Stanley found he still had a lot of time on his hands. He found himself thinking about Josh. He found him to be naive. The man hadn’t said anything in particular that had led him to believe this, but anyone who took a liking to someone like himself was usually a well meaning but unknowleageable person. He saw this Josh person as a sort of labrador retriever, he was well adjusted and a generally happy dude.  He had a few friends back in the day just like him, they were the type of people who wanted to help him clean out the back of his truck. As soon as they saw what was inside they either ran away, or stiffened up. They had good reason to. Everyone likes how it sounds, the idea of offering help. But they have no idea just how filthy that truck is, and what disgusting secrets it holds. 

Josh didn’t think about Stanley much, and had continued to make lots of new friends everywhere he went. When he did think about Stanley, he mostly hoped he could see him sometime soon. Truckers tended to meet each other multiple times along the destination they were heading, it was like there was a force guiding them towards each other. He sensed that Stanley was one of those people who would keep coming back, and he was right. Again, they pulled into the same truck stop. They made eye contact with each other. Stanley smiled stiffly without moving his eyes, with a shy wave. Josh grinned with his whole face and waved his entire arm around as if doing some sort of interpretive dance. 

Stanley felt tense. He didn’t like being around people, because it drained him of all his energy. It took so much work to cover up the smell. He had always had bad hygiene, and was a generally messy person. That’s why he didn’t invite people to his house. He also found it hard to add tone and emotion to his voice, if he had it his way he would talk almost like a robot. But when he did do that as a child he learned quickly that this garnered negative attention. He learned fast as a young boy. He thought he was pretty good at hiding his weird behavior, but he wasn’t Josh. Josh could see very clearly all of Stanley’s weird little quirks. He walked without moving his arms, and his smile was stiff. He always seemed uncomfortable and like he was trying to squirm his way out of the conversation.

“Hey, been a while crocodile!”

“Heh… yeah.”

“Wanna go in and get some coffee?” Josh had learned quickly that Stanley liked coffee. The last time they had talked he had downed a giant cup in less than three minutes. He was right, Stanley seemed to perk up.

“Hell yeah let’s go in.” He felt a sudden and strong burst of emotion in his chest, just above his stomach. It was sore and sweet and made his eyes feel like they were overflowing. He didn’t understand why he had to be like this, it was either zero percent or one hundred percent on the emotional dial for him. He wanted to laugh and scream with joy, but he covered it up with a confident and, what he thought was charming, laugh. 

The pair headed in. Stanley took note of Josh’s choice of sunflower seeds. He could tell Josh was a smoker from the moment they met. He had a rough voice. He also had sun baked skin, very red. He had a slight Mainer accent to him, which made him think maybe he had been a lobsterman down in the more rural areas of their state. They sat down at one of the tables in the corner, away from any windows. This was Stanley’s ideal choice of seat, so he could be aware of his surroundings and everything going on around him.

“So, were you a lobsterman before you were a trucker?”

“Yep. I assume it’s because of my bad skin?”

“Yeah that gave it away, and you have a Mainer accent which means you probably lived in a rural area near the coast, right?”

“I do not have a Mainer accent.” Josh smiled playfully.

“Are you kidding? It’s so obvious.” Stanley found himself smiling as well. Josh’s happiness was contagious. 

“Hah… oh god. Maybe I do. Well, you're right. I got into the world of Maine ‘lobstah’ through my parents. They had a bunch of kids so they could use us for labor.” 

“Wow, jeez. Sounds like your parents sucked?” Stanley felt hopeful.

“No, no my parents were amazing. Worked very hard for us. Raised me well.”

“Oh…” Stanley found himself disappointed. This was just like him to be jealous. Josh could hear the disappointment in his voice. This was a good opportunity to get Stanley to open up.

“Well, did your parents suck?”

“Uhhh…,” Stanley hesitated, “Yeah I guess you could say they sucked. I mean, they tried really hard. I don’t wanna sound b*tch-y or anything-”

“No, no, you don’t sound b*tch-y, you can literally vent about them as much as you want, it’s not like I’ll probably ever see you after this anyways, what are the chances?”

“Heh, ok…, well. It’s just, now that I’m talking about them I can’t think of any examples. I mean, I remember I used to have these horrible nightmares as a kid, and they would bar off their bedroom door with a chair so I couldn’t get in. I just woke up one night with a rush of adrenaline, hoping that I could get to their door in time. I was terrified. But there was a chair blocking the door, so I couldn’t get in. I felt something behind me. I didn’t stop to turn around, I ran into my living room and hid under the blanket on the couch. I had to soothe myself. I didn’t fall asleep, every noise set me on edge. I felt too scared to bang on the door to wake them up.”

“Why were you scared?”

