by Mia Ford
“Yes,” I said, my eyes locking with his. “I killed Kenny.”
“You…” His eyes overflowed with tears and he shook his head. “Goddamn you…”
“Yes, goddamn me,” I said quietly. “Now, hit me.”
His forehead cut into deep lines. He frowned at me from beneath his bushy eyebrows. His fists stayed at his side. Tears ran down his cheeks. Snot streamed from his nose and over his lip. He growled at me. “What did you say?”
“I said hit me, you son of a bitch. Hit me like you always do.”
I had never seen my father look confused before. He blinked quickly and shook his head. “You just need to go. Don’t come home. Don’t ever come home again.”
I was stunned more by his words than I had ever been by his fists. He put a hand on my mother’s shoulder. I had never seen him touch her out of affection, only out of anger and violence.
I don’t know why I didn’t just walk away. Kenny was dead. I didn’t love my parents and they didn’t love me. The only thing bonding us together was gone. It would have been so easy to just sever the tie and leave.
But I didn’t.
I wanted him to hit me.
I wanted him to beat me senseless like he had done so many times before.
His unwillingness to take his anger out on me was unacceptable.
I had gone from punching bag to nothing.
I wasn’t even worth the effort of his beatings anymore.
I was nothing more than a bad smell that he thought he could wave away.
No.
No, goddamit, he was not going to get the satisfaction of sending me away, not without something to remember me by.
I slowly took my hands out of my pockets and pushed him.
Hard.
I’ll never forget the look of shock in his eyes.
“What the fuck are you doing, boy— “
I hit him just once.
In the nose.
As hard as I could.
I could feel his nose breaking against my fist.
The cartilage splitting and the veins popping open.
The blood gushed from his nostrils.
It covered my hand before I could pull it back.
It washed over his face and shirt.
His knees buckled and he went down hard, cracking his head on the floor.
I stood there with my fist cocked and ready, but it was done.
He was not getting up.
There were hospital guards there now.
They grabbed my arms and pulled me back.
I was big and strong and out of control.
I elbowed one of the guards in the nose and knocked out the other with one punch.
I started for my father. I wanted to kick him in the ribs so he’d know how it felt. I wanted him to clutch his sides at the pain of just taking a breath. I wanted to do to him what he had done to me my entire life.
Then, chaos broke out around me.
Doctors and nurses running, hovering over the old man.
Three cops appeared, coming out of nowhere with handcuffs and tasers and metal batons.
They beat me until I went down, then one of them pushed a knee into my spine and clamped the cuffs hard around my wrists and dragged me away.
The last thing I saw was my mother’s face.
She lowered the handkerchief and looked down at the old man.
She looked at me.
And smiled.
* * *
I spent two nights in the county jail because no one was willing to bail me out. I didn’t even bother to use my one phone call. It would have just been a waste of breath.
I was being charged with assault and battery.
The hospital guards were fine, no permanent damage, but the hospital was pressing charges.
My old man had a broken nose and a mild concussion from his head bouncing off the hard floor.
He was already home, according to the public defender they assigned to me, who, by the way, was about as useful as tits on a two-by-four. He said I was facing two years in the state pen. It was his idea to plea me out if I’d join the military. He was an ex-Navy man. He called the recruiter and the judge.
Two days later, Gulf Breeze was just a distant memory.
I should have never come back.
I should have just left well enough alone.
Chapter 21: Annabel
I didn’t have the luxury of calling in sick so I could hide out in my bed with the covers pulled up over my head, lamenting the fact that the only man I had ever truly loved had cheated on me yet again. I mean, I didn’t know what I had expected from Shane. It was not like we were a committed couple. Hell, I hadn’t seen him in over a decade and then I go and throw myself at him the first day he is at home?
Could I really blame Juju for doing the same?
Could I blame Shane for being receptive to what she was offering?
Of course, I could.
Shane Mavic was a cheating, lying piece of shit and he’d never convince me otherwise.
So, for the next three days I forced myself to get out of bed in the morning and go downstairs to the office and serve my patients well and drag my feet back up the stairs at night.
The pets of Gulf Breeze needed me.
I would not let them down, no matter how much I wanted to just crawl into a hole and die.
* * *
“’Who’s next?” I asked Wendy after coming out of exam room 3 where I’d just finished cleaning the anal glands of an obese Chihuahua named Nacho. I know. Gross. Most of my job is gross, but somebody’s got to do it.
Wendy handed the patient folder across the desk and nodded at exam room 2. “Juju Wheeler is here with Pumpkin. Annual shots.”
“Shit,” I said without thinking. I hadn’t told Wendy what had happened, but she knew Juju and I had a history and could tell something was up with me.
“Do you want me to have Juan do it?” she asked.
I took the folder and shook my head. “No. I’ve got this.”
I paused outside the door to take a deep breath, then opened the door and went inside. Juju was standing next to the exam table. Pumpkin, her toy poodle, was sitting on the table enjoying getting his ears scratched.
