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He thought I was joking.

Oh, shit.

“Drew,” I started, but he interrupted me, raising his arms to grab a hold of the porch’s roof.

The move had his shirt riding up over his belt, exposing the taut expanse of his lower belly.

“She could’ve just gotten away with telling her that she didn’t want to live with her, though. Constance knew it was going to happen eventually.”

I bit my lip, knowing this wasn’t going to go over easily.

This whole thing was about to blow up in my face, and I was right.

The moment I didn’t smile, and he finally caught on to what I was really trying to tell him, his eyes grew intense.

Then he cursed, turned on his heels, and stalked across the street to his house.

He disappeared inside, leaving the door to his house open, and stayed gone for less than a minute when he came back out with a pair of running shorts and a pair of tennis shoes on.

Despite the cold weather, as well as the fact that it was about to rain, he ran.

And all I could do was watch until he disappeared.

Chapter 16

I hate it when I plan a conversation out in my head, and the other person doesn’t follow the script.

-Aspen’s secret thoughts

Drew

I ran as fast as my legs would take me.

I’d been going a solid forty-five minutes, and I had passed my usual stopping place not once, but twice.

I’d legitimately ran out of steam about a mile past, but then I saw my daughter’s crying face, and kept going.

A loud roar from an engine had me turning my head slightly, surprised to see a car coming up the wrong side of the road toward me.

But they didn’t try to hit me.

They were going too slow and were too far away for that.

But what they did do ended up enraging me.

“Hey, old man!” A boy from the backseat of the truck called obnoxiously. “You look a little hot!”

Then the familiar taste and smell of a fire extinguisher was sprayed at me, covering me in the familiar dust.

“Motherfucker!” I growled once the dust had settled.

I’d at least had the sound mind to close my fucking eyes and mouth, thank God.

Otherwise, I’d be in a different position right now.

I cleared my eyes free of the dusty chemicals with my sweaty palms, then narrowed my eyes at the truck that was hauling ass down the street.

Which meant I didn’t see the next truck come up behind me, yet another teenager hanging out of the window, until I was being sprayed once again.