“They got really angry and scary when I woke them up. The next morning they would be all like, ‘Oh, you can wake us up no matter the time, you have to even if we get mad so we can help you,’ and then I would wake them up and they would yell about how they can’t get a decent night's sleep. I always felt like a burden to them. They didn’t know but I could sense that I made their lives harder. They would tell me the opposite, but I could read between the lines. I knew they resented me. They were always fighting. I heard everything. I get so mad at them, even now. I told myself I would stop blaming them for all my problems once I moved out, but I haven’t stopped. They want me to forgive them. I feel like, sorry, I feel like I sound dramatic. I’m not saying all of the f*cked up sh*t they’ve done. This is like small beans compared to the other stuff they’ve done, but I can’t think of it. I mean, I can’t articulate it properly. Sorry, I have trouble communicating, um… 

“It’s ok, maybe you could tell me another story about your parents?”

“Yeah, uh…,” Josh racked his brain. But the more he tried to think about it the fuzzier. it got, it was like a slippery eel, the harder he tried to grip it the faster it got away. “Yeah, I can’t think of anything.”

“Wow, jeez, I’m sorry dude.” Josh for once didn’t know what to say. He looked out the window at Stanley’s and his truck. He noticed something leaking from the cracks of the doors of Stanley’s, even in the dim, moody lighting. He looked back to see Stanley wiping something from his mouth. “Hey, Stanley, you should probably check out your truck, there’s some kind of leak happening.”

“Yeah, it does that sometimes,” Stanley hesitated, “I think we should stop talking. I’m going to head back out, ok?” Josh felt a pang in his stomach. He had pushed him too hard, he had failed. He hadn’t expected it to go like this. 

“Are you sure? We don’t have to talk about your parents anymore, I like talking with you.”

“Yeah I like talking with you too. But there’s, I don’t know how to explain it. Like, there’s really gross parts of me. Like, acid. And I don’t want to hurt you, because you are a good guy.”

“You are making it sound like you have no control over whether you hurt me or not.”

“It’s bad habits, it takes less energy to hurt people than it does to fight them. And I don’t have energy.”

“It sounds like you have depression, it’s a chemical imbalance, all you need is some medicine.”

“Yeah maybe…” Stanley had heard this many times before, and he felt annoyed. He knew Josh was trying to help, and he wanted to make Josh feel like he was being helpful. People like Josh liked to feel helpful. “You might be right.” Stanley felt like he should get an Oscar for his performance.

“Yeah, yeah.” Josh smiled. He was getting somewhere. “We can get you all patched up.”

“Thank you.” 

“No problem. I think I should head out, but I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, probably. Might as well make a thing of it.”

“Alright, bye, see you around.”

“Bye.” Their conversation came to an abrupt stop. Josh felt he had done his job, and Stanley was relieved to be done with it all. 

When Stanley left the parking lot was empty. The sky was gloomy, a dark grayish blue. Everything felt heavy, and dark. He felt depressed after that talk. Every time people talked about taking action, or getting better, he decided to skip the hope bit straight to the depression bit. But still, maybe Josh was right. He had tried drugs before but they made him feel weird, he hadn’t given it much effort. Maybe he could open up the back of his truck and do a little tidying. Yeah. 

“But I’ll do it tomorrow, it’s getting late.” Stanley walked back up to the giant steps. Had it not been so dark he would have seen the sludge dripping through the cracks of his truck.

Josh hadn’t seen Stanley in a while. He had been getting very close to his destination. He wanted to talk with him again. Maybe Stanley was doing better, maybe he had quit his job and followed something he was more passionate about? Their last talk had ended well. It made Josh feel accomplished. He still found himself turning into truck stops more often. Now would actually be a good time to take a stop. Josh pulled into the driveway and parked. A small part of him hoped he would see Josh.  He wasn’t sure why he was so drawn to him. Just as he thought, Stanley’s truck was parked in the back corner just out of view. He felt uneasy, Stanley usually parked in the front. When he walked in he didn’t immediately see Stanley. He decided Stanley wasn’t on this floor, and decided to go upstairs and take a shower. He was sticky with sweat, the summer months had kicked into high gear recently.

He walked into the showers to find Stanley, he was the only one in this dimly lit room. The room was fogged up from the steaming hot water. Stanley still hadn’t seen him. Josh was pretty sure he could see through the fog, Stanley was rapidly scrubbing himself. Trying to rub off some invisible substance. His eyes were red and puffy. He looked like he was panicking, struggling to get this stuff off of him. His body was boxy and saggy. He had a slouch with a hump on the back of his neck. When he opened his mouth Josh saw his teeth were unusually yellow and gunky. Josh felt he should leave without disturbing Stanley. Something was clearly wrong with him. This wasn’t how he expected his next meeting with Stanley to go.

Just as he turned around to go he heard a grunt of exclamation behind him. He felt icky, like he had walked in on his parents having sex. He turned around slowly to find Stanley standing just behind him, looking into his eyes. 

“Oh, hi, Stanley.” Josh laughed uncomfortably to diffuse and make light of the situation. “Ha, uh, this is pretty awkward, right?”

“Do you want to see what’s in my truck.”

“Oh, you know, I actually have to leave, I gotta get back on the road.”

“Then why are you up here in the showers.” Stanley’s voice was low, and tired. He sounded almost like a robot, with no tone in his voice or hint of emotion.

“Ah, good question. I thought I might take a shower but you seemed… busy.”

