Smoke and Mirrors (DE)

59. Back to haunt

Joseph shook his head trying to fight the overwhelming urge to shut his eyes, sitting up right in the drivers seat of his matte black fully loaded G-Wagon and tightly gripping the steering wheel in both tattooed hands as he pushed the luxury truck at a high rate of speed down the interstate as heavy rain drops pelted the windshield.

He took his eyes off the road momentarily and glanced at Grace who slept peacefully in the passenger seat with the seat reclined back and her left hand rested on top of her belly, the star lights in the ceiling making the giant stone in her wedding ring sparkle and dance.

They were halfway through a nineteen hour drive from Miami to New York as their beach paradise was about to be slammed by a vicious hurricane. The storm had been brewing for the past couple days but weather reporters were unsure if it would hit Miami or just narrowly miss it. With their home being on a canal that connects directly to the Atlantic Ocean, they were smack in the middle of the red zone and were given strict instructions to evacuate that morning. The couple grabbed as much as they could and got on the road.

Seeing a truck stop sign at the next exit, Joseph pulled off the interstate into the quiet stop that was full of idling semis and slumbering truck drivers.

"Baby," Joseph said, gently rubbing Graces head after parking the truck at a pump. "Grace,"

Graces peaceful expression quickly took on a scowl as Joseph woke her up. "What," She grumbled with her eyes still closed.

"You gotta pee?" He asked.

"No," Grace mumbled turning in the seat facing away from him.

Joseph ambled around the empty gas station tiredly with a smart water and a cup of fruit in hand for Grace before making his way to the coffee station. Drinking coffee was a habit he'd picked up during his incarceration for no specific reason other than there wasn't anything else to do. He didn't drink it no where near as often now that he was free unless when needed and right now was one of those moments. Joseph poured himself a cup the way he liked it— black.

Grace was awake and on her phone upon Joseph getting back into the truck. "Here," He mumbled, handing her the water and cup of fruit before blowing on his coffee in the other hand and taking a sip of the bitter beverage. A feeling of warmth traveled down his body as it instantly began to wake him back up.

"Thank you baby," Grace said sweetly with a small smile feeling saliva instantly begin to accumulate in her mouth as she looked at the fruit.

"You good now?" He asked as she'd had a full blown panic attack just before evacuating.

Joseph was just as scared, he just wouldn't admit it. They'd never experienced a hurricane before both being born and raised in New York. It was like the scene straight out of a natural disaster movie. The sky was dark and gloomy, the atmosphere was eerily quiet with no signs of life outside. The water from the canal in their backyard had been sucked up into the storm leaving their boat and all their neighbors boats resting on their sides on the barren sea floor.

Grace being the natural worry-wart she is and seven and a half months pregnant overflowing with hormones, cried for the first thirty minutes of the drive scared their home would be ruined until she eventually fell asleep.

"Yes, my vag hurts," She said casually, placing her white painted toes onto the dash.

"Yo pussy hurt?" He repeated with a funny expression.

"Yes, it's like aching— like it feels heavy," Grace described, opening her cup of fruit. "It's normal though, I looked it up," She shrugged.

"Let me kiss it and make it feel better," Joseph offered with a smug grin.