“I’ll put this right in,” Lily says as she tucks her pad into the white apron tied around her waist. Then she moves to the booth next to us, and I sit there enraptured as I listen to her take their mundane order, annoyed when the two men try their hand at flirting with her.
Something coils through me at every fake laugh and casual comment they offer her. I clench my jaw, the muscle twitching. I do my best to keep my expression neutral and apparently fail because my mother narrows a look at me.
Then she smiles. “Ilikeher.”
Chapter 10
Lily
Istare at the crumpled flyer I tossed in my passenger seat moments ago. The paper was stuck to my windshield after I came out of the gym. Annoyed with my wet hair sticking to my forehead in the chilly air, I snatched it, glanced at the title, and balled the paper in my fist. But now, those words tap in time with the rumble of my stomach, and I reach for it while the air continues to blow full blast in an attempt to dry my hair. Smoothing the wrinkled page, I spread it out over the steering wheel, and my mouth waters at the stocky lettering at the top.
PINEBROOK CHILI COOK-OFF
The growling in my stomach rages again. Figures Mitch would cut my hours in half just as the holiday season approaches. I was banking on those additional hours to pay for more gas, maybe even a few nights in a motel now that it’s getting colder—but no. He had to hire his cousin’s daughter, who flirts her way to fat tips and can’t make coffee to save her life.
At first, I thought it might be because of my episode several shifts ago. The one where I emerged from the bathroom lookinggaunt and pale. Yeah. Mitch sent me home early, afraid I was coming down with something. Couldn’t tell him that a particular chilling phone call is what did me in. Luckily, I haven’t had any more phone calls since that one, and I’ve convinced myself it was a prank.
With the cutbacks my opportunities to swipe my meals from the diner are sparse, and although I hate to admit it, this chili cook-off has four letters that speak to me … or my belly. FREE.
Truth is, I’m more unsure than ever. I’ve been fighting for my time here in Pinebrook, and part of me wonders if I should move on. I’ve never made so little in any of the places I’ve been, and although living out of my car is my preference, having extra cash on hand to stay in an Airbnb or hotel at times used to be nice. Here I’m barely scraping by.
The economy has tanked, which means it might be time to get creative. I’m not above anything that pays out actual money, even handing out flyers in a chicken suit.
I’m not sleeping enough, though. Consumed by memories and endless words that occupy my mind each night—sleep is a distant friend at this point. Pretty sure it shows on my face, too.
I twist, reaching into my back seat for my water bottle and a hair tie to pull my damp hair up into a messy bun. A strand of dyed hair falls out and I huff it away before tucking it behind my ear. Looking down, I examine my outfit. Dark wash jeans with a hole in the knee and a long-sleeved plain black shirt don’t necessarily feel like something one would wear to a chili cook-off. In my mind’s eye, it’s all red plaid and brown work boots.
Speaking of boots …
I shuck off my cheap slip-on shoes and grab my black Chelsea boots from the passenger floorboard. Then, careful to avoid blowing the horn in the well-populated gym parking lot, I maneuver them on, completing my outfit. A huff escapes me, but I continue to get ready, applying minimal makeup. As I putthe final touches of mascara on my lashes, gold peeks out from under my shirt, and I frown, pulling the necklace free to stare at the raven.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
His cold hand grips mine as he pulls me through the woods. The fog settles near the ground, and I trip, almost losing my balance on a tree root, but strong arms catch me, his leather jacket crinkling underneath my weight.
“I got you,” he says, hauling me up only to push me against the nearby oak.
I gasp when his lips tentatively touch mine and my stomach flutters in response. I’ve been kissed before, but never like this. A few boys from school are just that … boys. Whereas he … well, he treats me like a woman.
I’m sixteen, but I know I want to spend my life with him. My best friend Kalin says I’m too young to know what I want, and that he’s too old for me. I’m sure my brothers would kill me if they knew I was dating someone their age.
But of all the girls at school, he picked me. Noticed me. Took an interest in me. His messy dark hair, that shimmers with a blue tint like a galaxy far, far away, always falls into his face. He’s not like every other man around this small town who wears polos or plaid with sun-kissed skin from the southern sun. No. He’s fair, pale even, with dark eyes that track each movement I make. He’s dangerous, maybe. Exciting, definitely.
There’s a confident surety to him, and I feel like I’m figuring out who I am. He’s the kind of guy I’ve been warned about. The one that parents wait at the door or set curfews for. The one that will suck you into their world and crush you before you can realize what’s happened.
But he makes me feel like I’m the only person in the room, tells me he’s obsessed with me and could never let me go. It’s maddening and thrilling all at once. Even when he’s too roughwith me, his temper getting the best of him … he still tells me I’m the only one for him. There will never be another. I preen at his words.
His hand comes to my throat while his teeth tug at my lips, and?—
Ow! Did he bite me?
“Sh-shouldn’t we be getting back?” I ask, pulling my mouth from his.
“No.”
His hand squeezes my neck, and … it hurts.
“That hurts. Can we just?—”
