Page 3 of Fatally Yours
“Right.” His response was flippant as he headed to the back for another look. From the side mirror, I watched as he gripped his baton and pulled it from his belt. Before any of us could speak, he cocked back the weapon and struck the bumper, caving in the light. August’s jaw clenched. Bits of sparkling red plastic littered the gravel, glittering in the sun like some morbid, bloody sunset.
“Aw, what the hell?” Mandy’s voice echoed from the back seat. I was sureAugust was thinking something similar, except with more obscenities. He buried his face in his hands, probably suppressing the urge to leap out of the car and give Officer Wilson a good sock in the jaw. A moment later, with a slight smirk, he returned to the window while his feet crunched against the remnants of our light. The recognizable sound of a pad of paper flipping was not lost on me as my head met the window.
“There’s no need for a ticket,sir,” August said, briefly slipping from his false positivity. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the officer giving him a smug expression.
“It’s been out for two months.”
His face shaded as Officer Wilson scribbled down something without an ounce of feeling in his demeanor. It was as if the act was as meaningless as watching paint dry.
“I’m thinking a citation is necessary. Maybe it’ll teach your delinquent friends a lesson, too,” he said. August’s mouth opened slightly, but before he could speak, my hand shot out and grabbed his. He squeezed me back as the officer turned away and returned to his vehicle to retrieve our unearned punishment.
“I hate that fucker,” he snarled after a moment, releasing me. “That dude has it out for me. What I wouldn’t give to—” Much too soon, heavy feet were back outside the window, and I thanked every holy being in the universe that he shut his mouth in time. But that also meant that I couldn’t turn away soon enough. My avoidance was only because Officer Wilson never sat right with me. Not with how his eyes lingered for longer than I was comfortable with.
“Try to behave yourself next time.” He handed August the ticket. “But I know how hard that is for you.” Despite my efforts to avoid eye contact, he spotted me and gave me a gentle smile, and my face burned. “Nice to see you, Natasha,” he said. “Have a good evening, ladies. Make sure you pay that citation, August.”
I gave him a pained grimace in return, and he turned away, trudging back to his car and revving up the engine. Much to my dismay, Officer Wilson’s and I’s eyes connected as he drove past, making me shrink in my seat.
“What a jerk-off,” Mandy said. “Now I know he’s got a crush. Just not on August.”
“Gross!” I cried. “He’s old enough to be my dad.” My eyes fell to his fists. His knuckles were pale with rage as he gripped the gearshift and waited until Officer Wilson was far out of view before taking off again.
“If he weren’t a cop, I’d wring his fuckin’ neck,” he said under his breath, taking a sharp turn down another road as I gripped the handle. “They’re all corrupt scumbags, anyway.” I placed my hand on his arm as he exhaled.
“Relax, please. It’s okay now.”
He eyed me. “Maybe for you,” he said, his lip curled, then his aggressive stance faded before he gave me another toothless smile. “I’d be in jail if I didn’t have you.” Mandy sat up in the backseat.
“You know, that dude is kind of a creep,” she remarked.
“This town is full of creeps,” August said. “Remember that fucker who got caught with that kiddie shit a few years back? That guy who runs the auto body? Clark something?” A chill crawled down my spine from the memory. Never before did something so revolting happen here besides the occasional petty squabble and the cops being too high-strung for our tastes. And unfortunately for us, he still lived here, like a haunting reminder of the sinister side of humanity. Despite the low crime rate, it seemed that act was not remembered as well as it should’ve been. Tragedies always faded from the public eye faster than the victims deserved.
Mandy hummed. “Oh yeah, that guy was nasty,” she said. “Even worse than Officer Wilson, even if one of my friends told me he tried to kiss her when he pulled her over once. She didn’t even do anything.” August’s arm felt like steel against my skin, but I kept my mouth shut, knowing it was more than justified in the end. I wasn’t going to pretend I hadn’t heard the rumors. It was obvious from the way he observed women in our town. There was something predatory there. “Maybe this town really is full of creeps.”
“Someone ought to take that guy out,” August growled. “Take all of them out.”
“Yeah, but he can get away with it. He’s a cop.” With that, Mandy let out a sigh, unbuckled her seatbelt and laid back down.
After that brief interruption, we finally made it to Devin’s house. August headed to the rear of the car and was fighting with the finicky handle of the trunk in an attempt to pry it open. I strolled to the door as my feet scraped across his gravel driveway.
“Meet’cha in there,” I called as I rapped my knuckle against it. Without waiting for a response, I twisted the handle and entered, dusting my shoes off before stepping inside. A group of familiar faces greeted me when I walked into the living room.
“Guess who,” I said with a smile. Devin was sitting on the arm of the couch, but when I entered, he got up and made a beeline for where I was standing. The TV was howling with wild screams and the hum of a chainsaw. I noticed Scott had his head propped up on his elbow, and Wes was gripping a pillow in his lap like it would save him from whatever killer-of-the-week was on today.
“Hey, Natasha. How’s it going?” Devin asked. I gave him the same fake expression I gave Officer Wilson.
“I’m fine. What about you?”
He returned the gesture, only more genuine. “Same old, same old.” We sat in awkward silence until Scott looked up with a smirk.
“You know, if you ever decide to ditch August, Devin ain’t half bad,” he said. “Then we can go on double dates whenever I find a lady who will put up with me.” He chuckled like it was a joke, but there was an uncomfortable seriousness to his words, causing my face to flush. They both knew we were happy together, so why did they have to say things like that so often?
“Yeah, maybe,” I said quietly, hoping they would drop the subject. Scott returned to watching the TV before Devin spoke again, forcing my face toburn.
Why couldn’t I say anything?
“Say, you ever—” His words were snuffed out as the sound of the door creaking rang through the room, and a set of heavy footsteps and another lighter pair scraped across the linoleum. Knowing August would be here in a moment was a relief. They weren’t bold enough to say anything like that to me when he was around. The other two popped into the room not a moment later, and Devin gave me an almost sorrowful expression. Shrugging, I made my way to the empty couch and sat down.
“Devin,” August said with a glare, looking like he was about to beat him over the head with the guitar clutched in his hand.
