Dead Flowers

She estimated it had been about an hour from when she fell asleep to when Brock woke her up. He shook her shoulder violently until she jolted awake.

"What?" She sat up straight in her seat, her cheek pink from laying on it too long.

"We're at the Quik Trip," Brock said, turning the engine off.

Reba put a hand to her head and squinted at the light. "Oh," She said and unbuckled her seatbelt as Brock got out to fill up the tank. She opened her door, got out, and was met by Cheyenne.

"Havin' fun yet?" Cheyenne asked, counting out several dollar bills in her hand.

Reba stretched her arms over her head. "Best time ever," She lied.

Cheyenne gave her a look. "Mom, we saw you and Dad fighting," She said. "Is everything okay?"

Reba began to walk towards the store, Cheyenne on her heels.

"So," Cheyenne argued. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Reba said. "Just a little argument. It's fine."

They walked inside to the store where Reba saw Van counting out Tootsie Rolls at the register, Elizabeth at his side. That's when Jake appeared with a bag of Doritos, a Twix candy bar, and a Mountain Dew and said, "Hey, Mom? Can I get this?"

"Huh?" Reba mumbled. "Yeah. Sure."

"Cool!" He ran to get in line behind Van as Reba and Cheynne walked towards the bathrooms.

"Mom, are you sure you're okay?" Cheyenne asked.

"Yes!" Reba said, a little annoyed. "Why do you keep asking?"

"Because you just gave Jake permission to eat candy and soda and it's not even nine in the morning."

"He just got out of the hospital. I want to make him feel special." She pushed open the door to the bathroom.

"Oh. Okay," Cheyenne said, still not convinced and went into a stall.

Reba went into the one right beside Cheyenne, praying she'd stop asking questions.

Out by the gas pumps, Brock was filling up the gas tank when Van came strolling by.

"Hey, Mr. H," Van said. "Tootsie Roll?" Van offered him a piece of candy from the plastic bag.

As Brock watched the numbers on the meter get higher he said, "No thanks. I'm fine." He stuck his hands in his pockets.

"Are you sure?"

"Yep."

Van shrugged and took one himself. As he unwrapped it, he said, "Hey, Mr. H, is everything okay between you and Mrs. H?"

Brock swallowed and looked directly at Van. "Why do you ask? Has she talked to you?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay then." He turned back to pumping gas.

"Is everything okay, though?" Van wondered. "Me and Cheyenne saw you two fighting in the car and then she threw Rolaids at you."

Brock turned back around. "They weren't Rolaids, they were-" He paused.

"Yes?" Van pressured.

"Never mind. We just had a little fight."

"About what?"

Brock screwed the gas cap on the car and took a deep breath. "She kissed me okay? That's all you need to know."

With that, he walked off towards the store to pay for the gas leaving Van with his mouth open in shock, revealing a chewed Tootsie Roll.

"She did what?" Cheyenne asked Van when they were back on the road.

"Shhh!" Van warned, glancing in the back seat where Jake was playing his gameboy and Elizabeth was napping.

"Sorry. She did what?"

"Kissed him."

"Nuh-uh."

"That's what your dad said. And you know that box she threw?"

"Yeah."

"He wouldn't tell me what it was, so it must be good."

Cheyenne sat back in her seat. "We have to find out what was in that box."

"I know. Hey, did you get anything out of your mom?"

"No. She wouldn't tell me anything. But I heard her praying in the bathroom."

"Man, she sure prays alot."

"Psh, yeah."

"Did you hear what she said?"

"Something about how she wished Dad would stop asking questions."

"Questions about what?"

"Do you guys really think I can't hear you?"

Van and Cheyenne looked in the backseat and saw Jake with his Gameboy turned off and his arms folded. They looked at each other and grimaced.

Reba tried to fall asleep again but couldn't. They were only an hour into the trip and there had already been a screaming match. She couldn't deal with eleven more hours with Brock. When they made another stop, she was going to ask to ride with Van.

"Do you mind if I turn the radio on?" Brock asked ugrently as if it was a life or death situation.

Without lifting her head off the window Reba said, "I'd rather you didn't. I have a headache."

Brock sighed in frustration and Reba rolled her eyes. "If it's that big a deal," She said. "Turn the thing on."

"It's not a big deal," Brock said.

"Then why did you sigh?"

"It's called breathing."

"Okay. Can you quit talking now?"

"Sorry. Sheesh."

Reba, quite uncomfortable from leaning on the door, adjusted her seatbelt and sat up. She folded her arms and stared out the window.

After ten minutes of silence, Brock got bored and tried to talk to her.

"Do you know what this reminds me of?" He asked.

When she didn't respond, he continued.

"When we went to Colorado. You know, to stay in that cabin? Cheyenne was eight, Kyra was five and you had just found out you were pregnant with Jake. You were sick the whole way there."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her smile just at the corners of her mouth.

"See?" He said. "You do remember. That was a fun trip, wasn't it?"

"Yes." Her smile suddenly disappeared. "I also remember how you left me and the girls in the cabin so you could go skiing with that guy, Dave. I was sick and needed you that day, Brock but all you wanted to do was go out and have your fun. You didn't even call to check on me that day. I cried myself to sleep that night."

He ran a hand over his eyes before starting to pat her knee. "I remember, and I'm sorry."

"Just don't touch me." She smacked his hand away. "And it wasn't that one night. That happened several other times as well as other things."

She leaned down to reach into her purse and pulled out a bottle of sleeping pills, guaranteed to knock her out. She un-screwed the cap and emptied one into her hand.

"What's that?" Brock asked, a little concerned.

She popped it in her mouth and washed it down with a bottle of warm water.

"Never mind what this is," She said. "You just focus on your driving and leave me alone."

She turned back to the window and fell asleep within five minutes.

I hope you all liked this update! And it occurred to me when I ended Walk The Line that you guys are probably like, "What's up with these story titles?" Well, when the series is over, it'll make a whole lot more sense. Dead Flowers does have a meaning and you'll find out what it means sometime during the story. I think it's at the end, but I'm not sure. Anyway, all the titles will make sense except Walk The Line, and you'll understand that when it's all over. ((: Thanks for reading! Review?