Left Behind: Left Behind Series #1

by D. J. Pierson

  The fact that he calls this a hell hole isn’t lost on me. “Why did you come here tonight?”

  “Get the fuck in before they see us out here. Do not think I’m above putting your skinny ass in the trunk, either,” he barks.

  “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”

  Sean sighs and leans his elbow on the roof of the car. “Look, I want to leave and you want to leave. Please, just get in so I can take you home and we can be rid of each other.”

  As much as I can’t stand him, he has a point. I don’t want my parents to know I’m still here, so I walk over. Before I get in, the light reflecting off of the top of his sports car catches my eye. For such an extravagant car, it is the ugliest shade of orange I’ve ever seen. Sean disappears in the car and starts it up. He’s revving the stupid engine as if I give a shit what it sounds like. The moment my butt hits the seat and the door closes, he’s speeding down the driveway and out onto the road. Perfect. I’m going to die beside the biggest asshole in the history of assholes.

  “Why do you need to make this so difficult?” he asks.

  “Why do I need to make what so difficult?”

  “Us.”

  “There is no us. There will never be an us,” I say, without hiding my irritation.

  “If we fake it, we’d both win. Your parents see us together a few times, I’d get the promotion your dad keeps dangling in front of my face, and you’d get your parents off your ass. What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal is simple. I don’t like you, nor can I even stand to be in the same room as you.”

  “Are you always such a bitch?”

  “Pretty much.”

  His phone starts ringing and connects automatically to his car speakers through his Bluetooth. “Murphy,” he answers.

  “Are you on your way yet?”

  “About ten minutes out. Are you there?”

  “Yeah. You should see the crowds of people here, man. Do you even know them all?”

  “Most of them. The more people there to bet, the more money we take home. Are the other guys there?”

  “They were here before me.”

  “Don’t fuck this up. If we don’t win, I’m selling your car for parts.”

  “We got this.”

  “Good. I’ll see you in a few,” Sean says before hanging up.

  “Not sure where you’re going, but you aren’t going there until you drop me off at home,” I tell him.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but you’re going to have to wait,” he replies, pressing on the accelerator.

  “You better take me home, right now,” I insist, starting to panic. Where does he think he’s taking me?

  “Shut up before I reconsider letting you sit up here rather than in the trunk.”

  “I’m sure my parents would be thrilled to know the real you,” I utter, looking out the window.

  He laughs. “They’d still pick me over you.” Sadly, there’s not a doubt in my mind that he’s right.

  The rest of the ride to wherever the hell we’re going, I sit there trying to figure out how to get home. If I call Robert, he’ll be mad I didn’t call when I left my parents’ house. Jade’s on a date with Kyle, so she’s not an option. Evan’s at work. Not that he’d hesitate to come get me, but that probably wouldn’t be the best thing to do, given the situation. There’s always Jake, although he’d probably react the same way Evan would. Is that really all the friends I have?

  Just when I think the situation can’t get any worse, Sean pulls down a vacant street. It looks like an industrial park, but there aren’t any lights on, making it hard to see more than what the headlights illuminate. As the car rounds a bend in the road, the flashing lights of a police car cut through the darkness. The officer is standing in front of a barricade. Sean pulls up to him and lowers his window.

  “Sorry, buddy. Road’s closed for maintenance. You’ll have to go another way,” the officer tells him, as if he’s said it plenty of times tonight already.

  “Chris is waiting for me,” Sean remarks.

  “Name?”

  “Sean Murphy.”

  The officer nods and motions for him to go around the barricade. Sean puts the car in reverse to cut it wider to make sure he clears the wooden obstacle. Unlike the entire ride over here where he practically floored it, he drives slowly. When he clears another turn, the two lanes split into four in between businesses on both sides of the road, but that’s not what shocks me. There are at least fifty to seventy-five people standing in the parking lot of the second building on the left, and three other sporty-looking cars in the middle of the road. All of the street lights are off, but there are a few free-standing lights along the edge of the parking lot, and the cars have their headlights on.

