Hide and Seek

I've told you she was all muscle.

Well, we came close to taking out the front seat in that pickup of

mine.

I could barely see her and she could barely see me, so there was a lot

of inadvertent pain for both of us. One of us broke the rearview

mirror. Somebody put a dent in the radio as big as an apple.

When it finally wore down for us the palms of my hands were wet with

her tears and the musty smell of them filled the car as she sobbed into

my shoulder, great mangled racking sounds that tore what was left of my

anger to shreds and left me holding her, stroking her, wondering how in

the hell it had come to this, anyway.

"Just hold on to me, huh?"

Her voice was very small against me. She sniffled, laughed a little.

"I... I think I've got a screw loose somewhere, you know? So please

just... hold on?"

I did hold her.

And then a little later I heard her sigh.

"God, I'm fucked up!"

"You want to tell me about it?"

She laughed again. It was weighted with sadness.

"No."

"Tell me anyhow."