“Bella offered to take me to my mom’s, so you don’t have to worry about it.” I wave with a smile plastered on my lips. It feels like my face is going to crack open.
I’m inside the car with the door slamming shut before either Jake or Bella can respond.
“I didn’t offer to take you anywhere,” Bella mutters as she slams her door shut and twists the ignition. As I expected when I threatened to steal her car, she hadn’t bothered removing her keys when she arrived at the scene.
“As far as everyone else is concerned, you did. Now go.” I snap the seatbelt into the latch and stare straight ahead at the flashing lights of an oncoming pickup. The light makes two rotations and then goes off. Like the volunteer firemen, many of the police officers also have removable dashboard lights.
It’s Officer Sanders, the daytime dispatcher, in her pickup. Hopefully, she’ll distract Jake, and I can get home without any other incidents, because the only thing I want to do is take a shower and crawl into bed.
Country music blares from the speakers before Bella yanks the volume knob lower until only the faint sounds of a southern twang are audible in the vehicle.
“What’s going on?” Bella taps her pink-painted fingernails on the steering wheel.
“It’s nothing. Jake stopped at the house to talk to Mom, and we both got calls about the fire.” I shrug like it’s no big deal. “He offered to drive me, and that’s it.”
I lay the back of my head against the seat cushion and close my eyes. The hurtful words Amanda spewed flow back into my head. Why do I let her bother me?
The hint of Bella’s familiar sweet floral perfume mingles with the prevalent scent of smoke in my hair and nose. It’ll take at least two washes to get the smoke smell out of my clothes and hair.
“Frank and June’s home appeared to be salvageable, but it’s going to be a chore to rid the space of smoke damage,” I say without breaking to give her the chance to speak.
The great thing about our town is that there won’t be a lack of volunteers to help with the cleaning, renovation, and any interim supplies and assistance they might need.
When houses were destroyed during a tornado last spring, the walls were rebuilt, and the roofs were replaced within less than a month after the insurance checks were deposited into their bank accounts. The town’s people have a competition to see how quickly they can get someone back into their home after a displacement of some type.
“And that’s it?”
“Yes, that’s it.” I lift my head and open my eyes. “I’m just tired.”
Bella jams her perfectly manicured nail into the on/off button. “That’s bullshit,” she growls under her breath. “What’s going on with you and Jake?”
“Nothing.” My hands ball into fists on my lap. “Fine. We were starting to get along, and then Amanda showed up and was all over him.”
“So, the barracuda is trying to take your man.” She stops at the stop sign and motions for the vehicle to our right to go on.
“He’s not my man, and yes, she’s taking him. In about five minutes, she’ll be on her knees taking him in her mouth if they both have any say about it.” I unfurl my hands and press them into my thighs. “The only reason it won’t happen is because Sanders showed up and might delay Jake for a few minutes.”
“Jake doesn’t care about her. He broke up with her years ago when she cheated on him.”
“He cared so little about her that he hooked up with her again after they broke up.” I lift my shoulder as the lights of an approaching vehicle hit the rearview mirror. I squint against the intrusion. “And you didn’t see them. She was practically humping his leg.”
“Was he humping her?”
“No.” I grit my teeth together as the vision of his hand holding hers fills my brain. A vehicle pulls up to the stop sign behind us. “Let’s not talk about it.”
“Fine.” Bella snaps on the blinker and turns onto my mom’s street. “But you’re acting like a lunatic.”
“No, I’m not. Before we got the fire call. He told me some line about not having sex for years.”
“Whoa. Hold the phone.” Bella removes her hand from the steering wheel and grabs my lower arm. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. He lied to me and said he hasn’t had sex in years.”
“Whoa.” Bella’s eyes are wide as she stops in front of my mom’s house. “That changes things. Was he making a move on you?”
“I don’t know,” I sigh in exasperation. “It’s been a long night. I’m going to go in, check on Mom, and go home. I need sleep.”
“Fine. I’ll let you handle things yourself, because you won’t let anyone help anyway.”
