Drive by Jonathan Rigsby

Author:Jonathan Rigsby [Rigsby, Jonathan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2024-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Samantha and Max called for a ride to go home from the bar around midnight. A heavyset couple, they stumbled toward the car in obvious impairment. Max climbed in the backseat while Samantha asked if she could sit up front. On my guard, I agreed. Couples that sat separately had usually been arguing, and I decided that the best way to handle this pair was to keep my mouth shut and get them home quickly. Once I swiped to start the ride, I knew my plan wasn’t going to work. Samantha’s house was on the outskirts of town, almost a half hour away. I was going to be stuck with these two for a long time.

From the start, Samantha was chatty, asking about my night, the age of my car, and whether I enjoyed driving. I gave short, noncommittal answers and tried to focus on the road. Samantha asked me where I was from, and I gave her my standard answer. From the backseat, Max began to grumble. Samantha told me to ignore him and clarified without prompting that they were just friends, not a couple.

“Not this bullshit again. You always do this,” Max mumbled. Samantha told him to hush and continued peppering me with questions. When Max interrupted, she told him to be quiet and apologized to me. Samantha explained that Max could be an angry drunk, but her apology only put me further on guard. The memory of being attacked was still fresh, and I had no interest in conflict with another passenger. As we moved through the night, Max began asking how much longer the ride would take. In the most reassuring tone I could manage, I told him we would be there soon. We were only a few blocks away from turning onto the highway when Max began pulling on the door handle.

“I can’t take this shit anymore. I’m out of here,” he said. I quickly tried to reassure him that we would be at their destination soon. He could close his eyes and relax. We’d be there in no time. We stopped at a red light near the highway entrance as Max drunkenly tried to figure out the door handle.

“No, fuck this. I’m out,” Max declared. I felt something hit me in the face as the door opened. My fight-or-flight reflex leapt into action, pumping me full of adrenaline and slowing down my perception of time. I shifted the car into park and whirled around, hands up as I tried to determine whether I was in danger again. Max stumbled out of the car, ran across the empty lanes of traffic, and disappeared into the night. Panicked, I groped in the dark car to try to determine what had just been thrown at me. Samantha rolled down the window and yelled for Max to come back. I locked the doors and quickly gathered the unknown projectiles.

In the dim glow of the streetlights, I was able to make out what Max had thrown at me: three folded $20 bills.

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