Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20065 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 100(@200wpm)___ 80(@250wpm)___ 67(@300wpm)
I see the rage flare in Clint’s eyes. He’s not a man used to being talked back to. He goes tense. He wants to hit me, but even for a man as powerful as him, there are too many witnesses here for him to do anything to me. He nods and sucks his upper teeth.
“All right, boy. If that’s how you want to play it.”
I want to laugh in his face as he turns to go, but I bite my tongue and keep my mouth shut. It’s only after he’s back in his truck and pulling away that Pete comes over to me.
“The Hell was that all about?” he asks. “You’re not mixed up in Clint’s business, are you?”
“Oh no,” I reply. “I guess you could say it’s something…personal. Don’t worry, I’ll deal with it.”
* * *
I’m already planning on the quickest way to get out of Tangerine Forks on the drive home, but when I get back to the house, I see Delilah’s car parked in the driveway.
A pit forms in my stomach, and I do my best to push it away, praying Yara’s still at the diner and no drama has occurred between the two of them. Delilah still shouldn’t be here though. There’s no way this goes well.
I park beside her but don’t see her anywhere. As I get out of the car, she comes out from inside the house. I sigh as I realize I must have forgotten to ask for her spare key back. She has a sweater in her arms, an old beige sweater she never wore anymore, and waves happily at me.
“Hey!” She’s forcing a smile so hard I’m surprised her lips don’t tear the rest of her face to shreds. “How’s it going, Lyle?”
“Delilah, what are you doing here?” I don’t even want her to answer. I just want her to take her sweater, get in her car, and drive away. But I know that’s not going to happen.
“Oh, I just came to pick up some things,” she replies, holding a single sweater. “I didn’t think you’d be here.”
“I get home same time every day, Delilah.”
She tosses her sweater into her car and comes over to me. I can smell a perfume on her she doesn’t normally swear. She also has her hair all done up and is wearing more makeup than usual.
“You look handsome today,” she tells me.
“Don’t, Delilah.”
“What?” she asks, acting innocent. “I’m not allowed to say you look handsome? Did you already go and get yourself a new girlfriend already?”
She can’t know already…can she? That would be impossible. I dropped Yara off several blocks up from the diner, and if Yara was home right now, they’d be outside having the catfight of the century. No, she’s just teasing me – trying to get in my head.
“Delilah—” I try to say, looking for a way to come up with something to say to get her out of here, but before I can even start my sentence, Delilah leans in and kisses me.
Just came to pick up some things my ass.
“Oh my God.” The sound of Yara’s voice behind me causes my heart to drop into my stomach. I instantly break the kiss and whirl around to see her standing there behind me, mouth agape, staring at the two of us like her heart’s been torn out of her chest and stomped all over.
“Yara!”
But she’s already running, and boy can she run. I try to run after her, but Delilah snatches me by the wrist. “So you do already have a new girl?”
“Would you give it a rest!?” I shout back, tearing my arm away. “You’ve already done enough damage here.”
“That girl works for me, Lyle!” she screams as I race after Yara. “Have you been cheating on me since she showed up!?”
“Cheating on you!?” I laugh. “I never wanted to date you to begin with, Delilah! But you know that, don’t you? You just had your dad threaten to break my legs if I didn’t. But that’s not going to work this time! This time I’ve found someone I really love!”
7
Yara
My heart is screaming inside my chest as I sprint away from Lyle and Delilah.
Two terrible people who deserve each other.
I don’t want to accept what I just saw, but it was plain as day. They were kissing, right there in the driveway. Right in front of me.
I’m such a fool.
I show up to town, Lyle gets his eyes on me just like those asshole guys in the pickup truck did, but instead of just using force to get me, he decides to manipulate his way into my pants.
He decides to charm me.
And what a great job of it he did…
I wonder how many other girls he’s done it to before. I wonder if he’s got some kind of arrangement with Delilah too – whether she knows about his extra-curricular exploits, or whether he just cheats on her without her knowing about it.