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Plus, according to Chance’s sources, Barrett was still in California as late as yesterday morning.
So weighing up the odds, I decided to go. I took Chance’s truck and sped out of the clubhouse parking lot, heading in the direction of the cabin. It was a perfect spring day, warm and alive with promise. I wound the window down and let the sunny breeze blow through my hair and across my skin while I sang along to the radio. Today my heart felt light. Almost free. And that thought alone had a big smile spreading across my face.
Approaching the outskirts of town, a figure sitting at the bus stop caught my eye. As I got closer, I was surprised to see it was Missy.
Just keep driving, I told to myself. She threw you out on your ass and didn’t care that you had no place to go.
But as I passed the bus stop, I could see the misery on her face and the packed bags at her feet. Something bad must’ve happened to put her at a bus stop with all her belongings.
Damn it.
With a skid of breaks, I swung the truck around and pulled up to the curb. When I got out, Missy looked up, her face dropping when she saw me. Cautiously, I walked toward her but stopped a few yards away.
“What happened?” I asked, doing little to hide the betrayal in my voice.
She looked away and I watched her throat work as she swallowed hard. She looked resigned to her predicament, whatever it was.
“I’m skipping town,” she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with me.
“Why?” My voice was sharp. Hard. Because the pain of what she did to me was still very raw.
She shrugged and stared down the street. “Things didn’t work out.”
“What about Johnny and the baby?”
She closed her eyes briefly and exhaled, obviously hurting.
“I honestly thought I was pregnant,” she said. “When I told him, he seemed so happy. Said he would leave his wife. Said we’d start a life together. He said his wife couldn’t have babies, so us having a baby meant everything to him. I was so happy, Cassi. Thought I could finally put down some roots, have a home and a man by my side.” She scoffed sadly as if the idea had been ridiculous. “But then I got my period, and I didn’t know how to tell him. I was so scared he would stop loving me. So I pretended I was pregnant until I could work something out. I thought maybe I could get pregnant and he would never know. But then he caught me buying tampons, and I had to come clean about it.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “He fired me first. Then he dumped me.”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to empathize with her, but it was hard seeing her so upset.
“But why leave town? You can get another job.”
“I had nowhere to go,” she sniffed.
“What about Craig, and your mom’s house?”
The look she gave me told me another revelation was coming.
“It’s not my mom’s house and he’s not really my brother.”
I stared at her, mouth agape.
You have to be fucking kidding me.
“My mom dated his dad. They both died in a car accident a few years ago. I was tired. I needed to stop moving. So I contacted him, and he said we could stay for a while.”
I had no words.
That was why she was protective of him. He wasn’t her brother and the house wasn’t hers. He could throw her—us—out at any time.
I shook my head and exhaled slowly, letting the knowledge drain from me. There was no point getting upset.
I looked at the packed bags sitting at her feet.
“Why did Craig throw you out?”
“He came into my room. Saw me crying. Tried to comfort me by forcing his tongue down my throat. When I pushed him away, he told me to get out,” she scoffed bitterly. “He didn’t have to tell me twice.”
I considered telling her about him jerking off with my underwear but decided against it because just remembering it made my stomach want to throw itself out of my mouth.
Instead, I asked, “Where are you going to go?”
She shrugged. “The 409 bus will be along in a minute. It goes to the station.” She looked down the street… I assumed to see if the bus was approaching. “Guess I’ll catch the next bus out of town. Leave it to the gods to decide.”
God, how many times had we done that?
She stood up so we were eye level, clutching the smallest of her bags in her hands. She looked apologetic. Innocent. Younger than her twenty-three years.
“I’m sorry I told your brother where you were,” she said. “What did he say when he caught up with you?”
Missy still had no idea what Barrett would do if he found me. He wouldn’t say anything. He would do. And it would be brutal. But there was no point explaining it to her. She was leaving town, and I would never see her again.
