Page 80 of Cole

“I just don’t want to be my parents.” I rambled. “I-I want someone who is real. A real live boy.” The words made me laugh.

Grant raised an eyebrow at me.

“I can’t explain it. I can only… feel it,” I added, my head spinning. I needed to go home. I needed to go now. I had a very bad feeling that I was going to spend the rest of the night hanging my head in the toilet.

“You need to feel it,” Grant replied, and there was something slow and soft in his tone that I didn’t like. Time to go.

I pushed to my feet and the restaurant rushed around me. I felt so dizzy, like I could fall right over, but I couldn’t. That would be a major mistake. I needed to keep it together.

“I need to go home now,” I announced. Grant was already on his feet.

“Of course, I’ll take you. Your dad wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t see you to your door.”

I thought about protesting, but I knew it would be pointless.

I just nodded, hoping I could walk in a straight line, as I made for the door.

Outside the night was cool. I walked unsteadily toward the parking lot. Grant took my elbow to guide me over a group of puddles and then didn’t let go.

“I don’t feel good,” I gasped out.

“Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”

“What?”

While The Dunes was surrounded by a lush golf course on three sides, the parking lot was close to the highway that passed through Hade Harbor. We got to Grant’s shiny red sports car. A real pocket rocket.

I was concentrating on not falling right over, slumping between Grant and the car at this point, when I heard the long, rumbling growl of powerful engines echoing across the lot. I was feeling even more out of it now, and Grant was practically holding me up at this point.

“Get used to what?” I asked again.

“A little downer. Your mother’s been on them for years. Helps to steady the nerves.”

I blinked at him in disbelief. “You gave me something?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Nothing your mother doesn’t take on the regular.”

What the fuck?

Headlights appeared on the road running along the outer perimeter of the lot. Motorcycles, lots of them. A whole gang, it looked like.

“You wouldn’t think you’d get that kind of element in a nice place like Hade Harbor.”

“What kind of element?”

Grant wrinkled his nose, watching the bikes stream past. One of the bikes at the front of the group seemed to have slowed down. I wasn’t sure if I was imagining it. My brain was so muddled I couldn’t tell.

The bikes passed by, and silence surged back in.

“People like Cole Bailey. I understand that there needs to be that type of bottom-feeder filth to carry out the grunt work in this town, but they really should be seen and not heard. I didn’t like seeing you wearing his vest at the hockey game.”

I was barely registering his words anymore. My hands were numb. My tongue felt a little numb, too. I swayed away from him, but he just chuckled as he opened the passenger door of his car and let me fall inside. I banged my knees hard, and scraped my arm over the asphalt. I was nearly immobile at this point, and I practically had to crawl into the car after falling.

Grant got in and started the car.

“So, mine or yours?” He smiled in an effort not to look like a creep but failed.

“Take me home, please.”