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