Tragic peace, p.2
Tragic Peace, page 2
“Nothing, it’s nothing.”
“When did you move here? I’ve lived here most of my life and seen none of you before,” I asked.
“We moved here about 7 1/2 years ago.”
“I moved to Texas to escape this small town.”
“And we moved from Memphis. Small world.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll let you guys get to it. By the way, you play the guitar amazingly and your voice is just hypnotizing. Don’t quit playing, no matter what. You guys were fucking breathtaking,” I said, adding in a compliment in the end. I was already being awkward. I didn’t need to add anything else. He would be mine, I mocked myself, knowing I had a deadline for fleeing to Texas.
“Awe, thanks. If you’re going to sweeten us up with all the compliments, I might need to take you out for coffee or dinner or something,” he said, smiling, and winked at me.
I simply melted in my head. My heart was thumping where my knees were. I was not even sure if I held my breath, but I took two steps to fill out his form and I floundered face first and everything went black.
Zack
“Raelynn, what just happened?” I got out. We were hovering over her, trying to figure out what was happening. They immersed her entire outfit in water, and once she ran out of water, they used the last of the alcohol we had. Now she stank of booze.
“I think my blood sugar got too low. Fuck. I forgot my glucose in the car.” She got out. “Of all the days for this stupid low blood sugar to kick me in the ass and stab my heart, it reared its ugly head at the one time I wanted to be sexy and play hard to get.” Yeah, she was delusional right now. She didn’t need to be sexy.
“Sugar. Low. Glucose. Glove department.” She said one word at a time. She grabbed her phone, put it to her mouth, and said, “Siri, open emergency notes.” Opening emergency notes. The phone said back to her. Jeff grabbed the phone and read. Jeff was tall and looked to be about six feet tall. He was shorter than me, with long hair, but no beard, and was tatted up as much, if not more, than I was, and he was younger than me by about four or five years.
“Holy shit, dude. She has an entire list of what we are supposed to do. Man, call an ambulance. I can’t put my life on the line. I have a whole family to take care of. If we fuck up, man, she could sue us. It even has the lawyer’s name at the bottom.” He threw the phone as I came back with the glucose, glucose meter, and a few snacks from the shop’s kitchen. As I ran to her with all the goodies, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the beautiful beauty in front of me.
“Damn,” I got out.
“Glucose. Food. Meter,” I said back to her with the same slowness she had said earlier. I understood she wouldn’t understand a lot right now. Goddess, she’s perfect, even when she’s barely conscious.
“Thank you. Phone. 2934 code. Read.” was all she managed out before she passed out again.
I slipped the glucose into her mouth.
“Dario, read the directions here, as I’m doing everything. Jeff, go to the Barbeque place, and grab a few pounds of BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans, the works, a few drinks for everyone, and a few deserts. I don’t care what. Just get something.” I didn’t know what the girl needed or wanted, but I wasn’t letting her die here. She had a lot going for her. I was forty-three years old, rocking out in my auto shop we put together in a few years. She was young and vibrant.
“First, give me the glucose under my tongue,” Dario read.
“Check. Next.”
“Check my sugar. Use the glucose monitor in the bag on my hip.”
“Fuck. Okay, help me sit her up.”
“I guess we shouldn’t have poured water on her.” She was drenched.
“I can go see if we have something in the other room for her to wear.” John said out of nowhere. I forgot he was still here. Always the quiet one.
“Okay, that would be great. Okay, help me get her out of these clothes, while keeping her dignity and being modest.” I added.
“I see the bag. It’s in her back pocket.” Dario asked, getting excited, grabbing it, and handing it. I took the meter, checked her sugar, “The glucose level is 47, very low, add glucose now,” the machine chimed at us. So, I gave her another glucose tablet and decided it would be best to call the professionals. “John, once you get done finding clothes, can you grab a phone and call 911 and tell them we have a girl here with low blood sugar and see if they can get here faster than I can figure this shit out?” I said to him as he was rummaging through our closet we had at the shop for when we had long nights.
