Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 42549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
She was right. I hadn’t done anything wrong, so why the hell should I run away? Lifting the edge of my halter top, I wiped off my face, trying not to sniffle.
“How do I look?”
“You’ll do in the dark,’’ she said, winking at me. “Hold your head high and remember, I’ve got your back. Six Mile trailer park forever, baby.”
________
Boonie was the first person I saw back at the party.
He leaned against a pickup truck full of massive speakers that the senior boys had hooked to car batteries. Something had gone wrong with the system early on, and it’d stopped working. Fortunately, the truck’s own stereo wasn’t too bad when they cranked it all the way.
Now the fire burned high and girls were all dancing. I saw Erin wander up to Boonie and lean into him. He gave her a hug then pushed her away firmly when her hands started to wander.
Shanda marched us straight over to them.
“What happened to you?’’ Erin asked, so drunk I could hardly understand her words.
“I caught Farell fucking Allie Stockwell,” I said bitterly, wishing I could kill the hateful bitch. “Now I’m going to dump his ass.”
“Holy shit.”
Boonie didn’t say anything, but his eyes flared with sudden intensity. Shanda looked between us, a strange smile playing at her lips. I think she was about to say something.
Then Farell stumbled out of the dark and back into the party.
“Darcy!” he shouted, lurching toward us. People turned to stare. “Darcy! Darcy, it was a mistake. Let me explain.”
“Showtime,’’ Shanda said, pushing me forward. I felt an almost palpable wave of excitement from the crowd. Great. Nothing like a little drama to make a party memorable.
“We’re done, Farell,’’ I announced before I lost my nerve. I was supposed to love him . . . but he was supposed to love me, too. Asshole. “Go back to Allie.”
He swayed, confused shock all over his face.
“But Darcy . . . I didn’t mean it.”
“You heard her,’’ Boonie said, stepping forward. Erin straightened and lurched into Shanda, clearly trying to show her support no matter how drunk she was. “You’re done. Go away.”
“Shut up, you fucking loser,” Farell said, swaying. “She’s my girl. You want her but you can’t have her.”
“No, I was your girl,” I said, the words cutting through me like knives. In the firelight he looked like a homeless guy, his clothes covered in dirt and pine needles. “It’s over. You made your choice.”
Farell looked confused, eyes blinking. Slowly he started to sneer.
“I see how it is,” he said. “You’re fucking him, aren’t you? I guess trash calls to trash.”
Boonie growled and stepped forward, reaching for him. Farell took a drunken swing and then they were all over each other. Shanda pulled me and Erin back as the students started shouting and screaming, “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Farell was drunk off his ass, which should’ve made him an easy target. And he was—for every hit he landed, Boonie got him twice. The alcohol seemed to be dulling his senses, though. I wasn’t sure he even felt the pain.
He couldn’t possibly last long.
Boonie was faster and more savage than I’d ever seen him. He threw a sudden flurry of punches, his face cold with fury. Then Farell went down hard and it was over. A hush fell over the crowd as Boonie turned and stalked over to me, chest still heaving. I’d never seen his eyes so wild.
“C’mon,’’ he said. I looked around, wondering what to do. He didn’t wait for me to answer, catching my hand and all but dragging me down the hillside. That’s when I heard Farell shouting after us.
“Fuck you, whore! Go fuck your trashy boyfriend. He’s nothing, just like you’re nothing!”
Boonie stopped short, every muscle in his body rigid. Then he turned slowly to face Farell one last time.
“If you ever talk to her like that again, I’ll kill you.”
Nobody there could doubt him—Boonie meant every word. My former boyfriend blinked, and I saw raw terror. Then Boonie pulled on my hand again and we were off.
________
I stumbled along in shock for a while, finally realizing I had no idea where we were going, or even why I was with him, but I did know this—something monumental had just happened.
“Why did you fight with Farell?” I asked. Boonie turned, backing me into a small crypt surrounded by brush. The plaster-covered bricks hit my butt and I stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“Because he’s an asshole,” Boonie said. “Why the fuck did you let him stick his dick in you, Darcy?”
I gasped, shaking my head.
“I can’t talk to you about this.”
Boonie pushed forward into my space, reaching down to catch my waist as he lifted me to sit on the monument. Then he was standing between my bare legs, staring down into my face. A muscle in his jaw flexed. I felt one of his hands reach down and around my waist, spreading across the flat of my back. His other hand rose to cup the back of my head, fingers burrowing into my hair.