10.Not Today
723 Words
The car ride was a silent one, oddly uncomfortable. My questions were met with grunts and nods which led me to enjoying the scenery.
I was watched as cars zoomed past us and we’d occasionally pass them too. After losing track of how many times we had passed this red Honda Civic I stared off into the trees as we passed them hoping to see something interesting.
The music from the radio was the only sound in the car
‘Which channel is this?’ I thought to myself.
‘Their selection is all over the place’
The songs would change genre without any warning or smooth transitions.
Holy grail just ended and I didn’t have any expectations of the next song that would come on but then I heard the first chord.
“I’m sorry, not sorry but you’re gonna have to listen to me butcher this song” I said to Matt before I started.
My lover's got humor
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
….
As I sang I tried my best to ignore the fact that Matt kept staring at me.
‘I wasn’t that bad was I?’ I began to doubt myself.
I closed my eyes and continued anyway as belted out the words,
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins, and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Oh good God, let me give you my life
No masters or kiii-
I was cut off by Matt pushing my head down into my lap
“What the hell?!” I hissed, struggling against his hand pushing down my head.
I was able to slightly turn my head in his direction.
His calm demeanor was gone.
‘Not that he had been all that calm during the drive’
His brows were furrowed, jaw clenched and lips pressed tightly against each other in a thin line.
“What’s wrong?” I whispered.
‘Why are you whispering?!’ I screamed at myself internally.
He tapped the steering wheel effectively drawing my attention to his hand that rested against it before using the thumb of the hand on the wheel to point towards the window.
“Oh the red Honda Civic is back” I stated the obvious.
An annoyed look flashed across his face but it soon disappeared, replaced by a menacing one.
The sound of stones being thrown against the side of the vehicle caught my attention.
‘The devil finds work for idle minds’ the old proverb popped into my mind as the sound grew more insistent the car began to swerve.
‘What kind of stones are they throwing?’ I asked myself as the car swerved more.
“Speed up?” I suggested. He scoffed but sped up. The pelting of the stones soon stopped but Matt didn’t slow down.
He only came to a stop when we were in an empty parking lot.
He took out his phone and typed a message,
[Stay in the vehicle. Keep the doors locked.]
He left before I could ask any questions… again.
The sound of the trunk opening and closing was the last sound from him.
Matt had parked in a secluded corner of the parking lot. The vehicle was probably unnoticeable, enveloped in the shadows.
‘I feel like I’m on a stake out!’ I thought excitedly, but this was before reality struck and I got bored.
After what felt like hours, but was really only 10 minutes the red Honda civic came driving into the parking lot and what was an undeniable exchange of gunfire.
‘Matt must have been crazy to think I was going to stay in the vehicle and miss this’
My heart was beating out of my chest as I struggled to see what was happening. I kept my body pressed close to the car, but somehow it just didn’t feel right there were dents everywhere. When I got into it early it was in pristine condition.
A shot nearby not frightened me but helped me to connect the dots.
‘They weren’t stones, they were gunshots’
‘I really don’t want to die today’
‘Not today’
For some reason I feel like I’ll be saying that a lot the more I encounter him.
- Writer