“You have her phone. Just call and put it on speaker,” John said back.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think of that.” So, I called 911 and decided this would be a journey if this girl made it. When this girl made it. I wasn’t losing someone else to my negligence.
“911. What’s your Emergency?”
“I have a girl in my auto shop that just passed out. I'm following the notes on her phone, and it states her sugar level is 47. We have added two glucose tablets, and I’m not comfortable going forward. She is breathing, but I think someone who is in this field should be here. She is breathing but unconscious, her heart is beating…” I rambled for a minute and glimpsed a scar under her neck that looked like someone struggled to slit her throat. I should ask about that on our date. I thought to myself. We don’t have a date to go on yet. She plainly keeled over and practically died on us when we mentioned getting coffee…
“Sir, are you still there?” the operator inquired, interrupting my thoughts.
“I am sorry. I was trying to check her pulse and respirations,” I answered. “Pulse is 72, respirations are 17.”
“Okay, she’s very steady. That’s good. Can you check her glucose levels again?” So, I did.
The glucose level is 72. Please add more glucose.
“Did you hear that?” I asked the operator.
“I did. What else was on her list? You’re doing a great job.”
“3. Find me peanut butter, put it on a spoon and into my mouth. 4. Use alcohol swabs to wake me up if I pass out. 5. If my sugar is below 40, call an ambulance. 6. By law, if you save my life, I must buy you dinner,” I read back to the operator.
“Well, lucky you. You saved her life, but you didn’t read far enough before calling. Did you still want me to dispatch someone to you? It could take a while, because White County is busy with a few issues, and I’m not sure where our volunteers are.” That was relatively reassuring considering this girl just almost died!
“No, thank you. I will take her in my truck if needed. I’m sure I can get there faster than they can find our town,” I said back.
I looked at this little beauty and contemplated the next steps. I knew to wait about 20 minutes before checking her sugar. John ran in with the peanut butter and a spoon. We eased it into her mouth. Like a baby, she sucked the spoon and peanut butter as if it was her lifeline. I knew at this moment I had to track her blood sugar levels, make sure it didn’t get below 70 again, and figure out what’s wrong with her Jeep, then get her on her way. I wanted no trouble, but I also wanted nothing to happen to her.
Once Jeff came back with the food, we set up everything, ate, then investigated what could go on with her car. Once I found the culprit, I called the parts places I was close with, and discovered it would take 2 weeks to get her parts in. Fucking great.
I checked her sugar again, and it was at 106. That’s a lot better. We unanimously agreed she was going to rest upstairs before going home.
Jeff and I took her upstairs to the attic, which was my home. It had my bed, my kitchen, a bathroom, shower, and a little mini theater area where I could chill out when I needed to. After all, I was a bachelor and I owned this shop.
“Jeff, can you warm the shower up? I think we can get some of this alcohol off her body, then we’ll put some clothes on that John brought us.” He did as I asked.
As I was taking her dress off, I noticed the scars on her body. Someone wreaked havoc on her. They took no mercy. I counted just 17 scars around her breast and belly button. Anger rose deep within me. I did not know where these emotions were coming from, but I was angry at someone for scaring this beauty’s body. I took off the bra, then her tights and panties. She had scars covering her thighs, three on her spine, two on her knees, and one big scar going towards the inside of her womanhood.
“Bring it in, Zack, she’s younger than us and we need no illegal charges for anything coming back to us. Shower her, dress her, put her on the sofa, then go downstairs.” I’m not sure what Jeff thought I was doing, but all I wanted to do was find who did this to her and then kill them after torturing her.
“I’m just looking at the scars. Although her breasts are absolutely a sight to see, I just want to know about the scars.” I whispered back to him.
We took her into the shower after we undressed her. Washed her up. I started with her hair, lathering, and massaged the shampoo into her hair, and then we washed her body, rinsed, and dried her off. I added some bath oil to her body after she was dry, before slipping the clothes on her. She was so light. I figured she weighed about 140, but she felt like a feather. This beauty, while harboring the most horrifically tragic scars, was at peace while she was asleep.
