“Maple, I think. Whichever one is closest to my apartments. I don’t think I ran that far.”
Ran that far? What the fuck is going on?
“Stay with me. Don’t hang up,” I tell her. “I don’t care if we waste your minutes. I’ll buy you more. Just don’t hang up.”
“Okay,” she says, her voice tiny.
We pile into my Jeep, and I break every speed limit in the county racing toward the gas station off Maple Street. Just ten minutes to get there, and I already feel like it’s an eternity. I put her on speaker so I can place two hands on the wheel.
“Rory, it’s Dustin. Me and Prez are with JD. We’ll be there soon, sweetheart.”
My heart breaks into a million pieces when I hear her soft sniffle. If anyone hurt her, I will take great pleasure in breaking every bone in their body.
Prez leans over the back of my seat. “I can see you losing it from back here. We’ll find her. Stay cool, brother, and don’t wreck the car.”
Dustin keeps talking to her so I can concentrate on driving, giving her a lifeline so she knows that she’s not alone. “Rory, we need to know that you’re alright. Are you hurt?”
“I don’t think so. My face hurts. I couldn’t let him touch me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.”
I white-knuckle the wheel, and I have to grind my back molars to stop me from demanding who the fuck touched her.Goddamn it!
“Hey, Rory. Do you remember that time when Cam set fire to JD’s mattress?” Dustin’s trying to distract her. Keep her calm. I could kiss him.
I hear her chuckle a little. “Yeah. He told me about that. Said he wanted to test the validity of the manufacturer’s sticker about flame retardance.”
“He dragged JD’s mattress out to the pool deck just in case he had to chuck the whole thing in the water. He tried over and over to light that sucker, but it wouldn’t catch. He wound up setting the cabana curtains on fire instead.”
“I think that was the first time my mom ever yelled at me,” I add.
Almost there. It’s right up ahead.
“Cam felt so bad about that.”
“Baby, we’re here. I can see the sign up ahead. Where can we find you?”
My stomach plummets when we get back nothing but silence. Did we get disconnected?
“I see you. I’m standing next to the pay phone.”
“Got her.” Prez points the direction with his finger as my headlights illuminate her.
I’m jumping out of the Jeep before I can even put it in park. I immediately see the bruise on her face when I get within feet of her and rage like I’ve never felt before has me wanting to burn this town to the ground and hunt down who hit her.
She can get mad at me later about friendship boundaries. I don’t care. I haul her into my arms. I release some of the panic with one long exhale as I bury my face in her hair, never wanting to let her go again. Aurora clutches her hands tightly on my shirt, and I lift her up, wrapping her legs around my waist, and just hold her. She doesn’t cry, but I do feel her rubbing her cheek against the side of my neck.
Dustin and Prescott rush over and crowd in on either side of us. Dustin rubs Aurora’s back as Prez circles behind me. I feel him gently lifting her face off my shoulder so he can take a closer look. He inhales with a hiss.
“We need to get some ice on that. I’ll go inside and grab some.” Prez takes off into the convenience store and Aurora lays her head back down on my shoulder.
“I need you to tell me what happened,” I softly implore her, brushing a hand down her hair in a soothing motion.
Prez comes back out with a bag of frozen peas. “Best I could do. Fucker inside wouldn’t give me a plastic bag for ice.”
“Let’s take this back to the truck,” I tell them, and carry Aurora with me.
Dustin lowers the tailgate and I sit her down on it. Prez places the bag of peas against her cheek, and she takes it, pressing her hand to it to hold it in place.
“I feel so stupid.”
