Page 65 of Light in the Dark
My phone rings as I'm contemplating what the hell I'm going to do until I'm tired enough to fall asleep; it's Riley.
"Hey, Rye. What's up, bro?" I sound pathetically glad to hear from him—because I am.
"Whoa, you sound chipper. You on coke or something?" Riley says.
"Fuck you, no, I'm not on coke."
"There's the grumpy Felix I know and love."
"I'm not grumpy.”
"He said, grumpily."
I groan. "I was glad to hear from you, but now I'm rethinking that position. Did you call for a reason or just to annoy me?"
"What are you doing right now?"
"Not a goddamn thing. Why?"
He sighs. "If you were smart, you'd be balls deep in Ember right now."
"Hey, don't talk about her like that," I snap. "It's not like that.She’snot like that."
He chuckles. "Wait, hold up—you get shot down?"
"Rye, do me a favor and fuck all the way off with the questions."
"Mmmmm…probably not. Come outside."
I peer through my front window—his big silver truck is at the curb behind the flatbed with Ember's van on it. "You're here."
"Excellent powers of observation, Sherlock. I'm kidnapping you. Let's go."
"Go where?"
"I dunno. Get into some trouble."
"You broke up with April already?"
"I'll tell you in the car. Fuckin' come on."
I sigh. "Alright, alright. Be right out."
I grab my wallet, keys, and phone, slap a ball cap on my head, and stomp into my Redwings. When I slide into the passenger seat of Riley's truck, I'm immediately greeted by the fact that his truck is immaculate, despite being older than mine and despite the fact that he lives in his every bit as much as I do mine.
"Who cleans out your truck, man?" I ask. "Fuckin' Snow White and her forest critters?”
He yanks it into gear and pulls away from my curb. "Um, me, bro. Unlike you, I'm not a fuckin' slob. Every time I get gas, I clean it out, and every Saturday morning I vacuum it and wipe it down. Which is whymytruck looks like an adult human drives it and yours looks like a rabid racoon on meth drives it."
“Rabid racoon on meth, " I mutter. "Fucking dick."
"So. You and Ember."
"No."
"Oh, c'mon, brother. You gotta gimmesomething. Her van is on our flatbed outside your house and she's not with you. And your FJ40 is gone."
I frown at him. "How do you know that?"
