another short story

Mom and Carl were driving around this weekend, and saw some guy hauling a snowmobile who also had a matress in the back of his truck. They thought it would make a good story, and so I got a little inspired. Besides, it’s a good exercise. I have no title, and I’m worried I wasn’t clear enough. Constructive criticism is more than welcome. In other words, you don’t have to just say it’s good or you liked it, feel free to suggest improvements or clarifications.

Enjoy.

**********************

Ray cursed silently to himself as he pulled into the gas station. He was so distracted he almost missed it, his mind elsewhere. Easing his pickup next to Pump 2, where he almost always parked, he barely had to glance in his rear view mirror to make sure there was enough clearance behind the snowmobile trailer he was hauling. He had parked here so many times over the years, it was like parking in his own drive.

Not that he’d be parking there again anytime soon, not since he had come home from his overnight snowmobile trip with the boys and found his clothing all over the lawn. It wouldn’t have been so bad if his clothing hadn’t also been cut into shreds. Ray sighed deeply as he grabbed the pump with a little extra force, flipping the lever so it echoed.

He looked across the back of his truck, glancing over what novels would call his “worldly possessions,” and wiped his nose on his sleeve. He tried not to remember what happened when he entered his house. Tried not to remember the words and accusations Michelle had hurled at him, as well as all the force of her petite body. They had fights like this all the time, all the time and had made up, but this time was different. This time Michelle had been serious. She wanted him out. Gone. Erased from her life.

He could still feel the scratch on his cheek.

He had not fought her, just brushed her off, knocked her away. If she wanted his stuff out, then he would take the mattress. He paid for it 100%. She had yelled and hollered and screamed some more at him, but her words and blows had bounced off his large, hulking frame. At least the mattress had given him some protection from her nails when he shoved it out the back door of the trailer they had shared for so long.

Underneath the mattress in the back of the truck, was everything left in the house that was his. He hadn’t looked back.

Ray stopped pumping gas just before it clicked full. He wanted to get as far away from this one-horse town as possible. Glancing at the total on the readout, he pulled out his wallet and walked inside to pay.

“Goin’ up river again?” asked the attendant, nodding towards the snowmobile Ray was hauling. “Yeah.” Ray answered back with as little detail as possible. He knew Mike was curious about the mattress, but he also knew word would get around soon enough.

Ray said no more, paid attention no more, and left the gas station. As he got back into his truck, he looked around. Still no one else on the road. No one to see him leave, no one but Mike and maybe a car or two that had gone by while he was inside paying. That was okay. No one could see.

No one could see under the mattress. No one could see her at all.