Safelight Page #4

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Where your parents at?

They just let you

f***in' struggle along

like that?

Um, well, my dad's kind of sick,

and, uh, my mom's not around.

Where the f*** she go?

She left us.

F***in' whore.

What the f*** kind of mother

leaves her kid like that?

You know, all women

are useless f***in' whores.

You know that, Truck Stop?

My mom, she nearly starved

my ass every f***in' week.

Didn't even know

who the f*** my father was.

She'd spread her legs for a hit

of acid whenever she could.

I should have f***in'

killed that b*tch

when I had the chance,

but I was...

I was too f***in' nervous

in those days.

Now...

I don't have

that problem, buddy.

Mm.

You know, Truck Stop,

God damn, you and me...

we're a lot alike.

We get all the sh*t

that life has to give,

all the sh*t in the world.

Sad story, ain't it?

How's it going, eh?

Aw, f*** it.

Good talk.

Good talk.

I want you to do

something for me.

Close your eyes.

Huh?

Close your eyes.

Now picture yourself

in your dad's car...

Just you and me

flying down the road,

not a care in the world.

Now you're standing up

just like we did.

You remember that?

Great.

Feel the wind in your hair.

You feel free,

completely, totally free.

That wasn't so hard, was it?

I feel really lucky

to know you, Charles.

When I think about what you...

have to go through every day

to get to work or school,

when I see you

using this camera...

makes me believe I can do

something with my life,

truly.

Thank you for that.

I'm gonna miss this,

the lighthouses...

coming up here.

Maybe there'll be

another contest, though.

Smile!

No. It's about the

lighthouses, not me, Charles.

Ready for your close-up?

No. Heh heh.

Remember that summer, Vicki?

Yeah.

That was fun.

Sure was.

You girls were such a handful.

Did you guys hike a lot?

Yeah. We love to sleep outside.

Look at that.

That's our tent. Wow.

Yeah. That's where we slept

every weekend when

we didn't go away.

Yeah, it was great.

- In your yard?

- Yeah.

We couldn't get them

back in the house.

It... Tent was like

their little home.

Is that Dad?

No, it's...

What is your problem?

My problem is you're a whore!

You should shut the f*** up.

You have no idea what

you're talking about.

I know what you did.

Everyone does!

We just don't

talk about it ever.

Do we, Mom?

You really thought I wanted

to be f***ing that guy?

Deep down, you knew.

You okay?

It'll be all right.

No! No, it won't!

I should never

have listened to you.

I went through all of that

sh*t, Charles, for what?

W-Why?

'Cause you wanted

to see your family.

No, I didn't.

I don't ever want

to see them again.

I wish I could just erase

these past few weeks.

You don't mean that.

I only hung out with you

because I felt bad for you.

You should know that.

Still no sign of her, huh?

No. It's been three days.

Did you go by her place?

Yeah.

Well, there ain't

nothing harder to do

than face your ghosts, you know.

I know.

She's a tough girl, Charles.

Now don't you let this

go getting you down.

Come on.

Gotta have faith, right?

You gotta keep

believing in yourself.

You're a great kid, Charles.

Just hope she's all right.

- I know. I know.

- She...

I know one thing.

She doesn't want to see me.

Oh, no, you don't know that.

This probably has

nothing to do with you.

She said so herself.

I'm history.

Stand by for news.

It's next on Channel Five.

She'll be back.

Hey, Jimmy, you want a drag?

Sure.

Go f*** yourself.

What's wrong, gimp?

No bodyguard?

Hey, how'd those photos

come out?

You take any naked ones of

that whore friend of yours?

Wow, pretty nice.

So this is what you use

to take all those

stupid pictures.

You think you're so special

with your camera and sh*t.

Well, f*** you.

Oh!

- P*ssy.

- Nice shot.

We're outta here.

Truck Stop.

Hey, buddy.

How's it going, man?

Great.

Say, uh...

you haven't seen

my working girl, have you?

No.

I been looking

all over for her, man.

F*** if I can't find her.

Oh, God damn, yeah.

We got like a connection, right?

Like, kind of like

an understanding, right?

I mean, sh*t, man,

we know what it feels like to

have a f***in' whore in our lives

and then wake up one morning,

and, poof,

she's just f***in' gone.

That's why.

Well, you know what?

I'll be God damned that

sh*t's gonna happen again,

another whore abandons me.

F*** that sh*t, right?!

F*** it.

Hey, you... you'd tell me

if you saw her, right, brother?

I mean, you wouldn't lie to

old Skid here, would you?

Skid, I... I haven't seen her

in, like, a week or so.

Aw, man.

Yeah.

You know what? You know what?

Even if she doesn't come back,

I'm gonna f***in' find her.

Trust me.

We'll be okay, right?

Mm. Mm?

We're gonna be okay.

You f***in' hear that?

No.

I gotta go, man.

Hello.

Hello?

You shouldn't be outside, Dad.

You're too sick.

But...

nothing hurts today.

Here.

Oh, no.

No, no, I want you to have this.

It's yours now.

Looks much better on you.

You're a cowboy.

New horizons.

New discoveries ahead.

God has given you

such an adventure.

Uncertainty...

is exciting.

Remember that.

Nothing to be afraid of,

okay, cowboy?

You know, I'm so...

very proud of you.

You've become...

a man.

I love you, Charles.

I love you, too, Dad.

Kevin...

I miss him, too.

I wish he was here.

I wish he could have seen

all the photos I've taken.

Can you imagine what

he would say if I won?

Right, Dad?

Well, I thought everybody

was nice, didn't you?

Stayed too long,

but at least they came.

Do you have my smokes, hon?

Always the gentleman. Thanks.

You okay, angel?

You haven't said two words.

I'm all alone.

No, you're not.

You got me,

and I'd do anything for you.

You know that.

Jack here, too.

I know. It's not that.

Well, what is it?

What am I gonna do now?

What do you mean?

You're gonna keep doing the

same things you've always done.

You're gonna keep working

at the truck stop,

and you're gonna keep taking

those beautiful pictures

with that camera of yours.

The camera's gone.

It's gone? Wh-Where is it?

Kids at school trashed it.

Oh, sweetie, come here.

Oh, sweetie, it's okay.

It's gonna be okay. I promise.

Now I'd like

to announce the winners

of this year's Cheeboro High

School Photography Contest.

The third-place winner

with his excellent entry

of Beacons of Light

is Charles Decker.

Congratulations, Charles.

Thank you.

The second-place winner

with Desert Sunsets

is Ryan Nelson.

There she is.

I've been waiting for you.

Who you running

around with, baby girl?

Just some guys

down at the truck stop.

Yeah?

Where's my jack?

Can you give me a break, okay?

I've been doing

some pretty heavy sh*t,

and I...

I just need a few hours

to... to sleep it off.

Please?

Okay.

But I want my money first.

Do you still think

that I stole from you?

I didn't.

I swear.

I didn't.

Ohh!

How do you explain that?

It was under your mattress.

- That's my cut.

- You just ran away from me?

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