Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
My feet carry me after her without me giving it any thought. I’m already through the doors and out in the bright sunshine when a familiar voice stops me in my tracks. “Damn, that ended quicker than I thought it would.”
I’m almost irritated to find Carter standing nearby, like he was waiting for me. Before I have the chance to ask what the hell he’s talking about, he jerks a thumb in the direction of the girl who just escaped me. I’ve never known anyone with hair as long as hers, a chocolate waterfall hanging all the way down to her ass. So much hair for me to wrap around my fist and hold her head in place. It would be so easy to make those baby blues pop open wide in fear and understanding.
I almost resent Carter for breaking into the fantasy that started building in my head. But really, it’s not like I was going to chase her. For one thing, I don’t want anybody on campus thinking I would chase someone like her. I don’t want them thinking I want to spend time with her. They wouldn’t understand what exists between us.
“She’s going to piss her pants.” Carter chuckles, nudging me. “If I were you, I would make it my mission to make her life hell.”
The venom running through his words leaks into my bloodstream; not that I needed any help hating her.
“I’m going to,” I tell him, and he laughs. “We’re partners on this project for class. She’s going to find out really soon that I have standards she needs to meet. And if she doesn’t…”
“I should sell tickets.” He laughs. “The whole school would watch. Fuck, maybe the whole town. What the fuck does she think she’s doing, going to school with us? She shouldn’t breathe the same air as we do.” He’s my best friend, which has to be why he sounds ready to kill her. It’s for my sake. He knows the damage that’s been done, knows what it did to me.
Carter Wilder has been my best friend since I can remember. His father Paul is the Chief of Police in Wicked Falls and one of the five founding families.
The thought of damage is what makes me check my phone. I’m not the only one who was damaged. “Fuck,” I groan when I realize how late it is. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Talk later,” he calls out behind me, but I’m in too much of a hurry to reply. Fuck me. Another reason to hate Wren Delaney. If anything goes wrong because she distracted me from what I needed to do, she’s going to regret ever being born.
I have to curse myself as I slide behind the wheel of my truck and pull out of the parking lot with the tires squealing. A horn blares behind me when I cut off another car as I turn onto the road. Any other time I might flip them off or at least show my face so they’d know who they made the mistake of honking at, but I don’t have the time. Some things are more important.
Please, let me get there in time. She can’t go home alone today. I won’t let her. There’s a reason I scheduled my classes around the time my little sister gets off the school bus. There is no way to predict what kind of mood Dad’s going to be in from one day to the next. Hell, from one hour to the next.
The past couple of days, he’s been worse than usual. Sort of like a volcano before it erupts. There’s an unsettled time beforehand. Little earthquakes, warnings. He’s been having those, and I think I know why. I’ve heard him talking with a couple of his guys about a meeting that’s supposed to be happening soon with the other four families that rule Wicked Falls. He’s stressed, hoping this is when he’ll get a bigger cut of the town instead of running the smallest, least important section. While the rest of the five families not only have bigger territory they also have important positions in the community. My dad simply has properties he is in charge of. It's plenty lucrative to have us live in a huge house and never want for anything, but that was never enough for my dad.
Slamming the heel of my hand against the horn, I swerve to get around an asshole who decided all of a sudden they want to turn in front of me. “Fuck off!” the dude shouts, but I can’t worry about that right now. The bus is supposed to show up any minute. I’m racing the clock.
By the time I pull in, a few spots down from the corner, her bus is sliding into view up ahead. I fall back against the seat and release a deep breath, a little sweaty around the collar of my T-shirt. Kids start pouring off the bus, but I take these few seconds to get myself under control. I don’t want Tia seeing me like this.