Raelynn
Iopened my eyes, confused about everything. What was the last thing I remembered? Swanky’s Auto and Repair. I dropped off the Jeep. Low blood sugar. Damnit. I was lightheaded. My damn sugar must have gotten too low again. One day, this would land me in a coma, and I would not make out alive. I had to get back to the city where people knew how to get to hospitals and use modern medicine.
A sharp smell of BBQ hit my nose, and I immediately sat up. I wasn’t wet anymore. I was wearing a band T-shirt and sweatpants. I investigated the shirt, no bra. Looked into the pants, no panties. My hair was wet. My skin felt smooth. They stripped me down, and dressed me, placed me into a—wait. Where am I? I was panicking when Zack came into the room.
“Are you okay, Rae?” He genuinely seemed concerned.
“I think so. Where am I?”
“You’re still at the shop, but upstairs in my loft. I followed your directions but didn’t listen. You gave us a scare, baby girl. You can’t be doing that around here. We don’t have the fine technology that Memphis and Little Rock have; and we are a few miles out from there to even consider the worst hospital around here. Are you hungry?” He was worried. He was legitimately worried about me. Cute. I had him. I smiled to myself. Happy that I got his attention, but this is not the way I wanted to get there.
“I am starving,” I licked my lips tasting the peanut butter they left on my lips. “And I am dying of thirst.”
“We have pulled pork, ribs, and all the sides they carried. We practically ordered a buffet. You’re welcome to join us if you’re not busy?”
“I’d love to. I hope my little low sugar incident didn’t hurt any service today?”
“We were just doing a jam session. This shop doesn’t see many people, other than the occasional oil change, tire change or issues from out-of-state travelers.”
“Oh, did you look at my car? How long was I even out for?” I asked. My brain was racing. I still had a funeral to attend. I wanted to get in and out before my reason for leaving realized I was back. I didn’t want him to see me. I didn’t want to remember why my scars were there. And I sure as hell did not want to see him. The nightmares were gone, and I was coping with everything. It was time to heal. I sobered up and dealt with the wreckage in my life. It’s time to move on. Seeing him would not help me. I cut him cold turkey. My addiction to his love bombs and gaslighting had left my system. I had a plan. Funeral. Pack grandma’s stuff. Go through the house, sign everything over to my brother, then leave. I had nothing left for me here, other than my mom and brother.
“You were out for about two hours. Your car’s radiator needs to be replaced. The part will be here in about two weeks and sorry about changing your clothes. After the dumbasses and I decided you weren’t playing a joke on us, we did a few stupid things.” He rambled on and on. I just nodded my head and listened. “First, we used the water hose to wake you up. Then, I remember my mom mentioning things about alcohol swabs were good when people pass out. I didn’t remember the context, but she was a nurse, so I went with it. Either way, I didn’t have alcohol swabs, nor did I have alcohol other than Everclear and a towel. Either way, it didn’t work, and I wasted about 4/5ths of the bottle on you. So, sorry about that. We cleaned you up the best we could.” He grinned, his face was turning red. Aww, he was blushing!
“It’s okay, really. I like the shirt. Can I keep it? And whose pants did I get into while unconscious?” I asked about flirting. Obviously flirting. I was hoping they were Zack’s. Goddess, he was absolutely everything my mama warned me about. Covered neck, two fingers in tattoos and just beautiful.
“The shirt and pants are mine. Your radiator piece will be here in two weeks. Let’s get you something to eat.” Zack said, mentioning the bad news about the radiator again. Fucking lemon. I will never buy a car from a used car salesman ever again. Ever. Again. I stood up, following him to the food. “The radiator has a crack in it. It’s an obvious crack. Which is what probably caused your engine and transmission to overheat before, but they never noticed it, because it’s so hidden. But we will fix her up and get you back on the road, I promise.”
“You’re the absolute sweetest, Zack.” I said back. I would not let on to my disappointment about being stuck here for another two weeks, but that’s okay. I can lie low. I can work from mom’s and do what I need to at Gran’s. What was supposed to be 6 days is turning into 14 business days. Breathe, Rae. You got this. I said to myself.