  “What’s going on?” I demand.

  “I just have to win my money back from these punk ass, wannabe racers. Once it’s over, I will take you home,” he tells me. Sean pulls his car next to some guy standing in the middle of the road, looking down at a tablet.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?!” I scream. I’ve seriously had enough bullshit for one damn day. My patience is gone. “You are going to take me home right now!”

  The guy looks into the car. “No passengers during a race.” His attention goes back to the tablet.

  “You heard him. Get out,” Sean smirks.

  “So you’re just going to leave me on the side of the road while you race? There is something really wrong with you!” I haven’t lowered my voice. I’m pretty sure they can hear me at the finish line, wherever the hell that is.

  “I bet you’re second-guessing wearing that dress now, aren’t you?”

  “You’re a fucking asshole!” I get out of the car and walk around behind it.

  As I walk toward the parking lot where everyone else is standing, the idiot with the tablet says, “You need to get that one on a leash.”

  “A leash?” Sean replies, aggravated. “A muzzle wouldn’t work on her.”

  Idiot starts laughing. “Let me guess. Listening to her bitch is worth it because the sex is great?”

  “Go ahead and find out. Let me know how that works out for you. Be careful. She probably bites.”

  I find myself looking around for something, anything that could be used to smash in his windshield. Not only would it make me feel better to mess up his pretty little car, I’d get a ride out of here when the police come to lock me up. Before I spot anything, my phone starts buzzing inside my purse. Pulling it out, I see Jake’s name. “Damn it!” I say to myself, but answer it anyway. “Jake, now is really not a good time.”

  “Kacie, what the fuck are you doing here?” his voice growls.

  “I’ll call you later… Wait? What did you just say?” Did he say what I think he said? My eyes start scanning the sea of people, looking for him.

  “You heard me. What are you doing here?”

  “Where are you?” I ask as my eyes land on the second car from the left. Jake’s Camaro. “Jake, tell me you aren’t stupid enough to be racing.” Then, I see his shadowy figure standing next to the car.

  “Kacie, you need to listen to me.”

  “No, Jake, you need to listen to me!” I snap. “You are not doing this!”

  “Kacie, I’m not playing around. Shut up and listen to me.” What is it with people telling me to shut up tonight? Someone is going to get their ass kicked really soon. “I don’t know most of the people here. It’s not safe for you to stay. You need to call Jade and have her come get you. Now.”

  “I’m not calling Jade. She’s on a date.”

  “Fuck her date!” He’s taking deep breaths, trying to regain some sort of composure. “I don’t want any of these people to know I know you. They’ll use you to distract us. You have to go.”

  “Us? Who’s us?” He doesn’t answer. “Jake, who’s with you?”

  Another shadowy figure walks up to him and takes the phone out of his hand. Is it too much to ask for someone to turn on a light so I can
see what’s going on? I can hear them bickering, but can’t tell what they are saying.

  “Kacie,” another familiar voice says into the phone.

  “Evan?” Shock replaces anger, but only momentarily.

  “Stop looking over here. Someone is going to notice.” I do as he says. My feet start walking toward the sidewalk again. I’m never wearing heels again. Ever. “Danny is on his way to get you. He’s right down the street. You need to do exactly as I say and everything will be fine.”

  “I am really sick and tired of people telling me what to do today,” I tell him.

  “How did you end up in the car with that guy?” he asks.

  “That guy is the doctor my mom thinks I should be dating. He was at her house when I got there tonight. When I made an excuse to leave, he jumped at the chance to get out himself and told my parents he’d take me home. Evan, you can’t do this. He was talking to his friend on the way over here. They are pretty confident about winning.”

