Page 3 of Knox
“Nah,” she says, avoiding eye contact like looking at me would give her the plague. “I’ll figure something out. Nice of you to offer, though. You’re a real nice guy, Knox. Your momma raised you right.”
“Okay, then… but at least let me give you the number of a decent mechanic. You tell him Knox sent you and he’ll treat you right. An old service buddy of mine.”
I write down my friend's number on a piece of paper and hand it to her. She bites her lip as she takes it from me. “You sure you can get home safe?” I ask. “I hate to think of you out here at this time of night, all alone and without any money.”
“Home,” she says, tears already running down her cheek. Her big, brown eyes fill with water. “I don’t even know where that is anymore!”
3
Summer
I can’t believeI’m doing this. Breaking down in the middle of a diner. Crying my eyes out in front of this gorgeous, kind man. But as soon as he mentioned home, all the things I’d been bottling up inside me suddenly came flooding out.
He guides me to a booth in the corner and I tell him everything. How my stepfather was starting to get handsy. How he wasn’t taking no for an answer. How I had to get out of there. How I was going to drive all the way across the country to a friend I haven’t seen in nearly three years, without her knowing… until my car had started to splutter. Smoke Billowing out the hood. Pulling over to the nearest service station with only a few dollars to my name
“It’s okay,” he says, resting his huge hand over mine.
I look up into his eyes and try to believe him. But what does he know?
“I can’t go back home,” I tell him. “I just can’t. I’d rather live on the streets than go back to that man.”
“You’re not gonna have to live on the streets.”
He scratches his chin and stares dreamily out the window. A little stray cat stops in the parking lot like he’s just been caught stealing a hunk of cheese. His big, green eyes glow in the darkness. His tail stands up straight like an antenna on a police wagon. Then, as if a switch has been flicked, his body relaxes and he struts off to whatever dumpster or pile off trash he was heading to.
“How about you come back with me?” he says. “Just until you get yourself back on your feet.”
“I dunno.” I bite my lip and try to think rationally. “I don’t even know you. I mean, you seem like a nice enough guy. But, no offense, how do I know I’m safe with you?”
“Firstly,” he smiles, “I take no offense. To be honest, it sounds like a totally crazy idea. But, I’m currently living with my parents. I only finished my service a couple of months ago, and I’m trying to sort my life out, too. My girlfriend, she dumped me while I was away. This was months and months ago. But now I’m back at my parent's house. And my brother's childhood bedroom is empty. And, it just don’t make no sense to me. Having that empty bedroom, and you out here all alone and in need of some help.”
I scrunch my eyebrows together. I really want to accept this man's offer. But there’s something holding me back.
The life I’ve had, it’s hard to trust anyone. Let alone strangers. Half of me wants to leap across the table and wrap my arms around him. To bury my head on his shoulder and let him take care of me. The other half, well… it’s screaming at me to run. Screaming at me that no person could be this kind. This nice. Especially to a woman like me.
There has to be a trap. There has to be an ulterior motive.
I’ll admit, I’m having trouble seeing it. But I can feel it in my fingers. I can feel it in my toes.
Then again, what’s the alternative?
“Look,” he says, pulling a little black box out of his pocket. He rests it on the table between us. “This here is a taser. I have to have one for my work. I’m in security. How about you hold on to it. I can see you’re worried I’m some kind of psycho. So, here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m gonna walk over there and I’m gonna tell Shirley my address, and I’m gonna give her my phone number, and I’m gonna let her take a picture of us… together. And you’re gonna hold on to that taser of mine. I’ll show you how to work it. It’s not complicated. And if at any point you feel unsafe, you’re gonna zap me till my pants are all full of piss, and there’s steam coming out my ears, and then you’re gonna push me out and leave me on the side of the road and drive away as far and as fast as you can. Sound like a deal?”
I pick up the taser. Running my fingers over the button. It’s surprisingly light. But solid. For the first time in ages, I actually feel like I have some power.
“Why are you doing this, Knox?” I ask. “Why are you helping me like this.”
“Because it’s the right thing to do.” He looks me straight in the eye, and, let’s just say I’m lucky I’m sitting down. My legs turn to jelly and my heart starts to beat as fast as a hummingbird's wings. His dark blue eyes bore into my soul. “And because you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, Summer. And if anything bad happens to you, I’ll never forgive myself. So, what do you say? We have ourselves a deal? You gonna let me help you out?”
“Yeah,” I say, all flustered and confused. Nobody's ever spoken to me like this. Called me beautiful. Told me they care about me. “But one wrong move, Mr, and I’ll zap you so hard you won’t know what day it is. Now show me how to use this thing before I change my mind.”
4
Knox
I sitdown at the table in the kitchen and take a large gulp of freshly made coffee.
My dad’s muttering something about last night's baseball and my mom’s looking at me with one of those looks in her eye. Like she’s mentally fitting me for a tuxedo.
