The rest of the house was empty, so I slipped on my boots and went outside, making sure to shut the door louder this time so Hayden would hear me leave. Not that he was going to be walking around naked again, but just in case.
I intended to drive into town to grab groceries for the house and run a few other errands, but about a mile down the road, an incessanttap, tap, tapagainst the pavement caught my attention. Turning down my radio, I strained my ears to figure out where the noise was coming from.
It almost sounded like a clicking, a consistent and steady rhythm as the vehicle moved forward. When I slowed down, the clicking also slowed.
I pulled over onto the side of the road to investigate, not wanting to keep going in case something was wrong and the noise wasn’t all in my head. After turning on my hazard lights, I carefully hopped out of the pickup, walking around to inspect the body.
I rested my hands on my hips as I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed one of my tires had deflated. A flat tire shouldn’t have caused that noise, but I couldn’t drive long distances with a tire in that condition anyway. Luckily, I had a spare in the bed and a tire jack in the backseat. I came prepared for these types of things. As often as I was on the road, I didn’t have the time to wait around for a tow truck or roadsideassistance if I got stranded. I fended for myself, and I fixed things myself.
My eyes narrowed and brows pinched together when I opened the tailgate only to find that my spare tire was nowhere to be found. In its place was just a half-smoked cigarette, the butt still smoking, with a depiction of a blue camel on the label.
What the fuck?
Panic shot through my chest, my eyes darting around even though I was in the middle of an empty highway.
I squatted down to look at the tire, hoping my suspicions were incorrect.
Sure enough, there was a shiny, silver nail sticking out of my tire. If I hadn’t caught it now, it was very possible that my tire could have blown out, leading to an accident.
I’d have to tell Hayden about this, but maybe I could swing it as an accident. I drove over a nail somewhere.
Unlikely.
As I thought more about it, a tingle ran down my spine. Nausea crept into my stomach, and my heart began to pound in my chest.
I only knew one person who smoked Camels.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
sierra
OCTOBER, JUNIOR YEAR
The house was uncharacteristically quiet. I sat on the couch watchingJeopardy!with Mom while my father smoked a cigarette and read the newspaper.
Mom had asked him once to smoke outside because she knew the smell bothered me, but he told her that he’d do whatever the fuck he wanted in his house then nearly burned her with the end of his cigarette.
Alex Trebek read a question about a classic literature book featuring a character named Atticus. A question I actually knew the answer to because of the book Hayden and I grabbed for Keenan that one day in the library.
“To Kill a Mockingbird,” I mumbled right before one of the contestants buzzed in and gave the correct answer.
“Good one.” Mom smiled. “I wouldn’t have gotten that one.”
I shrugged. “One of my friends had to write a paper about it for a class.”
The sound of glass shattering and a roar of anger from the kitchen startled both of us, prompting Mom to stand as though she was about to check on my father.
I got up slowly—reluctantly—after she did, not wanting to take any steps. Maybe if I didn’t move, it would be like I was invisible, and he’d go away.
“What’s wrong?” Mom asked, her voice soft. “Are you hurt? What happened?”
Something else—something heavier—crashed in the kitchen. It was loud enough that I was sure neighbors or people walking by the house would hear.
“Spencer?” Mom raised her voice in concern.
“When were you going to tell me that you let our daughter prance around at fuckingrodeos?” My father came out of the kitchen, holding a newspaper in one hand and a half-smoked cigarette. “Says here: ‘Sierra Bayley, Local Cowgirl, Wins High School Barrel Race.’”
“I didn’t—” The look that flashed across my mother’s face as her head whipped toward me was a mix of betrayal and confusion.
