West Texas Awakening

He tucked himself against her, his head on her chest. They breathed together for a minute before the crack of a beer disrupted the silence. It was Ephraim, shirtless, with his coveralls tied once more around his waist. He held his beer aloft in a salute.

"I need one of those." April told him, and he immediately handed her the one he was holding. Brady eased himself off of her and helped her to her feet. He kissed her, hard enough that she could feel his teeth behind his lips, then bent to retrieve his pants from the floor. Ephraim found his rolling stool and shyly passed April a shop towel to clean her body. The taste of her beer was magical as it slid down her parched throat.

They fucked again that night, on the mattress that Ephraim kept hidden in a corner of the shop. He showed it to them after they had put another dent in the cooler of beer. April's car was forgotten as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. It was early morning by the time April, spent and covered in cum, finally nodded off between the two men.

When her eyes fluttered open she was alone on the hard mattress. The sun streamed in through the garage windows in three squares of hard light. April sat up, her body protesting at the sudden movement. Her head hurt, a hangover crept in while she slept, and her muscles ached. When she pulled herself off the mattress she could feel the cum flaking off her body where it had dried. She was covered in dirt, it cut black streaks across her pale skin. Small scratches raised angry red welts along her arms and legs. She dragged her fingers through her hair in an attempt to smooth out the tangles, but she quickly gave up and wrapped it in a bun on top of her head; securing it with the hair-tie on her wrist.

She found her shorts bunched underneath Brady's chair, her shirt hung off the handle of a vise attached to a nearby workbench. She had no idea what happened to her shoes, and the boys were nowhere to be found.

April followed the twisting maze back to the entrance of the shop, placing her bare feet carefully with each step. When she got to the office door she eased it open, avoiding the shriek of its rusting hinges, and stepped into the hot, desert morning.

There was movement next to Brady's truck. As April's eyes adjusted to the glaring sun she realized that the man peering through the open window was a stranger to her. She felt a jolt of nerves and glanced around for Brady or Ephraim, a vision of the more rough and tumble men at Gina's bar coming to her mind. The tow truck was gone, and the boys with it she assumed. April tried to turn around before the man saw her, to creep back into the safety of the shop, but as she reached the office door an authoritative bark stopped her in her tracks.

"Hey. Stop right there." April turned around, and this time she registered that the man was in the beige uniform of the sheriff's department. He was a cop.

April's stomach flipped at the realization. She'd never so much as had a speeding ticket, but that didn't make her any less nervous around the police. She froze, now too terrified to make any sort of move. The cop walked toward her, a hard frown on his face, his eyes hidden behind mirrored sunglasses that wrapped around his face in a futuristic sweep. "Are you associated with the owner of this truck?"

April shook her head, too numb to speak. The cop's frown deepened, "Is that a no?" He asked, impatient.

"No sir." April squeaked, praying for Brady and Ephraim to return.

"There aren't a lot of strangers in this town. Yet here you are." He now stood only an arm's length from her, his shadow cooled her face. His nose wrinkled with distaste as he looked her up and down, taking in the dirt and scratches that marked her skin. "Are you the girl that's been spotted around town with Brady Patterson?"

April blanched, wanting to step back, to run away. She nodded slowly.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes." She finally replied.

"So you are associated with the owner of that truck." He leaned in closer, as if he knew how much she wanted to flee.

April's eyes grew wider, she stammered as she tried to reply, "I-I m-mean kind of, he gave me a ride when my car broke down. I didn't know him until yesterday. He and Ephraim have gone to get my car."

The officer's face was painfully close to her own, she could smell the tobacco on his breath. She could see the skin beneath his buzz cut, the freckles that dotted his sharp cheeks. "It took them all night to go get your car?"

"Um. No? They left this morning." April was leaning back as far as she could without toppling over.

"So what were you up to last night?" The cop smiled when April's face colored into a blush. She finally stepped away from him, her anger bubbling to the surface.

"That's none of your business."

"Did you kids have a party?" April found it laughable that he was calling them kids, when he looked barely older than Brady. "Did you have a little fun? Do some drugs?" When April didn't protest the cop cocked his head, "No? Then why are you so scared to tell me?"

April just pursed her lips, willing her skin to lose its flush and this awful man to leave her alone. He just smiled, a cat playing with his mouse.

"I know what you were doin'." He closed the gap between them again, and this time his hand reached out to cup her chin. "You're a dirty girl aren't you? Letting Brady have his way with you. I know. I can smell it on you, I can see it on your face."

April flinched, resisting the urge to swat his hand away. She just turned her gaze to the side and stared intently into the dirt.

"You're a pretty girl, it's a shame you had to go and spoil yourself on some low-down trash. A girl like you should learn how to behave."

A surge of adrenaline flushed through her body, "And what? You're going to teach me?"

The officer chuckled, he pulled at her lip with his thumb before releasing her face, "Maybe I'll lower my standards far enough that you qualify sweetheart. Until then, try to keep yourself a little cleaner."

"Fuck you." April couldn't hold the venom back.

The cop slapped her across the face, it wasn't as hard as it was shocking. April reeled, pushing herself away from him. He laughed, "That was a warning. Don't say shit like that to me again."

Fear coursed through April's body, she hugged her arms around her torso and tried with every fiber of her being not to cry. There was a wide stretch of dirt between them now, the cop didn't try to get any closer to her. A low growl cut the air as the tow truck trundled down the road, her car behind it. The officer turned, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for it to pull into the parking lot.

Brady was out of the truck before it even stopped moving. "What are you doing here?" He shouted, already angry.

"I heard reports of a suspicious vehicle, I thought I would investigate. Instead I got to meet your friend here." The officer smiled slyly toward April, who just shrank into herself further.

"My truck's been here all night, just like every night. There's nothing suspicious about it, and you know that." Brady's body tightened with anger, his muscles stood out beneath his flesh. "What did you say to her?"

"Nothing she doesn't already know."

"If you don't have a warrant I will ask you to kindly step off my property." Ephraim exited the tow truck and made his way to April's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, grateful.

"Shut the fuck up Ephraim. Brady knows what he's done, it's just a matter of time before we catch him in the shit."

"You shut the fuck up Chester, we know you ain't got nothin' on me."

"It's just a matter of time Brady. Just a matter of time." Chester spit on the ground at Brady's feet, then walked slowly past Ephraim and April. "Don't forget what I said." He grinned as he spoke to her, she felt her stomach flip once more. Of course she wouldn't forget.

Chester kept walking though and got back into the sheriff's car he'd parked on the far side of the office. He spat once on the ground before driving away in a cloud of dirt. When he disappeared down the road April gave Ephraim a hug, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you."

He blushed, embarrassed, "No problem."

Brady was digging around in the cab of her truck. He didn't say what he was looking for. April didn't go to him, she was shaken, she wanted to get going. She hoped it would be an easy fix. The morning's encounter had left yesterday's activities in an uneasy light, and she just wanted to leave. Ephraim made his way over to the tow truck and began lowering the car off its chain.

When all four wheels had settled to the ground April opened the side door. Her Nokia sat where she left it in the cupholder, a useless brick this far from any cell towers. On the passenger seat was a folder, some of the papers had scattered to the car floor. She lifted it out of the car and thumbed through the pages until she found the one she was looking for. "Ephraim?" She called to him, "How far away is Windskill? That's where I'm supposed to end up."

Brady laughed wildly, still full of adrenaline from their encounter with the cop. "Sweetheart, you're already here."

"Fuck."