“I’m trying to get clean.”

“Hey, I’m gonna head out, ok, you just keep showering like I was never here.”

“Not before you see what’s in my truck. I need help cleaning it.”

“No I really do have to leave-” Josh felt the urgent need to leave. Suddenly, the lights started to flicker, and the room got more dim.

“No. You don’t. Stay.” Stanley’s voice sounded so severe, Josh felt he shouldn’t challenge him. Josh would just wait until they were outside and get into his truck, and lock it. Then he could leave. Yeah.

“Ok, let’s go see your truck.” Josh smiled.

“Alright, yeah.” Stanley made his way out of the showers. He walked into the locker room but didn’t put on any clothes. He walked down the linoleum stairs, dripping water behind him. Josh realized he hadn’t even shut the showers off, all of them were still on, he could hear the distant trickling of water. 

“Stanley-” Josh almost protested to get him to put some clothes on, but he realized someone in the store would see him, and would get him some help. But as they trudged along, at a weirdly slow pace, Josh realized no one was on this floor. In fact, the truck stop was quiet. All he could hear was Stanley’s wet feet slapping against the floor. None of the lights were on, all the light was pooling in from the flickering road studs outside. Josh realized he was alone in here. How had he not noticed when he was walking upstairs? It had seemed lively and full just a moment ago.

Stanley kept walking out into the hot summer night air. He turned the corner towards his truck. Josh glanced at his own truck, and decided he would make a run for it. He made it to his truck, only to find the tires were slashed. When did that happen? Josh felt a sense of foreboding. Something was wrong. He glanced at the long road in front of him, no cars, no trucks. Nothing. He was completely alone with Stanley. He decided his only way out of here was with Stanley’s truck. When he got to Stanley, he was standing there, waiting, staring with his dead eyes into the distance. 

“Ok, Stanley. You got me, I’ll help you clean your truck.”

“I changed my mind, I don’t want help cleaning my truck. I just need you to see what’s inside. Real quick. Go ahead, open it.” The doors of Stanley’s truck were unlocked, he lifted his shaky hands towards the handles, and pulled it open.

There was nothing inside. It was completely empty.

“Uh, Stanley, there is nothing here.” Josh smiled uneasily. “It’s actually quite clean-” Josh turned towards Stanley.

Stanley's ribs were opened up, almost like the doors of the truck. He could see inside Stanley’s body. There was a horrible smell like that from a garbage truck coming from him. Black ooze was dripping down his belly, all over his body. The lighting made Stanley’s eyes look pitch black, with little dots of light inside of them. His eyes were sagging, as if they were tired of doing their job. It was almost like they were about to fall clean off. His eyebrows looked glued to his face in a gloomy expression. 

“What- what the f*ck?! What the f*ck!” Josh felt sick. But Stanley made no reaction to his words, it was as if he was waiting for something.

He finally decided to look into the ribs of the man, to see what was there. The light behind him suddenly flickered on, so he could see what was inside. When he looked, there was another face in there. Staring back at him. 

“Help me.” The voice of this face was raspy, like it only talked very rarely. A pair of hands reached out to grab his arm, Josh screamed and ripped his hand away, the adrenaline kicked in and he began running rapidly as far away as he could get. He felt a stinging on his arm, and looked down to see the space where the hand had grabbed him left bubbling, burning acid. It smelled like cooked meat. When he turned around, Stanley was just standing there, watching him go. Stanley felt something in the palm of his hand, a pair of keys. He wound back around and made his way up the stairs of his truck. He was almost up when he got the sense something was going to grab his foot and drag him down. He felt a burst of anxiety in the pit of his stomach and jolted up quickly, and got into Stanley’s truck. He shut the door and locked it, ignited the keys, and pulled out. 

Too fast. He felt a bump, and the truck jolted up and then down. It was too late to do anything, the cops would find him, they would see something was seriously wrong with him. He could explain it to them. But for now he had to get out of here. He sped off into the night.

Stanley woke up in the sleeper cab of Josh’s truck. His mind felt very jumbled. When he looked out the window he saw he was parked at another truck stop. He hoisted himself upwards but jabbed his elbow into his seat. There was a dripping noise coming from somewhere and he felt very annoyed. He was overstimulated. What he needed was some coffee. 

Inside the truck stop was bright, and clean. He got himself some coffee and sat down. This morning the truck stop was loud, and full of people. There were kids running around and screaming, and an exasperated mother who looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. This particular truck stop smelled like urine. He had come in here to calm down and be in a quiet space, but he had made a mistake. 

The coffee was ok. He had decided to order a bagel. The bagel was soggy from too much butter, and dripped when he took a bite. 

He felt someone watching him. He looked up from his bagel to find Josh staring at him. Josh’s arm looked raw, and red, almost like it was pulsating. Although he couldn’t tell from this far away. Stanley felt guilty. Josh was sitting alone. He looked very droopy and his eyes were dark. All of the chaos going on around them drowned out as if they were underwater. Why hadn’t Josh gotten his arm taken care of at a hospital? 

Stanley waved at him. Josh waved back stiffly.

The end.