The Junkyard Boys Read Free

beast.
    “I said, calm down. He’s dead, I swear. Now relax, take a breath, and open your eyes. I promise nothing is going to hurt you now. It’s gone. Open your eyes so you can see for yourself.”
    The stranger was holding my arms tightly, but I could feel his thumbs moving in circles on my flesh. His warm touch along with his encouraging words were enough to stifle the panic I was feeling for me to take several deep breaths through my nose and letting it out through my mouth. After a few moments, I was able to calm myself enough to stop crying hysterically and take a few more shuddering breaths. I slowly opened my eyes to see the stranger staring back at me with concern in his eyes.
    “Are you ok now? You scared the shit outta me. I could have really hurt you if I hadn’t realized you were a girl.”
    I’m dead. I must be. There is no other explanation for the vision I saw before me. The mutant spider took a chunk out of my arm and I was dead on the sidewalk. Angels had come to take me away to heaven. I wished I could have said good-bye to Denny and my mom, maybe even my sisters, before I died, but it was too late to worry about that now. I hoped they buried me in my favorite dress with the pink flowers and curl my hair so it hung nicely with the neckline. Maybe I could appear to one of them as a ghost and tell them my final wishes before they put me in the ground.
    “Hey, girl, did you hear what I said?”
    “Am I dead?”
     

CHAPTER 3
    Range
     
    It took me less than ten minutes to pull up outside my pride and joy, ready to step inside and smell all of the fresh linens and soaps. Once a month, I came down to collect the money from the change dispensers and restock the washing soap in the machines I made available to the patrons. This was the only time I allowed myself to enter this place, and most people were not aware I was the actual owner.
    I bought this place a little over a year ago when the city decided to build this small industrial park area. To say I caught shit from my friends and Buck for buying this place would be an understatement. This only added to their idea I was a serious primping bitch. Buck was the only one who could truly understand my need to have a place like this, even though he initially scoffed at the idea as well.
    “What the fuck you need a laundromat for? We got a washer and dryer right here.”
    “I know that, Buck. It’s not for washing my clothes. It’s so that, no matter what, I will never be that dirty kid with lice again. It’s just something I feel strongly about. I can’t really explain it, so just accept it.”
    Buck just threw up his hands and walked off, mumbling, “Damn dumb ass kid and his stupid ass ideas.” I still remembered the day Buck and I became friends so clearly. He had to shave off all of my hair, because I had such a bad case of lice, mites, and everything else a person could have, just so he could cure it. This was the main reason I refused to cut my fucking hair any shorter than shoulder-length. It was the worst experience of my life as a child by far.
    I pulled up outside my building and jumped out the cab of my truck, getting ready to grab the boxes of soap out the back, when all of a sudden Oomph! Something—or better yet someone—was on my fucking back, holding on tight as hell with their legs wrapped around my waist.
    “What the fuck? Are you crazy? Get the fuck off my back!”
    Whoever it was didn’t weigh very much, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. Buck always taught me to strike first and fast, and ask questions later. This crazy motherfucker was about to go down, consequences be damned. I flicked my shoulder and grabbed the nearest arm I could see, bending at the waist, and twisted. As I spun around to drop this fucker, a curtain of long, blondish hair smacked me in the face, which wasn’t as surprising as the fact that it smelled like Tootsie Rolls. It was then that I realized it was a girl, a girl whom I was about to