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He laughs at my pain. “Sorry, princess. I’m not going home.”
Another rivulet slicks down my cheek. “Can’t you just drop me home first and then go out?”
The sun catches on his narrowed gaze, highlighting his eyes to cobalt slits. “This may be an alien concept to you, but most of us have jobs to go to.”
The thought of getting on the bus breaks me down. I can’t bear to face another person right now.
He wrenches the door open with a creak. “You better toughen up, or folks here’ll eat you alive.”
I take that as an invitation and slide into the passenger side, but my tears don’t stop. He lights a cigarette and blows a stream of smoke from the corner of his mouth. “Do you do anythin’ besides cry?”
My stomach tightens. “My mom just died, I’m in a new place where I have no friends, and everyone hates me for no reason. I’m sorry if I’m a little emotional.” A crack splits my voice, and another wave pools in my eyes. How am I supposed to toughen up when my new life is a disaster? Everything has happened so quickly that I haven't even had time to mourn.
A warbledpfftleaks around the filter of his Marlboro Red. “I bet you can’t go a day without cryin’.”
I pinch my lips, sucking back the last of my outburst. He’s right. I need to build up a thicker skin if I’m going to make it through this nightmare unscathed. “I’ll take that bet. And when I win, you have to wear a sign to school that says,kick me, I'm an asshole.”
His sly smirk kicks up my pulse. “You can forget that ’cause you ain’t gonna win.”
“Watch me.”
He peels in front of the house and leans back with his arm draped over the steering wheel. “Oh, I’ll be watchin’, alright.”
“Thanks for the ride,” I say, hopping down.
He speeds off before I’ve even closed the door, spitting dust and debris all over me. It isn’t until his taillights have faded into the distance that I realize I’ve just made a deal with the devil.
Chapter three
The screen door slams behind me. I fall on the couch, a sigh leaving my lungs as I throw my arms over my damp face. I woke up this morning with such high hopes, but every one was dashed with each passing minute. I thought I’d be able to do this. I have Texas in my blood and New York on my skin. I come from a long line of hardened hearts, yet one day in Hell’s Bend knocked me right off my high heels.
“Tough day?”
Cindy’s smoky voice pulls me from my pity party. I take another deep breath and let it trickle past my lips. “They hated me.”
The couch cushions dip, her warm hand hot on my skin. “They just have to get to know you.”
“They don’t want to know me. I’m just a spoiled rich girl, and that’s all I’ll ever be.”
Cindy slowly peels back my arms and exposes my face. “I know it’s hard startin’ new. But you can do it. You’re tough like your mama.”
Tears spill down my temples and into my ears. “I miss her so much.”
She pulls me up and wraps me in her arms. “I know.”
I jam my lids closed, trying my best to pretend it’s her, but Cindy’s hearty hug isn’t the same. My mom’s body was slender and toned, while Cindy’s is soft. I melt against her, thumbing my tears away like a toddler. “Tell me something about her. Something about her wild years.”
A gentle laugh rumbles in Cindy’s chest. “Your mama had a lotta wild years. I got so many stories and not enough time to tell them all.”
I break from her embrace and curl into the corner of the couch. “Then start with one.”
She presses her lips into a thin line, staring out into an unseeable past. “Okay,” she starts, pushing into a comfortable position. “There’s this swanky country club over yonder in Red Drum—the rich part of town—and your mama got it in her head one night that we were gonna go swimmin’ in that pool after hours.”
My smile stretches from ear to ear. Try as I might, I can’t imagine a young Sarah Cartwright having to sneak into a country club. “Did you get in?”
“Yeah, we got in alright. A few of us climbed over the fence and swam in that pool until security found us and kicked us out. I swear, I’d never seen anythin’ so blue as that water in my life.” She reaches over and tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “Your mama was never satisfied with the simple things. She was too good for skinny-dippin’ in the creek like the rest of us. She wanted a taste of the good life, and once she got it, there was no lookin’ back.” When her gaze snaps to mine, the whites of her eyes are misty pink. “It was no surprise to me that she made it big. She had that unstoppable fire inside her. That’s prolly what I loved the most about her.”
“I wish I got to know that version of her.”
