Page 36 of Angels Fall

As I storm out the back door into the alley, the sun hits me in the eyes and I squint. I almost forgot it was daylight out. It’s easy to lose time when you’re inside there.

A homeless guy going through the dumpster to my left sees me, shouts, “Devil!” and runs away.

I stomp over to the car. Annie’s car, which I’m still fucking borrowing. It’s a candy-apple-red Audi S5 convertible. Basically, Annie’s drone. Something she bought because she thought it would give her freedom but has become just another albatross.

I grabbed my bag before walking out, but I’m holding my shoes and pitch-fucking-fork and fumbling in my purse for my keys, which is when I stop paying attention to where the pitchfork is pointing and hear “screeeeeech.” I don’t even need to look to know that I have royally fucked up Annie’s car. But I do.

“FUCK!”

I toss everything in my hands to the ground and the keys spill out. I snatch ’em up, press the button to unlock the door, and am about to jump in, peel away from here and drive into a phone pole on purpose when the scuffed-up door of Pete’s opens and… he… comes running out.

“Maddie,” he calls after me.

“Fuck you, dude. I asked you for one thing. One thing and you can’t give me that?”

“I was trying, but—”

“Shit! I asked you to be there for me seven years ago and you couldn’t do that, now I’m just asking you to stay the hell away and you can’t do that either. What’s it take?”

“Maddie, stop. You’re in trouble and that’s painfully obvious and I’m just trying to be there if you need my help.”

“I don’t need anything from you. Not anymore. Thanks for playing.” I sit down in the driver’s seat and press the starter button, but before I can get away, he yanks the door open and grabs my arm, pulling me out of the car.

“What. The. Fuck. Are you doing?” I spit the words in his face. “If you value anything about your life, you will take your hand off me right the fuck now.”

He does. I bend down, grab up my pitchfork, and press the tines into his chest.

“OK, now…” he says.

“Yeah? What? That hurt?” I ask, pushing it a little harder. “Like there? Around your heart? That feel shitty? ’Cause I know what that’s like.”

“Maddie, stop!” He pushes it away and yanks it from my hand.

“Give it back. It’s mine. I got it at Tractor Supply.”

And then he does the most infuriating thing he can possibly do. He laughs.

“What? What’s so funny?” I spew at him. He laughs harder. “Stop! Stop! Dick!”

I slap him on the chest, then I ball up my fist and strike him, then I ball up the other one and hit him again, and then, next thing I know, I’m wailing on him hard, pounding without restraint, and he’s letting me. He takes it. Every blow I offer. And then I stop.

“What’s wrong with you?” I ask. “Fight back, you pussy.” I hit him again. This time across the face. A hard slap.

He twists his head back to face me. “No,” he says.

So I slap him again. And again. And again. Each time his head snaps and then he turns back to me, allowing me to do it again. I pull back a step to take him in. Because I can’t believe this fucking guy.

And that’s when I notice the massive hard-on he’s got going.

“Really?” I say with astonishment. He shrugs in that fucking way he does.

And I grab a handful of that scraggily-ass beard, pull him face to face with me, look into those stupid blue eyes, say, “Fuck,” and jump up into his arms, my legs around his waist, my mouth pressed against his lips.

“I hate you,” I breathe out in between kisses.

TYLER

Shit. I have so much I want to say and to ask her. I want to know what the hell is going on with this Carlos asshole exactly. I want to explain that I have been trying to stay away and that I’m only here now because I want to make sure she’s okay. Because I owe her. Because I love her. Because I loved her back when she was just a kid and Scotty’s little sister and now I’ve fallen in love with the woman she is.