Upon seeing the display of every type of BBQ meat, chicken, ribs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and potato salad, bread, and rolls—this was a feast for gods. I was eating at the Knights of the Repair Shop. I laughed when I thought of that to myself.
“So, I guess, thank you all for saving my life.” I said, looking at the four men who ultimately did everything to save my life. Even Jeff, who feared the repercussions if anything happened.
“I, uh, just don’t deal well with unconscious bodies.” Jeff replied.
“It’s okay, that’s why I mentioned the lawyer's part, stating nobody is going to be sued if I don’t make it.” I said back, trying to calm his defenses.
“Can we start over?” Zack and Dario said.
“My name is Zack; this guy right here is Dario. The guy with his hands in his pockets is Jeff. And John is the one fiddling with the drums. Everyone, this is Raelynn.”
“Nice to officially meet all of you. Thanks for all of this.”
“You don’t need to thank us. What men would we be to just let your sugar plummet down to nothing and die? That’s a cruel death, I would think.”
“Typical men that don’t put any regard to a woman’s body? I mean, you could have raped me, and thrown me in the middle of the White River. But you didn’t. That makes me feel safe here, and the last emotion I ever thought I’d describe Bradford with is safe.” I said, revealing a little more than I wanted, but enough to know that they didn’t know about me, which was good.
“Men don’t do that. That’s monsters. You’re safe with us, no matter what.”
I looked down at my hands. I realized one of them undressed me and showered me. They saw all of me. Even the parts I hid from my parents.
“Uh, Raelynn, I’m just curious, and if you don’t want to talk about it to four strangers, I understand, but the scars on you, how? Who? When? Where?” I wanted to hide. I wanted to run. There’s no way I could open about the one thing I was addicted to that almost killed me. I was finally a survivor that escaped the most lethal part of my life, but finally at peace. I was tragically at peace.
“Well, as much as I’d love to tell you, I must get going. Since the car and I will be here for the next two weeks, maybe I can take ya’ll out for dinner and explain one day.” I replied to him.
“You and I can go, for sure. Jeff is married, while Dario and John are roommates.”
“Dario and John, would you like to go out to dinner to hear the horror story of the scars that gave you nightmares?” I laughed towards the two men, looking at me with eyes of steel.
They all looked at each other. They had some conversation without speaking. I never had a friend like that, but I bet it was nice. “Zack deserves a night off. You two should go together.” Dario responded as he squeezed Zack’s shoulder.
“Okay, well, maybe we can go into Little Rock or Searcy and find something to eat, and I’ll explain.” I retorted.
“One more thing, Raelynn.” Zack said back, “Let me give you a ride home. It’s almost 9PM, and there’s no way you’re walking alone. I’d like to explain to your parents what happened and that you were safe the entire time.”
“That’s fine, but my mom doesn’t care about me in those regards. She’s used to me going missing. I have a tracker in my phone and in my car. There’s a small tracer in my necklace, too.” I said, pointing at my necklace.
“What the hell happened to you, Raelynn?” Jeff asked out of nowhere. Zack punched him in his leg.
“No, it’s okay, Zack. Growing up in this town, I went through a lot. I don’t like coming back here. I made a home somewhere else. This place still gives me nightmares.”
“I have one request, Raelynn. Tell me a name and where he lives. I don’t need to know anything else. Just give me those two things and I will take you home, pick you up at 8 PM tomorrow, and we will go have dinner in Little Rock or in Memphis at Texas De Brazil, my treat.” He was up to something, but I would not give in. Not until I was safe again.
“I have to go to my gran's funeral tomorrow, but maybe on Thursday.” I replied, ignoring his plea, “yes, I will take the ride home, though. It’s literally right around the corner.”
Maybe I was out of line. Maybe I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I knew that one day, I would regret not telling Zack, but otherwise, I could regret telling him and wind up in a cycle that is never-ending and destined to be my death.
