Page 73 of Enraged

“Where to?”

She threw her hands up in frustration and spoke to me as if I were a child. “We are going to the corner store so we can vacuum all this glass out of your damn seat!”

I shook my head. “I’ll get it later.”

She had already climbed up into the passenger side. “Get the fuck in the truck, Dakota,” she ordered.

Knowing she wasn’t going to let this go, I got the fuck in the truck.

Jolene

“How long have you been drivin’ around with glass stuck to your ass?” I demanded.

He pulled out of my parents’ driveway. “Only a few hours. I forgot there was glass in here, honestly.”

Dumbfounded, I stared at him. “You are completely crazy.” I picked a few chunks of glass out of the cupholder, tossing them into the floor.

“How did the window wind up shattered?”

“We kinda got into a tussle and I slammed him against the truck.”

I shook my head. “Y’all are both gonna lose your jobs for actin’ like that,” I pointed out.

“Nah.” He pulled into the gas station. “I already talked to the chief.”

As he stopped at the industrial vacuum, I hopped out of the truck.

“I can vacuum it out. Get back in the truck.”

Why are you so damn bossy?

“I wanna help!”

He leaned down to my eye level. “You are half fuckin’ dressed and there is snow on the damn ground. Get. Your. Ass. In. The. Truck.”

I looked down at my oversized t-shirt, pajama shorts, and insulated boots.

I am fully dressed. I’m not dressed great, but I am dressed.

I folded my arms stubbornly. “I’m dressed fine,” I shot back. “And I want to help.”

“You can get in the truck, or I can put you in the truck,” he threatened.

Putting my hands on my hips, I called his bluff. “I don’t have to listen to you, bro. I’m a grown woman.”

In one quick swoop, I was laying over his shoulder.

“Put me down!”

He opened the passenger door. “I am!” He dropped me on the seat. “Stay,” he told me before slamming the door.

“I’m not a fuckin’ dog, Dakota!” I shouted at him through the open driver’s door.

Ignoring me, he shoved quarters into the vacuum cleaner. The machine sputtered a bit before waking up but eventually found a rhythm. He dragged the hose to where he needed it to be, the sudden sound of glass being sucked up, filling the cab.

Missed a spot.

He slid his seat forward and backward, making sure he got every nook and cranny. He finished fairly quickly; the only remaining evidence of their “riff” was the Glad Force Flex taped to the window frame.

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