HERE, SOMEWHAT LONG.
"Hey, uh, gramps?" I asked, poking my head hesitantly into the kitchen where my grandpa was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the paper. He raised his eyes and looked at me. "Yes, Jason?" "Would you.....uh, would you take me driving today?" I asked, trying to act all innocent and crap. "I only need a couple more miles for my license, and I kinda just wanted you to come along."
He smiled and stood, taking his bowl to the sink and grabbing his car keys. "Let's go then," he said, walking towards me and putting a hand out. I instantly flinched away from him, thinking he was going to back hand me or something, but he only patted my shoulder and walked out.
I sighed and sent a double text to Julia and Brian.
‘Get ready. We r bout 2 get in the car.'
I almost instantly got a text back from Julia, and I couldn't help but smile through the stress radiating through my body when her name and picture popped up on my phone. I climbed into the front seat and took the keys from my grandpa, looking at my phone.
‘kk. We'll b ready. <3 u, babe.'
I shoved the keys into the ignition and started texting her back when my phone was yanked out of my hand and a blow was placed to the back of my head, sending me forward and almost smashing my face into the steering wheel.
"No texting and driving," my grandpa said, tossing my phone into the cup holder. "You can text when you're not in the car." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and muttered a quick, "Yes, sir," under my breath while putting the car into reverse.
A little longer of listening to him and I wouldn't have to put up with him for the rest of my life. The gun in my back pocket- set on safety, don't worry-burned as I drove both myself and my grandpa out to the middle of nowhere, keeping my eyes out for the abandoned warehouse.
Just as I was about to drive by the warehouse, the front of the car started smoking, thick gray clouds erupting from the engine. ‘Thank you, Brian,' I thought, pulling over. My grandpa and I got out of the car after I popped the hood and he started cussing as smoke blew from the engine.
"Great," he snarled, looking around desperately. "We're in the middle of nowhere and the engine's blown. Perfect." I didn't say anything and he rounded on me. "This is your fault," he said suddenly, lifting his hand and smacking me across the face before I had time to dodge it. I slammed into the hot front of the car and rubbed my cheek. "How is it my fault?" I asked, anger searing through my veins. I was sick of this. I was sick of the abuse, and the fear. I was sick of being treated like a good for nothing piece of crap.
"You couldn't stay in the city?" he roared, his voice rising as he shoved me off the car and to the ground. "You were giving me directions!" I said back, standing up and knocking his leg aside as he went to apply one of his rib-cracking kicks to my chest. If possible, that just made him madder, but I needed him to calm down.
"I'm sorry, okay!" I said, the words burning through my mouth like puke. "I'll take the blame!" I put my hands in the air and took a step back, signaling I wasn't going to fight.
He took a couple deep breaths and ran a hand over his bald head. "Fine," he said. "When we get back you're grounded." I bit my tongue to keep the angry words from flowing and walked around to the trunk.
"I'm going to see if there's anything back here to help," I called back to him, popping the trunk open and pulling out my baseball bat. I hid it behind my back as I walked back to him a couple minutes later. "Find anything?" he asked, holding his phone up in hopes of a better signal he wasn't going to get. I shook my head.
