Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“What happened?” I asked. “Are you still pissed at Dad?”
“Fuck Dad,” he snarled out, marching right back through my room to the window.
I caught his arm, pulling him to an abrupt stop. “What is going on with you? Where’s Thea?”
His face turned a shade of white that almost glowed in the darkness, but he didn’t answer me before ripping his arm away.
Shit. Shit. Shit. This was bad. Ramsey was a live wire most of the time. He’d react to almost everything, but it was rare that he’d ignite into a wildfire. Though, as I watched him climb out my window, that was exactly what I feared would happen. He was my brother and he watched my back; it was only fair I returned the favor.
“Ramsey,” I hissed, following him out.
He flung his car door open and folded inside without another word spoken, so I sprinted around the hood and slid into the passenger seat.
“Get out,” he barked, stabbing his key at the ignition.
“No. There’s something going on, and if you’re not going to tell me what, I’m going with you.”
The engine sputtered, not catching, so he gave it another try. “You cannot come with me tonight, Nora.”
“Too bad. Looks like I already am.” I grinned, buckling my seat belt.
“Suit yourself,” he mumbled, jerking the car into reverse once it had finally rumbled to life.
I stared at the side of my brother’s face as he backed out of the driveway. His jaw was hard, but there was pain I couldn’t figure out crinkling the corners of his eyes.
He’d tell me eventually though. I just needed to give him time to process it himself.
We hadn’t made it more than a few miles when he rumbled, “Where are the parties at tonight?”
“Uh,” I drawled. “Since when are you up for partying?” My eyes nearly bulged from their sockets when the only excuse I could conjure up for his weird mood popped into my head. “Oh my God, did Thea break up with you?”
“No.” He winced and white-knuckled the steering wheel. “Just tell me where the hell everyone is hanging out tonight.”
I motioned a hand over my basketball shorts and oversized T-shirt. “I’m hardly dressed for a party.”
“Nora!” he boomed, making me jump. “Tell me where.”
“Jesus, cranky much?” I mumbled. “Fine. Avery Johnson invited all the seniors over for a field party, but I heard a lot of the juniors were planning to crash.”
He slowed at the stop sign and hung a hard right onto the long dirt road that led to the Johnsons’ farm.
“You gonna tell me what’s going on now, or should I start guessing?” I smarted.
He shook his head and stepped on the accelerator. His car sounded like it was going to fall apart each time we hit a bump.
I braced one hand on the dash and the other on the handle above my head. “Right. Yeah. This totally seems like nothing. We’re just out for a late-night drive, huh?”
“Shut up,” he clipped.
Cars lined both sides of the dirt road, and Ramsey slowed, squinting and searching each one. He flipped on the brights, but they were useless against the thick cloud of dust.
What the hell was he doing?
“Watch out!” I screamed when, out of nowhere, a shadowy figure appeared in the middle of the road.
Ramsey skidded to a stop inches away from him. I should have been relieved, but the pair of blue eyes that haunted my nightmares appeared in the headlights on the other side of the windshield.
Bile burned a path up my throat, and I peered at my brother, finding a sinister smile pulling at his lips.
“Stay in the car,” he ordered.
Panic hit me so hard my head swirled. “Oh, God, why? What are you doing?”
He got out without replying.
Shit. He knew. He’d found out about what Josh had done to me. He was going to kill him. That was the look on his face. Pain. Rage. Disgust. All the things that lived and breathed inside me daily.
I scrambled into the driver’s seat and frantically rolled the window down. “Ramsey!”
He never looked back.
Using his hand to block the headlights, Josh swayed on his feet and slurred, “What the hell, dude? You almost hit me.”
Ramsey gave him no warning as he wrapped his hand in the front of his shirt and then buried his fist in Josh’s face.
“You motherfucker!” Ramsey thundered, hitting him again. “You think it’s okay to fucking touch a girl?”
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
Oh, God.
He landed a crushing punch to his eye and Josh stumbled back, but Ramsey yanked him forward again before roaring in his face, “My girl!”
Josh shoved at his shoulders. “Get the fuck off me. I didn’t do shit to Thea that she didn’t want.”
My heart stopped.
Thea?
No. Oh, no. He’d done it to Thea. This wasn’t about me.
Suddenly, the memories of Josh’s hands on my body weren’t the deepest gash in my soul anymore.