“I suggest you remove your hand,” I seethed, my anger straining to break free.
Don’t do it. Don’t…
He came to stand in front of me, squaring his shoulders as if preparing for a fight. The last fight I’d been in had landed the other guy in the hospital and me in juvie. And I knew, this time, the outcome would be much worse. With my record, my ass would be in jail. And there’d be no fire camp.
“You know, I keep trying to figure something out. And maybe you can help me.” He glanced down his nose at me. “How did Audrey go from hating this town, her father, that house, to wanting to stay?”
Stay?
“I mean, sure, the house is nice. But she has no need for it. And she’s always hated this town. So, I have to ask myself…what’s changed?”
My brain was stuck on that one word—stay. It kept repeating on a loop, even though I knew I should be paying attention.
“Do you know the answer?” Ben blinked down at me, his serene expression a mask. I could see right through him.
“Maybe you should talk to her about it.”
“Ah…” He leaned his head back, exposing his Adam’s apple. “Well, you see, I’d rather talk to you.” Without warning, he gripped the front of my shirt, hauling me in front of him.
“Let me go,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Or what?” His eyes blazed with anger and defiance. “It’s your word against mine,” he sneered. “And who do you think they’re going to believe?”
I tensed. He was right. I had too much to lose. I’d worked too hard, come too far, to fuck it all up now. Especially not for someone as pathetic as him.
“Fuck you,” I spat. “Fuck you and your privilege. You and Audrey deserve each other. You’re both manipulative liars who think you’re better than everyone.”
He reared his fist back. I saw the punch coming, and I welcomed it. I wanted to feel the pain—something other than the bleak emptiness. I stood there, watching it happen as if it were someone else.
But when he continued to strike me and I didn’t fight back, he grunted, “Come on, faggot. Fight me back!” and I snapped.
I punched him in the face, landing one hard on his nose. He stumbled backward and tripped over the edge of the sidewalk before falling to the ground. And, as if on cue, blue and red lights lit up the sky. I dragged a hand through my hair, spitting some blood on the concrete.
Fuck.
Chapter Fifteen
“Hey, babe,” Emerson said into the phone. “What’s up?”
After Ethan had continued to ignore my calls, I’d spent the afternoon wallowing at Grant and Emerson’s house. I knew what I’d done was wrong, but he’d been so quick to jump to conclusions, easily assuming the worst of me. And while he wasn’t entirely wrong, it still stung.
Emerson ducked her head, blushing and muttering something I couldn’t quite make out. A moment later, she held out the phone for me. “Grant wants to talk to you.”
“Me?” I frowned.
Why on earth did Grant want to talk to me? He was at work. Emerson’s mother-in-law had Gwen for the night, and we were having a girls’ night in. It was nice to catch up. Our friendship had always been the kind where it didn’t matter how long we’d gone without talking, we picked up right where we left off. It was comforting—to know that Emerson was always there for me.
I accepted the phone and held it up to my ear. “Grant?”
“Hey, Audrey,” he sighed. “Can you come down to the station?”
“What?” I jerked my head back. “Why?”
“There was a fight. And…well, one of the men could use a lawyer. He has a prior.”
“Isn’t there another lawyer you can call?”
I didn’t want to leave the guy in the lurch, but I also knew that I wasn’t the only lawyer in the area. It was a small town, but it wasn’tthatsmall. Besides, there had to be someone more than willing to come from one of the surrounding towns like Fall Creek or even Riverville.