  “Don’t worry about that. Worry about getting the hell out of here in one piece. Chris already had to kick a bunch of guys out for getting out of control. I had no idea all these people would be here. This isn’t usually how it goes down. If it was any other race, you could just wait with Danny until it was over and then I’d come get you. I’ll be able to concentrate better if I know you’re safe. Jake was right. If anyone knows you are with us, they’ll use that to distract us.”

  “What part of you aren’t doing this didn’t you understand?!” I yell.

  “Danny, how much longer?” I turn to look over. Even though I’m closer to them, I can still only see figures. He’s holding a phone up to each ear. “Walk faster,” he says and lowers one hand. “Kacie, what I’m about to say to you is very important. You are going to be passing a bunch of guys who have been pissing girls off for the last half-hour. They are drunk and very obnoxious. For the first time in your life, you are going to ignore them. Do not look their way and, whatever you do, do not say anything to them. Do you understand?”

  Being completely fed up with this whole situation, what’s the first thing I do? I turn and start searching for them. Why wouldn’t I? I’ve gone way beyond angry at this point. I’m livid. Okay, livid and maybe a tad irrational with very little concern for my well-being at the moment. But hey, in all fairness, it has really been a shitty day. They aren’t hard to spot. There are four of them, each using the other to prevent themselves from falling over. They are standing right in the grass just off of the sidewalk.

  “Kacie, look straight ahead and don’t stop walking. Danny should be right in front of you any second,” Evan commands.

  “Yo, look at that,” I hear one of them say. “She looks wound up. Think we could help her out?” My feet root to the cement.

  “Move. Now!” I can hear Evan, but my feet don’t obey.

  My head whips around to face them, just like I was asked not to do. “What did you just say?” Another thing I was asked not to do.

  “You look upset. Maybe we could fix that for you,” the ringleader of the crew offers, taking a step forward.

  “You think there’s something you could do to fix that?”

  “Kacie!” My arm lowers to my side so Evan isn’t screaming in my ear.

  “Damn right,” he gloats.

  “How would you do that exactly? From the sound of it, you’re making it seem like you have something that could actually please me. I can assure you that even if all four of you added your puny dicks together, a virgin still wouldn’t notice.”

  “You fucking bitch,” the one says, reaching for me.

  He doesn’t get close because someone yanks me from behind at the same time three bigger guys step in between me and the four losers. “Get lost,” Danny says firmly.

  “I’m not done with her.”

  “You never even got started. Beat it before we let her kick your ass,” Mike says.

  I turn around to see Jake’s friend Gabe still holding onto my arm. The last time I saw him was that night at Skyline. He smiles at me. “Still striking out with the guys, I see.”

  “Kacie,” Danny says, pointing to my hand hanging by my side. “Phone.” I almost forgot about Evan.

  I raise the phone to my ear as Danny and the guys walk me down the street. “I’m trying to keep you safe and all I ask is that you listen to me one fucking time! You couldn’t keep your mouth closed just one fucking time?!” Evan might be a little upset, but my anger is running this show.

  “You’re next,” I tell him, then disconnect the call. We’ll see how he feels about that.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Kacie

  Gabe was the one recruited to chauffeur me away from the industrial park. They probably figured he’d be the one least likely to set me off. I’ve known Danny and Mike the longest so I would have no problem telling them a thing or two. I’ve never seen the other guy before. Everyone has witnessed how I react to new guys who try to talk to me. So that only left Gabe. He’s actually the one I would have chosen out of my limited choices, as well. He’s a very sweet guy. I had fun hanging out with him that one night.

  I’m clutching my phone with one hand while squeezing my other hand so tight that my knuckles are white. The thought of something happening to either Evan or Jake is more than I can handle tonight. Why couldn’t they just listen to me and leave? Why did they have to go through with the stupid race? Why the hell are boys stupid enough to put themselves in dangerous situations?

  “Just so you know,” Gabe speaks for the first time since we got in the car, “the race doesn’t even start for another twenty minutes.”

  “Why don’t they just do it and get it over with already?” I sigh and lean my head against the seat.