“When did you move here? I’ve lived here most of my life and seen none of you before,” I asked.
“We moved here about 7 1/2 years ago.”
“I moved to Texas to escape this small town.”
“And we moved from Memphis. Small world.”
“Yeah. Well, I’ll let you guys get to it. By the way, you play the guitar amazingly and your voice is just hypnotizing. Don’t quit playing, no matter what. You guys were fucking breathtaking,” I said, adding in a compliment in the end. I was already being awkward. I didn’t need to add anything else. He would be mine, I mocked myself, knowing I had a deadline for fleeing to Texas.
“Awe, thanks. If you’re going to sweeten us up with all the compliments, I might need to take you out for coffee or dinner or something,” he said, smiling, and winked at me.
I simply melted in my head. My heart was thumping where my knees were. I was not even sure if I held my breath, but I took two steps to fill out his form and I floundered face first and everything went black.
Zack
“Raelynn, what just happened?” I got out. We were hovering over her, trying to figure out what was happening. They immersed her entire outfit in water, and once she ran out of water, they used the last of the alcohol we had. Now she stank of booze.
“I think my blood sugar got too low. Fuck. I forgot my glucose in the car.” She got out. “Of all the days for this stupid low blood sugar to kick me in the ass and stab my heart, it reared its ugly head at the one time I wanted to be sexy and play hard to get.” Yeah, she was delusional right now. She didn’t need to be sexy.
“Sugar. Low. Glucose. Glove department.” She said one word at a time. She grabbed her phone, put it to her mouth, and said, “Siri, open emergency notes.” Opening emergency notes. The phone said back to her. Jeff grabbed the phone and read. Jeff was tall and looked to be about six feet tall. He was shorter than me, with long hair, but no beard, and was tatted up as much, if not more, than I was, and he was younger than me by about four or five years.
“Holy shit, dude. She has an entire list of what we are supposed to do. Man, call an ambulance. I can’t put my life on the line. I have a whole family to take care of. If we fuck up, man, she could sue us. It even has the lawyer’s name at the bottom.” He threw the phone as I came back with the glucose, glucose meter, and a few snacks from the shop’s kitchen. As I ran to her with all the goodies, I couldn’t help but acknowledge the beautiful beauty in front of me.
“Damn,” I got out.
“Glucose. Food. Meter,” I said back to her with the same slowness she had said earlier. I understood she wouldn’t understand a lot right now. Goddess, she’s perfect, even when she’s barely conscious.
“Thank you. Phone. 2934 code. Read.” was all she managed out before she passed out again.
I slipped the glucose into her mouth.
“Dario, read the directions here, as I’m doing everything. Jeff, go to the Barbeque place, and grab a few pounds of BBQ, coleslaw, baked beans, the works, a few drinks for everyone, and a few deserts. I don’t care what. Just get something.” I didn’t know what the girl needed or wanted, but I wasn’t letting her die here. She had a lot going for her. I was forty-three years old, rocking out in my auto shop we put together in a few years. She was young and vibrant.
“First, give me the glucose under my tongue,” Dario read.
“Check. Next.”
“Check my sugar. Use the glucose monitor in the bag on my hip.”
“Fuck. Okay, help me sit her up.”
“I guess we shouldn’t have poured water on her.” She was drenched.
“I can go see if we have something in the other room for her to wear.” John said out of nowhere. I forgot he was still here. Always the quiet one.
“Okay, that would be great. Okay, help me get her out of these clothes, while keeping her dignity and being modest.” I added.
“I see the bag. It’s in her back pocket.” Dario asked, getting excited, grabbing it, and handing it. I took the meter, checked her sugar, “The glucose level is 47, very low, add glucose now,” the machine chimed at us. So, I gave her another glucose tablet and decided it would be best to call the professionals. “John, once you get done finding clothes, can you grab a phone and call 911 and tell them we have a girl here with low blood sugar and see if they can get here faster than I can figure this shit out?” I said to him as he was rummaging through our closet we had at the shop for when we had long nights.
“You have her phone. Just call and put it on speaker,” John said back.
