Page 5 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“I can drive us,” I said.

“No. You’ll drive us into the ditch.”

“I’m a better driver than you!”

“Guys,” Kimberly said.

“Look, you’re upsetting Kim,” I said.

“You’re the one who’s yelling.”

“I’m only yelling because you never listen to me.” I grabbed his headrest and shook it.

“Stop touching my headrest,” Aaron snapped.

“What are you going to do about it?”

Aaron tried to slap my hand off. The car swerved into a tailspin, and all three of us screamed as we crashed into a ditch.

“Shit!” Aaron slammed his hands on the steering wheel. Sitting in the ditch, I remembered my previous resolve not to piss my brother off because he’d been acting a little unhinged. Eh, I’d try harder once I wasn’t stuck in a car for hours upon hours with the worst heater known to man.

Kimberly rubbed her forehead again.

“Sorry, Kim,” I said.

“It’s okay.” She turned to me with a soft smile, then back to Aaron. “Why don’t we stop at the convenience store here on the corner, then our hotel is only a street over.”

“What about the car?” Aaron said.

“Let’s ditch this one and get another tomorrow,” I said.

“We just got this one.”

“Yeah, and it sucks.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t steal you a better car, Pres,” Aaron spat.

“Me too.”

“Boys.” Kimberly stopped us both.

“Sorry,” we said.

“I’m going to the store. I have some stuff to get. I’ll look for your MP3.”

“I wanna come.” I pat Aaron’s shoulder on my way to follow Kim. “Make sure to wipe down the car real good, buddy.”

We’d tried to scrub our stolen cars of prints and things before we left them. Just generally to make it harder for someone to track us. Cops, The Family, Legion. The list was long.

Kimberly rubbed his shoulder again. “Do you want anything?”

“No.” He gave her the googly eyes, then glared at me. “Don’t spend all our money.”

“Sir, yes sir.” I gave him a salute with my middle finger.

“Come on.” Kimberly wrapped her arm around me and handed me a bigger coat. It was more for the disguise than it was the cold. I fished my sunglasses out of my pocket and put them on. It was pitch dark outside, with barely any moonlight peeking through the clouds, so naturally, I couldn’t see shit, but I looked cool, and that’s all that really mattered. Kimberly had some too, but she needed them for the fluorescent lighting.

The snow was falling in thick puffs that soaked into the fabric of my coat and wet my hair.