Page 57 of The Only Seconds that Matter
Victor decided not to fight him on it but didn’t respond.
“You hate me,” Johnny whimpered like a petulant child.
“I do hate that you made me drive in this weather to come get you.Don’t you ever think this through?”
“No.”Johnny wobbled a bit, then buried his face in his hands.“Don’t wanna think.”
“Just… just sit there and rest, okay?We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Johnny fell quiet, but he was still looking at Victor, and Victor found it vaguely irritating.However, he refused to look back.If Johnny thought he could just look at him with those puppy dog blue eyes and win some forgiveness, he had another thing coming.
“Can we still be friends?”Johnny asked after a long silence.
Victor sighed.“Yeah, of course.”
“I want us to still be friends.”
“Okay.”
“Had a lotta friends,” Johnny muttered, finally turning away.“Not many these days.”
“Maybe they got tired of dragging your drunk ass home.”
Johnny didn’t react; his eyes were closed.Hopefully he’d pass out and he wouldn’t remember any of this.
Victor almost missed the driveway, as it was dark and somewhat hidden behind heavy brush.When the tire hit a dip in the gravel, Johnny jerked awake and immediately grabbed Victor’s coat sleeve again.
“Stop!”
Victor hit the brakes.“What?What’s wrong?”
“Let me out here.”
“Are you crazy?It’s pouring down rain out there and you can’t even walk.”
“I’ll figure it out.”Johnny fumbled for the door latch but couldn’t find it.Victor got the truck rolling again and grabbed a handful of Johnny’s coat to pull him away from the door.
“I’m taking you to your front door,” Victor said matter-of-factly.
“No, I’ll walk.”Johnny renewed his search for the door latch and finally found it.But the door was locked because they were in drive, and in the dark Johnny couldn’t seem to find out how to unlock it.
“Would you just behave?”Victor snapped, not sure what the hell got Johnny so feral.“Christ, what is wrong with you?”
“Unlock the door.”
“I’m taking you to the front door,” Victor repeated.
“Please don’t.”
Victor ignored him.The driveway wrapped around a copse of trees and opened up in a small clearing with a mobile home trailer perched in the middle.Did Johnny think Victor cared that he lived in a trailer?Tons of people in this state did.He knew Johnny had spent most of his earnings on rehab after his injury and that his feedlot job wasn’t making him bank, so what if he had to live in a trailer?It was a house, wasn’t it?
Victor parked the truck, keeping the lights on because there was no other light to see by.By now Johnny had gotten the door open, but all he could manage was a clumsy tumble to the ground beneath.He couldn’t get to his feet, so Victor grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled him up enough that Johnny’s boots could find purchase on the gravel.He muttered a string of protests as Victor led him to the front porch, but Victor didn’t understand any of them.The stairs creaked under their weight, and Victor realized they were leaning at an angle.The man needed to invest in some home improvement.
“I need your key,” Victor said as they stood in front of the metal front door.
“I’ll do it,” Johnny insisted.
“It’s fucking cold and raining.Give me the damn key.”
