stan fight wip

Stan couldn't forget her, not after Ariel had first pointed her out in a crowd. Here she was again, and he had to fight the rising tide of nausea that seeped up his stomach.

She was a very definite type of woman, that he could be sure of, and she reeked of PTA meetings and let-me-speak-to-your-manager. And once she noticed that he was looking at her, the rest of her attitude gradually showed itself. Her eyes narrowed, upper lip just barely twitching into a split-second look of disgust that this unkempt man was staring at her.

Yeah, he thought. There's a name for this kind of woman. And that's "bitch."

"Is there something wrong?" She spoke, with a chirpy tone that did a bad job in covering up her discomfort. Stan rolled his eyes. Fuck's sake, woman, if you're going to insult me, do it to my face, he thought. But despite everything, Stan was curious. Ariel had always been so dodgy about answering questions about their mother, only expressing some kind of vague discomfort. Maybe he wanted to see how deep the rabbit hole went.

"Yeah. You the chick whose kid went missing?" He asked, unable to hide the slight smile on his face when his manner of speech caught he off-guard. But she bounced right back, face twisting into a perfect mask of motherly concern.

"Oh, you must mean my daughter..." She said, leaning forward towards him suddenly. "Yes, she went missing almost a year ago now. I've looked everywhere, and there's still been no sign. Poor thing... She must have wandered out and got lost. It was always such a problem..." What a great speech, perfectly punctuated by a shaking sigh.

"Yeah?" Stan answered, feeling irritation starting to bubble in his chest. This bitch was talking like she'd lost some unruly dog, not her child.

"She.... she has autism. Can't speak at all, can't ask anyone for directions. I don't think she knows the home neighborhood well enough to get back home..." Her hand moved to her face, her cheeks starting to turn red, but strangely no tears. "I did my best and I still couldn't keep her safe... And now I'm so scared she's gone forever, my poor baby..."

At this point, Stan felt like vomiting.

"Maybe your kid wouldn't have run off if you didn't treat them like some retarded baby." He muttered. But she definitely heard. Her eyes snapped open, and immediately the sad look vanished from her face, replaced by dumbfounded shock.

"W-what?"

"Your- ... The reports said your kid was 15 when they ran off, yeah?"

"Y-yes, but..."

"And here you are, talkin' like your 4-year old got out the door. Give me a fuckin' break."

The woman's face was still red, alright. But her eyes narrowed and her brows furrowed. He'd gotten to her.

"Who are you to tell me about my own child?" She said, hissing through her teeth. "You're... you're just some man on the street. I will not sit here and be judged by you!"

"Yeah, whatever." He said back, rather loudly.