Rest Stop is a short story by Stephen King

Stephen King

Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...

, originally published in the December 2003 issue of Esquire

Esquire (magazine)

Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...

, and collected in King's 2008 collection Just After Sunset

Just After Sunset

Just After Sunset is the fifth collection of short stories by Stephen King. It was released in hardcover by Scribner on November 11, 2008, and features a holographic dust jacket. On February 6, 2008, the author's official website revealed the title of the collection to be Just Past Sunset. About a...

.

Plot synopsis

Author John Dykstra, who writes under the pen name of Rick Hardin, has had too much beer to drink at his mystery writer's group meeting and desperately needs to find a rest stop on his return from Jacksonville to Sarasota. There is only one other car at the rest stop and he hears its occupants in the ladies' bathroom. It is a woman's and a man's voice he hears coming from the bathroom and clearly the sounds of domestic abuse. John Dykstra has to decide how, or even if, he will act to stop it.

External links

• Rest Stop at Stephen King's official site