by Sadie Allen
I followed him out the door and into the cold air of early morning. Down the steps and into the yard, I watched every step I took, mainly out of fear of what I was about to see.
I wrapped my arms around myself, shivering as the frigid air touched my skin. Ashley and crew were already gone, the yard quiet in the dewy haze of the early morning light. Another police car must have come with the sheriff and hauled them away. They could not have all fit into the one.
“Sunny.” Sheriff Lang’s normally strong, orotund voice was subdued, and I knew I needed to prepare myself for what I was about to see.
I was looking at my feet, wondering why I hadn’t put on shoes before coming out here. There was no telling what I could step on.
“Sunny,” Sheriff Lang said again as he let some of the normal authority in his voice slip through his tone and interrupt my thoughts.
Lifting my head from the study of my bare feet, I closed my eyes, and when they opened, I let out a small cry.
Grana’s trailer.
Ohnoohnoohnoohnoohno.
“No …” My voice came out in a hoarse whisper through my fingertips.
“You have homeowner’s insurance?” His voice sounded far off, though I could feel him standing within touching distance. He was probably afraid I would fall down, or worse—faint. I didn’t blame him. I wanted to … I wanted to fall down to my knees, tear my hair out, and cry, “Why? Why me?”
I didn’t do any of that, too busy staring at what had been done to my grana’s home.
There were little dents, medium dents, big dents—all kinds of dents scattered all over the outside. There were also drag marks running the length of it. But what really shook me was the words spray-painted in glaring red paint. I thought the shoe polished names on my truck were bad. No, this was infinitely worse.
As if honing in on my thoughts, Sheriff Lang said, “Decent folk shouldn’t use those words.”
“Decent folk shouldn’t deface someone’s home for being different,” I replied in a quiet voice, feeling the tears that had been building in my eyes fall down my cheeks.
“Anyone you want me to call for you?”
I tore my eyes away from the hate-filled words and looked over at Sheriff Lang. He looked older this morning than he had the last time I had seen him. The lines around his eyes looked deeper, his face more haggard. He also looked tired. He needed to go home and get some rest.
“No.”
Sheriff Lang wanted me to come down to the station later today to file charges, and I told him I would. There was no way I was going to let Ashley and her little crew slide on this one.
After he left, I ran back inside to grab shoes, a sweatshirt, and my truck keys. Then I locked up the trailer, because you just did when you lived in Country Acres if you wanted to keep your appliances and light fixtures, and got in my truck, driving toward town. I was at Judd’s house before I was actually sure that was where I wanted to go.
I parked on the street in front of his house and got out. I was still wearing my pajamas under my sweatshirt, but I didn’t care. I walked to the side of his house, fearing one of his neighbors might call the cops, and I definitely didn’t want to be sharing a cell with Ashley. I might kill her if I saw her right now. It was always best to look like you knew what you were doing when you weren’t where you were supposed to be.
I stopped in front of his window and rapped my knuckles against the glass. I wouldn’t have ever been brave enough if I didn’t know that his window was the only one on this side of the house.
I knocked again after a few minutes went by. Then, when he still didn’t open his blinds, I turned to leave.
Maybe I should have texted him first, but I had forgotten my cell phone back home. Not real smart.
I was almost to my truck when I saw him. His shoulder-length blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he wearing black workout shorts, a green UNT sweatshirt, and tennis shoes. He was leaning against the passenger side door of my truck, arms folded over his chest, his bright blue eyes dancing, and a smirk played at the edges of his mouth. When I got within reaching distance, he straightened from the door and the smirk died on his lips.
His eyes searched my face, concern filling them before asking, “Sunny, what’s wrong?”
My throat felt locked up and my eyes filled with tears. Before I could try to answer him, I was in his arms.
I clutched him hard to me, wanting to fuse into his warmth. He smelled like a wet puppy dog, but I didn’t care.
He was shushing me softly, running his fingers through my hair. Then I felt his lips press softly to the top of my head, and I melted further into him. It scared how much I was coming to depend on him.
Choking back a sob, I told him about what had happened and felt his body tense and his fingers curled at my waist tighten. Other than that, he didn’t say anything until I was finished.
“I’m so sorry. We’ll clean it up.”
“I’m just so tired,” I sobbed.
He reached up and took my face between his palms before leaning down and pressing his lips to mine for a fleeting kiss. Then he grabbed my hand and walked me toward his house.
“What were you doing out so early?” I asked as we walked through his front door.
“I do my training in the mornings. If I knock it out early, I don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the day.”
“Oh.”
We walked through the living room and down the hall toward his bedroom. I didn’t see any sign of his mom, but her car was parked in the driveway, so she must have been home.
He opened his bedroom door and pulled me inside.
His room looked exactly like it had the last time, except the bed was unmade.
“I should probably go shower,” he said as he lifted his arm and took a sniff, making a face, which made me laugh. “I’ll be right back. Just make yourself at home.” Then he grabbed some clothes from a laundry basket on the floor, darted over to give me a hurried peck on the cheek, and left.
I couldn’t help the sigh that escaped as I watched him amble out the door.
