Drifting into Darkness by J.M. La Rocca

brow, the ticking in his cheek, the way he was standing. This guy had some serious issues.
    “Excuse me, Mr. Rude. I would have handed it over to you. You didn’t have to snatch it from me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.
    He ignored my comment. “I can’t fix it. It cracked off. You’ll either have to use what is there or do it by hand, with your gloves.”
    “What?” I screeched.
    “What is it that you aren’t comprehending?”
    “Are you telling me you only have one shovel on the entire farm?” He had to be kidding. Part of me had a feeling he was doing this just to get under my skin. And it was working.
    “That’s what it sounds like, doesn’t it?” I swear there was a hint of a smile again, which only made me want to lash out at him. “So, like I said. Either use what you have,” he pointed to the shovel, “or use your hands.” That made me want to gag and I’m sure my face showed my disgust. “It’s your choice, city girl. It’s got to be done either way.”
    I tried to hold my tongue, but I couldn’t. “Firstly,” I said, holding my hand up, “I don’t appreciate your attitude. Secondly, I have a name. Use it. Thirdly, I’ll get the job done.” I could feel my face burning with my irritation. “I didn’t call you for help. I’m sure I’ll manage to get the job done one way or another. You can go on and do whatever it is you were doing, but make sure to take some Midol; it helps with PMS. Your mood swings are out of control today or is this just how you normally behave?” I stood with my arms crossed over my chest again and chastised myself again for talking like that to the boss’s son. I had a feeling this would happen often and I was sure he could have me fired. It would be sad to be fired on my first day, but I didn’t need this job if this was how it would be every day.
    Without a word, he turned and walked off. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to work with a guy like him. But then again, my mom would just tell me that this was preparing me for work out in the real world.
    Letting out a defeated sigh, I bent down and picked up the shovel. This was definitely going to take me longer. The smile I had inside from knowing that this task wouldn’t take me long was replaced with dread. This would definitely take longer than expected and my back would be feeling it tomorrow.
     
     
     
     

Seven
     
    Groaning, I rolled over out of my warm cocoon to turn off my screeching alarm. My mother had been right. Hard labor was not my thing. Even after soaking in the tub last night, my lower back was still killing me. Muscles I didn’t know I had were aching. It took me almost two hours to clean up all those stalls yesterday, with no help from Landon. I wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing in that office for two hours, but he didn’t come out to see if I needed help.
    I knocked on the office door to let him know I was done, but I didn’t wait around to see if he had heard me. I finished that particular job, so I left. At that point, if there was something else I needed to do, I wasn’t even sure I could have done it. I was that worn out. I hopped onto the four-wheeler and rode back to the front office where I was greeted with Nan’s warm smile. I only had an hour left to work, so I found Lisa and finished out the day bagging the rest of the corn.
    When I got home, I went straight to the shower to wash the dirt and grime off my body. I would have stayed in there for an hour or more, but I was starving after all that work. I had used all the energy I got from lunch shoveling all those stalls. I’d have to bring protein bars with me so I didn’t feel so drained.
    Mom greeted me in the kitchen when I went to the main house. She asked me about my first day and I told her all about it. I surprised myself by even telling her about Landon. She suggested that maybe he was just having a bad day, that being in the heat does that to people. I was leaning more toward him just being an ass, but