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“Whoa, there, lover boy.” Scarlett stepped in front of me, and I glowered down at her. “You need to give her space.”
“No, I need to go over there and make sure she’s okay.”
“She’s a big girl. She can take care of herself.”
Was she for real? Scarlett knew firsthand just how far Kendall could go. Even if Kendall didn’t go near Becca herself, she had the ways and means—we’d found that out at Bannam’s party when someone had roofied her. A shudder worked its way through my spine.
“Calm down. I’m not saying you have to stop looking out for her. I’m just saying she needs time. Becca isn’t Ami, Porter. Ami needed us. She needed people to step up for her, but that one”—she glanced over at Becca—“that one can hold her own.”
Guilt swamped me.Ami needed us. Yeah, and I hadn’t stepped in soon enough. Kendall destroyed an innocent girl because I didn’t want to get in the middle of my family’s bullshit. But this time was different. I didn’t want Becca to have to hold her own. I wanted to be the one to stand up for her, to protect her.
Iwouldprotect her.
Even if she didn’t want me to.
My eyes flickered back to Becca. She was eating a packet of chips, wincing in pain.
“She’s hurt.” I stepped around Scarlett, but her arm shot out and stopped me.
“She’s fine. If you push her too hard, you’ll lose her for good. Trust me, Porter. I know people, and that girl will run. She’ll run so far, you’ll never catch her.”
I glared down at her, hating that she was right. Becca would run. Maybe not literally, not like Ami, but she would build up her walls so high there would be no hope of me ever breaking through.
My shoulders sagged as I stepped back. “You’re right.”
“Of course, I am. Look, she’ll come around eventually. She has to.” A flash of pain crossed Scarlett’s face, and guilt constricted my chest. She didn’t let people in often, but she had genuinely taken to Becca, and because of me, Becca had shut her out completely.
I nodded; my throat too dry to reply. Scarlett left to go and sit with Lilly and the others while I stole one last glance at Becca before heading inside.
* * *
“Porter. Thought you’d upped and died on us,” my boss Dave grumbled, jeans hanging down around his ass, his beer belly protruding out of the oil-stained wifebeater he wore.
“Family stuff,” I grunted.
“Ain’t it always, kid.” He leaned farther into the engine. “Well, don’t just stand there. Go ask Patricia what needs fixin’ up.”
“Got it.” I had three hours, four if I was lucky. Dave let me work whenever I could to earn some extra cash. Thanks to Dad, I knew my way around an engine, and despite his demeanor, Dave was always willing to teach me. But lately, between Mom and Eli, I hadn’t got out here often.
I knocked on the office door, and Patricia, Dave’s girlfriend and business manager, ran through the list of outstanding jobs. She gave me my pick of the bunch, and opting for the easier of the lot, I pulled on a pair of coveralls and located the correct vehicle, gathering the tools I needed from the toolbox pushed against the wall.
Dave and his lackey were still hovering over the Ford. You had to admire their dedication to the job, though. Six o’clock on a Friday night and they were still going strong. It was one of the things I liked about Dave’s Autos; they went above and beyond. When I first started helping out, I wondered if they lived out here, but Dave had given me a ride home once and pointed out his house.
Dropping down onto the creeper, I rolled underneath the car. There wasn’t time to think when you had one-and-a-half tons of steel above you. It was exactly what I needed to push out thoughts of Becca and Kendall, and my mom and Eli. In the small space, there was just me, the axle, and the smell of grease. I worked meticulously for the next couple of hours, only coming up for air when I needed to switch tools. But as soon as I was finished, the temporary dam in my mind burst and everything flooded back.
“You all done, son?” Dave came over to where I was washing up, and I wiped my head with the back of my hand, nodding.
“It’s good to go. Thanks for letting me come by.”
“Anytime, kid, anytime. Listen, you know there’s always something more permanent here for you when you graduate. I don’t know what your plans are, but you come talk to me if you need a job, okay?”
“Thanks, I appreciate that.” I hadn’t given much thought to my future, not with Mom barely in control of her life and Eli still being so young. I couldn’t go off to college, that was for sure, and while there were worse ways to spend your days than fixing up cars, I didn’t know if that was what I wanted forever. At least it would bring in a wage, maybe let me break free from Darryl’s grasp once and for all.
Who the fuck was I trying to kid?
The only way I’d be free of him was if he was six feet under or locked up behind bars for the rest of his life.
* * *
