. I shake my head at her and wave her to get in. She slides in and closes the door. “What is it?” I ask and Mom turns in her seat to see what’s happening.
“We have a flat tire.”
“Of course we do,” Mom responds by rolling her eyes and huffing. “Our relaxing trip is turning into a nightmare.” She gets out of the car and goes to stand by Dad.
“What should we do?” Sam asks.
“We can’t stay in here while Dad jacks the car up, so we gotta get out.”
We both get out, taking our umbrellas with us, and go stand behind our soaking wet parents. “Great,” Dad groans. “The spare is in the back.” Oh no. “Under all of our things.” Double oh no. “And we’re on mud, so jacking the car up here will be almost impossible.” Triple oh no. Mom looks at us and shakes her head. Then she calms Dad by placing her hand on his back. We all remain silent, not really saying anything. No one wants to make the situation any worse than it is. “Well, I better get this done. Though I’ll have to get it on a firmer surface first.” He looks over at Mom.
“Back in the car,” Mom calls.
We all get in the car, and Dad starts driving very slowly toward the closest paved surface, which turns out to be a painfully quiet ten minutes. The windshield wipers are going crazy, and the rain keeps pelting down. As we carefully pull onto a flat surface, Dad turns the car off and takes a deep breath before turning to address us all. “Sorry, ladies, but you’re all going to have to get out and help.”
Sam nudges me and clenches her jaw tightly together. “What?” I mouth to her. She eyes the packed trunk and juts her chin toward the back. “Huh?” I mouth again.
She rolls her eyes at me and steps toward the open rear door. “We’ll offload everything, Dad.” She turns and motions for me to come over.
“That’s what you meant. You should’ve just said.” We start offloading everything, while Mom holds one of the large umbrellas over everything we’re stacking. Dad helps too, making it even quicker.
“Sorry, ladies. I know how crappy it’s been for you,” Dad apologizes and suddenly my heart rips into two.
“I’ve had fun,” I say. “Especially when we went fishing.”
“That was not fun,” Sam huffs. “Except when you wet yourself. I wish I’d taken a photo of that,” she chuckles and goes to stand under the protection of the umbrella.
“You’re already wet, Sam, why bother?” I point to the umbrella and roll my eyes.
Dad’s getting the tire and the jack out and then starts changing the flat. I go to stand behind him and watch as he gets on his back, and carefully places the jack under the car. “Why are you being so precise?” I ask.
“There are certain spots you need to put the jack so it holds the car up and doesn’t damage anything. Look here.” He points.
I squat down and look to see at what Dad’s pointing to. “Oh yeah, I see it.” It’s a small flat surface about half way under the back passenger door. “Now what are you doing?” Dad’s moved and has started loosening the bolts on the rims. “Why don’t you do that when the car’s up?”
“Here, come help.” He moves to the side so I can get in there. “What you want to do is loosen them. Don’t take the bolts off completely. You need the friction of the ground to keep the tire steady so you can loosen the bolts. But it’s slippery so you may not be able to do it.”
Pushing down on the tire iron I try and get the bolts to move. But they’re not budging. “Man, these are on tight.”
“They’re usually put on with a machine, which means they’re tighter than if done by hand. Stand and try to put your knee into it, use all your weight to get it done.”
Standing I do what Dad says, but I can’t make them budge at all. “I can’t,” I say in frustration.
Dad stands and gently grabs me by the shoulders. “Yes, Dakota, you can. These are pretty shit conditions to learn in, but when you get a car of your own and you’re out and you get a flat tire, at least I’ll be confident in knowing you can change the damn thing.” He smiles at me and lets go of my shoulders. “Now, use your entire weight and push down on it. Remember to keep a strong grip on the tire iron.”
Swallowing hard I wipe the rain from my face, and I try again. The conditions are really bad, making everything slippery. But I keep trying, and as the moments pass on, I become more exasperated with myself because I can’t get the darn thing to shift. “I’m not giving up,” I mumble to myself. With my knee hurting from the cold, hard steel and my shoulder suffering, I grumble out loud.
I look to Dad who’s kneeling back on his hunches, water dripping down his face, his entire body soaking wet. He’s got his eyebrows lifted as he watches me struggle to get this damn thing done. He doesn’t move to help me, instead he asks, “Want me to do it?”
I look at his posture and scrub my hand over my face again. Mom and Sam are huddled together under the large umbrella, and although I know if Dad does it we’ll be out of here sooner, I also resolve in myself that I’m not a damn weakling and I can do this.
“No, I’ve got it,” I say looking back at the stupid flat tire.
“You’ve tried getting your knee into it, now you’ll need to stand on it.” I look to Dad, puzzled by what he’s said. How do I stand on it, without losing my balance and hurting myself? Dad can clearly see that I’m considering this. Obviously he wants me to work it out.
“Help her,” Mom calls.