I went over and laid down on his bed, thinking about all the things I had to do today. Judd had already asked Sally for the weekend off for both of us, so I didn’t have to worry about going into work today. I needed to stop by the police station and file a report, because I was not about to let her get away with painting the C-word across my grana’s trailer. Then I probably needed to find a hardware store open on a Sunday to buy some paint. I doubted that red spray paint was washing off that old metal.
My late night was beginning to catch up to me. My eyes were heavy, and I tried to fight a yawn, not wanting to fall asleep on Judd’s bed, but pretty soon, I did just that.
I woke up incredibly warm, a lot warmer than usual, and lying on something that didn’t feel like my pillow. My eyes shot open, and I looked down at the T-shirt covered chest my cheek was resting on. Then I tilted my head back and looked into the soft, amused eyes of Judd Jackson.
“Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”
I stifled a yawn, trying to protect him from getting a whiff of my morning breath. “I don’t want to move,” I told his chest as I snuggled back in, enjoying the feeling of his arms around me and my head on his chest.
I felt safe and protected with him and wished I could wake up every day feeling this way.
His arms tightened around me, and a chuckled vibrated his chest. “That’s good, because I don’t want you to move.” I could feel his breath tickle my hair, and I sighed.
“I had a good time last night.”
“Hmm …”
“Well, until my trailer was attacked by a group of psycho cheerleaders. Other than that, it was perfectly lovely.”
He snorted.
“What time is it?” I asked.
“Noon.”
“Noon!” I sat up abruptly, and then tried to get out of Judd’s bed, but before I could make it over the side, he somehow got both arms around me, halting me in my
tracks.
“What’s the rush?”
“I have about seventy billion things I need to do today,” I said in exasperation, trying to wiggle free, but Judd’s nose gliding over my ear was quite distracting, making me squirm.
“I’ll help you get them done. What’s first on the list?”
“I need to go home to shower and brush my teeth,” I said then clamped my hand over my mouth, afraid that my morning breath might be a deal breaker for him.
“All right. I’ll follow you there, and maybe you can teach me something in the kitchen. I’m hungry.”
He was always hungry.
“Okay, pretty boy.”
And that was how we spent our Sunday after prom, cleaning and cooking at my dilapidated trailer. Surprisingly, it didn’t suck.
Sunny
JUDD AND I HAD just ended our shift at Sally’s. It was a week after Ashley and her friends wrecked my trailer. They had all been charged with criminal mischief and were out on bail. All the girls except Ashley were back at school, but rumor had it that her parents had pulled her out and she was finishing school online. I just knew that I would have to come back here to testify in two different trials this summer, which sucked, because I wanted to put this place behind me after graduation.
We were the last to leave the diner since it was our night to close up. Carrie had to get home to her little girl, and Sally, as always, left after the kitchen closed up for the night.
We both stood on the back step, my back plastered to the back door, Judd’s body pressed against mine as he devoured my lips. Groaning, Judd pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. His breath was labored, and his eyes were glazed.
Judd and I made out a lot these days, and I knew that look. He had reached his limit.
I still wasn’t ready to go any further, and he was being patient. So, instead of attacking his mouth like I so desperately wanted to, I avoided temptation and pulled away to lean my head back against the door and tried to catch my breath.
The night was warm, and the sky was clear. It wouldn’t be long before the mild spring weather turned and summer brought its unbearable heat and muggy nights. Then I would be racing for the air conditioning of my little truck.
Once I caught my breath, I looked at Judd and saw that, while his eyes were still intense, he had gotten himself under control.
“You okay?” I searched his eyes, looking for signs of annoyance or even anger, but all I saw was warmth.
Something inside me settled. It seemed like I was constantly expecting him to find an excuse to leave me, and I hated it. I didn’t want to be this insecure person. It just wasn’t me. I wasn’t like this about anything else in my life.
“Never better.” He smiled his movie star smile then gave me a peck on the cheek.
I reached for my backpack that I had dropped by my feet and pulled my keys from the front pouch. When I looked up, I saw Judd patting his pant pockets and coming up with nothing.
“Crap, my keys must’ve fallen out.”
We both had our phones out, screens lit, looking at the ground around the door.
Nothing.
“Let me go look inside really quick. Just sit tight.” He opened the door and disappeared inside.
I leaned back against the doorframe and again studied the clear night sky with its blanket of stars … until I felt the hair on the back of my neck and my arms stand up.
A tingling sensation crept along my skin, like someone was watching me. I turned to the right and looked into the darkness, seeing nothing but shapes of the brush and hearing the singing of cicadas. When I turned to look the other way, I thought I saw movement, so I blinked. Sure enough, a figure emerged from the darkness.
Before I could even scream, I strong hand gripped my elbow and jerked me into them, and then my mouth was covered by a large, warm hand. I tried to bite it, but when I did, he slammed me back against the side of the building. My head cracked against the brick hard enough for me to see lights, and I quit struggling as I tried to gain my equilibrium.
The scent of my assailant’s cologne burned into my nostrils, strong and earthy, which only made my headache worsen.
I felt lips brush my ear, and then their warm breath as they whispered, “You really shouldn’t have called the cops on my sister, Pocahontas.”