“Oh, yeah. I didn’t think of that.” So, I called 911 and decided this would be a journey if this girl made it. When this girl made it. I wasn’t losing someone else to my negligence.
“911. What’s your Emergency?”
“I have a girl in my auto shop that just passed out. I'm following the notes on her phone, and it states her sugar level is 47. We have added two glucose tablets, and I’m not comfortable going forward. She is breathing, but I think someone who is in this field should be here. She is breathing but unconscious, her heart is beating…” I rambled for a minute and glimpsed a scar under her neck that looked like someone struggled to slit her throat. I should ask about that on our date. I thought to myself. We don’t have a date to go on yet. She plainly keeled over and practically died on us when we mentioned getting coffee…
“Sir, are you still there?” the operator inquired, interrupting my thoughts.
“I am sorry. I was trying to check her pulse and respirations,” I answered. “Pulse is 72, respirations are 17.”
“Okay, she’s very steady. That’s good. Can you check her glucose levels again?” So, I did.
The glucose level is 72. Please add more glucose.
“Did you hear that?” I asked the operator.
“I did. What else was on her list? You’re doing a great job.”
“3. Find me peanut butter, put it on a spoon and into my mouth. 4. Use alcohol swabs to wake me up if I pass out. 5. If my sugar is below 40, call an ambulance. 6. By law, if you save my life, I must buy you dinner,” I read back to the operator.
“Well, lucky you. You saved her life, but you didn’t read far enough before calling. Did you still want me to dispatch someone to you? It could take a while, because White County is busy with a few issues, and I’m not sure where our volunteers are.” That was relatively reassuring considering this girl just almost died!
“No, thank you. I will take her in my truck if needed. I’m sure I can get there faster than they can find our town,” I said back.
I looked at this little beauty and contemplated the next steps. I knew to wait about 20 minutes before checking her sugar. John ran in with the peanut butter and a spoon. We eased it into her mouth. Like a baby, she sucked the spoon and peanut butter as if it was her lifeline. I knew at this moment I had to track her blood sugar levels, make sure it didn’t get below 70 again, and figure out what’s wrong with her Jeep, then get her on her way. I wanted no trouble, but I also wanted nothing to happen to her.
Once Jeff came back with the food, we set up everything, ate, then investigated what could go on with her car. Once I found the culprit, I called the parts places I was close with, and discovered it would take 2 weeks to get her parts in. Fucking great.
I checked her sugar again, and it was at 106. That’s a lot better. We unanimously agreed she was going to rest upstairs before going home.
Jeff and I took her upstairs to the attic, which was my home. It had my bed, my kitchen, a bathroom, shower, and a little mini theater area where I could chill out when I needed to. After all, I was a bachelor and I owned this shop.
“Jeff, can you warm the shower up? I think we can get some of this alcohol off her body, then we’ll put some clothes on that John brought us.” He did as I asked.
As I was taking her dress off, I noticed the scars on her body. Someone wreaked havoc on her. They took no mercy. I counted just 17 scars around her breast and belly button. Anger rose deep within me. I did not know where these emotions were coming from, but I was angry at someone for scaring this beauty’s body. I took off the bra, then her tights and panties. She had scars covering her thighs, three on her spine, two on her knees, and one big scar going towards the inside of her womanhood.
“Bring it in, Zack, she’s younger than us and we need no illegal charges for anything coming back to us. Shower her, dress her, put her on the sofa, then go downstairs.” I’m not sure what Jeff thought I was doing, but all I wanted to do was find who did this to her and then kill them after torturing her.
“I’m just looking at the scars. Although her breasts are absolutely a sight to see, I just want to know about the scars.” I whispered back to him.
We took her into the shower after we undressed her. Washed her up. I started with her hair, lathering, and massaged the shampoo into her hair, and then we washed her body, rinsed, and dried her off. I added some bath oil to her body after she was dry, before slipping the clothes on her. She was so light. I figured she weighed about 140, but she felt like a feather. This beauty, while harboring the most horrifically tragic scars, was at peace while she was asleep.
