“What are you saying?”
“I’ve got this, Alex. You’re not involved. You weren’t here.”
“You’re not taking the blame for this.”
“Yes, I am. I’m gonna keep the keys. They won’t notice the front if I park it just right. Then tomorrow, I’ll take it out on the meadow.” I saw him swallow hard and grit his jaw.
“And what? Run it into a tree? No, Jess! This is crazy! Just let me tell them what happened.”
“Your dad will kill you and then he’ll kill me for takin’ you out here. It won’t be as bad if they think I did it on the ranch durin’ the day. But if they find out we ran through the Nelson’s fence in the middle of the night? Ain’t either us gonna live through that one. So just let me fix it, ok?
“I don’t like this.” The nausea rolled around in the pit of my stomach. The Jeep crashed once and we survived, but Jess was going to crash it again on purpose. My stomach twisted, spinning bile up into my throat, “Oh crap. I’m gonna be sick.”
Leaning over the side, I puked as we rounded one of the curves. Bits of vomit flew out past the door in the darkness.
“Want me to stop?”
“No, just go.” I waved my hand forward. “I just want to go home.”
We reached my house, and I climbed down from the Jeep. It took every bit of control not to cry out in pain. Jess followed me down the road to the farmhouse. Reaching down, he tried to help me up in the window, but I grabbed Jess in a fierce hug. His arms circled around my bruised body. He felt solid; he felt safe. The hot, summer night made my skin sweaty, but I didn’t care. I clung to Jess, refusing to let go.
“I’m ok,” he whispered in my ear.
“I almost killed you.”
“Then I guess we’re even.”
“That’s not funny.” I squeezed harder, my fingers digging into his skin.
“Nothin’ is gonna happen to me,” he whispered. “I’m invincible.”
Chapter 17
Today, 11:08 p.m.
The beauty queen enters the hospital room, carrying two towels and a bottle of fancy shampoo. My father uses her arrival as an excuse to walk toward the door. My hands shake, seeing him leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to get you some food.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You need to eat. All I’ve seen you do is throw up the last six hours.” His sad eyes glance toward me and back to her. “I won’t go very far.”
As he leaves, I look at the blonde in the corner. She smiles, faintly as her lips sparkle with a light coat of gloss. “You ready for a shower?”
I shrug and glance down at my pants. Chills shoot up on my arms at the sight of the stains. I want those jeans burned in a trash can. I slid off the bed, feeling my wobbly legs collapse. She wraps an arm around my lanky body. I could crush her in one swoop, but she holds on with a tight grasp. Without a word, I let the beauty queen take me to the shower. I lean against the sink while she turns on the water and sets up the little handheld nozzle.
“Can you do this by yourself or do you want me to help?” Her mascara-coated lashes blink in my direction, waiting for a response. She must have applied new makeup when she got the shampoo. “I do this all the time. I mean, the hospital stuff…seeing people naked.”
I should care about this strange course of events, but I’m too tired to think straight. “I…I…don’t want to keep you here. Don’t you need to go home?”
“It’s ok, really.”
I nod back in submission. She smiles again, this time almost apologetic. I cringe, feeling her hands unbutton the front of my blue, plaid shirt. Every moment of today, was a page right out of a chapter from hell.
A tan bra covers my chest. The fabric is marked in black stains that soaked through my shirt. A tear rolls down my cheek and lands next to one of the spots. She pauses for a moment, glancing up with something that resembles compassion.
“I’m a little dizzy,” I mutter, turning my head away.
“It’s the drugs they gave you.”
“Are they safe? I mean…um…I think they gave me a lot.”
She stops for a moment and looks me in the eye. “Yeah.”
“Ok.” I swallow hard, trying to keep my stomach in check. She moves to the front of my jeans. I hold onto her shoulders as I step out of the disgusting pants. I smell rancid. It wafts up, making me dry heave.
“You need a pan, Alex?”
“No,” I take a deep breath, closing my eyes. Her fingers slip my stained bra off my shoulders. My white boy shorts follow over my thighs. Standing naked and vulnerable in front of this woman, I open my eyes to see her calm face. I swallow the bile back down my throat.
“Let’s get you in.”
I sit on the built-in seat used for old people. She soaks my skin with the spray wand. I scrub my arms and legs as a dark trail disappears into the drain. The beauty queen lathers up shampoo and rubs it into my scalp. The floor fills with foamy dried blood.
“The little girl earlier,” I ask as a distraction. “Is she your daughter?”
“Yeah, that’s Corrie. She’s four.”
“Did she go home?”
“Yeah, my mother stopped by to get me after my shift. Corrie stays with her when I’m at work.”
“That’s nice. Where um, is her father?”
Her fingers pause for a moment before she answers. “He didn’t want her.”
“Must be hard.”
“I don’t complain much. I can’t imagine my life without Corrie. I guess the hard part is rememberin’ what it was like before she existed.”
“I guess life works that way, doesn’t it.” I mutter.
“Yeah, it does,” her eyes catch mine. “Come on. Let’s get you out.” She turns off the water and wraps one of the towels around my red hair. Taking the other one, the beauty queen dabs the soft fabric down my skin. Yes, today was a page right out a chapter from hell.
Chapter 18
When I was sixteen…
The jingle of the door caught me by surprise. My stomach automatically tightened at the sight of her. Ashley Cartwright walked through the front door of Jeeter’s, followed by two of her Ashley-bots. It was a cliché, really, when you looked at the facts. However, clichés only become notorious in the world for a reason. It was just too damn common of a story. Unfortunately, it was currently mine.
“Look at Ashley,” Natalie said, her eyes shifting toward the counter. “She went home after school and got slutted up for a Coke. No one’s even here but us.”
I knew exactly what she was trying to do in Jeeter’s. The day or the moment wasn’t clear in my mind when everything started with Ashley. Ever since I moved to Arlis, she’d looked down her perky nose at me. It didn’t matter much back in those days. I had Jess and the ranch. He didn’t like her so I wasn’t forced to spend much time in her presence.
As life evolved, it all became a different playing field in high school. I’d fretted about the changes that would come as we grew older. I wish I’d known just how hazardous it would get the next few years. Who knew Jess would become the football star, love the popularity, and start dating my mortal enemy? I really could just kill him sometimes. I pictured my hands around his throat, choking out his lust for Ashley.
“I guess I need to go help them.” I slid out of the booth.
“I can do it.”
“No, it’s my turn.” I let out a sigh and walked toward the counter. The words of Kenny Chesney played on the jukebox, announcing my impending doom.