Page 17 of Chasing Fireflies

He laughs once. “Right, she’s the one who had a panic attack on her first day,” he says, taking a seat beside Ben who has his eyes on the newspaper. I tilt my head and narrow my eyes, feeling my neck get hot.

“Lucas, no one needs any trouble around here,” Berry warns.

“Just telling the truth there, boss.” Lucas holds up his hands.

Ben clears his throat. “Why don’t you head on somewhere else? I’m sure the diner has some coffee waiting on you.”

“Why don’t you pretend like you’re an actual cop and go do some cop work?”

I eyeball Lucas as I wait for Berry to finish. Ben looks back at his newspaper. A hot towel is placed onto my throat, and I give it a minute before I remove it.

“That’s good, Berry. What do I owe you?”

“This one is on the house, deputy.”

“Thank you,” I say, standing.

“Ah, we got another Barney Fife on our hands, boys,” Lucas says. I look over at him.

“Good to see ol’ Chief Rogers and Guz have hired on some help. Too bad it’s not someone more…” he looks me over, “qualified.” He sniffs and spits into the trashcan beside him. “Guess I’ll see you around, buddy.” He grins. I chuckle without humor and walk toward the door. Before I open it, I turn back around.

“Lucas?”

“Yeah?”

“Speak unkindly about my wife again and I’ll break your fucking nose…buddy.” I push the door open and let it shut behind me. Ben walks out and cracks a smile.

“Haven’t seen anyone stand up to that piece of shit in a long time. I heard the last man that did got his arm broke, and that was back when Lucas was in high school,” he tells me.

I shake my head at Ben’s excitement. “Guy seems like an asshole and a bully,” I say as I walk to the truck. I know I shouldn’t have let the man get to me, but I don’t cope well with someone talking shit about my wife.

“Cash, toss me the ball.” I glance back at Mason and bounce the ball his way. He jumps and makes the shot easily. I look over when Sara and her friends sit down on the bleachers. She’s wearing baggy clothes today, and her hair probably hasn’t even been brushed. It’s a bad day for her, but I still give her a smile.

The ball gets bounced back to me, and I catch it. “Why do you want anything to do with that girl?” Mason asks me.

“What the hell do you mean?”

“I mean, she’s weird, man. Everyone knows she sleeps for days, and then one minute she’s all over the place. Hell, the teachers even talk about her. I heard Mrs. Roberts telling Mrs. Bailey the girl can’t even pay attention sometimes. How she is popular I don’t understand it.”

My mind doesn’t tell my hands to stop before I throw the ball at his face.

“Don’t talk about my girl, man,” I say as he holds his busted nose.

*

I pull up to the house and see the screen door open. Putting the truck in park, I step out and walk inside. “Sara?” I call out as I walk through the living room. There’s no answer, and I run up the stairs. The bed is unmade, and our pillows are wrapped up in the sheets. A light breeze blows the white curtains in our bedroom, and a slow panic spreads throughout my chest. I walk over to the window and look out. The moonlight shines bright, and I see that the field is empty, but a chill runs down my spine as a bad feeling passes through my mind.

Moving away from the window, I turn around and run back down the stairs. I push the door open and step out onto the porch. Looking down the road, I take off toward my truck and jump inside. My headlights shine down the road ahead of me, and my neck hairs prickle as I wonder where my wife is. As I twist my hands around the steering wheel, a cold sweat breaks out across my forehead, and I let out a sob of relief when I see my baby walking. I yank the truck in park once I hit the brake and then jump out.

“Sara,” I say as I run up to her. I grab her from behind, and my eyes look down at her bare feet. “Baby, you have no shoes on.”

“I don’t like shoes,” she mumbles, and I let out a sad laugh.

“Let me take you home.” I lift her in my arms, and she lays her head on my chest. “Fucking hell, you scared me.”

“I was lonely,” she whispers and everything is quiet, but the sound of my heart breaking can be heard from miles away.

*

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