I've Been Deader by Adam Sifre Read Free Book Online Page B

good one on the back of the head. That would get her to look up from her goddamned rag. Instead he took a deep breath and stared daggers at the road.
    Ahead, a hitchhiker shambled down the road. Even from a distance Jon could tell he was high or drunk or something. He kept wandering into the street and then serpentining back and forth. Without thinking Jon gave the car a little more gas.
    "I'm her only grandson and she never remembers my name or who I am. Last time she even forgot to put her teeth in. She was gumming an apple the whole time we were there. She's gross."
    Jon couldn't help smiling at that. Penny did smell like pee and she was gross. Truth be told, that whole place gave him the willies. He knew that if Jeffrey wasn't here, he'd be saying much the same thing about now. God knows he could think of better ways to spend a Sunday afternoon.
    What really burned his tacos was that Lori felt the same way. She loved her mother, sure. But the primary motivators for today's visit were Guilt, Shame and Obligation. Love was a distant fourth.
    The hitchhiker took a step into the road and Jon swerved around and past him, tires squealing in protest. He caught a glimpse of the slack-jawed hippie as he sped past. He had a cardboard sign hanging around his neck with the words ‘NEW JERSEY’ written in bold black marker.
    "Probably stoned out of his mind," Jon murmured. Lori gave an "ummm" of agreement without looking up. Jeffrey, proving he was indeed his mother's son, never looked up from his game.
    Engrossed in his game, Jeffrey was taking a rare break from his bitching. Jon sent a prayer of thanks to the makers of Nintendo. God bless extended battery life. With luck the kid would spend the rest of the trip trying to catch some friggin' Pokémon or guiding Tony Hawk through the world's most dangerous skating park or some other brain-rotting bullshit.
     
    *  *  *
     
    Stop 'N Go
     
    A short while later, Jon pulled into an Exxon station. Lori's car was a little too small for him and after being crammed behind the wheel for two hours he had to stretch his legs and back.
    He got out of the car and rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder in the small hope of relieving his neck pain. Disappointed with the lack of bone-cracking relief, he walked over to the pump and swiped his credit card. Theirs was the only car on either of the two islands. The Stop 'n Go, although lit and sporting a neon Open sign, was empty.
    Inside the car Jeffrey rolled down the window.
    "Can I get a soda?"
    Jon frowned. "Ask your mother."
    "I did. She said to ask you."
    "Jesus H. Christ," Jon muttered. He fished a buck out of his pocket and handed it to Jeff. "Use the vending machine in front there. I don't think the store's open."
    Jeffrey took the bill and shot out of the car. And did he say 'thanks, Jon'? He did not. He sprinted over to the machine and looked up and down the short list of choices.
    Half-watching the kid at the machine, Jon caught movement from the corner of his eye. One of the food displays in the Stop 'N Go shook, as if someone had bumped into it. Somebody's home after all , he thought, although the display still blocked whoever was inside from his sight.
    He could hear Jeffrey humming the Pokémon theme song. He was still standing before the machine, agonizing over which drink to purchase. Trying to decide between Coke and root beer, I bet . Jeffrey was a root beer junkie but he couldn't stand birch beer. The machine probably carried a brand he had never heard of and he was weighing the risks of the purchase.
    Inside the store he saw a man wearing the signature Stop 'n Go shit-brown blazer and striped bill cap, limping toward the store's front door. He looked like death warmed over from where Jon was standing. His skin looked grey, and even from this distance Jon could see the man's eyes were white and filmy. He figured it must have been the lighting. Those cheap fluorescents made everything look washed-out and wrong.
    He finished