moment.
“You’ve got to admit, your sister’s kind of flaky.”
“You might be right about that.”
“How did you find us, anyway?”
“I figured you’d take him not too far out of town, and there’s a main road running to the north so I thought you’d head south, to get as far away from civilization as possible. Then we just started driving and relied on pure luck.”
“Jesus,” Luke replied. “You sound like someone who’s done this sort of thing before.”
“Not quite,” Ben muttered.
“So when you -”
“Stop a moment,” Ben added. “I need to pee.”
“Seriously?”
“I need to pee,” he said again, aiming the gun at Luke. “Stop the goddamn car.”
Sighing, Ben pulled over at the side of the empty road. There were no buildings in sight for miles around, and even the town of Bowley had disappeared far behind them.
“Give me the keys,” Ben said, opening the door on his side.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not getting out for a pee and leaving you sitting here with the goddamn keys. Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“Fine.” Luke switched off the engine and handed the keys to him. “I can look after the gun for you, though,” he added with a faint smile.
“You’re hilarious,” Ben replied, stepping out and leaving the door open as he took a few steps away from the car. Pausing, he looked around as a light breeze blew across the plain. “When I was a kid,” he continued after a moment, “I used to come out here all the time, just to get away from the rest of the world. My brother, he was this really annoying, holier-than-thou little…” He paused, and for a moment he caught himself remembering the old days with Jack. “I spent hours and hours trying to avoid him, day after day, and now, all I want is thirty seconds to tell him what I really thought about him. Not some fake, over-the-top garbage about truly loving him as a brother… I mean, I did love him, I still do, but there was also a lot about him that annoyed me. And when he died, he most likely still thought that I was the one holding the knife.”
He looked down at the gun.
“Do you have a brother, Luke?” he asked after a moment.
He waited.
No reply.
Turning, he saw that Luke was simply watching him from the driver’s seat.
“You know what?” Ben said after a moment. “I was about to tell you all about Jack, but there’s no point. It’d just be a load of self-serving garbage.”
He stood in silence for a moment.
“Are you…” Luke paused. “So are you gonna pee or not?”
Ben stared at him, before raising the gun. “I was lying. I don’t need to pee.”
VI
“She’s going to be fine,” Beth explained as she took a seat next to Bob in the hospital corridor. “The bullet didn’t do much damage, it really only grazed her, so even the scar is looking touch-and-go. She’s also an extremely good liar, although I guess that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you. She said someone tried to mug her, and she ran, and…” She paused. “If I hadn’t been there myself, I’d totally believe her. The lie she told was certainly more believable than the truth.”
Looking down at his hands, Bob couldn’t even meet his wife’s gaze.
“It’s nice of her,” Beth continued. “To lie for me on Christmas Day, I mean. To lie for us. Especially when it’s kind of slightly my fault she got shot.” She opened her mouth to say more, before falling silent as a sense of shock began to claw its way through her chest. “Oh God,” she whispered finally, closing her eyes and bowing her head, trying to find some way to reset her thoughts.
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Kind of?” Bob said eventually, his voice trembling with shock. “Slightly?” He waited for a reply. “Is that really all you’ve got to say for yourself?”
“It just happened that way.”
“Did you -” He turned to her. “Please, Beth, tell me it’s not true. This has to be a dream, or some kind of
“You’ve got to admit, your sister’s kind of flaky.”
“You might be right about that.”
“How did you find us, anyway?”
“I figured you’d take him not too far out of town, and there’s a main road running to the north so I thought you’d head south, to get as far away from civilization as possible. Then we just started driving and relied on pure luck.”
“Jesus,” Luke replied. “You sound like someone who’s done this sort of thing before.”
“Not quite,” Ben muttered.
“So when you -”
“Stop a moment,” Ben added. “I need to pee.”
“Seriously?”
“I need to pee,” he said again, aiming the gun at Luke. “Stop the goddamn car.”
Sighing, Ben pulled over at the side of the empty road. There were no buildings in sight for miles around, and even the town of Bowley had disappeared far behind them.
“Give me the keys,” Ben said, opening the door on his side.
“Why?”
“Because I’m not getting out for a pee and leaving you sitting here with the goddamn keys. Do you think I’m that stupid?”
“Fine.” Luke switched off the engine and handed the keys to him. “I can look after the gun for you, though,” he added with a faint smile.
“You’re hilarious,” Ben replied, stepping out and leaving the door open as he took a few steps away from the car. Pausing, he looked around as a light breeze blew across the plain. “When I was a kid,” he continued after a moment, “I used to come out here all the time, just to get away from the rest of the world. My brother, he was this really annoying, holier-than-thou little…” He paused, and for a moment he caught himself remembering the old days with Jack. “I spent hours and hours trying to avoid him, day after day, and now, all I want is thirty seconds to tell him what I really thought about him. Not some fake, over-the-top garbage about truly loving him as a brother… I mean, I did love him, I still do, but there was also a lot about him that annoyed me. And when he died, he most likely still thought that I was the one holding the knife.”
He looked down at the gun.
“Do you have a brother, Luke?” he asked after a moment.
He waited.
No reply.
Turning, he saw that Luke was simply watching him from the driver’s seat.
“You know what?” Ben said after a moment. “I was about to tell you all about Jack, but there’s no point. It’d just be a load of self-serving garbage.”
He stood in silence for a moment.
“Are you…” Luke paused. “So are you gonna pee or not?”
Ben stared at him, before raising the gun. “I was lying. I don’t need to pee.”
VI
“She’s going to be fine,” Beth explained as she took a seat next to Bob in the hospital corridor. “The bullet didn’t do much damage, it really only grazed her, so even the scar is looking touch-and-go. She’s also an extremely good liar, although I guess that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to you. She said someone tried to mug her, and she ran, and…” She paused. “If I hadn’t been there myself, I’d totally believe her. The lie she told was certainly more believable than the truth.”
Looking down at his hands, Bob couldn’t even meet his wife’s gaze.
“It’s nice of her,” Beth continued. “To lie for me on Christmas Day, I mean. To lie for us. Especially when it’s kind of slightly my fault she got shot.” She opened her mouth to say more, before falling silent as a sense of shock began to claw its way through her chest. “Oh God,” she whispered finally, closing her eyes and bowing her head, trying to find some way to reset her thoughts.
They sat in silence for a moment.
“Kind of?” Bob said eventually, his voice trembling with shock. “Slightly?” He waited for a reply. “Is that really all you’ve got to say for yourself?”
“It just happened that way.”
“Did you -” He turned to her. “Please, Beth, tell me it’s not true. This has to be a dream, or some kind of
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