Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70444 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 352(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
“Did they release your truck to you yet?” Amanda asked all of a sudden, taking another bite of her banana.
“Yeah,” I answered. “And they already have it at the body shop. Luckily since it’s an older model, the frame and body are made of sturdier stuff. It’s just going to need a new front quarter panel, a new grill, and a new windshield. They said that it’d be ready by next week. Speaking of, I’ll need you to come pick me up and take me over there.”
She gave me a thumb up and waved at me without saying a word.
I rolled my eyes.
I had no clue why Amanda had such an obsession with bananas, but she really did love them. It was almost as if she wanted to eat them, and enjoy them, in silence.
At this point, I annoyed her because I knew it bothered her. Though, that could be due to her waking up early to help inventory with her dad—a whole four hours earlier than she normally got up.
I was lucky she was talking and coherent today at all.
“All right, all right,” I said as I got up and gathered my Pop-Tart trash. “I’m going to go. Do you need anything?”
She handed me her keys.
“Take mine. Dad’s coming to get me today. Make it up to me by bringing it by the bar…and helping me work tonight. You don’t even have to wear the skirt. You can wear those if you want.” She gestured to my simple black t-shirt, tight blue jeans and work boots.
“If you promise me that I get to work and you’ll keep all those men off of me, I will,” I countered.
She gave me a raised pinky. “Pinky promise.”
I laughed. “Be good, Amanda Bear. I’ll see you tonight.”
Then I walked out of the apartment, down to the stairs, and right past the same truck that was sitting there every morning for the last week. Johnny’s truck.
He’d left it there for me the day after he’d dropped me off and still I refused to use it.
At this point, I knew that it was pissing him off that I wasn’t using it.
Well, too fucking bad. So goddamn sad.
I didn’t care if it was pissing him off.
I also didn’t care that I knew he was biding his time.
I knew that this was going to get bad and I wouldn’t encourage him to talk to me by using his stupid truck.
I’d walk to work before I drove that pretty piece of machinery, thank you very much.
At the Taco Shop, I’d had an epiphany, and that epiphany hadn’t been good. In fact, it’d been quite bad.
Being with Johnny—in any way—would mean that the spotlight would shine even brighter on me. It would also mean that I’d be expected to deal with the townspeople nicely, instead of giving them the verbal backlash that they deserved.
A cop’s girlfriend had to be respectable, and I’d never been respectable.
I wasn’t a bad woman. Hell, I wasn’t sure I ever qualified as ‘bad.’
But, people saw me that way because of who my family was, and it was unlikely that their opinions of me would ever change.
I knew that. They knew that. Everybody knew that.
And it sucked, me having to walk away from Johnny—the one man that I could truly see myself being with—but I wouldn’t back down.
One day, I’d be out of this town. One day, I wouldn’t be that ‘piece of trash’ or ‘filthy whore.’ One day, I’d just be another anonymous citizen somewhere. I’d be able to walk out of my apartment and not be overwhelmed with the feeling that I didn’t belong.
I couldn’t wait for that day to get here—kind of. Because for that day to get here, my grandfather would have to pass, and I definitely didn’t want that to happen.
Not when he was the one and only person in my family who was, and always would be, solidly in my corner.
Tiny and Amanda had been there for a while now, but they weren’t my family. They also didn’t know what it was like to be me. Amanda, despite her friendship with me, had still managed to be popular.
Me? Not so much.
When I arrived at work, I clocked in, waved to Coke in the yard, and then made a few calls. One of those to the police department secretary explaining that I wanted to contest my ticket.
At least this way, Johnny would know where I stood.
Chapter 12
A yellow light is intended to advise you to slow down, not speed up. You will receive a ticket if you exceed the speed limit.
- Things cops can’t believe they have to tell adult drivers
Johnny
I could tell you now, the least favorite part of my job was going to court and appearing in front of the judge to explain the reasons why I gave a certain citizen a ticket.