Raelynn
Iopened my eyes, confused about everything. What was the last thing I remembered? Swanky’s Auto and Repair. I dropped off the Jeep. Low blood sugar. Damnit. I was lightheaded. My damn sugar must have gotten too low again. One day, this would land me in a coma, and I would not make out alive. I had to get back to the city where people knew how to get to hospitals and use modern medicine.
A sharp smell of BBQ hit my nose, and I immediately sat up. I wasn’t wet anymore. I was wearing a band T-shirt and sweatpants. I investigated the shirt, no bra. Looked into the pants, no panties. My hair was wet. My skin felt smooth. They stripped me down, and dressed me, placed me into a—wait. Where am I? I was panicking when Zack came into the room.
“Are you okay, Rae?” He genuinely seemed concerned.
“I think so. Where am I?”
“You’re still at the shop, but upstairs in my loft. I followed your directions but didn’t listen. You gave us a scare, baby girl. You can’t be doing that around here. We don’t have the fine technology that Memphis and Little Rock have; and we are a few miles out from there to even consider the worst hospital around here. Are you hungry?” He was worried. He was legitimately worried about me. Cute. I had him. I smiled to myself. Happy that I got his attention, but this is not the way I wanted to get there.
“I am starving,” I licked my lips tasting the peanut butter they left on my lips. “And I am dying of thirst.”
“We have pulled pork, ribs, and all the sides they carried. We practically ordered a buffet. You’re welcome to join us if you’re not busy?”
“I’d love to. I hope my little low sugar incident didn’t hurt any service today?”
“We were just doing a jam session. This shop doesn’t see many people, other than the occasional oil change, tire change or issues from out-of-state travelers.”
“Oh, did you look at my car? How long was I even out for?” I asked. My brain was racing. I still had a funeral to attend. I wanted to get in and out before my reason for leaving realized I was back. I didn’t want him to see me. I didn’t want to remember why my scars were there. And I sure as hell did not want to see him. The nightmares were gone, and I was coping with everything. It was time to heal. I sobered up and dealt with the wreckage in my life. It’s time to move on. Seeing him would not help me. I cut him cold turkey. My addiction to his love bombs and gaslighting had left my system. I had a plan. Funeral. Pack grandma’s stuff. Go through the house, sign everything over to my brother, then leave. I had nothing left for me here, other than my mom and brother.
“You were out for about two hours. Your car’s radiator needs to be replaced. The part will be here in about two weeks and sorry about changing your clothes. After the dumbasses and I decided you weren’t playing a joke on us, we did a few stupid things.” He rambled on and on. I just nodded my head and listened. “First, we used the water hose to wake you up. Then, I remember my mom mentioning things about alcohol swabs were good when people pass out. I didn’t remember the context, but she was a nurse, so I went with it. Either way, I didn’t have alcohol swabs, nor did I have alcohol other than Everclear and a towel. Either way, it didn’t work, and I wasted about 4/5ths of the bottle on you. So, sorry about that. We cleaned you up the best we could.” He grinned, his face was turning red. Aww, he was blushing!
“It’s okay, really. I like the shirt. Can I keep it? And whose pants did I get into while unconscious?” I asked about flirting. Obviously flirting. I was hoping they were Zack’s. Goddess, he was absolutely everything my mama warned me about. Covered neck, two fingers in tattoos and just beautiful.
“The shirt and pants are mine. Your radiator piece will be here in two weeks. Let’s get you something to eat.” Zack said, mentioning the bad news about the radiator again. Fucking lemon. I will never buy a car from a used car salesman ever again. Ever. Again. I stood up, following him to the food. “The radiator has a crack in it. It’s an obvious crack. Which is what probably caused your engine and transmission to overheat before, but they never noticed it, because it’s so hidden. But we will fix her up and get you back on the road, I promise.”
“You’re the absolute sweetest, Zack.” I said back. I would not let on to my disappointment about being stuck here for another two weeks, but that’s okay. I can lie low. I can work from mom’s and do what I need to at Gran’s. What was supposed to be 6 days is turning into 14 business days. Breathe, Rae. You got this. I said to myself.
