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Food was my next stop, so I pulled into the first fast food joint I could find. My stomach jolted as soon as I stepped inside the restaurant. It had to have been over twenty-four hours since I’d last eaten. Keeping my hat pulled low and the hoodie of my sweatshirt up around my neck, obscuring most of my face, I ordered off the dollar menu and sat in the corner with the most shadows. It was past the noon hour rush, and business had slowed, but stray people would trickle in every few minutes.
I was nearly finished, polishing off my fries and sucking the last of my drink through the straw when a mother entered, her young daughter dancing around her and already begging for the toy from the happy meal. I started to smile, charmed by her enthusiasm before a great big swell of panic hit, straight in my chest.
I suddenly pictured someone else recognizing me and pointing, then shouting rapist. The mom would gasp and grab her daughter, clutching her close, terrifying the poor kid who’d been so eager only a second before. Panic and chaos would ensue, all happiness and smiles suddenly gone, just because I was sitting here, eating my meal.
I don’t think I belonged out in public among people anymore.
The last fry felt extra dry going down. I stood and rushed to pack away what was left, stuffing the last of my fries into the pocket of my hoodie for later, then I threw my trash away and hurried back to the bathrooms to clean up before I left.
I changed outfits, then washed my face and hands. Once I left the restaurant, I started to jog toward my truck, but a shout from the opened window of another truck sitting in the drive though waylaid me.
At first, all they hollered was, “Hey, you!” so I kept going without even glancing back. But then I heard a car door slam and footsteps before someone added, “Beckett Hilliard.”
I looked back on instinct, hearing my name, and saw Chance Fairfield rushing toward me, followed by a couple other guys from our fraternity who must’ve been riding with him.
At first, I could only blink dumbly. But seriously, what were the odds of running into him of all people in a town this big? The campus wasn’t even anywhere near here, and he should’ve been in class this time of day. Right?
I took too long cursing my luck. It gave him ample opportunity to run right up into my space, threatening and already rearing his arm back.
“You are so dead, you motherfucker,” he growled before plowing a fist into my jaw.
I’m not gonna lie, it rang my bell.
I thought I was going to pass out or at the very least puke. But from the corner of my throbbing eye, I saw him swing again and I ducked at the last moment. The air from his jab swept across my cheek he was so close to the mark, but at least he missed.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I said, lifting my hands, and trying to reason with him. “You just need to calm down and listen to me a second. I didn’t force her to do anything.”
But, oh, was that the wrong thing to say. He cried out his rage and steamrolled his entire body toward me, bowing his head and using his shoulder as a battering ram to tackle me to the ground.
I landed with a bone-jarring thud, splitting pain through my ribs. It stole my breath and gave the cowboy time for a couple more punches before I couldn’t handle it anymore. I hurt so fucking bad, I needed him off me or I just knew I was going to die. I bucked him away, shoving, and kicking, and punching blindly in a wild desperation to be free. I knew I hit a couple of solid lands because I felt the firm give of flesh under my knuckles and heard his grunt of surprise.
When I successfully got my feet planted on his abdomen and kicked him off away, he tumbled backward, landing ass first on the asphalt about three yards away. But as soon as I rolled into my hands and knees and tried to push to my feet, two of my ex-fraternity brothers grabbed my arms to prevent me from escaping. The bastards hauled me upright, keeping hold of me as Chance staggered to his feet.
My nose felt broken, and I tasted that all too familiar metallic flavor. The cowboy didn’t look so good himself, though. He shook his head and wiped a handful of blood from his upper lip.
I shook my head, struggling against my captors as he stormed menacingly closer. “You’re so wrong about this, Fairfield,” I tried. “You’re going to feel like shit when you realize how wrong you are. She lied.”
He only snarled, curling back his lips to flash his teeth. “My sister doesn’t lie.” And he jacked me in the jaw.
My vision blinked out, then blinked back on, but everything was blurry and I felt really dizzy. When he reared back his arm again, I shook my head and whimpered out a single plea through bloody lips. “Stop.”
“Oh my God!” a female voice suddenly cried. “You boys stop that. Stop that this instant. Leave that young man alone. I’m calling the police.”
The two people holding my arms suddenly jumped away from me, letting go quickly enough that I slumped to my knees.
Chance turned tail and ran off behind them toward his truck where I vaguely made out Max standing and watching with large eyes as if he wanted to hurry away with them but also wanted to check on me. He made eye contact with me briefly, and when I mouthed his name, his eyes flooded with regret before he spun away and followed the other three to the truck, where they climbed inside and squealed the tires in their hurry to leave.
I stared after them, panting heavily and clutching my ribs as I remained slumped on my knees.
“Are you all right? Don’t move. I’m going to call you an ambulance.”
“I’m fine,” I croaked, looking up to find the same woman who’d entered earlier with her excited daughter. The girl was now clutching the woman’s legs and looking scared out of her mind. “No ambulance,” I assured them, lifting a hand to wave the offer away. “I’m okay, ma’am. But thank you.”
The kid still looked scared out of her wits. She held her happy meal to her chest, the paper bag rattling noisily from the force with which she shook.
I offered the girl a small smile. “Did you get the toy you wanted?”
I didn’t realize what a dumb question that was until the mom paused in her dialing to blink at me. The kid stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.