  He laughs lightly. “There’s always a pre-determined start time. It gives everyone enough time to bet. Would it help if I told you I’ve seen Evan and Jake race before?”

  My head rolls so I can face him. “Why would you think that’s a good idea? I’m having enough trouble dealing with this one,” I spit out.

  “I just meant you don’t have to worry because they look out for each other. They’ll be fine.” I want to believe him, but it’s hard.

  “Where are we going?” You think that would have been something I asked before getting in the car.

  “Evan asked one of us take you to Skyline. He’ll pick you up from there.”

  “What if I’m not at Skyline when he gets there?” I wonder out loud.

  “Please be there. If you aren’t, he’ll come after me.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll be waiting for him. I have plenty to say.”

  “I imagine you do,” he says, chuckling again.

  I cut Gabe a break and stay quiet for the rest of the ride to the club. It’s only another few minutes, but he really doesn’t need any shit from me. He was nice enough to get me away from there. In all honesty, I would have been a royal pain in the ass if they let me hang around. Evan and Jake are the two who will have to deal with me.

  Gabe pulls up next to the curb at the main entrance to Skyline. Joe, the bouncer, is walking toward the car, cell phone to his ear. He opens the door and extends a hand to help me out. Evan probably told him to be expecting me. Before I exit, I thank Gabe for the ride, then reach for Joe’s hand.

  “I have her now, boss,” Joe speaks into the phone and pulls me out of the car at the same time. “You got it. Good luck.” He shoves the phone into his pocket, then smiles at me. “You’re causing some trouble tonight, I hear.”

  “Apparently,” I mumble. Is there anyone Evan didn’t call?

  Joe snickers, leading me through the club. “Evan’s just taking care of you. He’ll be here soon,” Joe tries to reassure me. After pushing the door open, he ushers me into the office.

  “He’s your boss. I wouldn’t expect you to say anything different.”

  “You’re right, he is, but he’s also my friend. I’ve known him since he moved here, Kacie, and he’s never acted this way with anyone be
fore. Whatever is going on between the two of you is new for him. Just try to remember that when he screws up. I’m sure he’d never intentionally do something to upset you.”

  “How much did he pay you to say that?” My anger seems to have subsided a little. Everyone has been telling me the same thing. Regardless of what is going on with Gram’s house or my parents, I want Evan to have feelings for me because I have them for him. Can I really be mad when he acts on them, even if he seems to be a little too excessive?

  “Nothing. I just don’t like to see someone as beautiful as you upset, especially if the truth will make you feel better.”

  “He must be paying you double tonight,” I mutter. “Thanks, Joe.”

  “You’re welcome. I have to get back to the door.” He hands me a generic business card for Skyline with a handwritten phone number across the back. He must have had it ready before I got here. “If you need anything, that’s my cell. Call if Evan isn’t here within an hour or so. Sometimes it takes him a little longer to get out of there.”

  “Okay,” I reply gratefully. Joe leaves, shutting the door behind him.

  What the hell am I supposed to do for the next sixty minutes? I turn around and take in the office that Evan shares with his uncle. A dark mahogany desk is positioned so that whoever is sitting behind it would be facing the door. The desk’s expansive size is almost overwhelming, but in a room as large as this, it fits nicely. There’s a long bookshelf along the wall behind the desk with family photos displayed on top of it. The side walls hold larger framed pictures from what looks to be Skyline when it first opened. I walk over to look at them. Meg looks so happy with her parents. I wonder if she’s appreciative of the life she has had so far.

  A knock at the door snaps me out of my trance. Meg pokes her head in. “Hey. Want some company?” she asks, not coming in.

  “That depends. Did your cousin send you in here to babysit me, too?”

  “Nope. He did call to tell me you’d be here, but that’s not why I came to check on you. I come as a friend.” She walks all the way in and pushes the door closed behind her using her foot. “With booze.” Meg holds up two tall glasses full of a red drink.