“No, I can do this, Mom.” Puzzling the problem, I come up with what I think is a solution. I open the back passenger door, and find somewhere I can grip so I don’t slip off the tire iron. Then I stand on the firm steel bar, and push down with all my weight. The bar shifts, and I jump off with so much pride. “Yes,” I shout to myself.
Looking over at my Dad, he has his arms crossed in front of his chest, smiling at me. “Just loosen them, don’t take them off completely,” he instructs me.
“Okay.” It seems like forever, like hours have passed before I finish with the nuts. Some of them I can get my knee and back into it and they’re loose. Others, I need to stand on the iron to get them to budge.
“Now that they’re loose, we need to jack it up further. This way, when the tire is clear of the ground, you can undo the bolts the rest of the way by hand and then take the tire off. Be careful though, the tire is heavy.”
“Heavy-schmevy. I can do t
his.” I flippantly flick my hand in Dad’s direction.
Dad puts his hands up in surrender and steps back. “Off you go, you’re strong.”
Smiling, I start jacking the car up. Oh my goodness, my shoulders are protesting in pain, I’m breathing heavily as I’m jacking the car up, and every time I think I’m getting somewhere I look at the car and it feels as if the car hasn’t budged. “Damn it,” I grumble, but I don’t give up. I keep going, because I need to prove to myself that I’m strong and I can do this.
I stand and straighten my back and stretch my arms out in front of me, trying to relieve the burn in them so I can motivate myself further. “Keep going, Dakota,” Sam calls from behind me and claps. This spurs me on, because I also know my sister’s encouraging me to do this. She’s not protesting at the fact that I’m taking forever and Dad would’ve had this done an hour ago.
Grinning, I keep going, proud of myself. I notice how the tire is off the ground. “Yes!” I jump up and down like a little kid, proud at what I’ve managed to do with the guidance from Dad.
“Yay! You go, girl,” Sam calls from the shelter of the umbrella.
“Well done, Dakota,” Mom echoes in.
“Now what?” I turn to Dad who’s got the proudest look on his face. He’s beaming with happiness and I can see he wants to let me do this on my own, but it must be killing him to stand back and watch.
“Now you need to take the nuts off, and keep them safe.” I lean down and remove them fairly easily, considering I’ve already loosened them, and place them inside the hubcap for safekeeping. I look back to Dad for further instructions. “Now you have to take the tire off. Careful, ‘cause it’s heavy.”
I flick my hand again. I’m Wonder Woman. I did this, I managed this entire thing all on my own. I’m not letting something like a ‘heavy tire’ get in my way now. I squat down in front of the tire and try to pull it off. I’m met with resistance and find the darn thing is heavy. “Damn it,” I half sigh as I prepare to really tug at it. “Right, let’s try this again.” Squatting in front of it, I get a good grip on it, and heave back.
What happens next makes all of us gasp, Mom cries out, Sam yells, and Dad leaps forward. I pull on the tire with so much force, the tire comes off, I go flying backward, land on my butt in a huge muddy puddle, and the tire rolls away. It’s heading straight for Sam and passes her while flicking mud up in its wake.
Dad lunges forward to chase the tire. Sam screams because as it’s rolled by her, it’s flicked mud into her face and in her eyes, and Mom’s shocked because she doesn’t know who to go to first.
Mom turns to Sam who’s angrily groaning and says, “Are you okay? Here let me help you.” She lifts her soaking wet t-shirt and tries to clear the mud from Sam’s face.
“I’ll be fine.” Sam shoos Mom away and rubs at her eyes. “I think I’ve got it all.” She blinks wildly as she tries to focus on me. When she sees me sprawled out in the biggest and muddiest puddle she loses it. She laughs so hard, her eyes become red and tears freely fall. “Oh my God. You’re covered in mud.”
Mom’s taking steps toward Dad who’s retrieved the tire and is rolling it up toward us, but she stops and turns to look at me. “You really are a sight, Dakota.” She laughs too before heading over to help Dad.
I manage to stand, with thick oozy mud dripping off my butt and try to flick all the big gunky parts off me. “Ah,” I groan in resignation. “No use.” I stomp toward Dad and wheel the tire the rest of the way. “You’re right, it’s heavy. But I’m going to do this.”
Dad stands with amusement beaming off his face. The heavy wrinkles around his eyes are more prominent as he smiles at me. “Atta, girl. Now get the spare out.” He points to the back of the car and I follow where he’s indicating.
“Right,” I say with determination. I’m going to change this darn tire even if it takes me all night.
Analyzing how the tire is fastened into the cavity, I undo the one bolt holding it in, and lift it out. This time I don’t underestimate its weight and use my back and legs to get it out. Lifting the muddy flat tire, I put it in its place. Taking a step back, I smile triumphantly at myself. I’m so proud I managed to get as far as I have, although I’m filthy and making my family wait in the rain. Thankfully, the rain isn’t cold, instead it’s humid and incredibly sticky.
The next part goes fairly easily because it’s working in reverse to what I’ve already done. By the time I fasten the nuts on the tire, Mom and Sam are already packing the car . . . again.