“How have you been, Annabel?” Juju asked tentatively. Her smile was shaky. The skin around her eyes was tight with tension. She was not her usual bubbly blonde, over-the-top self. To the contrary, she looked like a nervous wreck.
I tugged on a pair of latex gloves and glared at her. I was forcing myself not to cry. “Look, Juju, I will take care of your dog, but we’re not going to be friends. So, let me do what I need to do so you can leave.”
“I understand,” she said quietly. “I just want you to know that— “
I held up a hand to hush her. “Just… save it.”
I checked Pumpkin’s weight and vitals. She was young and healthy. No issues other than having an owner who was a cunt. I picked up the syringe and started to give Pumpkin her shots. The syringe was trembling in my hand.
“I can’t do this…” I said, shaking my head. “I’ll have Juan come in and do the shots.” I snapped off the gloves and reached for the door.
“Annabel, wait,” Juju said. “There’s something you should know.”
I shook my head at her. “I’m not interested in hearing anything you have to say, Juju. Please. Just don’t ever talk to me again.”
I opened the door and started to go through.
Juju raised her voice. “Annabel, stop! You’re going to want to hear this,” she said.
“Why would I give a shit about anything you have to say?” I asked.
“Because you are about to let a good man get away,” she said with a heavy sigh. “And I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t tell you the truth.”
Chapter 22: Shane
“Well, I reckon that’s it,” Uncle Seth said as he watched me toss my duffel into the back of the rental car. “Wish you’d hang around for a while. We could catch up.
Do some fishing.”
“I’d like to, but now that the house is done I need to get back,” I said. “I appreciate all your help. I wish you’d let me pay you.”
He held up his hands. “You gave me a car and a truck and a houseful of furniture, son. We’re square.”
“Fair enough,” I said. “And I appreciate you taking mom’s dog, too.”
He smiled. He’d never admit it, but he had bonded with the little white dog right off the bat. He had scooped her up and said he was taking her home to Wilma. The next day all he could talk about was how fucking cute that dog was.
“Happy to help,” he said. “Wilma loves that little dog.”
“That’s good to know.” I took a moment to look over the front of the house. It looked a hundred times better than it had a week before. The roof had been replaced, the siding repaired and painted, the windows replaced. Inside there was fresh paint and carpet and appliances. Juju’s sign was in the yard. I told her to take whatever was offered and email me the papers for signatures.
I opened the truck door and slid in behind the wheel. Seth leaned in the open window and let his voice go soft. “You ever coming back?”
I shook my head. “No, sir.”
He nodded like he understood. “Okay, well, you take care. You know where we are if you need us.”
“Thanks, Uncle Seth. You take care.”
I put the truck in gear and drove slowly away without looking in the rearview mirror. I took the long way around so I wouldn’t have to go through the intersection where Kenny died. I crossed the railroad tracks on the south end of town and turned toward the highway.
I’d be at the Houston airport in a couple of hours and back in Afghanistan by tomorrow.
I would never see Gulf Breeze again.
I kept telling myself that was just fine with me.
Chapter 23: Annabel
“You just missed him,” Seth said after I screeched to a halt in front of Shane’s parents’ house. He was loading tools into the back of his truck. He tugged a kerchief from his back pocket and took off his hat to wipe the sweat from his face. “Is everything all right, Doc?”
My head swiveled on my neck. “No, it’s not,” I said, my fingers tightening around the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white. “How long ago did he leave? Where was he going?”
“Probably ten, fifteen minutes. Have you tried to call him?”
“Yes, but he’s not picking up.”
Seth nodded and scratch the stubble that covered his chin. “He’s flying out of Houston this afternoon. He’s headed there now.”
“Shit,” I said, slamming my palms against the steering wheel.
“He’s gotta stop for gas,” Seth said with a knowing smile.
I blinked at him. “What?”
“He’s in a rental car. You have to return it with the tank full or they charge you some ungodly penalty.” He narrowed his eyes to squint into the distance. “If you leave now you might catch him.”
“You think?”
He grinned and drummed his fingers on the door. “You’ll never know unless you try.” He stepped back and hitched his head to the side. “Go on. What are you waiting for?”
Chapter 24: Shane
I was going to wait until I got closer to the Houston airport to fill up the Navigator, which guzzled gas like a frat boy at a keg party, but the gas light came on right before I started onto the interstate. There was a Midway Truck Stop at the Gulf Breeze exit now. I pulled up to the pump and shoved the nozzle in and gassed it up while I went inside to buy a Mountain Dew and some snacks for the trip.
The truck stop was busy with travelers going and coming from Galveston, mostly truckers and riggers. The place smelled like grease and oil and sweat and burnt hot dogs. I plucked a large bottle of Mountain Dew from the cooler, a plastic-wrapped bear claw from the pastry rack, and a large bag of Ranch Doritos. I’d miss these things when I was back in Afghanistan. Might as well have a picnic on the road to Houston because I’d be back on the SEAL diet of mess hall food and field rations tomorrow.
