Page 10 of Reckless

“Have you seen, er… uh, a guy out here?”

“A guy?” I ask. My gaze darts back to Jude. He’s moved further back, enough that I can still see him. Enough for me to know he doesn’t want to talk to this man.

The stranger runs both hands over the top of his head and spins in a full circle, looking around. “Yeah, uh. He’s about six two, dark clothes, tattoos.”

He doesn’t want to tell me it’s Jude Smallwood he’s looking for. “Is he dangerous?” I ask, putting a little fear into my voice.

“No, no,” he shakes his head. “We’re staying up at the hotel and he got drunk and wandered off last night. We’re out looking for him.”

“The Obsidian Hotel?” I ask, knowing full well it’s where Jude came from, still marveling that he got so far walking in the dark.

“Yes. Have you seen him?” He takes another step towards me.

Any closer and he’ll see the RV door. Jude can always slip further inside without letting on he’s here.

“I really need to find him,” he says as his cell phone rings in his pocket. He grabs it and answers. “Anything?”

His back is to me now, and I take the opportunity to look at Jude without being obvious. I hold a discrete hand out in question. Jude looks conflicted, but after a moment, he shakes his head.

“God dammit. Where the hell is he? No, don’t call them yet. The last thing we need is this getting out. He’s pulling some shit because he didn’t want to go to the party last night. Check the hotel again. He’s probably sulking somewhere.”

My mouth hangs open after hearing his words. He’s pulling some shit? Even as a very distant bystander with no actual knowledge of what is happening with the band, it’s obvious this isn’t just some shit he’s pulling. This guy has no comprehension of what Jude is going through.

Something comes over me. The side my younger sister always hated when we were kids. She was forever telling me I'm not funny. What does she know, I'm hilarious at times.

“I saw him.” I call out when the man hangs up.

He whirls around. “What? You said you didn’t. Where is he?”

“I never said I didn’t. I never said one way or another.”

He takes a few steps closer. “Where did you see him?” he asks through gritted teeth.

What an asshole.

“He came by here about an hour ago,” I tell him with a shrug. “Asked if he could use my toilet.”

The man looks to the RV. Out of this guy’s line of sight, Jude is looking at me. His face is stony. He thinks I’m about to hand him over. I take a few steps towards the man to prevent him walking further into the clearing.

“He had a bad case of… you know.”

“No, what?” he asks.

“Stomach troubles. He’d eaten something bad… Guess he picked some berries while he was out here. But you know even I don’t like doing that in my RV. Am I gonna let a stranger?” I widen my eyes at him.

He looks confused and a little disgusted. It’s throwing him off.

“So I told him there’s a rest stop a couple miles that way.” I point towards the actual direction of the rest stop area because he’s come from the other direction and will know there isn’t one along that way. “I gave him some toilet paper, in case he needed to go in the woods before he got there.”

“Are you fucking with me?” The man’s face scrunches up in disgust.

“No. Who would joke about something as serious as diarrhea? That shit is no joke.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jude cover his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle his laughter.

“Pardon the pun,” I add. “He can’t have got far. I mean, especially if he had to keep stopping to… you know.”

“Jesus Christ. I’m going to kill him. The rest stop is that way?”

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