Blended TML Ch 14

The gas station shines in the night, a comforting beacon for weary travelers. It’s the only light in the vast expanse of black swamp under a starless sky.

“No, I got this,” Piper says as they pull into the welcoming glow. “You know the drill.”

“What drill?”

“Maybe a sixer? Something we can share, but without going overboard. And the drill is that you know I want salt and vinegar chips…”

Mary nods. “Reeses, ice cream, OK, OK. I know your snacks. And while I’m choosing to take your excellent advice, the record reflects that you don’t dictate booze buying policy.”

“Sure, whatever.” Piper climbs out to pump gas as Mary heads for the shop. “We need soda too!” she calls after her. And a lot of other stuff, but that can wait until morning. The price of fuel makes Piper wonder if it was a good idea to drive her car. She’s the only adult in the house with no job. There’s no self-consciousness or judgment that goes with that; the slack that she picks up for the household is highly valued by everyone except Patty. Kayla makes pretty good money, considering, and nobody knows what she does with it. Riley makes shitty money, but she’s been pushing that mop at Lord Gym since she was 17, so she has savings. Bella is an office assistant at the university, constantly covering desks and phones when people are out sick. She’s the most frugal one.

Piper has three more years of school ahead of her. More if she decides to become a clinical psychologist.

Mary and Jess Tiffin worked at Blockbuster Video when they were in college, which certainly sounds idyllic. That old Blockbuster closed ages ago; it’s a payday loan place now.

Piper shakes her head. She can worry about that later. The car is gassed up; she puts the pump back, locks the car, and yawns as she shuffles across to the shop.

A blue Countryman sits unattended at another pump. Piper spots a shape inside, unmoving. She hesitates, then approaches, squinting. A woman sits in the passenger seat, slumped against the window. It’s hard to see with the glare on the windows, but she’s breathing.

Relieved, Piper heads for the store.

The door dings, and a woman wobbles out, sparkling and jingling with plenty of jewelry and piercings. She teeters precariously in admittedly nice spikes, and her clingy dress is far from home here in the swamp; it belongs in a club in Miami. She has a figure to rival that of Mary in her prime, and Piper’s not immune to that plunging neckline. Her bleach job is nuclear, and her eye makeup must have been magnificent a few hours ago.

This woman is spectacularly wasted, and a bit of a mess as a result. If she had her shit together, she’d be the sort of Latina beauty that rappers start feuds over.

“Oh, hi. Sorry,” she slurs as she bumps past Piper with all the grace of a disco ball crashing down a staircase.

“Hi,” Piper says, turning to watch her go, mostly out of concern, and partly because if she trips, Piper expects to see a G-string.

“Piper?”

Piper jumps; Mary’s there with a pack of cider under one arm, and shopping bags crinkling.

She looks past Piper at the woman climbing into that other car. “She should not be driving.”

Too late to do anything about it now; the car rolls out, bumping awkwardly over the curb. The taillights vanish in the dark.

Piper shrugs. “Yup. We good?”

“Let’s go.” Mary looks around at the blackness surrounding the gas station and shudders. “Places like this creep me out.”

[ One of the odder projects/prize games will start soon. I’ll post a little explanation on my blog for reference, but if you get a strange DM, this is what it’s about. Winners so far were chosen from Athena’s Story and Blended 2. 7 readers have won so far, 12 spots are claimed, something like 15 are left. Details on my blog: https://www.vfuniverse.org/2026/09/office-wars-now-hiring.html

Meanwhile, on Patreon, we will be making some potentially very funny decisions about some new characters. Once they’re finalized, they’ll be available for selection in this thing as well. ]