DOM
It didn’t take long for news of the explosion on Noah’s street to reach the rest of the city. Not only was it on the local news, it was also a topic of discussion in the local online chat groups. Unfortunately, no deaths had been reported. What went wrong?
Did the explosive go off prematurely? Did something else trigger it? I hated not knowing.
The following day on campus, I kept an eye out for Noah. I never saw him. I wasn’t sure if Damon was around. He and I didn’t cross paths much.
As the day went on and I didn’t see either of them, my curiosity drove me more and more crazy. I couldn’t very well show up at his house to scope out the scene for myself. It was too late now anyway. The explosive had gone off. I would have to live with this extreme sense of dissatisfaction eating at me.
“Did you do it?” Stray asked when the two of us were alone smoking a joint outside between classes. “Did you plant that car bomb?”
Since Auryn already knew the truth, there was no point lying. I had nothing to hide. “Yeah, that was me. I guess it didn’t work. Nobody died.”
Stray nodded, sucking slowly on the joint before releasing a cloud of smoke that drifted away on the cold winter air. “Should I even ask what drove you to that point? That’s a pretty serious move, Dom.”
“You can ask,” I said with a shrug. “I don’t think I would have an answer for you though. This has been coming for a long time now. I’m just bummed out that it didn’t work.”
“Are you though?” Eyeing me curiously, Stray passed me the joint. “Please don’t beat my ass but I don’t believe you really wanted to kill him. The two of you clearly have some shit to work out, and if this is how you do it, then it’s none of my business.”
“You’re right. It is none of your business. But I know you care, and I appreciate that.” Tipping my head back to look into the overcast sky, I took a large drag of the joint. My friends were only trying to look out for me. I knew that. Even though I wasn’t ready to share everything with them, I didn’t want to be an asshole either.
Stray opened his mouth to say something before biting back the words. Knowing that it had to be killing him to censor himself, I motioned for him to speak.
“Have you ever considered just dating the guy?” he asked. “Maybe all you two really need is a solid night of talking and fucking, and some more talking, or whatever else it is that gets you both off.”
I frowned, taking a moment to smoke more weed before responding. “I don’t want to date him. I want to kill him.”
Stray held up both hands in surrender. “All right, man. If you say so. When that fucker becomes your boyfriend, I’ll be right there to say I told you so.”
He shot me a sly grin before swiping the rest of the joint from my hand. As we made our way back inside, I wondered how so many people thought it was that simple. That Noah and Iwould have a happy ever after. I tried to blow him up last night. It was way too late for that now.
By the time the end of the day rolled around, I was more than ready to get the hell out of there. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the evening than by secluding myself in the basement with a drink or two. Rebel and Casper were going to handle some minor business tonight. They didn’t need the rest of us to tag along this time.
I was halfway back to the house when I noticed a black SUV taking every turn I took. Coincidence? Maybe. Instinct told me otherwise.
Instead of continuing on home, I took a random left at the intersection up ahead. The SUV followed. Needing to confirm that I was indeed being followed, I took a few more sudden erratic turns. The SUV stayed on my tail. Slowing down a little, I let the driver catch up so I could get a look at who was behind the wheel.
I wasn’t expecting to see Noah. He must have been driving Damon’s ride. I guess he knew exactly who planted the device on his car. Good. I wanted him to know it was me. Preferably in his final seconds on this planet. Too bad I guess.
I suspected that Noah had a plan in mind. Maybe he was going to gun me down. Perhaps he simply wanted to beat the shit out of me. My hand went to the rope burn still healing on my neck. I was kind of eager to find out what Noah would do next.
Instead of leading him to my house, I headed in the opposite direction. For the edge of town. To the graveyard.
Even as it grew increasingly clear that I was leading him out there, he didn’t falter. He stayed right behind me the entire time. No doubt he was mad as hell. The very thought got my pulse pounding.
When we arrived at the graveyard, the daylight was beginning to fade. The overcast sky gradually growing darker. Ipulled up next to the church and killed the engine, waiting for Noah to pull up next to me.
There was no hesitation on his part. He leapt out of the SUV, storming over to my vehicle. Yanking open the door, he grabbed ahold of me and dragged me out of the car. Seething with rage, Noah slammed me against the side of the car several times.
I couldn’t help myself. I burst into laughter.
“You’re awfully angry today,” I chuckled. “Can’t imagine why.”
Noah grabbed the front of my hoodie, using it to slam me against the car one more time. “Oh really? You can’t imagine why? I’m surprised you’re laughing, asshole. I thought you’d be disappointed to see me alive.”
A bandage covered a wound on his forehead. He had some fresh scrapes and bruises. I was dying to know how close he’d come to being blown into several pieces.
“A little bit,” I admitted. “I thought I had you with that one. How did you manage to escape becoming ground beef?”
