A pit formed in my stomach as every possible scenario ran through my head. The only people that lived on this farm were Clem’s momma—Miss Lisa—Clem, and Billy. Miss Lisa was a sixty-eight-year-old widow who was at the church, probably enjoying a plate of deviled eggs, ham, and baked beans. And Clem was out in the field. That left…
The banging continued, loud and aggressive.
I quickly texted Holden.
Me: Any chance you know what kind of vehicle Billy drives?
My stomach twisted being in that building with whatever was going on upstairs.
I willed Holden to see the text. A few seconds later, his dots started moving, indicating he was typing.
Holden: Oh, pick me, pick me. I know this one.
Me: No time for jokes.
The dots flashed for what seemed like forever. “Faster, dude,” I hissed at the phone. Was he writing a novel?
Holden: Saw it last night at the viewing. A ginormous dually, Ford-F450. Because a 250 or 350 isn’t big enough. Think he might be compensating for something? Man, you better hurry. Mrs. Allen’s deviled eggs are almost gone. Nom, nom, nom.
I shoved the phone in my pocket and paced. This was the last thing Clem needed today of all days. What should I do? Run upstairs and beat the daylights out of Billy before Clem found out? Scream in his face that he was the biggest idiot on planet Earth? I didn’t care who the girl upstairs was. She could not have held a candle to Clementine. Or maybe grab the rope, get the cow in and make sure Clem went straight back to the church without seeing this and break it to her later? I stood there trying to think of any way I would not have to be the one to tell her.
Too late.
The door flew open and Clem walked in, her hair wilder than before. She must’ve driven the side-by-side. I wrapped my arms around my head and turned away from her.Cowboy up, wuss. I dropped my arms and forced myself to face her. But I couldn’t stop my expression from looking sick. I wasn’t that good of an actor, even on my best day.
Her eyebrows drew together at the sight of me. “What’s taking so long? Is Billy here? And whose car is that?” She scrutinized the ceiling. “Is that music?”
Right then the bed slammed against the wall so hard the floor above rained down dust. Her eyes shot upward.
I strode over and grabbed her arm. “You know what? Idon’t think we need a rope. I’ve got another idea.” I pulled her toward the door. With all my heart, I didn’t want to see the scene that was about to go down if she realized what was happening upstairs. I’d take her somewhere else and tell her, but she didn’t need to find out like this.
She yanked her elbow loose and studied the ceiling, her nose scrunching up and her forehead furrowed. Watching the realization come over her was like watching a fatal car accident happen in slow motion. There was nothing I could do to stop the horror that would follow. Her face went slack. Angry tears filled her eyes. I cupped her face in my hands, forcing her to look at me. “Let’s get out of here.”
Another bang corresponded with a woman yelling, “Bil-leeee.”
Any composure she’d had today drained faster than a broken hourglass. Her face went ashen, and she shot toward the stairs. I sprinted, catching her on the first step. I wove my arms around her waist, pulling her back.
She clawed at my skin, fighting to get free. I tightened my hold.
“Let me go!” She kicked like a caged wild animal.
The banging came to a crashing halt, and the music turned off. Finally.
“You don’t want to see it, Clem. You think you do, but you don’t.” I pressed my face into her hair, wishing I could take her somewhere far away. To a different reality where this had never happened.
A sob ripped through her so hard and deep that I could feel the vibration in my own chest. It caused my grip to loosen ever so slightly. She whirled in my arms and shoved me away. I staggered back a few steps.
“I need to see!” The tears pouring over her freckled cheeks nearly broke me. I’d known Clem almost as long as I could remember and I’d never seen her this gutted. I wanted to takeher in my arms and hold her so tight she couldn’t hurt if she wanted to.
She bolted up the stairs, and I followed behind. I couldn’t let her do this alone. I wouldn’t. She threw the door open, and we came around the corner just in time to see Billy rolling off of a twig of a girl who couldn’t have been more than twenty, both of them as naked as the day they were born.
The girl pulled an afghan up to her neck, her eyes bulging in fear. Billy cowered on one side of the bed, covering himself with his hands. His body was pasty white from his knees to his neck. I wanted to deck him. The girl wasn’t attractive at all. Not even a little. And there was nothing in his stance to indicate that he felt the need to protect her in any way. I might’ve had an ounce of sympathy for him if he’d been stupid enough to let himself fall in love with someone else. But this? This was just Billy getting his jollies.
He opened his mouth to say who knows what, and I almost snorted. Dude probably hadn’t done a push up or bench pressed a pound since high school. He definitely didn’t deserve a girl like Clem.
Clem put up a hand to stop him. “Don’t. There is literally nothing you can say to me right now that won’t make it worse, so just shut up, Billy.” She looked over at me, her eyes blazing. “Can I have your phone? I left mine outside.”
I didn’t know what she was going to do with it, but I let the face recognition open the lock screen and handed it to her. She swiped to my camera. Oh crap.
