Page 89 of Anathema Codex

He reaches over and pulls on the steering wheel with all of his strength and we go careening off the side of the road. I smack his hands and when he doesn’t let go, I land an elbow into the side of his head, knocking him back against his door as I spin the wheel trying to regain control of the truck.

Once I’ve got it under control and we’re back on the road, I run a hand back through my hair.

“You’re such a pussy. You’d never last a day with me at home, you know,” I tell him as I glance into the rear-view mirror. Red looks completely undisturbed as she keeps her eyes on the world outside of her window. “I mean, you haven’t even been able to rattleher, what the fuck makes you think you can get to me?”

“I wasn’t trying to rattle you,” he replies through clenched teeth, the pain obvious in his tone.

“Oh? Then what was that?” I ask as I reach up into the visor for the pack of smokes.

He lets out a loud sigh as he rubs the side of his head and continues to nurse the bruise that I’m sure will grow into a nice little egg in no time. “Nothing. Forget it.”

“I can’t. You’re still here,” I reply thoughtfully. “But you know what? I’m gonna keep my hands to myself for the rest of this trip. Trixie doesn’t like seeing her charity cases beat to shit and I’m sure you’ll become one of hers in no time.”

Actually, that’s not a bad idea.

He doesn’t answer me, so I cast a casual glance in his direction then shake my head as I turn my eyes back toward the road.

“Hey, Red? How’s Satan’s failed superstar holding up?” I ask, looking in the rear-view mirror again.

“Fine,” she replies immediately as she raises her eyes to meet mine. “She doesn’t smell too bad or anything.”

“She won’t for a few days,” I say thoughtfully. “But thankfully, she won’t be with us that long. Not that this trip should be longer than a few more hours. I hope anyway.”

Another hour into the drive and I’m getting antsy. Had this been twenty or so years ago, I could have pulled over and gotten my dick sucked.

Or at the very least violated Ichabod. I wonder what he’s up to.

I blink rapidly a few times then run a hand over my face. Why the hell he’s even entered my mind is beyond me, but I know that if I don’t come back with his beloved ‘Bea’ he’s going to make my life a living hell.

Although it also makes me wonder if the bullshit the kid was trying to sell me when we left my place is true.

Did he email him?

Does he have a phone I don’t know about?

There are too many lingering questions that I don’t have answers for and that’s starting to piss me off the longer I let it settle.

I can’t fully blame Ichabod for his heroic bullshit, though. Not that bringing this fucking shit show to my doorstep was heroic, but he’s always wanted to make everyone around him happy no matter how they’ve treated him.

And that’s why I’m still aggravated that he’s got a hard-on for Trixie. She pretended to be his friend, pretended that she cared about him, then dumped him on me the moment the chance presented itself.

Should I be mad at her about it?

I don’t know.

At the very least, I hope she has something nice to say about him when I finally talk to her because it’ll do him wonders to know she still ‘loves’ him.

Fucking bitch,I think gritting my teeth.

If it wasn’t for her none of this would have ever happened.

I wouldn’t have had the chance to fuck in Vegas. Ichabod never would have gotten hooked on drugs and I never would have sold whatever soul she thinks I have to her in exchange for whatever the fuck it was she was trying to achieve.

“Kid?” I say to him in a quiet tone.

He turns his eyes toward me, and I can see the venom swelling up inside of him already. He’s waiting for me to berate him, take another swipe at his blonde bitch friend, or maybe even reach over and smack him again, but…

I take a deep breath and let it out as I go back to focusing on the road in front of me.

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