Dad instructs me on the final steps and when I lower the car I smile with so much pride. “I did it!” I say while turning to Dad. I tighten the bolts and stand to admire my work.
He holds his hand up, and I jump to give him a high-five. “Yes, you did. I’m really proud of you, Dakota. Well done. Now let’s get home.”
Still on cloud nine, I help Mom and Sam with the last couple of things, then get in the car. We’re all wet, dirty, and tired on the way home. Everyone’s quiet while Dad drives, only the soft tunes of the radio are on, lulling Sam and me into a calm and relaxing state. The rumble of the tires against the road is so rhythmic and gentle it acts like a sedative for me. My blinks become longer as I feel my breath start to ease into the relaxed rhythm.
Turning my head, I pretend to look out the window so no one sees me with closed eyes. The car smoothly rocks, making my environment so much more comfortable. My mind forms a perfect, carefree void. Nothing can disturb the relaxed state coursing through me.
A man appears and smiles at me. His face is blurry, but I can see the shine of his teeth when he smiles. He lifts his hand to me, and beckons me over to him. Cautiously I take a step toward him, but something doesn’t feel right. My stomach is buzzing nervously at an unfamiliar, yet known, hazard. “Come with me,” he tempts as he smiles again.
I try to focus on his face, squinting harder I attempt to make the color of his eyes. However, the closer I look the less I see.
“Who are you?” I ask as I lift my foot to shuffle closer to him.
“You know who I am.”
A gush of cold wind touches my skin, and when I look to see where the gust has come from Sam’s standing beside the faceless man. “Sam, no!” I yell, trying to run after her. My feet become weighted and I look down to find them covered in heavy concrete with water rapidly rising around me. When I look up to Sam, she’s no longer there, and the faceless man has disappeared too.
“Sam!” I yell startling awake. Blinking rapidly, my terrified body is vibrating from shaking. “Sam!”
“Hey, I’m here,” Sam answers. Looking over to her, she sits up in her seat and scrubs her hand over her eyes.
“Are you okay, Dakota? You were mumbling in your sleep,” Mom says, shifting in her seat to have a better look at me.
Sam places her hand on her thigh, and I lean over to grasp it. She tightens her fingers around mine, and gives me a reassuring smile. My gaze follows her, just to make she’s actually here and not with the man from my dream. “Yeah, I’m okay. I had a weird dream.” Shaking my head, I run my free hand over my eyes to try and help wake me. “Like really weird.”
“What happened?’ Mom asks, her brows crease while her eyes intently stare.
“It was really strange.” I blink rapidly trying to recall the dream, but just as it came, it’s managed to disappear. “I don’t remember it all.” Mom’s face becomes warm as she relaxes all her features. Shrugging my shoulders, I say, “I don’t remember.”
“It was only a dream, dear.”
Looking out the window, I notice we’re nearly home and I sigh with relief. Home is my safe place, my haven where I know everything will be okay.
We pull into our driveway, and Dad presses the button so the garage door rolls up. When I get out, I look at the back bench seat and notice all the mud and dirty water from where Sam and I were sitting. Dad comes and stands beside me, enveloping me in a hug. “Sorry, Dad.” Heaviness sits inside me, we dirtied Mom and Dad’s
car.
“We’ll clean it tomorrow. Go have a hot shower, and get into your pajamas. Your mother and I can unload the car.”
“I’ll help,” I offer.
Sam pipes up at the same time and offers to help, too.
Dad lets out a large puff of air and runs his hand through his hair. “Alright, then let’s get this done. One thing I’ve learned is never stand in the way of a woman. And since there are three of you standing here looking at me, I’m no fool.” He throws his hands up in resignation then goes to the car to begin unloading.
It doesn’t take us long to finish and then Mom sends Sam and me to have a shower. She said we’ve done enough for today. She also said we’ll be ordering pizza for dinner because she hadn’t prepared anything.
Taking myself to the shower in Mom and Dad’s room, I adjust the temperature to the hottest I can handle and lean against the wall. The water flowing over my body instantly relaxes all my muscles and I’m made aware of the heaviness and aching in my entire body.
My insides feel as if they’ve been put through a very intense obstacle course. Changing the tire has created pain in every muscle, even ones I never knew existed.
I let my head roll forward, my chin touches the top of my chest as the pounding, hot water brings every strain to light, before lulling them back into comfort. My mind drifts as I begin to soap my body, slowly massaging the ache burning through me.
With my eyes closed, I mewl softly when I knead a knot in my calf. The heavenly feeling of the warm water and my tender fingers, releases the knot and sends me into a blissful state of relaxation.
My body is slowly responding to the heat of the water and my hands as I brush over the tired muscles. A beautiful memory of Sam and me high on the Ferris Wheel pops into my mind.
Opening my eyes, I smile because it’s been a while since I’ve felt normal. And even longer since I’ve been carefree and happy.
There’s a knock on the door, and Sam shouts, “Hey, dinner’s here. Hurry up.” Bang, bang, bang.
Edge of Darkness Box Set Page 44