The Spider Inside Read Online Free Page B

not without laughter.
She held her pinkie up to his nose and Jim inhaled sharply, and the little pile
was gone. It hit him just like always, like a sweet and sour punch in the back
of his brain. He could feel the things that were falling apart come back
together again. The shadows went back to where they were supposed to be and
would stay there, at least for now. His body at once felt more potent, powerful,
alive. Pulling onto the highway he was seeing three and four moves ahead. He
sped up a little and cut off the Volvo in the next lane and got past the car
that had been in front of him. When he passed it he cut back into the right
lane, just as another car was coming up ahead of him. He floored it, passed a
Harley, a BMW SUV, a Ford Taurus, and another Volvo. He cut this Volvo off too,
not because he needed to, but in order to stay consistent.
    Cherry put her bump up her nose and the windows went back down
and the stereo came on, Cherry put in Rise Against and it was the exact
perfect thing to hear at that exact perfect moment in time and she turned it up
so it was loud but so they could still talk
    “...and I was serious Jim about doing a song with you. I’ve
been working on the music myself, I almost have it, it’s almost perfect. Not
like this, not fast and aggressive but it’s actually kind of a sweet song,
mellow, a little sad maybe do you think you have words already for that or do
you want to come up with new ones or write them together--”
    “Together,” Jim said. “I have words, lots of words, I got
books full of words but that was from before, you know? That was me in my own
space and time, in my own little world or whatever, and I like it all, I think
it’s good, but this should be something new. Something fresh. Pure.”
    “Pure! Exactly! That’s why I wanted to start over on the
music. I have tons of guitar parts but I wanted this one to be something
special, because it’s with you.”
    “Everything is so different when it’s just me and you, you
know that?” Jim asked. When the words were across his lips he wished so badly
to take them back it left a pit in his stomach; he’d crossed the line, she
wasn’t into him like that, they had always been such good friends and what if
this fucked it up? What if she didn’t want to be around him anymore? Wasn’t it
better to have her as a friend than not have her at all? Of cour--
    “I do feel that. You’re different, Jim. You’re a lot smarter
than the other guys for one thing. You understand things. I don’t have to
explain anything to you. Take this next exit. I’ve always felt this stronger
connection to you.”
    Jim took the exit and tried to keep the stupid sappy smile
off his face. There was something. She felt it, too!
    “Take a left here,” Cherry said.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Sammy’s.”
    “Sammy lives over by the tire store, doesn’t he?”
    “No, well, he used to, yeah. His mom let him come back home
and live with her.”
    “Oh, in the trailer?”
    “Yeah. You know where it’s at?”
    “What do you mean?” Jim asked with a grin. “I was the one
that first took you there. Right before she kicked him out, remember?”
    “Oh, shit! That’s right. I thought it was Two Step.”
    “No, he was there, but I introduced him to Sammy, too. So
his mom let him come home, huh? That’s a surprise.”
    Cherry shrugged, not knowing if it was a surprise or not.
But she knew Sammy usually had pretty good crank, and had said he did this
time, too. Of course, she’d talked to him a day ago...or was it two? She lit
herself a cigarette and then lit one for Jim. They traveled down back roads and
finally turned to enter the trailer park. They drove to the end and parked.
    “Will he be up?” Jim asked.
    Cherry looked at him.
    “OK, Sammy will be up,” Jim said. “But will his mom? What
fucking time is it, anyway?”
    “It’s like noon, fool,” Cherry said and this got them
laughing. Cherry finally took her sunglasses off and put