Page 123 of 2204 Hunter Lane
Fuck was it ever icy.
The snow painted the grass like fluffy marshmallow icing, but the roads were coated in a thin layer of black ice patches, undetectable and slick.
I had my winter tires on so I wasn’t totally freaking out, but had Bambi been out here with those tiny Malibu wheels, I’d lose my goddamn mind.
Oh well, the liquor store and grocery were just five miles down the road so I’d be back in no time.
Porn Star Dancing by My Darkest Days came on the radio and I turned it up louder, blasting my national fuckin’ anthem on this festive holiday.Sure as shit ain’t no Christmas tune, but it was a bop nonetheless.
I pulled into the general parking lot and snagged my wallet from the cupholder, stalking into the sliding door’s of the liquor store when a twiggy, dishevelled man shouldered through.
“Watch it.” He ordered, his filthy fuckin’ breath splitting my senses in half.
My first instinct was to knock his yellow teeth out, then give ‘em a quick brush right after. But I decided against it, holding my breath as I followed behind him.Not today, Hunt. Not today.
I found the brandy rather quickly and made my way to the festive drink aisle where I spotted some peppermint flavoured eggnog with scotch mixed in.
“Why the hell not?” I shrugged, swiping that in my hand.
On the way to the cash, I found some peach rings set on display, an orange label written above: Use me for a chaser!
Like, an alcohol chaser? Fuck it.It was no starburst but Bambi needed to expand her candy horizons. When she told me she’d only ever eaten gummy bears, I almost threw a fit.
“You’ve never had any other candy?” I’d gasped, in a state of complete and utter shock.
“Yeah, the gluten free ones from –”
“No, no, no. I won’t hear anythin’ more, Bambi.”
Needless to say, I was in utter dismay over the fact she hadn’t lived at all, having only eaten fuckin’ gummy bears. Maybe this peach ring thing made a good chase, but it sure as hell made an even better redemption treat.
“Hiya.” I smiled at the woman behind the register. “They really use candy as a chaser?”
She scanned all my items and said, “don’t knock it ‘till you try it.”
Hm.“First I hear of this.” I swiped my card on the reader, inhaling the putrid scent of that fart-bag standing way too close to me.
“Quit chattin’. People got places to be.” The guy from earlier spat, clutching hold of an open J.D bottle.
“Sir, you gotta buy that before you drink it.” The cashier said.
“I’m payin’, aren’t I?” He turned to me with beady eyes, beadydrunkeyes and snarled. “Walk along, pretty boy. It’s Christmas after all.”
I wanted to kill him, I wanted to fucking kill him and stuff his body in the mud. All the flashbacks of my drunken bar fights with Josh surfaced to the forefront of my brain.
There was a reason why I came back with bloody knuckles so often. One wasted bastard after another, pestering me, taunting me to the point of blinding rage and I’d snap. Mind you, since Bambi I’d barely gone back to any bar for that matter, but those memories were still there. And so was that anger.
Just walk away, Hunter. Walk away.For once, my movements obeyed my commands and I grabbed hold of my items and mumbled alow “merry Christmas”and stepped out of the store.
“What’s so merry about it?” I heard the drunk man say, but I shrugged it off and locked myself in my truck.
Inhaling a deep breath of private air, I turned on the radio and ripped open the bag of peach rings.
They were stale like dried wood, but I got a kick out of it. Thinking about Bambi eating those with a sour face but saying she loved them anyway would be a sight for sore eyes, and I was ready to see those chocolate beauties again.
Cranking the engine, I stepped on the gas and made my way out of the lot, tapping my fingers against the wheel.
The guitar riffs of AC/DC blared through the speakers as I hummed along to Thunderstruck, getting lost in my own world.