At the sound of Asher’s voice, I stiffened and tried to pull my head away, wincing when the world started spinning with the movement.
He nipped my ear hard, and then trailed his lips over my jaw, placing wet, open mouth kisses down my neck. I shuddered, and not in pleasure like when Judd did that.
Asher chuckled, and it made my stomach clench in anger. I didn’t know if he thought my aversion to him was funny or if he thought he was actually doing it for me.
When he reached my collarbone, I felt his tongue and lips latch on to the skin there and started sucking. That was when my fight-or-flight, but more like fight-and-flight, instincts kicked in, and I struggled to get free.
“Get off me!” I cried as I pushed against his chest and tried to slide my body from between the wall and him.
The bastard actually laughed as he captured my wrists in a bruising grip and pinned them against my front. I tried to raise my knee, but he crowded my body and made it impossible to move. In my bid to get free, the hand that had covered my mouth was being used to pin me so now I was able to call for help.
I sucked in a lungful of air to do just that, but again, Asher slapped that hand back over my mouth and pushed it flat so my teeth couldn’t get purchase against the flesh of his palm.
I felt his mouth back at my collarbone, where he bit me this time, not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave another mark. Then he dragged his tongue over the spot and continued on his way, licking up my neck until I could feel his breath in my ear.
He pressed his hips to mine, and I could feel his excitement hard against me as he chided, “Tsk … tsk … tsk … I wanted to have a little fun with you before I let Judd know I’m here.” He then rubbed it against me, and I wanted to vomit.
I had never felt so helpless, not even when my dad had beat the crap out of me.
Rage bubbled up in my gut. I wanted violence, to fight him, but I was trapped. So, I screamed my frustration against his hand, which was loud but muffled.
Asher just laughed and kept with his violation, and that was what it was. He was touching me against my will.
I felt tears build in my eyes, but I refused to let him see them fall. He was already humiliating me enough.
“If I had more time, I’d undo your pants and make this good for you, but …”—he shrugged one shoulder—“Judd will be back any moment.”
I felt nausea claw its way up my throat as he leaned back. I looked into the face of a monster who was enjoying this, who was excited at the prospect of violating me, simply because he was so eaten up with bitterness and jealousy that he had no soul.
“What do you think his reaction will be? What do you think he’ll do when he sees me put my hands and mouth on you?”
Now he practically vibrated with excitement, and his eyes had an almost maniacal light in them. I realized it really had nothing to do with me. He wanted this. He wanted a confrontation between him and Judd, and I knew why.
Asher wanted Judd to hurt him, and the only reason I could come up with as to why would be so Judd would lose his football scholarship. If Judd got arrested, UNT might rescind the deal, and then Judd’s future would be ruined. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to stop this.
“Shh … I can hear him coming.”
Sure enough, I could see Judd’s foot step through the doorway.
“It’s show time,” Asher said, the eagerness in his voice disturbing.
Asher’s mouth was back on my neck, and his hand that had been holding my wrist slid up my body until it rested on my chest and gave it a squeeze.
“Hey!” I heard Judd’s angry yell and knew I had to do something to stop what was coming next.
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Asher’s head lifted from my neck to smile at Judd, meaning he wasn’t paying as close attention to me since he was anticipating a move from Judd.
I put my hands at Asher’s waist and pushed with all my might, catching him off guard. He rocked back a step, but a step was all I needed. Then I swiftly grabbed his shoulders before he could invade my space again, lifted my knee, and rammed it into his balls.
Asher, hands to his crotch, howled as fell to the ground and curled into the fetal position.
I looked to see Judd, face hard and eyes filled with so much fury it scared me, stalk toward us. I didn’t have time to relish my victory. I launched myself at Judd and practically knocked him over when my body hit his.
He stopped, but he didn’t look at me, his focus was all for the piece of garbage writhing on the ground. However, I kept crowding him to keep him from stepping around me and grabbed his face in my hands.
“Judd, look at me.”
No response.
“Judd.”
Nothing. His eyes were still burning holes into the prone figure on the ground.
I rubbed my thumbs against his cheekbone, hoping the touch might get his attention, but no. Then I whispered his name, and I guessed that, along with my touch, brought him back to me. I almost wished it hadn’t, though, because now those angry eyes were fixed on me.
“He’s not worth it.”
Judd made like he was going to step around me, but I blocked him with my body again, now frantically moving my hands all over his face and head.
“Judd, he wants you to beat him up.”
“Well, he’s about to get his wish,” Judd replied, his voice sounding rough.
“You can’t do this! Please, just take me inside,” I pleaded.
“Watch me.” He put his hands on my shoulders and gently moved me aside.
When I got his back, I said quietly, desperately, “Don’t leave me.” My voice sounded painful to my own ears.
I would never be able to forgive myself if I couldn’t stop Judd from attacking Asher.
Something in my voice must have broken through because Judd stopped and just stood in front of Asher, hands balled into fists, shoulders heaving up and down with his accelerated breathing. I could feel Judd’s anger beating against my skin. It was like a living thing, pouring off him in waves.
