Chapter 35
Mellie
I pull up the Uber app and fight back tears as I walk toward the road. There’s no way I’m going to stand in the driveway and
wait for my ride to show up. I still don’t know why I lied to Madeline about my mom being dead when we were in the ambulance.
I was so scared, and there was Wes’s wife holding my hand and being so nice to me—it just kind of came out of my mouth.
I’m even more surprised that she found out I wasn’t really pregnant. I guess having that kind of money means you can get anything
you want, even private medical information. That lie was planned. Wes had been freezing me out, and I thought that by getting
close to his wife, it would force him to make a decision—Madeline or me. Desperate, I know, but I really think he loves me.
I wish I had Wes’s phone number. I know he’d come for me.
Moonlight guides my way, but the night is cold, and Madeline’s T-shirt does little to keep me warm. By the time I reach the
road I’m shivering, and the Uber driver is still fifteen minutes away. I have to figure out what I’m going to do next. I’ll
have to find another job since the catering business really is on hold. That part wasn’t a lie. I’m running out of money,
fast.
The minutes feel like hours, and finally headlights appear in the distance.
I lift my hand and wave, so he doesn’t pass me by.
As he gets closer, I realize it’s not the Uber driver’s car but a pickup truck.
Wes’s truck. He swings into the lane and slams on the brakes, and I stumble backward to avoid getting hit.
Through the windshield, Wes’s face is a mask of anger, and my initial happiness at seeing him turns to dread. I cautiously
approach the driver’s-side window as it lowers.
“Mellie,” Wes says. “You’re still here. I told you, enough is enough.”
I begin to cry, even though I know that Wes has no patience for tears. I can’t tell him about the way I talked to Madeline,
the things I said. “Can you give me a ride?” I ask. “Please?”
“You know I can’t,” he says impatiently. “Call an Uber.”
“But I need you.” I’m crying openly now, snot running down my nose. “Wes, please.” He shakes his head. I see the indifference
in his eyes. He’s ready to leave me behind. Panic floods my bloodstream, and I wrench open his door. “Please,” I say. “Don’t
do this. Please . . .” I grab his sleeve.
“Whoa,” he says, pulling back. “Mellie, I never promised you anything. You know that. Now, come on, be a grown-up about this.”
“I’ll tell,” I say, sounding like anything but a grown-up. “I’ll tell everyone about us. How will that look? I’ll tell everyone
you had sex with me in your bunkhouse while your poor pregnant wife was crying about her best friend dying.”
“Who would believe you?” he laughs meanly. “You’re nothing. A nobody.”
“I lied for you!” I cry. “I told the police that Johanna’s husband went into the barn before it blew up. I protected you.”
“What do you want, Mellie?” Wes asks. “You want me to leave my pregnant wife? Did you think that was really ever going to
happen? That I was going to marry you and move you onto the ranch? Come on, you’re delusional.”
“Don’t say that,” I sob. “I love you.” I grab onto his shirt again, only wanting him to hold me, to tell me he loves me too. “Please, I’ll do anything.”
“Jesus, Mellie,” Wes says, roughly pushing me away so that I tumble backward and land on my ass. My breath is knocked from
my chest, and pain radiates through my body. “Grow up and stay the fuck away from my family,” he says, pulling the truck door
shut with a slam.
Before I can get to my feet he’s already driving down the lane to his home, to his wife. I scrape away the pebbles embedded
in my palms and brush away the dirt from my jeans. Madeline’s jeans. In spite of the cool evening, my face burns with shame
as another set of headlights appear in the distance. Finally, my ride is here. I climb inside, and as he drives off, all I
can think is, This isn’t over yet. I will not be treated this way. Wes and Madeline are going to pay—one way or another.