Chapter Twenty-Five
Emily
“Let the boring little mouse go,” Amanda’s catty voice calls from behind me.
My shoes hit the pavement so hard that I’m unable to hear any more words coming from her mouth. Not that I want to hear them anyway. Seeing Amanda again reminds me of going to Jake’s graduation party and her cruel words.
When I stepped out of the bathroom at the community center, Amanda’s eyes met mine. Jake was too busy talking to my brother and their friends to notice her look of distaste.
They’d managed to have four graduation parties between them until their faces were green from too much cake and punch.
She leaned closer to her friend so that Jake’s family didn’t hear. “She’s pathetic. What would any guy see in a virginal mouse like her? She always dresses like a boy. She doesn’t wear makeup.”
“Amanda.” Her friend’s voice cracked as she caught me looking.
“Please.” Amanda waved her hand dismissively. “No one cares what Little Miss Tomboy thinks. Especially not Jake. She probably has no idea how to go down on a man like I can.” She smirks and winks. “The way Jake loves it. He’s always laughing about her pathetic attempts to get his attention.”
I’m the one who’s going to be sick. I swallowed hard over the lump in my throat as heat seared my skin. Jake glanced at me, frowned, and took a step toward Amanda.
“And that dress? Only a loser would think it was appropriate to wear that….” She waved her hand in my direction. “To a graduation party.”
I turned on my heel, went back into the bathroom, and forced myself not to cry. It didn’t work. Tears had streamed down my face until my brother banged on the door and told me it was time to go to another party.
Fucking bitch.
Kaleb stands next to Frank and June, chatting as he points to the house. It could be hours before he’s ready to leave. So much for my grand exit.
My shoes hit the sidewalk with more force. The fucking liar. What did he hope to get out of lying about not having sex in nearly three years? Was he hoping I’d fall for it and give him a lackluster blow job?
The reason doesn’t matter. Men like Jake are always on the prowl, looking for an easy mark. The way he leaned into her. The way he stared into her eyes with her hand on his chest. I was seconds away from falling for his lies. From falling for him.
Okay. I wouldn’t have screwed him inside my mom’s house. I’m not an eighteen-year-old kid sneaking around, but if he’d have asked, I’d have taken him to my apartment.
Fool. Tears sting my eyes as I open Jake’s car door with such force that I pull a muscle in my shoulder. Fuck. Pain races down my arm and along my chest.
He would’ve taken what he wanted and walked out the door the second he got off.
What’s wrong with me? I know Jake. How did I let him charm me into thinking he’d changed, and that he thought I was someone special? Now, he’s going to tell Amanda exactly what she wants to hear, and then some other woman he sees tomorrow night.
Kaleb remains chatting with Frank and June as Amanda lays her hand on Jake’s bicep and flutters her eyelashes. Even though he’s not leaning into her, he continues to listen to whatever she’s saying.
God, I hate girls like her. The kind of girl who feels the need to put other women down to boost herself up. It’s disgusting. What’s wrong with fixing the crown of other women, rather than knocking their tiara off?
The housefire is out, but the one raging inside of me is about to burn everything down. Against my better judgment, I look at them again. Jake has his hand clasped around her fingers. I’m going to vomit.
“Hey, Em.” Someone rests a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump and scream. My heart races in my chest as I spin around.
Bella’s hand drops to her side as she gives me a weak smile. “Hey.”
“Jesus, you scared me.” The halfhearted chuckle sounds forced even to my own ears.
“A little jumpy, are we?” She arches her eyebrows.
“I guess.” I glance over her shoulder to the vehicles lining the streets as several residents climb inside and turn on their engines. Now that the danger is over, most people will head home to resume their regularly scheduled evenings.
“How did you get here? I saw your car at your mom’s place on my way here.”
“Jake drove me.” My jaw is tight as I respond to her question. “Don’t ask.”
“Why–”
“I said, don’t ask.” I glare at her. “Where’s your car?”
“Over there.” She points with her thumb over her shoulder.
“Let’s go.” I stomp two steps, and when I don’t feel her presence behind me, I whip around. Bella stands on the sidewalk with her hands on her hips while tapping the toe of her shoe on the cement.
“What’s up with you? I was going to check with the ladies to see what the plan is for helping clean and collect donations.”
“Rosemarie is in charge. We can call her when we get to my mom’s place.”
“We can talk to her now.”
Amanda tosses her hair over her shoulder as she turns away from Jake and sways her ass with each step away from him. At least they aren’t riding together to go hook up.
Why would they? It’s not like one of them wants to drive back to a fire scene in the middle of the night to drop the other one off after screwing for hours.
“No, we can’t.” Jake takes a step towards me with a determined expression on his face. I’m not talking to him. At least not until I get control of my emotions. “If you don’t get into your car now, I’m going to steal it.”
“Jesus, you’re so dramatic.” Bella speedwalks past me. “I’ll drive, but you’d better bet your butt that you’re telling me what’s wrong with you. And I’m not taking no for an answer.”
“Fine.” I round the back of her car and grasp the door handle.
“Emily!” Jake calls from the sidewalk.
“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.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She gives me an exasperated look as she shoves the gear shift into park. Fine. I know what she means. I’ve heard it hundreds of times. ‘Emily never asks for help.’ I don’t know why it’s a sin to do things on your own. I want to prove that I’m a capable adult.
I need to prove that I’m a capable adult.
“So, how’s your mom doing?” Thankfully, she changes the subject.
“Good.” I step out onto the sidewalk and lean in as Hank, one of my mom’s neighbors, stops in front of his house. “She’s able to take care of herself a little more now.”
“That’s great.” Bella’s eyes are trained on the rearview mirror. “Oops.” Her eyes dance. “It looks like your born-again virgin is calling.”
“What?” I hit my head on the edge of her car as a pickup door slams shut. Shit. I rub the spot and stand speechless as Jake marches toward me with a bag in his hand. I guess that wasn’t Hank.
“These are for your mom.” He shoves the bag at me.
The second I grip the plastic bag, his hand is gone and he’s back inside his pickup.
“Great job, Em. You made him mad.”
“I made him mad?” I sputter while glaring daggers between my used-to-be best friend and the liar in the vehicle driving past us. “He’s got another thing coming if he thinks I made him mad.”
God, I sound like a five-year-old who’s about to throw her favorite toy against the wall because she got told no.
“So, Em, what’s in the bag?” Her usually sweet face is curved in a wicked grin. The bitch gets laid, and she thinks she’s a badass.
I open the plastic bag to find a gallon-sized container inside, filled with purple Skittles. My stomach drops. Purple Skittles are my favorite candy. Not my mom’s. And the flowers he dropped off the other day….
One of the vases of flowers contained plum-colored roses. Also, my favorite.