Friday Fireworks: The Lie that never ends : Mudflaps and Murder Mittens

 

Mudflaps and Murder Mittens is an episodical story that updates every Tuesday. It is free to read on Ream and does not require a subscription. 

Mudflaps and Murder Mittens

The last thing Josh expected was to answer the door of his trailer to see Randy and his Uncle Gary standing on the other side.

“Ummm…if this is the part where you take me out, let me turn the stove off first. I doubt my brother would appreciate coming back to see I’d burned his trailer down.”

“Go ahead…turn it off,” Randy said, stepping closer.

“Boy, if I was gonna take you out I’d have done it back when I was still healthy enough to give you an ass kicking first, now move out the way. Smells like whatever you’re cookin’ is already burnin’.”

“Shit!”

Whirling around, Josh rushed for the kitchen to see black smoke wafting up from the scorched pan a blackened pork chop sat. Groaning, he snapped off the eye and moved the pan to the back burner. After further consideration of the smoky mess, he decided that buying a new pan would be far easier than cleaning that one. Like a fuckin’ idiot, he grabbed the hot pan and dropped it in plastic garbage bag, realizing his folly only when he heard the thunk of it hitting the bottom of the garbage can. Sure as shit, when he went back to look, he saw that it had melted right through the bottom of the bag. At least it hadn’t been full. Just a couple egg shells and some coffee grinds.

He decided to clean it up now, so it wouldn’t harden, or at least that’s what he told himself while he was trying to convince himself that he wasn’t stalling about returning to the living room to see what the fuck Randy and his uncle were doing here. After their encounter at the grocery store, he’d figured on any further conversation coming in the form of thrown punches.

Unless that’s what this was.

The pan he fished from the bottom of the trashcan to see that it had melted the plastic bottom of the can a little too. Shaking his head at his stupidity, he dropped the pan in the sink and scooped the mess out with a paper towel before wiping the whole inside down with a Clorox wipe. Add a new bag, pitch the messed up old one and the now cool pan and he was out of things to do to keep from going out there.

He turned to see Randy standing in the doorway, glaring at him. “You just cost me five bucks, fucker, I told Unc you’d probably run out the side door. He bet that you were just stalling. Guess he was right.”

“You want to tell me what the fuck’s going on?”

“Actually, that’s what we came here for you to tell us,” Randy said as he stepped back and inclined his head towards the living room.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Josh said as he followed him out to see that Gary had already parked himself on the couch.

“He’s been brought up to speed about the Miracinonyx genes our families carry,” Gary explained. “So now would be a good time to tell the truth about why you never showed up for him when he was stuck in that hospital bed.”

Josh froze, lips parting, heart hammering as his brain fumbled around for words. No way this was happening. With the hatred Randy held for him he had no reason to hope that the truth now would change anything. Maybe if that first meeting had gone even halfway right…

“There’s nothing else to tell. I didn’t show ‘cause he’d pissed me off,” Josh growled, wishing they’d just take the answer and fuckin’ go.

Smacking carts together in the grocery store had been the last way he’d planned for them to see one another again. He’d wanted time to prepare. To figure out where to start so maybe it would all make since to Randy when Josh spilled his guts. Instead, all he’d managed was a pathetic excuse for an apology. He hadn’t had even had the courage to go after him when he’d walked away.

Again.

“You know, that’s what I’ve always believed,” Gary said. “That you two got in some stupid fight and you stupidly held on to the grudge rather than show up when he needed you. Having been there myself, I could almost forgive that, even knowing he’ll never be able to. But if your not coming was because you couldn’t, then I need you to say that here and now so we can lay this to rest.”

“We can lay it to rest with the truth, which is what I’ve already told you,” Josh said, digging fingernails into the palms of his hands to keep from shivering at the cold sensation that slithered up his spine.

“That your final answer?” Randy asked as he stalked across the room to get right up in Josh’s face. “’Cause if it is, we can skip past the rest of the Baba Yaga bullshit and get to the part where I kick your ass.”

Their eyes locked and Josh was reminded of how blue the color was and how easy it had always been to get lost staring into them. Like drowning in brilliant pools of endless liquid.

Shaking his head, he shoved those thoughts away, wishing there was a way to lock them up until they didn’t hurt as bad. With Randy standing this close, he was sure the man could hear the jackrabbit beat of his heart. The urge to touch left him grinding his nails into his flesh harder.

All he had to do was say it and give Randy what he so clearly wanted…a reason to hold on to that hatred for the rest of their lives. But even the thought of that lie left a bitter taste in his mouth when he parted his lips to speak it.

Before he could utter a sound, a clap of thunder made Randy jump back, it was so close while Josh just reached to pull the phone from the back pocket of his low-riding jeans. Most days he’d have rolled his eyes at the sound of Rochelle’s ringtone, but right now all he could think was saved by the bell.