Catch Me When I Fall

A Quick Trip

Having returned to the store, Karla slammed the door to her truck, frustrated to have to come back so soon after leaving. She would have gone elsewhere, but the Dollar-Mart was in the same part of town as the other stores. She got an employee discount here, however. A scowl on her face, she made the shopping trip quick, not wanting to be noticed by any of the employees, even avoiding a manned till, opting for the self-check area. Normally happy to talk to the cashiers, Karla was in no mood to talk to anyone, just wanting to go home and stay there. Snatching the receipt before it was done printing, she made haste towards the door, her gaze down as she walked through the parking lot.

Tossing the pack of cola into the passenger seat, she frustratedly turned the ignition, the alternator protesting as it fought against the old battery she didn't have the money to replace in the vehicle. Though she had a jump box behind the seat for this very reason, and was by no means stranded in the parking lot, Karla's frustration had gotten the better of her. Yelling as she pounded the steering wheel, "f**k! This stupid f*****g piece of s**t!" She yelled until she started crying, sobbing in her hands, her back hunched, trying to remain invisible behind the dash as she broke down once again. Though her vehicle was the hindrance, she was not yelling at the truck.

Hearing a knock at the window, she wiped her eyes quickly before rolling down her window with the crank, "May I help you?" Her voice was composed, though her reddened eyes gave her emotions away.

"You alright? I can help with your truck if you want," the young man offered. She had never seen him before, assuming he was a kind soul just traversing through the town. She knew a lot of the regulars who came to the store, and if she didn't know them, everyone seemed to know who she was.

"I'm alright, honest. I have a booster pack in the backseat," Karla forced a smile.

He leaned on the window of her truck, "I don't want to see a pretty girl cry. I'm happy to be a gentleman and help out."

"It's alright, a few minutes, and I'll be on my way," Karla shook her head, "but thank you."

He shrugged, "Suit yourself, but I'm not leaving until I know you're on your way."

Karla chuckled, sniffing. He seemed harmless enough, but was still cautious around him, not knowing him from Adam. She reached down to pull the lever for the hood, the latch sticking, rolling her eyes as she pulled out the jump pack. Walking to the front of the vehicle, she was not used to having an audience as she pitifully attempted to put a Band-Aid on the problem. Using her fist to hit the front of the hood a few times, the latch finally released the hood so she could prop it up. Attaching the camps to the battery, she leaned against the fender of her truck to make conversation with the man while the truck took a charge. "You must not be from around here."

Chuckling, the man shook his head slightly, "Nah, I'm new to town. I'm moving into my new place and needed some things from here."

"Well, welcome to Hazelville," Karla put a cigarette between her lips, the lighter flicking as she lit the cherry. Taking in a deep inhale before blowing the smoke out from between her lips.

"You should really get a new battery for that thing," he remarked.

She nodded, taking another drag, "I know. I can't afford one right now, though."

"Ah, waiting for payday?"

Snorting, Karla smirked slightly, "Yeah, something like that." She glanced over her shoulder to look at the charge level. "Didn't mean to waste your time, I'm fine, honestly. This happens all the time," She waived her hand, dismissing the concern.

"This been going on for a while?" He raised an eyebrow.

Flicking the cigarette, she let out one last exhale of smoke, "A few months, maybe?"

"Are you that strapped for, what, an $80 battery?"

Reaching in, Karla turned the key in the ignition, the engine firing after a few cranks. "Yep," she removed the jump box, slamming the hood so it would re-latch once more.

"Well, drive safe, okay?" He watched Karla climb into the cab of the truck. She leaned out of the window to offer him a smile, thanking him before she drove away.

***

"So you actually did come home? Back from your boyfriend's house?" She was greeted by Ricky as soon as she walked through the door.

Karla exhaled sharply, "You know damn well where I was. Truck wouldn't start, so I had to jump it." She shot him a look as she plugged in the booster pack to charge it.

"If you knew how to manage your money better, you could just get a new battery, they're like, what, $40? It's not that hard to come up with $40, is it?"

"You'd be surprised," she sighed, opening the fridge to put the cola inside to start chilling. Her jaw clenched; it was Ricky's poor money management that started the spiral into financial disarray.

"We wouldn't be broke if you would let me manage the money," Ricky said from the couch, flipping through the channels on the cable that she paid for. Using electricity that she also paid for, living rent-free in the house she paid all of the rent for. Easily $2,100 a month she was doling out just to keep the roof over their head. Not a thank you, no appreciation, just expectation.

Karla didn't entertain a reply to the comment. Instead, she plopped herself down on the couch next to Ricky, just wanting to sit for a moment. "Is it alright if I sit for a few minutes before starting dinner?"

"What are we having?"

"I don't know. Anything sound good?" She leaned her head back to close her eyes for a moment.

"Whatever you want, I don't care."

"Alright, I'll get up in just a few minutes to start."

Rocky glared at her, "You're going to fall asleep."

"I'm not going to fall asleep," Karla said, looking over at him.

"If you say so," he rolled his eyes, annoyed that she was exhausted all the time.

Twitching herself awake, Karla lifted her head, noticing the living room was dark, a light on in the kitchen. s**t, she scrambled to her feet, the sinking feeling of anxiety resting in her chest. Walking into the kitchen, she saw Ricky portioning out ramen noodles into two bowls. "You made dinner?"

"Someone had to. You were too busy sleeping," he shrugged, an edge in his tone.

"I—I'm sorry, I'm just tired."

"Yeah, you're 'always' tired. You must not want to ever be around me if you're always at work, and when you're home, you always fall asleep. I must be a bad guy, huh?" Ricky gave Karla a bowl before walking past her.

"Ricky, c'mon, don't be like that. I didn't mean to fall asleep. I'm sorry, I'm tired." She followed him.

"I bet you can't wait to leave me, then you could do whatever you want."

"Ricky, stop."

"Or I could kill myself, save you the trouble, save everyone the trouble of having to deal with me," Ricky huffed, sulking into the chair at his desk.

"What would that solve?"

"Then you could be with whoever you wanted to be with."

"If I didn't want to be with you, I wouldn't have married you." Karla frowned, her knuckles cracking as she gripped the bowl tighter.

"You probably just parried me because you felt bad for me," he put on his headset, stonewalling the conversation.

Karla sighed deeply, trying to let things go, "Thank you for making dinner," she said genuinely, but loudly for Ricky to hear, before going into the other room to eat by herself.