Chapter 14
14
FORD
D ulce looks terrified as I guide her into Trent’s office. The cookies smell delicious, and I feel bad for making her come out this way, but I had no idea her van was in such bad shape. There was a moment when I thought it was better to pick up the order myself every week in a desperate attempt to see her, but I’ve had a change of plans, and now I need her here.
I guide her into Trent’s office, ignoring the weird way he has been acting since she arrived. I need a minute alone with her to make sure she’s okay. The last thing I want is for her to have a panic attack like the one she had on Friday night, and if she does, she comes first. Fuck everyone else.
“Do you have any orders left for the day?”
She shakes her head, clutching her bag like a life jacket.
Trent walks in and sits behind his desk, fumbling with his computer, probably pulling up the year and make of her van. I want to tell him not to bother fixing it. What she needs is a new one. The van she has is an old rust bucket, but I don’t want to make her feel bad and would never point it out.
I’m sure she bought it with her own hard-earned money. I understand the pride one feels despite coming from a family that has everything. I know the feeling when someone flexes their wealth. Everything I have, I’ve earned. No one can take it away or tell me it was handed to me. I’m sure she feels the same way.
“I found the year, make, and model. I’ll have my mechanic take a look at it,” Trent says awkwardly, avoiding eye contact with Dulce.
“When was the last time you guys saw each other?” I ask, leaning against the wall, able to see the expressions on both their faces.
Trent’s fingers pause over the keyboard. “School,” Trent says.
Dulce is silent, staring at the wall like in a trance.
He’s lying, so I say, “Hmm…”
“What did you expect? We weren’t exactly friends with her.”
“How was prom?” I ask sharply, looking directly at Trent.
From the corner of my eye, I see Dulce’s legs shaking. Her hands tremble between her clenched thighs, and it looks like she’s digging her nails into her palms. Trent leans back in his chair, not meeting my eyes, glancing nervously back and forth between Dulce and me.
“Don’t fucking look at her,” I warn firmly, my tone hard and unyielding.
Dulce looks up with terror in her eyes. I don’t want to scare her, but I’m pissed off. I’m willing to commit murder. Trent sees the threatening look in my gaze. The way a person does when they want to make something or someone disappear.
“I went,” he says.
“And Dulce? Did she go?”
He shakes his head slowly.
I push off the wall. “How come? I heard she went with me?” I stand next to him on his desk, looking at the computer screen where it says no charge on Dulce’s invoice. “What’s wrong, Trent?” I say angrily. “You’re usually so vocal.”
His Adam’s apple moves up and down. My blood boils. “Answer me!” I scream, causing Dulce to jump in her seat.
I point at her but stare at Trent. “I’m not mad at you, Dulce. I would never hurt you, but this piece of shit in front of me…”
“She was the end-of-the-year prank,” he says quietly.
My body trembles like rocks bouncing off the earth. My teeth grind so hard they are going to snap off. “Why?”
“It’s what everyone wanted after you left.”
Chris and Trent were the only ones who knew I felt this way, so why?
“Tell me!” I snap my fist, landing on the desk, causing him to jump.
Dulce continues to shake, but she’s listening. She deserves to know.
“When you left your phone with us after we dropped you off at the airport,” Trent finally says to me, his voice tight, his reluctance obvious. “Everyone had these crazy ideas for prom. The end-of-the-year prank was the biggest one. Summer, Vicki, Heather, Gwen, and all the guys. Practically, the entire class. Dulce’s name came up, and all bets were off. Summer was pissed off that you left. I mean, we all were.” He pauses, giving me a pleading look, willing me to understand, but I don’t. Not when it comes to Dulce. He knows better.
“Using you made it sound more convincing. It was the only way we could make it look real. No one else at school that wasn’t us knew you left the night before prom. That day you dropped her off was a perfect way to convince her. We were going to make it look like you stood her up. You were the most popular guy at school, so we were positive she wouldn’t back out.”
“How?”
“Chris and I picked her up in a blacked-out SUV, and we drove out to the backroad, ten minutes from my garage. And we…”
“You what?” I ask angrily.
“We left her stranded in the middle of the dark road.” He hesitates to wipe the sweat forming on his brow, staring at the back wall like he’s trying to erase a bad memory but can’t. “I smashed her phone so she couldn’t call anyone.”
I stare at him menacingly.
“I’m sorry, Ford,” he pleads, but it’s falling on deaf ears. “So…fucking sorry. Dulce…I didn’t know you were going to be attacked…” I see tears run down his cheeks,
“Then what happened?” I ask, wanting to see how much more he knows.
“He found me helpless, running naked in the middle of the road,” she continues, looking accusingly at Trent. “I begged you. I begged you both not to leave me there.” Her voice breaks into a sob on the last part.
I quickly walk around the desk, pull her in my arms, and she cries in my chest. I want to take it all away, and I wish she could trust me enough to believe me, but all I can do right now is stare at Trent with a wintry smile. “Now what?”