Upon seeing the display of every type of BBQ meat, chicken, ribs, pulled pork, mac and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw and potato salad, bread, and rolls—this was a feast for gods. I was eating at the Knights of the Repair Shop. I laughed when I thought of that to myself.
“So, I guess, thank you all for saving my life.” I said, looking at the four men who ultimately did everything to save my life. Even Jeff, who feared the repercussions if anything happened.
“I, uh, just don’t deal well with unconscious bodies.” Jeff replied.
“It’s okay, that’s why I mentioned the lawyer's part, stating nobody is going to be sued if I don’t make it.” I said back, trying to calm his defenses.
“Can we start over?” Zack and Dario said.
“My name is Zack; this guy right here is Dario. The guy with his hands in his pockets is Jeff. And John is the one fiddling with the drums. Everyone, this is Raelynn.”
“Nice to officially meet all of you. Thanks for all of this.”
“You don’t need to thank us. What men would we be to just let your sugar plummet down to nothing and die? That’s a cruel death, I would think.”
“Typical men that don’t put any regard to a woman’s body? I mean, you could have raped me, and thrown me in the middle of the White River. But you didn’t. That makes me feel safe here, and the last emotion I ever thought I’d describe Bradford with is safe.” I said, revealing a little more than I wanted, but enough to know that they didn’t know about me, which was good.
“Men don’t do that. That’s monsters. You’re safe with us, no matter what.”
I looked down at my hands. I realized one of them undressed me and showered me. They saw all of me. Even the parts I hid from my parents.
“Uh, Raelynn, I’m just curious, and if you don’t want to talk about it to four strangers, I understand, but the scars on you, how? Who? When? Where?” I wanted to hide. I wanted to run. There’s no way I could open about the one thing I was addicted to that almost killed me. I was finally a survivor that escaped the most lethal part of my life, but finally at peace. I was tragically at peace.
“Well, as much as I’d love to tell you, I must get going. Since the car and I will be here for the next two weeks, maybe I can take ya’ll out for dinner and explain one day.” I replied to him.
“You and I can go, for sure. Jeff is married, while Dario and John are roommates.”
“Dario and John, would you like to go out to dinner to hear the horror story of the scars that gave you nightmares?” I laughed towards the two men, looking at me with eyes of steel.
They all looked at each other. They had some conversation without speaking. I never had a friend like that, but I bet it was nice. “Zack deserves a night off. You two should go together.” Dario responded as he squeezed Zack’s shoulder.
“Okay, well, maybe we can go into Little Rock or Searcy and find something to eat, and I’ll explain.” I retorted.
“One more thing, Raelynn.” Zack said back, “Let me give you a ride home. It’s almost 9PM, and there’s no way you’re walking alone. I’d like to explain to your parents what happened and that you were safe the entire time.”
“That’s fine, but my mom doesn’t care about me in those regards. She’s used to me going missing. I have a tracker in my phone and in my car. There’s a small tracer in my necklace, too.” I said, pointing at my necklace.
“What the hell happened to you, Raelynn?” Jeff asked out of nowhere. Zack punched him in his leg.
“No, it’s okay, Zack. Growing up in this town, I went through a lot. I don’t like coming back here. I made a home somewhere else. This place still gives me nightmares.”
“I have one request, Raelynn. Tell me a name and where he lives. I don’t need to know anything else. Just give me those two things and I will take you home, pick you up at 8 PM tomorrow, and we will go have dinner in Little Rock or in Memphis at Texas De Brazil, my treat.” He was up to something, but I would not give in. Not until I was safe again.
“I have to go to my gran's funeral tomorrow, but maybe on Thursday.” I replied, ignoring his plea, “yes, I will take the ride home, though. It’s literally right around the corner.”
Maybe I was out of line. Maybe I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I knew that one day, I would regret not telling Zack, but otherwise, I could regret telling him and wind up in a cycle that is never-ending and destined to be my death.
