Collection by John Rector Read Free Book Online Page A

help.   Tanya giggles, ignores me, and leeches her teeth into my neck.   Between the pain of her mouth and the security of the bra, I get frustrated.   Finally, after pulling as hard as I can, the bra comes off.   Tanya sits up fast, holding her arms across her chest.   She looks surprised, and for a moment, in the light of the dashboard clock, I think I see a nipple.  
    “What’s wrong?”
    “We should go find her,” Tanya says, pulling her shirt down.   “What if someone picks her up?”
    “No one will pick her up,” I say.   “No one’s out here.   We can get her later.”   I pull her closer.   “She’s probably sitting down the road a little ways, waiting for us.   It’ll be fine.”
    Tanya pushes away and sits up.   “No, I’m serious.   I think we should go get her.”
    “Come on.   It’s fine.”
    “No,” she says, adjusting something under her shirt.   “We need to find her.”
    I try to think of something to say, a way to stall, but she looks upset, so I give in and start the car.
     
    ~
               
    The windows are fogged, and as I pull out onto the road I wipe a spot clean with my sleeve.  
    Tanya leans forward and squints into the darkness.   “I can’t see shit.”
    I switch the one working headlight to bright, but it doesn’t help much.
    Tanya shakes her head and opens her purse.   “I’m going to kill that bitch when we find her,” she says, taking a cigarette and putting it to her lips.   “Why is she so stupid?”
    “You can’t smoke in here, remember?”
    Tanya lights the cigarette.   “I thought you said she’d be waiting for us down the road.   Do you think we missed her?”
    “She’s around someplace.”
    Tanya sits back and puts her feet on the dashboard.   “I’m gonna kill her.”
    I don’t say anything else, and we drive in silence.   After a moment, Tanya leans forward.   “Is that her?”   She points and hits her hand against the windshield.   The tip of the cigarette explodes against the glass and drops in her lap.   “Shit,” she says, pushing herself up off the seat.   “Shit, shit.   Where did it go?”
    “I told you not to smoke in here.”   I look over and run my hand along the cushion.   “Sit up more.”
    “I can’t.”   She moves to the side.  
    I see the red tip and pick it up.   It burns my fingers, and I drop it again.   “God damn it,” I say, and smack the seat.
    Tanya is smiling.
    “This isn’t funny,” I say.   “This is my dad’s car.   He’s going to kick my ass.”
    “I’m sorry.”   She’s laughing now.   “It was an accident.   I didn’t mean—”
    The car jumps, and something hard passes under the tires.
    Tanya drops back down, bracing herself against the door.
    For a moment, everything seems to stop.
    “What the fuck was that?” I say, pulling off the road.
    Tanya stares at me, her eyes wide.   “Oh, Christ.”   She covers her mouth with her hands.   “Oh, my God.”
    I keep quiet and search my mirrors for movement.   The road is dark and the taillights turn everything red and stretch long shadows out behind us.
    “Do you think I should—” My voice cracks.   I clear my throat.   “Should I go check?”
    Tanya doesn’t answer.   She has her head in her hands, rocking back and forth, mumbling something I can’t quite hear.  
    I pull the door handle and the overhead light shines bright and yellow.   “Should I go see?”
    “It was a dog, right?”   She looks up.   Black make-up snakes down her cheeks.   “Tell me it was just a dog.”
    I don’t say anything.
    The wind coming off the river is cold, and as I step out of the car I hear the rustling of the cottonwoods in the distance, the leaves shuffling nervously in the breeze.  
    I take a few steps, moving slowly.  
    Behind me, I hear the car door open, and I look back.   Tanya leans out and shouts.   “Megan?”
    I keep walking.
    Tanya’s door slams, and I hear her footsteps on the