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“Yeah, after almost getting into a fist fight with him, he finally left.”
“And then you told her to stop letting him control her?”
“In so many words, yeah. She doesn’t need anyone telling her what to do.”
“But by telling her she needs to stand up for herself, aren’t you telling her what to do?”
I opened my mouth to argue but then clamped it shut. “Fuck.”
He dipped his chin, a smirk on his face. “Man, I love it when I’m right and you’re wrong.” He waved a hand in my direction. “Your face gets—” Pieters was interrupted by the squealing of tires and a split second later, the jarring impact of a vehicle slamming into the back of mine.
My body sailed forward, into the airbag that had instantly deployed and then bounced back and slammed into the seat. The belt I’d always made it a point to wear kept my torso from moving too much, but t
he pressure on my chest was intense. The force of the impact sent us rolling into the vehicle in front of us.
“What the fuck!” I shouted and then craned my neck to where Pieters was sitting next to me, cursing loudly.
Pulling on the handle, I pushed the door open and climbed out. A teenage boy, who couldn’t be any older than seventeen, sat in the wrecked sports car behind me, his face a mask of shock.
I jogged to the car and rapped on the window, breaking him out of whatever trance he was in, and asked, “You okay, kid?”
He clamped his jaw shut and nodded before he scrubbed a hand over his pale face. “My dad’s gonna kill me.”
I took a step back and surveyed the wreckage. My truck’s back bumper was bent in the middle and would need to be replaced. The front bumper was also a little mangled, but that was the worst of the damage.
His car, on the other hand…that shit was totaled.
Yep. His dad was going to kill him. “Nah, it’s not that bad,” I lied.
The kid’s face was still ghostly white and he looked like he was only seconds away from losing it.
“Anything on you hurt? Your neck okay?”
He nodded with the neck I had just asked about, so I assumed he was fine.
“Why don’t you get out of the car and come over here while we wait on the cops to get here.” I prodded gently.
Pieters shouted my name and I glanced over at where he was standing. “Police are on the way.” He held his phone up and I lifted my chin to acknowledge what he’d said before guiding the shaken kid over to the median.
“What’s your name?” I asked, trying to keep him talking.
“Matt,” he croaked.
I stuck my hand out. “I’m Lawson.” He took it and gave me a firm shake. “How old are you, kid?”
“Eighteen.”
“I wrecked my ’Stang when I was nineteen,” I told him.
His eyes flickered at that. “You did?”
It was a lie. My classic Mustang was currently housed under a cover in my garage. But a little white lie wasn’t so bad when it helped someone feel better, right? “Yeah, man. Wrapped it around a tree going too fast in the rain one day. My old man had given it to me when I graduated.”
His Adam’s apple bobbed before he asked, “Your dad kill you?”
I held my arms out. “I’m standin here, right?”
He grinned, his face slowly getting some color back, and nodded. “Right. Yeah, okay. Dad won’t be too mad.”
