Free Streetlights Like Fireworks by David Pandolfe

honey.”
    “She’s kind of hot when she’s pissed off,” Victor says to
his friends.
    I stand up and Lauren does too.
    “Okay, we’re leaving now,” I say.
    Victor shakes his head again. “I’ll tell you when you’re
leaving.”
    Lauren stares hard at Victor, still holding that lighter
in her hand. She keeps rubbing her thumb across its surface.
    “Look, she’s checking me out.” Victor grins at his
friends, then eyes Lauren up and down. “Tell you what, babe. If you’re nice to
me, I’ll let you keep my lighter.”
    Dreadlocks and Shaved head both laugh but Lauren doesn’t
even seem to notice. She keeps staring at Victor like she can see right through
him.
    Victor cracks a smile but shifts on his feet like he’s
not quite sure what to do. “How about you stop doing that thing with your
eyes.”
    “You took money from your father’s bank account,” Lauren
says, her tone flat and distant. “He didn’t want to think it was you.”
    Victor frowns. “What the hell are you talking about?”
    Oh, shit. Where are we going here? I try to get Lauren to
look at me but she doesn’t break her focus on Victor.
    “You stole from your brothers too. When you were young.
You sold their things and they never saw them again.”
    Victor sneers but Lauren is definitely getting under his
skin. He puts his hands in his pockets, then takes them right out again. He
steps back and cocks his head. “You need to stop talking.”
    A moment passes in silence, then Lauren says, “What did
you do to your sister?”
    “Shut the hell up, bitch.”
    Lauren shakes her head. “Oh, you remember,” she says.
“Your sister definitely remembers.”
    Victor’s eyes go cold like he’s looking inward, even as
that creepy smile splits his face again. “Okay, so the religious chick is
fucking insane!”
    Victor’s words work as intended. Dreadlocks and Shaved
Head chuckle. But I get the feeling they won’t be forgetting what they just
learned about Victor anytime soon.
    “Right?” Victor says. His eyes cut in my direction. “Holy
crap, bro. Your girlfriend’s a nut job.”
    I ignore the part about Lauren being my girlfriend. “She
just knows things.”
    “Okay, sure.” Victor rolls his eyes but it seems like his
tough guy act is barely holding up. I get the feeling he want us out of there
now as much as we want to leave. “Right, who cares. We have stuff to do. I got
the guitar from some chick in Charlotte. She worked at a bar. Now, fuck off and
get out of here.”
    “What was her name?” Lauren says.
    I can’t believe she has the nerve to keep pushing it. We
need to go, now.
    “Susan Walker. Why the hell would it matter?”
    “What’s the name of the bar?” Now, she’s glaring at
Victor like she’d tear him apart, given the chance. He can’t seem to break off
contact with her either.
    “The Trolleyman,” he says. “You keep bugging me and I
swear—”
    “We’re leaving.” I grab hold of Lauren’s arm and walk
toward the door.
    “You better freaking leave,” Victor says.
    Lauren keeps her eyes on Victor’s even as I drag her. She
doesn’t look away until he slams the door behind us.
    We walk down the hall fast, neither of us speaking as I
keep waiting for Victor to change his mind and come flying out after us.
Lauren’s gaze remains fixed straight ahead, her brow creased with
concentration. While I never doubted she must have some sort of psychic
ability, now I’m stunned. I’ve never been around anything like that before. How
was it even possible? I have no doubt Victor is thinking the same thing.
    As soon we get outside, Lauren stops when I expect her to
dash toward the van. She still grasps the lighter in her hand. She takes one
last look at it and throws it in a great arc out across the parking lot. Then
she takes something from her pocket. A cell phone.
    “Is that—”
    Lauren nods. “He left it next to his lighter. Idiot.”
    “We don’t want that. Right?”
    “Definitely. But something