I paid for the gas and the snacks and stepped out into the sweltering sunny day. I didn’t see her until I put the nozzle in the pump and opened the door. Annabel was sitting in the passenger seat. She smiled and told me to get in the truck.
Chapter 25: Annabel
“What are you doing here?” Shane asked as he climbed into the truck and closed the door. He had a brown bag in his hand. He set it in the console and turned to face me.
“I wanted to ask you a question,” I said, sitting sideways with my back to the door.
“Just one?”
“Just one.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that Juju was the one trying to kiss you the other day?” I asked, resisting the urge to reach out to put my hand on his arm. I longed for the feeling of my fingertips on his skin. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were trying to put her off when I came in?”
“That’s two questions,” he said seriously.
“Okay, fine. Two questions. Answer both please.”
Shane squinted to stare through the dirty windshield at the sweltering day outside the air-conditioned SUV and blew out a long sigh. It was like all the air going out of him, like he’d held his breath for a dozen years.
“I figured I’d made enough excuses,” he said quietly. “I’d hurt you enough. There was no reason to do it again.”
“But you were really innocent this time,” I said, putting my hand on his arm now and giving it a squeeze. His skin was hot beneath my hand. “Juju told me the truth. Why didn’t you say something?”
“I tried,” he said, pulling his arm away and shaking his head. “I yelled after you but you wouldn’t stop. I tried calling you for two days. I got the message loud and clear. And now…”
Tears stung at my eyes. “And now what?”
“And now I have to leave.” He put his hands on the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. “It’s for the best. I’ve hurt you enough.”
“It’ll hurt me even more if you leave,” I said. I reached across to put my finger under his chin and turn his face my way. “If you leave, I’ll be devastated.”
He blinked at me. “You will?”
“I will. Do you know why?”
“No. Why?”
“Because I love you, Shane Mavic. I’ve loved you since the first grade. And I’ll be damned if I’m going to let you run away from me again.”
Before he could say a word, I climbed over the center console and forced my way into his lap. I was wedged between his hard body and the steering wheel. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my lips to his. He didn’t resist. He kissed me back, gently, longingly, as if it was a kiss he’d waited a life time to deliver.
“I have one more question,” I said, nibbling at his ear.
“What’s that?”
“Does this SUV have a big backseat?”
Chapter 26: Annabel
The first time Shane and I made love it was in the back of his mom’s car parked on a bluff overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. It was a Saturday night in the summer. It was dark, no moon out. The night air was thick, moist, hot. It made us sweat. The country station out of Galveston was on the radio. We steamed up the windows and stank up the seat. We were just two horny kids doing what came natural. It was a memory I’d never forget. And one I couldn’t believe I was in the process of reenacting.
This time we were in the back of a Lincoln Navigator in broad daylight, parked in the same spot with the same view that looked quite different in the bright light of day. The Navigator’s windows were heavily-tinted, not that it would have mattered. We would have fucked in the bed of my old pickup truck and welcomed the onlookers. We had no choice. Our bodies were screaming for one another. I could barely keep my hand off Shane’s cock as we drove to the bluff.
We climbed into the back seat and took off our clothes. As with the first time, Shane lay back with his hard cock sti
cking up like the mast of a great ship: long, thick, hard, lined with plump veins, the head crimson and moist, waiting for my touch.
I sat on the edge of the seat with my legs spread wide, pumping his cock while Shane’s fingers explored my wet pussy, his thumb on my clit. I was literally gushing as his fingers probed in and out.
“Fuck that feels good…” I said, closing my eyes. “You have magic fingers, Captain Mavic.”
“So do you, Dr. Bates,” he said, the words coming out on a heavy breath. I felt his cock grow harder in my hand. I leaned down and pressed my lips to the tip. Clear juice oozed from the tiny slit and I licked it away. Shane moaned and probed his finger deeper inside my cunt.
“I’m so glad… I caught you…” I said, struggling with the words.
“Me, too…”
“I was such… an idiot…”
“Shut up and get on top of me,” he said with a smile. “According to the manual this back seat is big enough to sixty-nine so let’s give it a go. Put that sweet pussy on my mouth.”
I giggled and did as I was told. I put one leg over his head so my pussy was at his lips, and then leaned down to take his cock into my mouth. As my hand milked the long shaft and my lips sucked the bulbous head, Shane drove his tongue deep inside me. His fingers dug into my ass cheeks. He squeezed hard, then slid one finger into my ass. When he started sucking on my clit I couldn’t hold back any longer. I gushed hot juice all over his face and into his mouth. Shane pressed his lips to my cunt and sucked out every last drop.
“Fuck… you do that so well…” I sighed with his cock at my lips. He was licking the juices from pussy lips and moaning, sending vibrations through me, making me almost cum again. His cock pulsed in my hand.
“Get on top of me now,” he said. Just like the first time.”
I smiled and gave his cock one last kiss, then turned around and positioned my pussy above him. Shane held his cock steady as I lowered myself onto his long staff. The round head slid in easily, I was so wet. My pussy spread and then closed around it like it was giving him a welcome hug.
