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Me:Hi, Jesse. Why aren’t you in bed yet?
Jesse:I nearly am
Me:Did you have a good party?
Jesse:Yep ty for my car
Me:You’re welcome. I hope you love it.
Jesse:I do gn
Me:Good night, kiddo.
I was just about to drop my phone back in my bag when something caught my eye, making me catch my breath. I wanted to let Gabe know straight away, so I took a screen shot and found him in my contacts.
Me:Hey, I just thought I’d let you know that Jesse just messaged me on Roblox. Just, you know, for online security and stuff.
Gabe:Ok, thanks. I’ll talk to him about it.
Me:I thought you might also want to know what his Roblox username is.
I sent the screenshot.JWalker.The three dots hovered for quite a while, but I felt a world of meaning in his simple reply when it came.
Gabe:That means a lot. Thanks for telling me.
There were a hundred things I could have said, but all of them were way too much, so I just said,You’re welcome,dropped my phone back in my bag, and put the car in drive.
CHAPTER20
Ally
Driving into Esperance, the mid-afternoon sun still quite high in the sky, I was giving myself a very stern lecture.Get the fuck over yourself.I wasn’t sure how well it was working: frankly, retreat felt safer and much, much easier. But I was starting to realize that it was logistically impossible. There was no way I could avoid Gabe forever, and all the effort I was putting into trying to do so was fucking exhausting. So here I was, trying to figure out how to normalize interacting with him. I could accept that an accelerated pulse rate, hot flushes and a clenching core were going to be common occurrences that I’d just have to get used to, right? Yes. I could deal with those, as long as my heart stayed intact.
I took a couple of deep, calming breaths as I crossed the bridge over the Esperance River. There was the weird little main square, with its medieval cobblestones and stone buildings. I turned right, skirting the square, heading for the Valley. I’d figured I needed an honest heart-to-heart with Zara to get some proper insight. I was prepared for the possibility that she might try to push me in a direction I didn’t want to go – toward Gabe. But I’d resist anything like that and stick to teasing out how I could skirt around him without losing my wayormy marbles.
As I drove, something in the surroundings toyed at the edge of my vision. What were those kids doing? Three big teenagers, on bikes, circling around a much smaller kid. I narrowed my eyes, slowing down. Yep, the fuckers were picking on that kid! Assholes. I was beginning to wonder if I should pull over and try to intervene, but then second guessing myself because those kids looked big and I was alone, when two things happened. First, one of the thugs rode by and kicked his foot out, knocking the younger kid to the ground. Two, I recognized the younger kid. It was Jesse.
Immediately, I saw red. Fury surged through me and that, coupled with the overwhelming urge to protect him, had me slamming my foot on the accelerator and screaming up the street toward them. I screeched to a halt, dimly aware that they were all looking at me as I hunted around in the back seat for a weapon to defend myself with if this got really bad. I always had so much shit in the back seat: what I wouldn’t give for a baseball bat right now. Well, an industrial rolling pin would have to do. I grabbed it and, shoving the car door open, I was out the door, yelling, “Hey! Back off!” before I’d fully processed what I was doing. I had enough sense to briefly double back and turn the car off, pull the keys out and put them in my pocket. If these fuckers wanted to steal my car, they’d have to go through me first.
“Relax, lady. We’re just having a bit of fun.” The kid was at least sixteen years old and not an inch shorter than six feet, with muddy blond hair, a ripped shirt and an ugly sneer on his face. He also looked like he worked out. And he was holding Jesse’s backpack.
“The fuck you are!” I stepped forward, raising the rolling pin, giving minimal thought to how stupid I must look. One of the other kids had hauled Jesse to his feet and I could see the graze on his knee. That nearly flipped me over the edge. “Let him go,” I snarled.
“Or what?” They dropped their bikes to the ground and started circling me.
Their insolence, Jesse’s blood, the bullying… It all sent another burst of white-hot rage through my system. “Believe me, you do not want to find out the answer to that question.”
“You think you’re gonna take all of us on, lady? As if,” the tall one sneered.
“No, of course not. Just you.” I’d seen that in a movie once, when I was a kid, and had never forgotten it. If you’re outnumbered, take on the leader. If he backs off, they all back off. So that’s what I did. He took a step toward me and even though I saw the threat in his eyes, I moved two steps closer. “Let him go and give me the bag, or I’ll hit you upside the head so fucking hard your skull cracks. Then I’ll drag your sorry ass straight to the cops.” I raised the rolling pin higher, feeling a little comfort at the heft it had.
He eyeballed me for a moment. I stared straight back, knowing I would hit him if I had to. Maybe he saw that knowledge in my eyes, because to my immense surprise he said, “Fuck you, you crazy bitch,” and threw the backpack at me, hard enough that it hurt when I caught it. He flicked his head and another of the kids shoved Jesse toward me. I slung his backpack over my shoulder and pushed him behind me, shielding him with my body. Turning back, I wrapped my fingers tight around the rolling pin.
“Great. We’re done. Now off you fuck.”
And they went. Just like that. Got on their bikes and rode off up the street, without looking back. Go me.
“Get in the car.” I bit the words out sharper than I intended to as my system tried to process the adrenalin that had just surged through it. God, I was going to throw up. I got behind the wheel, threw the rolling pin and Jesse’s backpack in the back seat and pulled the car door closed before locking it for good measure. I was shaking all over and there was a good chance I was going to burst into tears. Sucking in huge gulps of air, I gripped the steering wheel and leaned forward, resting my forehead on it, desperately willing my heart to slow down.
