I curl my fingers inward, and then flex them, telling myself not to open my mouth, but he’s worked his way under my skin way too much and my control over my mouth snaps like a thin rubber band. “Have fun beating yourself off because face it, no one wants to be with you.”
It’s the wrong thing to say, but either I’m too pissed off to care or I’m seeking the danger of the moment to stop feeling the hurt that I’m feeling—I’m conflicted over my reason. As Preston rushes toward me, I calculate how much strength it’s going to take to bring him down and if I have the guts to do it to him. Even though he’s jacked up on sex pills and pot, a bad combination, and isn’t thinking clearly, doesn’t mean he’s going to see this my way when he’s sober.
His hands move for my shoulders and I prepare to lift my foot to kick him in the balls, when his arm suddenly veers to the right and seconds later his fist collides with my jaw.
It lets out a loud pop and my ears start to ring. “Ow… fuck,” I groan, clutching my jaw as my head falls forward and my shoulders slump.
“God damn it, Violet, why couldn’t just give me what I want for once!” he shouts, his voice cracking. “I gave you everything when no one else would and yet all you are is a pain in my ass!”
The blinding pain spreads through my cheek and I can already feel it swelling. Even though tears sting at my eyes, I feel alarmingly content, my heart beating at a consistent rate.
I raise my head up with dispassion on my face and slowly lower my hand from my cheek. He’s breathing ravenously as he takes me in, his chest puffing out and then sinking in, his eyes wide, his pupils dilated, his face red and damp with sweat. I don’t say anything because there’d be no point. I just turn around and walk down the driveway. He doesn’t say anything, but I glance over my shoulder when I reach the street at the end of the driveway, and he’s still standing by the car watching me.
I turn to the left and walk down the highway, not bothering to move over when cars zoom by at sixty-five miles an hour. The breeze that gusts over me as vehicles pass by calms the panic in my chest that’s been there since I got the call from the detective. Just the idea that they could swerve to the side and take me out, throw me out of this world, is enough to distract my body from what it’s feeling and my mind from what it’s thinking. When I arrive at the edge of town, which is just a bunch of farmhouses, I retrieve my cell phone from my pocket. It’s getting dark, and I’m getting tired of walking but my list of contacts consists of Preston and a few guys I frequently deal to.
I’m about to stuff my phone into my pocket, when it starts singing the ringtone that belongs to any unknown number. I hate that I’m slightly disappointed that it’s not Preston’s ringtone and when I answer it I sound grumpier that I want to.
“Hello.”
There’s a long pause.
“Seriously, again.” I shake my head, about to hang up.
“Violet Hayes?” he asks in the somewhat familiar deep voice.
“I think we’ve already established that that’s who I am.” I glance around at the flourishing trees around me, the tall grass in the fields, the ditch to the side of the road. All places where a creeper can hide.
He laughs softly in the phone. “Yeah, I guess.”
“But what we haven’t established is who you are,” I say, picking up my pace.
He draws out the silence forever. “Can we just call me a friend for now?”
“Can’t do that,” I say, trying to shake the uneasiness of the situation off. “I don’t have friends.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he replies, sounding genuine. “It’s no fun not having any friends.”
“It sucks about as much as everything else.” I veer down into the grass as a car whizzes by, more nervous than I prefer.
“Does your life suck… do you not like it?”
“Okay, this conversation is getting a little too personal for me,” I say. “So please stop calling.”
“Violet, I want to talk to you,” he says, quickly. “I need to. Please, it’s important. Can we meet somewhere? Just you and I? Just talk?”
I laugh insultingly. “You seriously think I’m going to meet some creeper who randomly called me and knows my last name all by myself?”
“You’re not afraid, are you?” he asks, his voice lowering. “You don’t seem like the type that’s afraid. You seem like the type that doesn’t give a crap, at least from what I’ve seen.”
I stop walking, glancing around up and down the road. “What did you just say?”
“I just said you seem tough.”
“No, you said ‘seen’… who are you?”
There’s a pause and then the line goes dead.
“Shit.” I hammer my finger against the end button and hurry up the side of the road. It’s too far to turn back to Preston’s but it’s also a fairly long walk back to town. I start running and I’m not ever sure why. It was just some creepy guy… some creepy guy who’s been watching me.
I try not to think about the fact that the case is reopening and that the calls started coming in around that time. There can’t be a connection. It’s too random. Then again, my whole life has been based on random events.
I keep walking, trying not to think too much, knowing I’ll only get worked up and there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment. I know there’s supposed to be a bar somewhere on this road where a lot of college kids hang out because the owner doesn’t card very often, but I’m not sure where exactly. After about an hour of walking, my dorm is still about five or so miles away and I’m exhausted, hot, and my cheek is starting to hurt pretty bad.
“Stupid ass**le.” I place my hand over my cheek, not really sure if I’m referring to Preston or the guy on the phone. My steps are beginning to lag along with the high of being so close to the traffic. Finally, I arrive at civilization in the form of a rundown bar called Larry’s Palace, the one I’ve heard people talk about. I’m sure they’ll have ice and a place for me to sit down for a minute and if rumors are correct, I won’t get carded.
I open the door and instantly get overwhelmed by the musty scent of beer and peanuts. There’s loud music playing from a jukebox, neon lights glowing from the signs flashing in the windows and some girl, probably barely eighteen, is dancing around a pole on a stage wearing a bikini that hardly covers anything.